create space or lightning source?

My husband published through Create Space, he looked at Lulu but thought Create Space to be a far better choice and he is pleased.

His sales are good, he is selling world wide and never any problems with payment.

That was the other good thing about Create Space you can leave anytime you want. Through create space he choose the extended distribution channel. The book is selling in Germany, UK, Japan, India, Australia, Canada, here of course, etc.

Hey, I just finished a podcast/guide on CreatSpace. I published with them, and I'm very happy with the results.

Check it out here: http://walkingwiththemailman.wordpress.com/tasty-resources/

I think you'll find it helpful.

My advice is to publish through lightening source, createspace and textstream. Many of the small press publishers my pub hangs out with does their POD that way. My indie publisher prints the first run and all follow-on runs are done with the above pods.

So instead of either-or, you opt for all of the above, simultaneously?

Here is another place to ponder. I used authorHouse.com they are pretty awesome. If I did not use them my second choice ONLY would have been create space.

EmpoweredOKC said:

So instead of either-or, you opt for all of the above, simultaneously?

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This is a tip I got from KL Brady's blog INDIE PUBLISHING ON THE CHEAP
now she is with a large trade publisher who contacted her to purchase her books:
http://cheapindieauthor.blogspot.com/2010_02_01_archive.html

Well, as the cheap indie author, I selected: Lightning Source, TextStream, and Createspace. Why? Because I wanted to be able to offer my book to bookstores while maintaining maximum control over pricing, discounts, and returnability.

• I had complete control over my cover design. With many full service PODs, they use templates and stock photos that make your book look "self-published."
• I have the technical savvy to set up my own files.
• I hired my own editors and got a better perspective because I used someone directly from the publishing industry. With those services, you don't know the professional history of the editors that work on your book.
• I could offer returnability at no cost, something most companies charge $699
• I designed my own book interior (Design Wizard - $37--Google it)
• I controlled my own pricing--for free. Most do not allow you to set your own price. I went to the bookstore, checked out the prices on books similar to mine, and set the price accordingly.
• I can set my own wholesale discount for FREE; this allowed me to set a standard wholesale discount.
• Createspace is an Amazon company, so they take the lowest discount for Amazon sales (40%); Through anyone else they usually require 55%. So by using Createpace, I'm keeping more royalty.

So, to sum up, before you sign up for ANY POD, if you endeavor to get into bookstores ask the following questions.

• Can I set my own price?
• Can I use my own ISBN?
• Is the agreement non-exclusive? (A MUST--if you want to work with multiple companies)
• What wholesale discount do you offer to retailers, Amazon? Can I set my own discount?
• Do you offer book returnability? How much does this service cost?
• Which distribution channels do I have access to (Ingram and/or Baker & Tayor a MUST)

Mixed Service Companies: These companies let you do things your way. If you need more services you can get them. But if you don't need the services, you could potentially publish your book for FREE.

• Createspace: Cheapest package: Free; Set Your Own Price - Yes, Free; Set your own wholesale discount - No; Distribution - Expanded Distribution With ProPlan ($39) - Yes, Ingram, Baker & Taylor, Amazon. Wholesale discount - 40% Amazon, Bookstores ??? (author gives up 60%, we don't know what goes to the retailer).

Minimal Service. These companies provide you with printing services and access to distribution channels ONLY. No editing, no book design, no marketing, no nothing. They are the cheapest because they don't offer these services. You have to format and submit your own files in PDF format. But they give you the most direct access to the distribution channels because they are owned by the distributors. This means, instead of the middle man, you're working directly with the companies and your books get listed much more quickly from the point of signing up. These companies work with major publishers, like the Hachette Group, on a regular basis. So they don't just work with authors, they work with presses of all sizes and prominence.

• • Lightning Source - $37.50 book interior upload ; $37.50 bookcover upload; $30 for proof (includes overnight delivery); $12 for listing with Ingram; Set your own price - Yes, Free; Set your own wholesale discount - yes, Free; Book Return - Yes, cost to print book +$1.00; Baker and Taylor, Ingram (Listing to Baker & Taylor takes 4-6 months, Ingram - Immediately)
  • TextStream - $30 file set up; listing with Baker & Taylor; Set your own price - Yes, Free; Set your own wholesale discount - Yes, Free; Book Return - Yes, Free; Distribution - Baker and Taylor (immediately).

Goals: To get my book onto as many major book retailers as possible. To get my book on bookstore shelves. Getting onto online retailers seemed to be the easiest thing. Getting into bookstores, not easy AT ALL. Through my research, I found out that you need several things to get into bookstores.

• You book must be set at a retail price comparable to similar books on the market.
• You must offer a standard industry discount typically between 40-55%.
• Your book should be returnable. That means, if a retailer can't sell it, they can send it back to you for a refund.
• Your book should be available through a major distributor (Ingram, Baker & Taylor)
• It should have a professional-looking cover and interior.

Ok-I have a question. Those are great sites, but what if i am SO very computer handicaped that i can't do the cover, the formatting,
and all the other stuff. Can i pay some money for one of those sites
to do it ALL for me? I mean after i get someone to edit it I would just like to upload/download it to the site and let them iron out all
the kinks. Can i do that with one of the sites above for a reasonable
price under $500? I'm very new at this! I am half done typing my
book in Word. I'm lucky i could do Word. I save it and i also save it
on a cd.

Thanks. I wrote down the information. I didn't realize how very
complicated it is to do all this. The writing is the easy part! I bought
a book on doing it all, but it was all greek to me!

It is a lot of work. I've learned html, css, WordPress, more features in MSWord, yWriter, PDF files, GIMP (photo editor), Dreamweaver, and so much more. I also had to pay for an editor for my book and pay for a cover designer. So...save up some money and take some computer classes, and save up some money again for the rest of the stuff you'll need to buy (i.e. software). Self-publishing is a journey in itself.

I'm not talking about A lot of classes, or taking a college or ITT-Tech course. Just a basic PC class. There are a lot of simple classes a person can take in your local community that are under $60 dollars. Maybe even less than that.

To me, paying someone to do all the work for you costs a lot more. If I had to pay for a web designer, and someone to format my book, then someone to convert the book to the right guidelines ...per print service ...and then also (being without PC skill) hire someone to upload the book, and help with blogging...that would be a nightmare in costs.

The question of "when would you have time to write?" well... not sure if everyone has that kind of money to put out. So you have to put the time in somewhere. Then there's the PR stuff. Promoting yourself takes away from writing as well.

All that...there's no time to write...unless you have the money.

Currently, I'm saving up for a PR dude because the rest of the stuff I do myself, is time consuming enough (but saves money). But I DEFINITELY don't have time for the PR stuff. That's Way too much time to do. Thus more money to put out for someone to do something I can't do myself.

It all depends on the person on where they can shave off the costs and what they can afford. Because to pay...there's got to be time to save up that money.

Please do not undertake this in a light manner.
The writing it IS the easy part.
There is a horrible stigma among authors looking down on those who self-publish because they put together a terrible book. It makes all self-published authors look bad.

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Great advice! Self-publishing is serious business.

Self-published books don't have to fit the stereotype of "poorly written, unedited and full of errors with an amateurish cover", because authors who self-pub have the choice at every step of the way as to what their final product is going to be like. It is up to each of us to decide what kind of quality.

I know that it is possible for a first-time author to self-publish a book that is of professional quality, because one of them fooled my editor who normally won't even read a self-pubbed book.

If you don't have the skills to do all of the work on your own, then get crafty and figure out how to aquire them on the cheap or how to get work done at little or no cost.

There was a time when it was acceptable, even cute, to not have good computer skills. That time has passed.

Check your local public library, ours offers free computer classes, yours might as well. Colleges and universities offer continuing education classes that will also teach you what you need to know.

If you are proficient in Word, you can use the Createspace and other templates to prepare your manuscript for uploading. It won't be as perfect as one that is done by someone who knows what to look for when it comes to typesetting issues, but I got acceptable results when I did my input into the CS template I downloaded. I did quite a bit of tweaking, though.

If you have a local college/university, see if you can find an art or design student willing to do your cover as a project for a class. They get credit for that class and you can get it done for free.

Focus

iloveyou said:

Please do not undertake this in a light manner.
The writing it IS the easy part.
There is a horrible stigma among authors looking down on those who self-publish because they put together a terrible book. It makes all self-published authors look bad.

Click to expand...

I'd like to quote that again as well. That is very important to stick in one's head.

I'm seeing misinformation here. You can print with Lightning Source and discount as little as 25% to Amazon, B&N, etc. You also have wider distribution than anywhere else. I just did it, and I'd be happy to answer questions. You'll need to educate yourself to print with LSI, but there are plenty of blogs out there to guide you.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=Black+Dog+Matt+Syverson

Discounts

bowiefan1970 said:

I'm seeing misinformation here. You can print with Lightning Source and discount as little as 25% to Amazon, B&N, etc.

Click to expand...

Hey there, I'm strongly considering Lightning Source. I had been on the Lulu road, but once I discovered they were essentially a middle man, I headed in the other direction.

While I envision my novel to be bought primarily online, as it is LGBT-themed, there is the possibility that a few of the last remaining gay bookstores out there may want to stock it.

My question is about the discounts and returns. Given that the most cost-effective way to print is on demand with NO return policy, with a smaller discount, and yet bookstores want the 55% WITH return, is there a way to achieve both, going through Lightning Source?

Or do you need to go through multiple printers, like CS for Amazon, LS for Ingram, etc.?

Any info would be appreciated!

You can set whatever discount you want, and you can take returns, with LS.

After a lot of research and a recent shift in sales on Amazon for some of my friends, I would recommend using both Lightning Source and Create Space to ensure maximum sales at Amazon.

The important thing is to have your own ISBNs if you want to operate as a publisher (obviously not the only important thing, but for wider distribution to bookstores, it's vital to use Lightning Source).

http://www.svrowle.com/2011/07/lightning-source-problems-at-amazon/

The Think Like a Publisher series is really an excellent source of information and has a couple of sections about distribution to independent bookstores:

http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?page_id=3736

The whole series is useful, though the specifics of print distribution are in chapters 4, 8, and 9, I think.