[Publishing svcs] CreateSpace

TNTales · May 4, 2012

Thoughts on CreateSpace?

I understand it's a vanity press, but I was wondering if anyone had any stories about their experiences and any bewares or recommends. I tried searching the forum but I couldn't find a thread with this title. I've seen a few authors on here who've put out their books that way, just wanting the low down.

Al Stevens · May 4, 2012

Why do you think it's a vanity press? You never have to send them a dime if you don't want to.

I published two niche books with CS. Recently I built a title that I don't intend for public consumption in paperback (the e-book is available), but that I will sell to my niche market.

CS is good to work with. Their product is typical contemporary POD, their customer support is outstanding, the online development process is intuitive, their service is fast and efficient, and their author costs are reasonable, considering it's POD.

The only complaint I have is with their audio CD production. The per-copy artist cost is too high to make it economically feasible to use for any reasonable quantities, and their shipping and handling charges are way higher than they ought to be.

michael_b · May 4, 2012

TNTales said:
I understand it's a vanity press, but I was wondering if anyone had any stories about their experiences and any bewares or recommends. I tried searching the forum but I couldn't find a thread with this title. I've seen a few authors on here who've put out their books that way, just wanting the low down.

CreateSpace is owned by Amazon. I know of several authors/publishers who use them for print option on books that would otherwise only be available as ebooks. (I'm actually considering it for a few of my e-only titles.)

I know of one author who self-published through CreateSpace and now has her books out through Tor.

Revit · May 5, 2012

I published recently through CreateSpace and have been pleased with the results. Quality is good, service was good. Like all self-publishing, you do a lot of it yourself, or you pay for the extra services.

I had published previously through 48-hrbooks. Their quality was very good, service was also good, and they are quick on the turnaround. I had to get my own cover (their stock covers were limited and I didn't care for any of them) and that cost money. I also paid for a proof copy, but those were the only costs. I left them for CreateSpace because it would have cost me to get an ISBN number and to be listed on Amazon. I handled the distribution for that first book myself.

CreateSpace includes a free ISBN and listing on Amazon. I was able to use one of their stock covers, so that cost was eliminated. The only cost to me was a proof copy.

If I was looking for national distribution and publicity, I would go to a traditional publisher, but since I knew my audience was limited I found POD self-publishing more than adequate. I'm very pleased with the results, but, as I said before, you've got to do a lot of work: editing, formating, cover, etc. It is not for the faint of heart--or the lazy!

Brigid Barry · May 19, 2012

Amazon Kindle Direct/ Createspace

I read through the Amazon and Createspace (owner by Amazon) terms of service.

Their content guidelines isn't really clear. Something to the tune of "what we deem inappropriate content is about what you'd expect".

I understand they can also pull your book and keep your royalties if you violate their terms of service.

What are the experiences with Amazon.com and CreateSpace? I know Amazon only pulled the pedophile how-to guide when thousands of people threatened to boycott, what about erotica, fanfic, etc?

CreateSpace seems like a good idea if I can't get published traditionally but there's that saying about "if it's too good to be true..."

Al Stevens · May 19, 2012

KateM said:
CreateSpace seems like a good idea if I can't get published traditionally but there's that saying about "if it's too good to be true..."

It's good, but not too good to be true. There are some kinds of niche books that cannot find a publisher because the market isn't big enough to justify the cost and having a title in their library of the subject matter adds nothing to the publisher's prestige.

I published two such titles with CreateSpace, mentioned above. The books sell well at conventions and from websites dedicated to the subject matter.

POD is best for those kinds of books because, although sales are okay for private distribution, numbers are too low to justify an offset run.

HistorySleuth · May 19, 2012

I'm going to self-publish through createspace. My book is non-fiction (cover in my siggy) and really rather a local niche thing. So it is very good for things like that. Plus, some people just like to go that route. The profit margin for POD was much better than Lulu.

I think folks wanting to go this route will find more about Createspace in the self-publishing forums.

MrsCogan · May 20, 2012

KateM said:
I read through the Amazon and Createspace (owner by Amazon) terms of service.

Their content guidelines isn't really clear. Something to the tune of "what we deem inappropriate content is about what you'd expect".

I understand they can also pull your book and keep your royalties if you violate their terms of service.

What are the experiences with Amazon.com and CreateSpace? I know Amazon only pulled the pedophile how-to guide when thousands of people threatened to boycott, what about erotica, fanfic, etc?

CreateSpace seems like a good idea if I can't get published traditionally but there's that saying about "if it's too good to be true..."

My understanding that adult-oriented erotica is fine but fan fic is not. Fan fic violates copyright. Doing unspeakable things to a rutabaga is good. Writing a Buffy novel without permission is bad.

Amazon and Createspace are only too good to be true depending on your definition of "good." The average Createspace author sells fewer than 50 copies of a title. Depending on the quality of the book Kindle sales can be a bit better.

As always, the quality of the work is key. A really great book may take a quite a while to find its audience. A really bad book will not sell if it stays on the Amazon servers for 100 years. A really good book just needs an author who can do the right kind of promotion and help people discover it. A bad book can't be helped if the author stands on her head and whistles "Dixie."

MrsCogan · May 20, 2012

HistorySleuth said:
I'm going to self-publish through createspace. My book is non-fiction (cover in my siggy) and really rather a local niche thing. So it is very good for things like that. Plus, some people just like to go that route. The profit margin for POD was much better than Lulu.

I think folks wanting to go this route will find more about Createspace in the self-publishing forums.

Absolutely fabulous cover! Whoever your artist is, shower him/her with kisses!

Lulu is good if you just need a bound copy to mail to your Dad or a couple of copies to share with your church book discussion group. I like the fact that you can get copies without putting it up for sale. You can do that with Creatspace but it's more cumbersome.

If you are planning to publish a paper version of your book for sale to the general public, Createspace is the best way to go.

HistorySleuth · May 21, 2012

Thank you MrsCogan. He is a friend of mine. The original is a huge painting. As soon as I saw it, I knew it was the cover. He said yes right away.

Jess Haines · Mar 5, 2013

Saw this float by in my Twitter stream:

http://jeanettevaughan.wordpress.com/2012/09/28/do-amazon-and-createspace-rip-off-indie-publishers-with-failure-to-correctly-report-sales/

By August, it was clear there were gross in accuracies. The 30 copies ordered from Barnes and Noble never showed up. Few if any sales were listed for August. Yet the author had confirmation of over 4,000 copies in distribution worldwide. The crowning blow came in September. A plan was devised. A friend, agreed to help with the investigation. She ordered a copy of FLYING SOLO on September 7th, taking screen shots of her order and confirmation of payment directly from Amazon. She printed out here receipt showing date and time of purchase. The book arrived on September 13, to San Jose, California. Photos were taken. The sale was complete. Copies of all screenshots and receipts were scanned and sent to the author. By September 20th, no sales were shown at all on Createspaces report. Phoning Createspace, the author was informed that no sales were showing for Amazon for the month for that title. It was time for outrage! What had been suspected, had now been proven. Not once, but twice

I know sometimes when you have POD printer you won't see all of the direct sales if the distributor purchased in bulk, but I'm wondering if there's something bigger going on here that merits discussion/investigation.

Anyone else run into this problem? Thoughts?

Donna Pudick · Mar 9, 2013

I know a few authors who have published with them. You must keep in mind that 1. you should always get a proof copy and 2. read it backwards. The authors who do a thorough proofreading get a nice book, the ones who don't, don't.

Al Stevens · Mar 9, 2013

Jess Haines said:
Anyone else run into this problem? Thoughts?

I got an email last month from Createspace apologizing for their failure to pay royalties for January and earlier months. The payments got caught up at the end of February.

Looks like they're having problems in accounts payable and working to fix them.

CaoPaux · Nov 11, 2013

Although most discussion of CreateSpace occurs in the Self-Publishing forum, I just wanted to note that their Expanded Distribution is currently free.

BeronikaKeres · Feb 5, 2016

Createspace editors?

Sorry if a post has been made about this before, but has anyone used any of the editing services at Createspace? What is it like to work with them? Is it worth it? Would you recommend it?

Here is a link to what I'm talking about https://www.createspace.com/pub/services.home.do?tab=EDITING

Old Hack · Feb 6, 2016

I've not worked with anyone from CreateSpace, as far as I know. But I have reviewed a LOT of books which had been edited by various publishing services: Author Solutions, for example.

It's difficult to know if the results I saw were the responsiblity of the editors, as writers can always override the suggestions their editors give them. But the books all needed more editing, and better editing. They were not good.

In trade publishing, junior editors are monitored and mentored very closely. They get years of training before they are let loose on books. But few of those editors end up working for self-publishing service providers: they mostly remain in trade publishing. The editors I've spoken to, who do work in such service providers, were generally English undergraduates earning some money, who were told to correct grammar and spelling and then left to get on with it.

This is not what a good editor does.

Just my opinion, and experience.

Richard White · Feb 6, 2016

I have a friend who's an editor, who described doing a four day copy-edit on a person's story, only for the author to write "STET" on the cover and the book was published sans any edits.

Needless to say, my friend made sure his name was NOT on the book as editor.

Aggy B. · Feb 7, 2016

I am not using CreateSpace distribution services. I am using them to print batches of books to sell at conventions or through Gumroad. So far I am satisfied with the quality. Two of the books had damage to the spines (where the glossy coat had smeared) but they replaced those very promptly and free of charge. I did opt for the shiny finish because the matte finish books I've seen from them did not look great. Not sure how they hold up to long term use yet, but I don't have the $2-3k to plunk down for an offset print run so this is my next best option.

eqb · Feb 7, 2016

I used Createspace to print a limited print edition of my novella. The print quality of the proof was excellent. The matte finish was lovely and the color was crisp and vivid. My order of 100 copies...not so good. The print quality was still very good, but the copies were printed at a noticeable angle.

To their credit, Amazon sent me replacement copies right away. They told me the difference was which printing facility produced the books.

PeteDutcher · Mar 2, 2016

eqb said:
I used Createspace to print a limited print edition of my novella. The print quality of the proof was excellent. The matte finish was lovely and the color was crisp and vivid. My order of 100 copies...not so good. The print quality was still very good, but the copies were printed at a noticeable angle.

To their credit, Amazon sent me replacement copies right away. They told me the difference was which printing facility produced the books.

Did you have to ship back the damaged books? At your cost?

Aggy B. · Mar 2, 2016

PeteDutcher said:
Did you have to ship back the damaged books? At your cost?

I didn't. They have the ability to attach a photo to any customer service complaint so it was fairly obvious that the two books in my shipment were damaged. If it were a really large quantity, I suppose they might want to check them, but I would expect them to pay return shipping (as it is their error).

eqb · Mar 2, 2016

PeteDutcher said:
Did you have to ship back the damaged books? At your cost?

Actually, no. It was all quite cost- and stress-free.

Their policy says they will pay for return shipping, but I guess in this case, they simply didn't bother about asking for the damaged ones back.

brainstorm77 · Mar 2, 2016

Chiming in to say that I ordered 40 copies of one of my print books and I never received the shipment. I contacted them about it and they sent me another shipment which I did get without any problems. They were very easy to deal with.

PeteDutcher · Mar 2, 2016

thanks for the rapid answer, because I am ordering my first books through them next week.

- - - Updated - - -

eqb said:
.

I really like those covers of yours!

tbrosz · Mar 2, 2016

I published the paper version of my first book using Createspace. If you have the ability to produce the book and cover on your own, it costs nothing. Last time I looked, even the sample copy was optional, but it's highly recommended. For one thing, it's the only reliable way to make sure your cover art lines up right on the book.

I use Adobe InDesign to generate the book layout and final PDF copy for the interiors. I used my somewhat limited digital painting and modeling skills for the cover.

Keep in mind that getting the book on Amazon is the easy part. Marketing it so it doesn't sink out of sight in a sea of other such books is what's hard. Successful Amazon self-publishers are often people who are already riding a wave of support for their work from previous social site exposure or other such things. My online social presence is pretty weak. When was the last post to my blog again?

It would be nice if Createspace had a hardcover option, but I suspect the costs are prohibitive. I have also printed Lulu hardcover versions, but they are costly enough to be basically unsellable to the general public. They make great review, library, and gift copies, though.

[Publishing svcs] CreateSpace

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