Questions Regarding Print Copies of eBooks

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Whimsical Writing

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Hello,

I have a few questions about having print copies available of my ebooks. I was thinking of using Createspace. On their site, they have a tool to estimate costs and royalties based upon page numbers and trim sizes. Here are my questions:

1. What page count do you use? eBook page counts (which vary btwn epub and mobi), MS Word page counts, etc?

2. Depending on the size and page counts, the book is expensive! Is it worth it? Who would pay $10-12 for a paperback nowadays?

3. What trim sizes do you prefer and why?

Thanks guys. I always appreciate your time and input in response to my questions.
 

Literateparakeet

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1. What page count do you use? eBook page counts (which vary btwn epub and mobi), MS Word page counts, etc?

Use the word count

2. Depending on the size and page counts, the book is expensive! Is it worth it? Who would pay $10-12 for a paperback nowadays?

I would be surprised if it is actually that much. Mine aren't. but they are short . . . Anyway, some magazines cost $10 these days. Put in your word coutn to get an accurate price. I think it will be something reasonable.

3. What trim sizes do you prefer and why?

5.5 x 8.5 Because I've read in a couple places that that is the best size.

Createspace is great to work with. They make the process as painless as possible. :)
 

WriterBN

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POD is generally a low-margin option; you have to price your book competitively, even if you only end up making a few cents with expanded distribution. It does give your readers who prefer print that option, but your sales are most likely to come from e-books.
 

Whimsical Writing

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Thanks for the input! The problem is, Createspace asks for the number of pages, with no ability to switch it to word counts. Am I missing something? I searched but I didn't find the royalty estimator in anything but page count.
 

Whimsical Writing

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Thanks WriterBN, and veinglory. It looks like very slim margins.
 

slhuang

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The page count for Createspace is the page count of your typeset book. It will end up different depending on what trim size you use (and what font, spacing, etc. you or your typesetter use). You might find this recent thread helpful; I asked a similar question and got a ton of great feedback.
 

Laer Carroll

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CreateSpace makes matters about as easy as it can get to publish POD books. But I use CS only for completeness. Very few of my books sell that way. So far most people buy the ebooks, most from Amazon, few from B&N, none from Apple.

My latest book I'm trying the trade publication route, starting with finding an agent. But I created a POD version anyway, because I've found that I find problems in a book format that I don't find in MS or ebook formats. (It cost me $5.50 plus postage for a 116,000 word book.)
 

veinglory

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They need to know the actual page count for cost quotes--which will depend largely on how you format the manuscript. If you download the free Word template and dump your manuscript in that will give reasonable a estimate.
 
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