Support for Indie Authors discussion

Hi All,

First post so be gentle with me ;-)

I have recently listed my book as a paperback on Amazon using their KDP platform. I would like to get a hold of a few print copies to share with family and friends. However, as it is for personal use, I am not keen to pay all the additional royalty costs that Amazon add on as standard.

Do any of you know if it is possible to get hold of your own books for their print costs only with no additional royalties added?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Submit your book to Create Space and you can order books sipped direct to you at author's cost. The best price is in lots of ten copies or more.

Thanks Morris. Do I need to upload the document from scratch or can I export it from KDP?

Bryn wrote: "Hi All,

First post so be gentle with me ;-)

I have recently listed my book as a paperback on Amazon using their KDP platform. I would like to get a hold of a few print copies to share with family..."

KDP does not offer wholesale pricing on books as is stated in their set up FAQ. What you will need to do if you want to transfer to Createspace or another printer is unpublishing your KDP paperback and begin as a new title. You cannot transfer from KDP to Createspace, but you should be able to use the same PDF you used to make the KDP book.

I'm actually debating about print books. Is what I'm hearing to use Createspace vs Amazon? I'm still so new to this.

Alyson wrote: "I'm actually debating about print books. Is what I'm hearing to use Createspace vs Amazon? I'm still so new to this."

Having used both, I would definitely say to go with CreateSpace over Amazon's KDP, for sure. The print quality between the two is nearly identical (if not completely), but with CS you make a higher royalty and have the option of purchasing copies at cost as opposed to at cover price.

I published my book through Createspace. If you purchase copies, you pay a discounted price plus shipping. So, for example, my book retails for $5.99 but costs me $2.19 plus shipping.

I have published with both, but create space is the one I'm going with from now on. I like the fact that authors can get their books at a discounted price so that they can make a profit from them.

I was very pleased with how simple the process with Createspace is if you are a patient person. The whole self-publishing thing can be daunting but just keep pushing through.

They make ordering books for self-promotion simple and easy.

And their customer service is excellent.

Paul wrote: "I published my book through Createspace. If you purchase copies, you pay a discounted price plus shipping. So, for example, my book retails for $5.99 but costs me $2.19 plus shipping."

How did you manage to sell your book for $5.99? I couldn't get my price any lower than $12. At $12 I don't even make a royalty. Was it the page count? Mine was 300 pages.

Createspace is your best bet. I once bought copies from Amazon but that's only cause I was with a publisher and they charged me full price for copies of my book. Glad I found Createspace.

Steven wrote: "Paul wrote: "I published my book through Createspace. If you purchase copies, you pay a discounted price plus shipping. So, for example, my book retails for $5.99 but costs me $2.19 plus shipping."..."
My book is a novella. It's 64 pages in print. The lowest price they would allow is $5.99, and I felt that was a fair price for such a small book.

It may well be that higher word counts and page counts result in higher lowest-possible-price through Createspace.

I have no idea what the best price is for a print book. I guess I'd do some research to find out.

I'm using create space to publish my book and KDP for the ebook it's very easy to use except the cover creator is not professional enough so far a good experience.

In your example, doesn't the shipping charge eliminate any profit?

Jim wrote: "In your example, doesn't the shipping charge eliminate any profit?"

Only if you order books one at a time! :)
Shipping costs less per book the more books you order.

Jim wrote: "In your example, doesn't the shipping charge eliminate any profit?"
My recent 6X9, 230 page book, when I ordered 10+ copies through Createspace, cost me in total $4.63 per book. (including shipping and NY sales tax). I make all my print books using Createspace, and KDP for the e-book versions.

It's definitely worth using Createspace.

I totally agree Createspace is much cheaper. I was heated when I updated my cover to realize that it would cost me the same price on Amazon as customers.

If a paperback is on createspace, is it possible to have it Amazon, too? I know KDP and Createspace are both part of Amazon, but it's confusing.

Diane wrote: "If a paperback is on createspace, is it possible to have it Amazon, too? I know KDP and Createspace are both part of Amazon, but it's confusing."

I'm not sure if you're asking about distribution or publishing. If your book is published through Createspace, then you cannot also publish through KDP print, however, you can use KDP to create an ebook, and your paperback book will be distributed through Amazon regardless of which you choose.

Just to add on to the conversation, if you publish a book with createspace and then convert it to an eBook on KDP, they will be linked on Amazon.com within a few days and show up as two available formats for purchase on one convenient page.

I contacted KDP about the issue of author discounts on print books and this was their response:

' I understand that you'd like to order your book with author price or author discount. Let me help you with this.

We don't currently offer author copies or author discounts, but we'll be adding this feature in the future. You will need to order your book on Amazon.com at the retail price.

At this time, you will need to order your book on Amazon.com at the retail price, for which you will accrue royalties. We don't reduce or discount prices for publishers. As the royalty is 60%, you will be charged only for the 40% of the book which is equivalent to the printing charges only'.

I'm not in print yet so don't know how the figures will actually work in comparison with CreateSpace when transport costs are factored in but am working on it!