Should indie authors move their books from CreateSpace to Kindle Direct Publishing? ALLi's Watchdog Desk examines the pros and cons of Amazon's new beta feature, KDP Paperbacks.
***UPDATE: Amazon's CreateSpace service has now been superseded by its new KDPPrint service. ALLi now recommends using KDPPrint and IngramSpark together to publish your paperback books. For a guide on migrating your CreateSpace books to KDPPrint, read this post by our Watchdog John Doppler.***
The integration of ebook and print-on-demand publishing on Amazon is something authors have been requesting for years, so the introduction of KDP Paperbacks was greeted with interest. Let's examine what KDP Paperbacks has to offer in the early stages of its rollout.
Setup
For new titles, the print setup duplicates KDP's easy-to-use ebook setup.
There is a limited utility for moving an existing CreateSpace title to KDP, but in most cases, you will need to repeat the setup process, re-entering the metadata, uploading the manuscript and cover files, and selecting the trim and paper options.
If you republish the paperback through KDP and indicate that it was originally published on CreateSpace, it will be automatically removed from CreateSpace.
Covers created with older CreateSpace templates may trigger errors, and will need to be reformatted to remove the whitespace at the borders. Covers created with the KDP Cover Creator feature may raise errors during the preview phase, as the lower resolution artwork is intended for ebooks. (Most authors will provide their own cover art. Nevertheless, the inclusion of this non-functional feature in KDP Paperbacks left this watchdog scratching his head.)
Royalties
The Amazon help pages on KDP royalties are ambiguously worded: “Paperback royalty rates are 60% of your list price minus printing costs, applicable taxes and withholding.” Even within Amazon's support team, it was unclear from this description whether printing costs are deducted before or after the royalty split, a question that has a significant effect on royalties.
After several exchanges with Amazon, we now have official confirmation (and independent verification) that KDP payout calculations are functionally identical to CreateSpace: they are (List Price * 60%) – Printing Costs.
Imprints
The imprint listed on your Amazon sales page will depend on the ISBN used. Books published with an Amazon-provided free ISBN will be listed as “Publisher: Independently published” on Amazon's site. Books published with an ISBN you provide will match the ISBN registrar's data.
Proof Copies
At-cost author copies and proof copies are not currently available through KDP. Amazon plans to offer these features at an indefinite time in the future, but at present, the lack of print proofs and author copies without markup are serious shortcomings for KDP Paperbacks.
Print Quality
KDP's print on demand service uses the same network of printers as CreateSpace, so there should be no difference in quality beyond the occasional printing issues CreateSpace experiences. A few custom trim sizes are unavailable through KDP, but the most popular industry standard sizes are all available.
Distribution
Expanded distribution is not yet available through KDP Paperbacks. For authors who publish exclusively within the Amazon ecosystem or those who distribute through Ingram Spark, that's not a critical concern, but it's a potential deal breaker for authors seeking a convenient “one stop” solution for publishing.
KDP Paperbacks has the ability to distribute to Amazon's site in Japan, a feature which CreateSpace lacks. That's a potential advantage for international authors.
Reporting
KDP Paperback sales and ebook sales appear on the same monthly sales and royalty reports, which is a welcome convenience.
Reliability
Several ALLi authors have reported technical issues when publishing through KDP Paperbacks, particularly in assigning their own ISBN to a book and in linking the print version with the ebook version. While linking issues aren't uncommon when publishing through CreateSpace, some authors needed several rounds of communication with KDP's tech support before the issues were resolved. This suggests rough edges in KDP Paperbacks' internal processes that will need to be polished.
Conclusion
KDP Paperbacks is a promising new venture from Amazon, one that promises strong advantages over CreateSpace. Unfortunately, the lack of expanded distribution, author copies, and print proofs limit the usefulness of the service at this time.
Until Amazon implements those missing features and works the kinks out of their internal publishing process, most authors would be better served by CreateSpace.
Keep in mind that the program is in beta, and some rough spots are to be expected. We look forward to the evolution of KDP Paperbacks, and will follow up with new information as Amazon continues to enhance the service.
OVER TO YOU
Have you used KDP Paperbacks? Share your experience in the comments below.
RELATED POSTS
Create Space was much better than authors being forced to use kindle! I hate being forced onto KDP, its not better, Create space was great, I do not like kindle, kindle books are not owned by the author, print books are, this is very ominous, and those that give this a pass I have to take their advice with a big grain of salt, it doesn’t make sense.
I hate being forced onto KDP, its not better, Create space was great, I do not like kindle, kindle books are not owned by the author, print books are, this is very ominous, and those that give this a pass I have to take their advice with a big grain of salt, it doesn’t make sense.
If I move my paperbacks from Createspace to KDP what happens to any royalties under $100 left in Createspace which can’t be paid out?
Helping friend with non-fiction manuscript – first attempt at e-publishing. He told me to use CS, but it is clear that option is waning. KDP seems possibly sketchy from reading these blogs. Ingram is an unknown- please advise. I got one shot at this, and am under deadline pressure.
Hi. I’m confused. I’ve just put my book on Createspace and from there clicked to add it to Kindle. On Kindle I have a choice between Kindle and KDP Select. As far as I understand it’s just KDP Select that says if you publish on there then it cannot be published anywhere else. My question is, after what I’ve read on here, should I not add my book to Kindle at all or just not to KDP if not why not when Createspace give you that opportunity? I haven’t actually published on Kindle yet and would appreciate any advice.
Thanks.
A recent change has been made by Amazon when working with CreateSpace. Now when your book description is passed to Amazon from CreateSpace, Amazon ignores all carriage returns embedded in the text file. Although CreateSpace says “Plain Text is the preferrred format for your description”, that is no longer true, unless your description is a single paragraph. If it is a multiple line paragraph, Amazon will turn it into one paragraph.
This is true for CreateSpace PODs (paperbacks) that have been on Amazon for years and the Carriage Returns works as planned. Better check them out. All your pargraph breaks are now gone. The Kindle book description is still good, just the CreateSpace POD on Amazon is messed up.
This is an Amazon change, not a CreateSpace change. Your carriage returns are all still OK on Barnes & Noble – so neither CS of Ingram are eliminating the Carriage Returns.
You will now need to go back to your CreateSpace description and add HTML tags to your description so it appears correctly on Amazon. Making this change will not affect your text on Ingram or Baker & Taylor. They also accept the HTML tags.
This is a sneaky little change. How many authors check both their EBook and paperback presentation on Amazon on a regular basis? If you check your book, Amazon defaults to the EBook version.
I self published with Createspace, owned by Amazon, from beginning to end.
My paperback was sold via Createspace and ebook via KDP. I feel KDP wanted my paperback too. So they placed a button on KDP where my eBook was sold. I did not understand what it was. I clicked into it and no option was given if I wanted to move my paperback to KDP or not. And, it was done! I feel KDP is very manipulative, and be warned of it. Now, my Createspace account has been closed. I cannot see any works eg manuscript of the book and the editing stages. Thankfully, I had copied my manuscript as a document.
If I want to move back to Createspace, I have to use another ISBN. This means changing the inside info of the book too! No, No. No. This will be too too much work and costs.
With Createspace you deal with USA staff, and with KDP it seems you deal with India. KDP has been very hard work. I had to set up everything again in the book product section. Changes on KDP are very hard and you have to request it. Requested changes just do not take place either! Just too much “talking” and promises from KDP.
Even emails to Amazon Executive dept now goes overseas and issues do not get resolved. The email for Executive is: [email protected]. Previously, it was fantastic. Now, it is sluggish and it goes from one person to another, and from one country to another. I doubt if they even understand the problem!!
I love Amazon for buying though. Selling as a self published author has been very very hard work. Also, sadly, Amazon has made too many enemies with traditional publishers, and now some traditional book agents will not touch the book from Createspace. This is because I am now looking for a literary agent or publisher. Self publishing has not worked for me! I will not do it again, as it looks.
ADDiTION: i would use Createspace again though. They were very professional. Editors were qualified from School of Editors. But, i will use them only for editing and writing a marketing blurb. Editing will also identify your genre as it may not be as you think it is. It is much cheaper than UK. Then i will take my edited manuscript and apply to a few literary agents in the UK. The book is ready forvthem to resd without eg spelling errors. The marketing blurb helps when writing a covering letter. From experience, self publishing is not working in the UK. Also, it is too costly to market on your own. Cheers.
[…] Should Authors Move From Createspace to KDP Paperbacks? A First Look […]
Nice post! The article at http://www.microsofttut.com/2017/08/review-of-amazon-vs-other-book-publishing-platforms.html gave some benefits of publishing both on Amazon KDP and CreateSpace. I think I will try the two.
I made the mistake of going all in on KDP. I will not make it again. Create Space allows you author copies so that you can give some away to book clubs and reviewers and just people that will leave them on the table for others to see. KDP does not.
That alone is a deal breaker.
The reason that i made this mistake was that KDP was not honest in its representations about the service.
Like I said, I will never do this again.
I have just realized the same thing after transferring two paperbacks to KDP. Now, when I took them off KDP and tried to republish on Create Space again so I could buy wholesale, Create Space refuses to allow me to use the same ISBN number!!! Has anyone encountered this and is there a way around it?
KDP has since released Author copies and Proof copies. Based in the UK, this is a key change for me as Createspace is unfeasable for me to do this.
I would be interested in finding out what method you will use now that KDP has this feature.
Thanks,
Conor
[…] Should Authors Move From Createspace to KDP Paperbacks? A First Look […]
[…] Should Authors Move From Createspace to KDP Paperbacks? A First Look […]
[…] new offer is KDP Paperbacks, that might retire CreateSpace soon. Check out this article by John Doppler. . Even Better: FREE Formatting Another route for authors is to use the conversion services offered […]
I’ve found KDP paperbacks very satisfactory – BUT KDP e-book option in a recent change to its terms and conditions no-longer allows you to automatically correct or edit you original text. Apparently to get any changes you have to submit a formal request to an Indian call centre, citing the original text, the correction and the line/page number – and they say they’ll get back to you within a week.
So you have to be damn sure your script is perfect before uploading or your only edit option may be to withdraw your e-book from sale. This is not very author friendly.
If KDP Paperbacks goes the same way, might bbe work looking for alternate e-publishers.
[…] Update: Here’s an article on the topic: KDP Paperbacks: A First Look […]
On the rumour of CreateSpace being closes, Amazon has its own POD arm for professional publishers.
Amazon POD is now redirecting indie authors to KDP rather than CreateSpace. From FAQS:
“7. I am an author and I want to self-publish, can I take advantage of Print-On-Demand to publish my novel?
The information on this website is intended for publishers, however Amazon does offer Print-On-Demand services for authors who want to self-publish. Please visit kdp.amazon.com for more information.
8. What is the difference between CreateSpace and Amazon Print-On-Demand services?
CreateSpace is a service through which both independent authors and publishers using POD can upload and manage their titles. For publishers uploading titles in bulk and with more specific requirements as a publisher of multiple titles, Amazon’s Print-on-Demand services may be more appropriate. For authors, signing up to Kindle Direct Publishing is the best option for publishing titles in both eBook and paperback.”
With Kobo soon to be offering its own POD option with Ingram this should help open up the print market for indies as we wind down this decade.
I’m just getting my first book ready to put on CreateSpace – so what funny timing to see this. Can you tell me what, besides higher royalties would make KDP Paperback preferable to CS? And my book is a full color children’s book. Is that something that KDP will do? Many thanks!
Hi Karen,
At this point, I’m seeing few advantages to KDP Paperbacks.
As we noted in the article update above, Amazon was providing incorrect information about royalties: the payout is the same for CreateSpace and KDP Paperbacks when sold through the Amazon.com sales channels. That eliminates the one strong advantage they appeared to have.
Beyond that, there’s the convenience of a sales report that shows both print and ebook sales, but the disadvantages far outweigh that benefit.
At this time, I would recommend CreateSpace over KDP Paperbacks.
As far as color printing, yes, KDP offers the same color-on-white-paper option that CS does.
Amazon advantage accounts pay the author only 45% of list price, minus printing costs. What sort of account on Amazon pays the author 60%?
That’s the standard formula for royalties for all CreateSpace and KDP Paperback sold through Amazon channels. Titles sold through the CreateSpace storefront offer the author a little more; expanded distribution sales cut into that figure substantially.
https://www.createspace.com/Products/Book/Royalties.jsp
(CreateSpace phrases it as “our share is 40% of list price plus a fixed charge and per-page charge”, but it works out to the same figure.)
[…] to the rest at The Alliance of Independent Authors and thanks to Ryan for the […]
Thanks John – one correction. It is very easy to bring an existing Createspace paperback over to KDP so long as it meets their more limited size criteria. I brought all mine across simply by entering the ISBN and all the metadata, cover and content were imported correctly.
Thanks, David! The import feature wasn’t working for me earlier. Hopefully, they’ve got that running smoothly now.
Thanks so much for this. We have just been through the teeth-pullingly-frustrating process of doing everything through KDP only to pull it 2 weeks later and do EVERYTHING again with CS. Sigh… but
1: your article confirms our experience totally,
2: note that many of the actual steps (which remember we did with both platforms back to back) were MUCH easier in KDP than CS, even though some were harder.
Ultimately I think that CS will cease to exist and in the meantime they are modernizing KDP but not CS… it will become seamless (cough) in time but if you want proof copies, author copies for giveaways and such then CS are the clear winner for now.
Great feedback, thank you!
I agree, this looks like CreateSpace will be phased out eventually. I think that will ultimately be to the author’s benefit, but they’ve got a few wrinkles to iron out first. I’m confident they’ll do that swiftly.
Hi John, as a first time publisher I sincerely want to say thank you for your answers and valuable information
As of today (15 Jan 2018) one can order proofs through KDP.
Quoting:
1. Go to your Bookshelf and find the paperback for which you would like to order a proof.
2. If your paperback is in “Draft” status, the option to request a proof will be enabled in the ellipsis (“…”) menu.
3. Click Request Proof Copies.
4. Select the order quantity. You can order up to 5 copies at a time.
5. Select the Amazon marketplace closest to your shipping destination. The cost will then be displayed. This cost doesn’t include shipping and applicable taxes.
6. Click Submit Proof Request.
7. Within 4 hours of submitting your request, you’ll receive an email with a link to complete your proof order. You must complete your purchase within 24 hours of receiving this email.
8. Once you receive the email and click on the link to complete your order, you’ll be redirected to the Amazon Shopping Cart/Basket. You can use your existing payment information and delivery addresses or add new addresses to send proof copies to reviewers.
Proofs are eligible for all paid (standard and expedited) shipping options available to Amazon customers except Prime. You can ship proofs to multiple shipping addresses by placing separate orders for each destination.
I’m not sure that the formula that you give is correct for Amazon royalties. We have 2 books on KDP paperback, and since the very beginning our royalty has been the same as the createspace formula. Our 13.99 book at 60% royalty costs 5.23 to print. Under your formula, I should expect a royalty of 5.26. What I actually get is 3.16. In other words, the author pays for printing from their share of the royalties.
That’s interesting, Nancy, as that’s what I assumed the royalties would be, but the reps I contacted at Amazon were insistent:
“…the right way to understand the royalty rates on paperback would be: (List Price – Printing Costs) * 60%.”
“Estimated royalty is 60% of your list price minus printing cost, not counting any applicable taxes or withholding, which is (List Price – Printing Costs) * 60%.”
Amazon has been wrong before, and the wording of their documentation is subject to confusion. I’ll kick this upstairs again to see how Amazon responds, and will amend the article if they provide new information.
I hate being forced onto KDP, its not better, Create space was great, I do not like kindle, kindle books aer not owned by the author, print books are, this is very ominous, and those that give this a pass I have to take their advice with a big grain of salt, it doesn’t make sense.
Sure enough, Amazon was confused about their own royalty formula. The article has been updated with the correct information and Amazon’s response. Thanks, Nancy!
Book sells for $14, author gets $3. Hmmm, right, that makes sense…. I mean, I know they have their expenses, but that’s 20% to the author. Is it me?
My latest ebook is on pre-order and so I figured I’d have some time to bring up the KDP Paperback offering. But now the paperback is for sale and the ebook doesn’t come out until the 21st. It’s like one hand doesn’t know what the other is quite doing just yet.
The good news though is that paperback and ebooks appear linked together on Amazon much faster than they do with CreateSpace.
Thanks, John – looks like I’ll be sticking with Createspace for a while, then!