UK Amazon Kindle Forum discussion

After three days of faffing around with trying to format one of my books for Createspace (I can't use InDesign and I hate Word!), I've finally taken up an offer of help from a friend in England. So, presuming she doesn't get back to me saying she's changed her mind, I can relax on that score. I'm pretty confident that I've got the cover ok, too. What my question is now is - what to do about an ISBN? What are the advantages/disadvantages of the free CS version? Obviously, it's free. But if I forked out for ten ISBNs from Bowker (or Bowker-Thorp as it is here in Oz) would I be able to do more with the book? Would I need a company name? Would I need to have that company registered?

It's all so confusing to me, but I really want to get these books out.

eep
sorry you're still having problems
;-)

stick a link to this in the morning thread so everyone sees it lovely.
sorry i can't help

and that was meant to be a frown not a wink!
stupid phone

I do actually have a manuscript that 'looks' ok, Patti. But even overnight, when I came back to the document I'd saved (which looked perfect when I saved it), every second page number had vanished. I'm terrified of rewriting the acknowledgements or doing any tiny changes, in case it mucks up the whole thing again! And even if I get it perfect, I have no idea how it got to that state because my lovely son saved me from total meltdown last night by getting the page numbers sorted. I decided I need to stop being a control freak and take help when it's offered.

I will go and post a link now. Thanks!

cmon people. i know several of you use createspace

Katie,

The ISBN questions... I went with Createspace and used their free one. No doubt others will have differing views. It doesn't stop you being able to do anything that you could do with your own ISBN. I have registered my book with Nielsen book data so it can go in libraries and shops. I have even had the book taken on by schools.
If you want to control every aspect of your book then pay for your own ISBN's but there is no need. I didnt pay as in the UK you are looking at quite a lot of money for 10.
Hope that helps.

Thanks, Kevin. They're pretty expensive in Australia, too.

For the book editing I found it easier to put the book into the size they recommend first by changing the sizes in word then checking the formatting from there.

I haven't bought my own ISBNs for any of my books and I've never regretted it. Not even really sure what I'm missing out on.

Totally agree Rosen. The only reason I could see for buying ISBN's is if you wanted to set yourself up as a publisher.

Rosen wrote: "I haven't bought my own ISBNs for any of my books and I've never regretted it. Not even really sure what I'm missing out on."



Well, that's a relief, I have to say. I can't see any reason to buy one if it makes no difference. Thanks everyone!

yay!

i love our agony aunt threads.
:-D

happy to help.

Make sure to check the TOS before you use the Createspace ISBN. I believe you're allowed to use it only with CS distribution. If that's all you want, then fine. If you decide later to go with another distributor to get better coverage, you'll have to create a second edition with your own ISBN.

I bought ten from Bowker for $250, but I can spread the cost over three editions each of three different books. It's not expensive in the long run, and I can do what I want with them.

I would echo what Lance said about createspace only allowing you to use their ISBN when using them as a distributer. I used the createspace ISBNs, but have snce found out that they don't offer retailers the same level of discount as other companies which makes some stockists reluctant to buy from createspace (and they will come up as the publisher when the book is searched on amazon neilson etc). On the upside, Smashwords doesn't require an ISBN so you won't have to buy one just for that, and the expanded distribution program on createspace seems to be quite good. I use the createspace ISBNs, with a view to maybe buying a block of ISBNs, withdrawing the createspace ISBN versions from sale and re-releasing under my own ISBNs at a later date (obviously keeping the blurb and covers the same so no one gets accidentally duped into buying a book they already have), I have gone through the terms and conditions with a fine toothed comb and can't see any reason why you can't do that. My grand plan was to put a small percentage of each royalty aside to do it - that way the books are paying for themselves and I can concentrate my (very restricted) finances elsewhere.
Hope that helps a bit, but think it comes down to personal preference really. There isn't a "wrong" answer.
Good luck with your release :~)

I still use my own ISBNs cos I bought a batch way back before ebooks, to publish my crossword books and still have a couple left to use, but I can't see it makes any real difference.
Good luck with yr book anyway.

At this stage, I'm not imagining going through my own distributor. If I do anything that needs another ISBN, it would probably be for here is Australia, in which case I'd probably use a local printer. Thanks for all the help and thanks for the best wishes.

I use the free one. I know if you go elsewhere you would have to get a new one, ditto if you did a different version such as second edition.

I struggled with the formatting as well. Helpfully for book 2 they didn't tell me I would have problems with the formatting for that page count with the template. To be honest the templates are a bit crap and are more a vague guideline.

One thing which does annoy me - I live outside the US and the postage to the UK is ruddy expensive for author proofs - it is cheaper for me to proof it online, buy as soon as it is live on Amazon and then get the free delivery. I also don't have to wait a month for it to arrive.

I found the formatting quite fiddly but it can be done.

I ended up getting a friend to format it for me.

I know what you mean about the postage. Though the book cost is less than $5, the proof is costing me $18 to get by expedited mail so there's even a small chance of me being able to order copies in time for the festival. Even then it's not due to arrive for three weeks. :(

That's a real bummer.

Does CreateSpace have a printer in Australia? I have to get my cheap author price copies from the US, but if I need a few copies in a hurry, I order them off Amazon.co.uk.

No, I don't think so, Rosen. Amazon doesn't have anything in Australia, so everything is done through Amazon US. All sales within Australia are counted as 'foreign' sales and we still get paid by cheque. Both those things are really annoying, but they don't look like changing any time soon.

You could try Lulu as another option, although it does cost a bit extra to get it on Amazon you can buy direct through the lulu store, the postage is cheaper (at least to the UK) and they may well have a printer in Oz.

There is no reason why you can't have the book on 'Zon as well as there is no exclusivity with POD.

As I said, I just order from Zon and proof online.

I asked CS about the extended distribution outside the US and they pretty much said that is up to the distributers...

I am considering putting my book on LULU as well as seeing what they can do, although their distribution is slightly more and I would have to fuss with the cover as I used the CS template cover.

I wouldn't proof online alone. Although you can be lucky, you can't check things like spine alignment and depth of colour. It's amazing how different a printed image can look from the same image displayed on screen.

So right, Rosen. The colour cover is a little darker than I'd wanted, but overall I'm happy with it. I proofed mine online anyway - the main edit/proofread had already been done so it was just the conversion which needed checking, and I'm perfectly happy with it.

Yes the covers are a bit hit and miss with printing. I ordered 3 copies of book 1 and every cover was slightly different.

I need to sort my formatting a bit though, I looked at it and thought hmm, my partner said it was fine but I am not sure. I have left gaps between my paragraphs and it looks odd to me but I have seen a ton of other books like that...

Something to do at some point, probably when I am sorting the book for SW in the e-book form.

It's worth reading Createspace's formatting guide as some things are automatic - I think the 'not leaving spaces between paras' was one of the things they said. Difficult to remember now cos they all have their idosyncracies (spelling??!)

Yes, I think we sorted it for book 1 but I must redo book 2, it is Ok but it does look a little strange. I guess it might drop the page count too:)

Rosen wrote: "Does CreateSpace have a printer in Australia? I have to get my cheap author price copies from the US, but if I need a few copies in a hurry, I order them off Amazon.co.uk."

Lightning Source has lashups with printers in the UK and Australia. I don't know how much that helps on the proofs end, but it may make ordering sale copies a bit less painful.

Rosen wrote: "I wouldn't proof online alone. Although you can be lucky, you can't check things like spine alignment and depth of colour. It's amazing how different a printed image can look..."

I second that. The other thing you can't check online is whether they'll print the pages with correct margins. I had that problem twice with CS. They were very nice and fixed the problem both times, but I'd never have known if I hadn't asked for printed proofs.

Oh my word folks,
I'm aiming to dip my toe into the murky waters of POD but it all looks terrifying.
Hope I can manage it, I'm hardly a techie, more of a dinosaur on a steep learning curve!
However I've bookmarked this thread and will keep an eye on it in the hope of learning enough to take the plunge!

Bumping this in case anyone has new experiences to share.

Rosie wrote: "Oh my word folks,
I'm aiming to dip my toe into the murky waters of POD but it all looks terrifying.
Hope I can manage it, I'm hardly a techie, more of a dinosaur on a steep learning curve!
However..."

I finally produced my first book through createspace, Rosie and much of the advice on here was tremendously helpful. My biggest tip would be dive in and give it a go. You can save any progress as you go, so if you get stuck at any point in the process, you can just jump on here and ask. Even when its all done, you get to order a proof copy and OK that before you make it live.

David wrote: "Rosie wrote: "Oh my word folks,
I'm aiming to dip my toe into the murky waters of POD but it all looks terrifying.
Hope I can manage it, I'm hardly a techie, more of a dinosaur on a steep learning ..."

Rosie has already done it, David, and is now gearing up to do book two! (I know the cover artist quite well, so I have insider information! ;) )

I noticed after posting Katie. I thought it was the thread that I started recently, then realised after posting that it wasn't and left my post anyway.

Nice cover. Is it one of yours?

David wrote: "I noticed after posting Katie. I thought it was the thread that I started recently, then realised after posting that it wasn't and left my post anyway.

Nice cover. Is it one of yours?"

:) Could be!