Createspace is $25 for wider distribution worth it?

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rebekahmichel

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I just signed up on createspace and was wondering for those authors who have self published through them, was it worth it to pay the extra $25 to distribute through other channels (i.e. libraries and barnes & noble)?
 

merrihiatt

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I just signed up on createspace and was wondering for those authors who have self published through them, was it worth it to pay the extra $25 to distribute through other channels (i.e. libraries and barnes & noble)?

I like having both paperback and e-book formats available through several sales channels so, for me, yes, it's worth it.

If your question is, "Have you made back the cost in royalties?", my answer is yes on some paperback books and no on others.
 

PulpDogg

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How exactly does the $25 wider distribution option work and how does it affect the price of the book?
 

Amarie

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How exactly does the $25 wider distribution option work and how does it affect the price of the book?

I signed up for it but didn't use it, because I would have to change the price of my 8.99 paperback to 11.99, and then I would make only $0.80 royalty. $11.99 was too high to keep the book competitive with similar books in the genre.
 

CDancourt

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More exposure is always a good thing. However, beware that it will require you boost the print copy price. Good luck!
 

Gillhoughly

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I added the extended distribution package as part of the normal costs and left it at that.

The royalties drop when the book sells via a third party--say a bookstore orders copies to sell.

I get about 1.00 per copy through third party and library sales. The rest of the time it's 25% royalties on a 14.00 trade size soft cover.

That same book with a commercial house would get me 8% of half the cover price. So even at 1.00 per sale I have better earnings.

HOWEVER-- for each print copy sold I sell 30-40 e-copies.

Last month I'd sold 2 print copies and 1 extended distribution copy.

I make a 70% royalty on the ebooks, so I can sell at 3.99 and still make more than the print book.

The other HOWEVER for a print edition:

Since it is self-published, bookstores and libraries are not likely to order it. You might get 3rd party only booksellers, but that's about it.

I saw one had my title on his e-store for about 50 bucks. He must be hoping that someone spots my name and misses the 14.00 and 3.99 copies right next to it in the listings.

My advantage is that I'm commercially published, have been for 20+ years and when a reader looks for new titles on Amazon or B&N the self-pub books appear on the results page. I have the Look Inside feature and first chapters on my website.

I'm not discouraging your getting the extended distribution, but unless you're certain you'll be selling a lot of copies--for me, 5-10 are a LOT of print copies!--it's probably not cost effective.

Perhaps other writers who promote more sell more. I'm pro published, and a damn good writer, but sometimes that's just not enough.

I would suggest holding off until you've earned that 25.00 in print sales, then put that money into the extended package. That way you stay in the black!
 

PulpDogg

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I am still not quite sure I understand. The $25 fee is a one-time thing, right? Why does the price in Amaries example jump from $8.99 to $11.99 because of the wider distribution option?
 

J. Tanner

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Someone with direct experience will need to confirm, but I'm pretty sure it's along the lines of CreateSpace/Amazon effectively taking one cut since they're the same entity, while adding another retail business into the loop means someone else wanting a piece of the pie. So you need a higher price to account for the minimum amount they expect to be paid to carry the book.
 

merrihiatt

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Someone with direct experience will need to confirm, but I'm pretty sure it's along the lines of CreateSpace/Amazon effectively taking one cut since they're the same entity, while adding another retail business into the loop means someone else wanting a piece of the pie. So you need a higher price to account for the minimum amount they expect to be paid to carry the book.

Exactly.

I would suggest holding off until you've earned that 25.00 in print sales, then put that money into the extended package. That way you stay in the black!

Great idea!
 

Amarie

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Someone with direct experience will need to confirm, but I'm pretty sure it's along the lines of CreateSpace/Amazon effectively taking one cut since they're the same entity, while adding another retail business into the loop means someone else wanting a piece of the pie. So you need a higher price to account for the minimum amount they expect to be paid to carry the book.

That's what I assumed. Actually, if I start the process of enabling the wider distribution, it tells me my minimum price has to be 11.19 based on the length of my book. That would be selling it without any profit. I just picked 11.99 as the most likely price I would set to see any payback.
 
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