Print on demand services Why do we recommend CreateSpace?
Although there are dozens of print-on-demand (POD) companies (See list below), we utilize and recommend CreateSpace, which is part of the Amazon group of companies.
Over our years 30+ of publishing, we have utilized a long list of printers, both offset and electronic, and have concluded that there are some specific advantages, especially financial and quality, to utilizing CreateSpace and their POD services.
Consequently they have become or primary resource for the printing of both our products and our clients so we’d like to share our logic for using their services for you book printing needs.
Since this is our business we have done a fair amount of research into the services, prices, and capabilities of over two dozen of these services and have selected CreateSpace as our print on demand resource especially if you’re going to print for free.
CreateSpace advantages
Through their services, you can sell books, CDs, and DVDs for a fraction of the cost of traditional manufacturing, while maintaining more control over your materials.
They make it simple to distribute your products through Internet retail outlets, your own website, and other bookstores, retailers, libraries, and academic institutions including providing the following advantages:
· Stay in Stock
The CreateSpace Print On-Demand program offers self-publishers ‘in stock’ protection, helping to smooth out demand spikes and shortfalls, so that your books are always available when you need them.
When needed, your Print On-Demand books can simply fulfill customer orders while you replenish inventory supplies. You’ll never miss a sale due to inventory outages and Print On-Demand books are virtually identical to other inventory sources.
Print On-Demand helps you effortlessly manage demand spikes from media events, unannounced author self-promotions, movie releases and other unexpected events.
You’ll never get stuck with inventory shortages again due to printing delays, warehouse issues, shipping or Inventory loss.
· Reduce Inventory Carrying Costs
Print On-Demand frees you to focus valuable resources and capital on what you do best—creating high-quality, compelling content.
Warehousing and shipping fees for older titles can be a drain on your resources, and creating a large stock for front-list titles erodes your long-term profitability.
On-Demand fulfillment is a proven, cost-effective way to satisfy consumer demand, reduce large inventory levels, and improve cash flow with higher inventory turns.
· Grow Your Catalog
With Print On-Demand there is no reason to let a title go out of print. With no inventory risk, Print On-Demand allows you to publish more works without worrying about print runs and inventory carrying costs if the books don’t sell.
You can keep titles perpetually “in stock,” extending the lifecycle of each title and profit on earlier investments with less risk.
You can even offer out of stock or out of print titles that you could resuscitate and remarket.
· Test Market New Titles
Use Print On-Demand to get to market faster with less risk, testing markets for new authors, new categories, niches or specialized subjects. Print On-Demand-supported test marketing enables you to get an earlier read on the market’s interest in your title helping to more accurately forecast sales before committing to an offset print run.
· Offer Large Print and Custom Books
Alternate format options such as large print and custom books present a fast growing opportunity with substantial demand, but they’re unsuitable for traditional offset print runs because of the relatively low sales per book.
· Resize your files from trade to large print
Release large print and standard editions of your titles simultaneously to maximize your marketing spend and ROI
Print On-Demand is also a great solution to make your customized content available to customers in just about any format:
· Specialty printing
The world of POD has made it possible for specialty authors including teachers, trainers, and travel guides, to easily and inexpensively publish short runs of custom, much needed, books including custom travel books, chapter books for journals, workbooks and training manuals and reference and educational materials, and customized children’s books.
The 600 pound gorilla –COST!
For all of its power and versatility, CreateSpace is a FREE service that lets you go from your manuscript to a published book for free.
During the setup and review phases, there is no cost to you and when you’re done, you will get a link to put on your web site so your clients can order a print on demand book and you’ll get about 40% of the selling price with absolutely no cost or efforts for printing or shipping.
Recap
For our final commentary we need to list four of the most important qualities that have led us to recommend CreateSpace:
Once you work with them we’re sure that you’ll find their services as good as we have.
The specifics of using CreateSpace services for your book
Now that we’ve gone through all of the marketing rhetoric about CreateSpace, let’s take a look at how you’re going to utilize their services:
Setup
1. Go to www.PayPal.com and set up a free business account
2. Go to www.Createspace.com and open up a FREE account
3. Follow their instructions and supply them with the basic business information including:
Once you’ve created the basic account, you’ll be able to upload and print your books.
CreateSpace offers several variations on their services including:
1. If you want to warehouse and inventory books for yourself can use their Print on Demand services and order in any quantity. Delivery is quoted at 14 days from receipt of order and often, they’ll deliver in less than a week.
2. You can offer your book through their Print on Demand system from your web site. Once you’ve completed the submission and review process, CreateSpace will supply you with a web link that will allow anyone who clicks it to land on the CreateSpace site that contains the description, pricing, and other information about your book, Once the visitor decide to purchase the book they simply click the order button and CreateSpace takes care of everything including placing the order, printing and shipping the book, and automatically paying you a royalty commission of 40%.
3. Submission and distribution through Amazon’s Kindle Pay-per-download program.
Here’s the best part – unless you decide to inventory your books in your garage, the printing, listing and distribution for the other services are FREE which means that you can send people to your web site, let them place the order for your book, and CreateSpace will print it, ship it, and send you the commission with ZERO out of pocket costs on your part.
What you’ll need to prepare for your specific book’s submission
In addition there are forms for you to fill in that pertain to consider including
You’ll also have the option of making your book available through the following outlets:
POD Resources
Although we have recommended and endorsed CreateSpace® to use as your POD publisher of choice, there are a lot of other places and many more will undoubtedly appear in the near future.
We’ve included the web addresses so if you’re interested in checking out any of the following resources, simply copy the link to your browser and you’ll be directed to their website for review and comparison.
One word of caution – they’re not all free or as versatile as CreateSpace and some of their setup costs will be prohibitive.
1. AuthorHouse – (www.authorhouse.com) Self-publishing service since 1997, dedicated to discovering and publishing distinctive voices in current literature.
2. Authorlink – (www.authorlink.com) A print-on- demand and e-book publisher that will coach clients through the digital process.
3. Aventine Press – (www.aventinepress.com)Book publisher specializing in print on demand self-publishing.
4. Blurb.com – (www.blurb.com) Create and publish bookstore-quality books with free software for PC or Mac. Then sell your book in the Blurb bookstore.
5. Bookmark Self Publishing – (www.bookmarkselfpublishing.com/main/) Canadian service ranging from editing and proofreading to cover design and page layout; from book printing and distribution to marketing and publicity.
6. BookSurge – (www.booksurge.com/) Publishing service and a community of writers, readers and professional editors.
7. Cosimobooks.com, Inc. – (www.cosimobooks.com) Print-on-demand publisher of cultural creative books.
8. DiggyPOD, Inc. – (www.diggypod.com)Printer provides online pricing, fast turnaround times. Quantities include 25 to 500 perfect-bound books, with full-color covers.
9. Dog Ear Publishing –(http://dogearpublishing.net )Print-on-demand self-publishing for books, picture books, poetry, cookbooks, children's books, and comic books.
10. E-Booktme – (http://e-booktime.com/) On-demand book publisher, providing book publishing services for both paperback and hardcover books and giving authors the opportunity to self-publish with wide retail distribution.
11. eBookstand – (http://bookstandpublishing.com) Offering authors personalized print-on-demand publishing services, including design, distribution, self-publishing, marketing, and eBooks by CyberRead.
12. Equilibrium Books – (www.equilibriumbooks.com) Australian print-on-demand publisher assisting new authors into print. Open to submissions from all genres.
13. First Choice Books – (http://firstchoicebooks.ca) Canadian on-demand publishing and binding services for self-publishing authors.
14. IndyPublish – (www.indypublish.com) Independent publisher enabling writers to cost effectively publish their work to a global audience as print and electronic books. See online calculator.
15. Infinity Publishing – (www.infinitypublishing.com) Self-publishing service using print-on-demand.
16. Llumina Press – (www.llumina.com/en) Self-publishing services for print-on-demand and e-books include ghostwriting, editing, and personal assistance. Writer's resources; unique books available.
17. Lulu.com – (www.lulu.com) Self-publishing for print-on-demand books, ebooks, music, images and custom calendars. Authors set their own royalties and control the publishing process.
18. NetPub Corporation – (www.netpub.net/) Provides a print on demand facility as well as publishing, finishing, drop shipping, and warehousing services.
19. New Voices Publishing – (www.newvoices.co.za) Gives South African authors the opportunity of getting their work published through alternative methods.
20. Outskirts Press – (http://outskirtspress.com) Turning writers into successful novelists with print-on-demand publishing services and e-commerce webpages for each published book.
21. Trafford Publishing – (www.trafford.com/) Canadian on-demand book publisher allows authors to have their manuscripts published in book form and available worldwide in a matter of weeks.
22. Universal Publishers – (www.universal-publishers.com) Book publishers of nonfiction, including academic, textbooks, science, technology, business, legal, history, and medical.
23. Unlimited Publishing LLC – (www.unlimitedpublishing.com) UP specializes in producing POD editions of previously-published books whose rights have reverted to the author, and new books by professional writers, scholars, experts and public speakers.
24. Wheatmark, Inc – (www.wheatmark.com)Offers book design, editing, and distribution. Features author resources, testimonials, and FAQ. Based in Tucson, Arizona.
25. WingSpan Press – (www.wingspanpress.com) Offers full service self-publishing packages using print on demand technology. Ebooks are also available
26. Xlibris – (www.xlibris.com) On-demand publishing service.
27. Xulon Press – (www.xulonpress.com) Christian book publisher offering a number of print on demand services.
28. YBK Publishers – (www.ybkpublishers.com) Uses print on demand technology to publish books. YBK otherwise traditionally designs, edits, typesets, and publishes books for sale in bookstores and online.
Over our years 30+ of publishing, we have utilized a long list of printers, both offset and electronic, and have concluded that there are some specific advantages, especially financial and quality, to utilizing CreateSpace and their POD services.
Consequently they have become or primary resource for the printing of both our products and our clients so we’d like to share our logic for using their services for you book printing needs.
Since this is our business we have done a fair amount of research into the services, prices, and capabilities of over two dozen of these services and have selected CreateSpace as our print on demand resource especially if you’re going to print for free.
CreateSpace advantages
Through their services, you can sell books, CDs, and DVDs for a fraction of the cost of traditional manufacturing, while maintaining more control over your materials.
They make it simple to distribute your products through Internet retail outlets, your own website, and other bookstores, retailers, libraries, and academic institutions including providing the following advantages:
· Stay in Stock
The CreateSpace Print On-Demand program offers self-publishers ‘in stock’ protection, helping to smooth out demand spikes and shortfalls, so that your books are always available when you need them.
When needed, your Print On-Demand books can simply fulfill customer orders while you replenish inventory supplies. You’ll never miss a sale due to inventory outages and Print On-Demand books are virtually identical to other inventory sources.
Print On-Demand helps you effortlessly manage demand spikes from media events, unannounced author self-promotions, movie releases and other unexpected events.
You’ll never get stuck with inventory shortages again due to printing delays, warehouse issues, shipping or Inventory loss.
· Reduce Inventory Carrying Costs
Print On-Demand frees you to focus valuable resources and capital on what you do best—creating high-quality, compelling content.
Warehousing and shipping fees for older titles can be a drain on your resources, and creating a large stock for front-list titles erodes your long-term profitability.
On-Demand fulfillment is a proven, cost-effective way to satisfy consumer demand, reduce large inventory levels, and improve cash flow with higher inventory turns.
· Grow Your Catalog
With Print On-Demand there is no reason to let a title go out of print. With no inventory risk, Print On-Demand allows you to publish more works without worrying about print runs and inventory carrying costs if the books don’t sell.
You can keep titles perpetually “in stock,” extending the lifecycle of each title and profit on earlier investments with less risk.
You can even offer out of stock or out of print titles that you could resuscitate and remarket.
· Test Market New Titles
Use Print On-Demand to get to market faster with less risk, testing markets for new authors, new categories, niches or specialized subjects. Print On-Demand-supported test marketing enables you to get an earlier read on the market’s interest in your title helping to more accurately forecast sales before committing to an offset print run.
· Offer Large Print and Custom Books
Alternate format options such as large print and custom books present a fast growing opportunity with substantial demand, but they’re unsuitable for traditional offset print runs because of the relatively low sales per book.
· Resize your files from trade to large print
Release large print and standard editions of your titles simultaneously to maximize your marketing spend and ROI
Print On-Demand is also a great solution to make your customized content available to customers in just about any format:
· Specialty printing
The world of POD has made it possible for specialty authors including teachers, trainers, and travel guides, to easily and inexpensively publish short runs of custom, much needed, books including custom travel books, chapter books for journals, workbooks and training manuals and reference and educational materials, and customized children’s books.
The 600 pound gorilla –COST!
For all of its power and versatility, CreateSpace is a FREE service that lets you go from your manuscript to a published book for free.
During the setup and review phases, there is no cost to you and when you’re done, you will get a link to put on your web site so your clients can order a print on demand book and you’ll get about 40% of the selling price with absolutely no cost or efforts for printing or shipping.
Recap
For our final commentary we need to list four of the most important qualities that have led us to recommend CreateSpace:
- · Pricing
- · Delivery
- · Quality
- · Customer Service
Once you work with them we’re sure that you’ll find their services as good as we have.
The specifics of using CreateSpace services for your book
Now that we’ve gone through all of the marketing rhetoric about CreateSpace, let’s take a look at how you’re going to utilize their services:
Setup
1. Go to www.PayPal.com and set up a free business account
2. Go to www.Createspace.com and open up a FREE account
3. Follow their instructions and supply them with the basic business information including:
- · Entering your account information and password
- · Royalty Payment Information
- · Selecting the method in which you receive royalty payments
- · Billing Profiles
- · Create and edit credit card billing information and addresses
- · Shipping Profiles where you’ll create and edit shipping addresses
Once you’ve created the basic account, you’ll be able to upload and print your books.
CreateSpace offers several variations on their services including:
1. If you want to warehouse and inventory books for yourself can use their Print on Demand services and order in any quantity. Delivery is quoted at 14 days from receipt of order and often, they’ll deliver in less than a week.
2. You can offer your book through their Print on Demand system from your web site. Once you’ve completed the submission and review process, CreateSpace will supply you with a web link that will allow anyone who clicks it to land on the CreateSpace site that contains the description, pricing, and other information about your book, Once the visitor decide to purchase the book they simply click the order button and CreateSpace takes care of everything including placing the order, printing and shipping the book, and automatically paying you a royalty commission of 40%.
3. Submission and distribution through Amazon’s Kindle Pay-per-download program.
Here’s the best part – unless you decide to inventory your books in your garage, the printing, listing and distribution for the other services are FREE which means that you can send people to your web site, let them place the order for your book, and CreateSpace will print it, ship it, and send you the commission with ZERO out of pocket costs on your part.
What you’ll need to prepare for your specific book’s submission
- · Title information, including title name and author
- · The book’s interior file in PDF format
- · The book’s cover file in PDF format
In addition there are forms for you to fill in that pertain to consider including
- · Physical properties, including book size and paper color, color or black and white interior
- · ISBN selection
- · Category selection
- · Publication date
- · Suggested retail price
- · A description of the book’s content
- · A write-up about the author
You’ll also have the option of making your book available through the following outlets:
- · Amazon.com
- · Amazon Europe
- · CreateSpace eStore
- · Bookstores and Online Retailers Bookstores and Online Retailers
- · CreateSpace Direct CreateSpace Direct
- · Libraries & Academic Institutions Libraries & Academic Institutions
POD Resources
Although we have recommended and endorsed CreateSpace® to use as your POD publisher of choice, there are a lot of other places and many more will undoubtedly appear in the near future.
We’ve included the web addresses so if you’re interested in checking out any of the following resources, simply copy the link to your browser and you’ll be directed to their website for review and comparison.
One word of caution – they’re not all free or as versatile as CreateSpace and some of their setup costs will be prohibitive.
1. AuthorHouse – (www.authorhouse.com) Self-publishing service since 1997, dedicated to discovering and publishing distinctive voices in current literature.
2. Authorlink – (www.authorlink.com) A print-on- demand and e-book publisher that will coach clients through the digital process.
3. Aventine Press – (www.aventinepress.com)Book publisher specializing in print on demand self-publishing.
4. Blurb.com – (www.blurb.com) Create and publish bookstore-quality books with free software for PC or Mac. Then sell your book in the Blurb bookstore.
5. Bookmark Self Publishing – (www.bookmarkselfpublishing.com/main/) Canadian service ranging from editing and proofreading to cover design and page layout; from book printing and distribution to marketing and publicity.
6. BookSurge – (www.booksurge.com/) Publishing service and a community of writers, readers and professional editors.
7. Cosimobooks.com, Inc. – (www.cosimobooks.com) Print-on-demand publisher of cultural creative books.
8. DiggyPOD, Inc. – (www.diggypod.com)Printer provides online pricing, fast turnaround times. Quantities include 25 to 500 perfect-bound books, with full-color covers.
9. Dog Ear Publishing –(http://dogearpublishing.net )Print-on-demand self-publishing for books, picture books, poetry, cookbooks, children's books, and comic books.
10. E-Booktme – (http://e-booktime.com/) On-demand book publisher, providing book publishing services for both paperback and hardcover books and giving authors the opportunity to self-publish with wide retail distribution.
11. eBookstand – (http://bookstandpublishing.com) Offering authors personalized print-on-demand publishing services, including design, distribution, self-publishing, marketing, and eBooks by CyberRead.
12. Equilibrium Books – (www.equilibriumbooks.com) Australian print-on-demand publisher assisting new authors into print. Open to submissions from all genres.
13. First Choice Books – (http://firstchoicebooks.ca) Canadian on-demand publishing and binding services for self-publishing authors.
14. IndyPublish – (www.indypublish.com) Independent publisher enabling writers to cost effectively publish their work to a global audience as print and electronic books. See online calculator.
15. Infinity Publishing – (www.infinitypublishing.com) Self-publishing service using print-on-demand.
16. Llumina Press – (www.llumina.com/en) Self-publishing services for print-on-demand and e-books include ghostwriting, editing, and personal assistance. Writer's resources; unique books available.
17. Lulu.com – (www.lulu.com) Self-publishing for print-on-demand books, ebooks, music, images and custom calendars. Authors set their own royalties and control the publishing process.
18. NetPub Corporation – (www.netpub.net/) Provides a print on demand facility as well as publishing, finishing, drop shipping, and warehousing services.
19. New Voices Publishing – (www.newvoices.co.za) Gives South African authors the opportunity of getting their work published through alternative methods.
20. Outskirts Press – (http://outskirtspress.com) Turning writers into successful novelists with print-on-demand publishing services and e-commerce webpages for each published book.
21. Trafford Publishing – (www.trafford.com/) Canadian on-demand book publisher allows authors to have their manuscripts published in book form and available worldwide in a matter of weeks.
22. Universal Publishers – (www.universal-publishers.com) Book publishers of nonfiction, including academic, textbooks, science, technology, business, legal, history, and medical.
23. Unlimited Publishing LLC – (www.unlimitedpublishing.com) UP specializes in producing POD editions of previously-published books whose rights have reverted to the author, and new books by professional writers, scholars, experts and public speakers.
24. Wheatmark, Inc – (www.wheatmark.com)Offers book design, editing, and distribution. Features author resources, testimonials, and FAQ. Based in Tucson, Arizona.
25. WingSpan Press – (www.wingspanpress.com) Offers full service self-publishing packages using print on demand technology. Ebooks are also available
26. Xlibris – (www.xlibris.com) On-demand publishing service.
27. Xulon Press – (www.xulonpress.com) Christian book publisher offering a number of print on demand services.
28. YBK Publishers – (www.ybkpublishers.com) Uses print on demand technology to publish books. YBK otherwise traditionally designs, edits, typesets, and publishes books for sale in bookstores and online.