Must You Publish a Print Book?

Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/RobinHiggins-1321953/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=3061646">Robin Higgins</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=3061646">Pixabay</a>Sometimes when you’re cruising the intertubes, something jumps out at you that makes you want to spit out your coffee. For me, it was a gem of advice in a Q&A on Quora.

The query, edited for length, was: “What do traditional publishers provide that self-publishing doesn’t?” The question drew the typical answers: a cover from a professional cover designer (which indies can also buy), great editing (ditto), marketing assistance (a little harder, but doable – and midlist authors at traditional houses often have to find help, too), and placement of your book at brick-and-mortar stores (okay, I’ll give them that one – although it’s not impossible for indies).

But it was this throwaway line at the end of one comment that caused my spit-take: “Don’t forget to do a POD print edition, even if its layout is pure template-driven and it’s not up to pro standards in production values. Ebooks with print editions sell better than ebooks without.”

There’s so much here to unpack. Continue reading “Must You Publish a Print Book?”

Publishing on IngramSpark Is Easy

ingramspark-logoAs you may have heard, Createspace is being absorbed by KDP Print. Many folks expressed interest in finding a different publisher/distributor for their print books. Indies Unlimited has had articles comparing different paperback options and explaining how to move books from CreateSpace IngramSpark, but we haven’t had one yet that shows you how easy it is to publish directly to IngramSpark.

For some reason, authors seem to be intimidated by IngramSpark, but it’s really quite simple to navigate. The most difficult part of publishing to IngramSpark is making sure your manuscript is ready. I’ve never had a manuscript that worked for CreateSpace not work for IngramSpark. After all, 6×9 is 6×9; there’s no reason for a manuscript not to work on both. Continue reading “Publishing on IngramSpark Is Easy”

Createspace: One Author’s Opinion

createspace logoCreatespace, for the uninitiated, is a paperback creation and distribution platform – currently owned by Amazon. With little understanding, and as cheap as free, you can design and publish paperbacks. By free I mean they will even provide you with ISBN numbers. Which is something, as far as I know, no other company currently does. They do provide a rather basic cover creator if you’re in a pinch, but I’d recommend finding other means for a cover. There are plenty of premade covers out there for cheap. Many of them will come in correct dimensions, including spine depth. This is an important thing to consider when publishing a paperback for the first time, because it’s also the single most difficult part of the process. Continue reading “Createspace: One Author’s Opinion”

KDP Print Division Now Offers Proof and Author Copies

kdps print division paperback book-408302_960_720It appears Amazon is serious about recruiting indie authors to try their new paperback publishing option. Last week, the Zon sent an email to KDP users saying they have begun offering print proofs and author copies for paperbacks published through KDP.

If you’re unfamiliar with the terms: A print proof is a paperback of your unpublished book. Authors order print proofs when they would rather mark up a hard copy, or if they don’t trust themselves to catch every error when reviewing a digital proof. CreateSpace puts a watermark on the last page of its print proofs. KDP will instead put a watermark on the cover that says “Not for Resale.”  Continue reading “KDP Print Division Now Offers Proof and Author Copies”