CreateSpace vs. IngramSpark: Which POD Printer Should You Use?

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mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-.25in; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Wingdings;} @list l2:level6 {mso-level-number-format:bullet; mso-level-text:; mso-level-tab-stop:3.0in; mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-.25in; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Wingdings;} @list l2:level7 {mso-level-number-format:bullet; mso-level-text:; mso-level-tab-stop:3.5in; mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-.25in; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Wingdings;} @list l2:level8 {mso-level-number-format:bullet; mso-level-text:; mso-level-tab-stop:4.0in; mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-.25in; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Wingdings;} @list l2:level9 {mso-level-number-format:bullet; mso-level-text:; mso-level-tab-stop:4.5in; mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-.25in; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Wingdings;} ol {margin-bottom:0in;} ul {margin-bottom:0in;} </style><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Last week, we dove into the different routes you can take when it comes to publishing: either traditional publishing or self-publishing. If you want to go the traditional publishing route, the next step after your manuscript has been edited and revised multiple times is to start querying literary agents. Once you get to the querying process, things are pretty much out of your hands. Agents will read your query and decide whether or not they want to pursue reading sample chapters of your book. From there on out, it’s mostly a waiting game – a loooong waiting game. </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">But if you’re choosing to self-publish, there are a lot more things in your control (like everything). And you’ll have to make moves and decisions to get your book out there. If you do decide to self-publish, that means you won’t have a publisher printing, binding, and distributing your book for you. So who will be doing that, you ask? Well, you will, buttercup. Lucky you! It may sound intimidating and overwhelming, but it’s really not that hard. And I’m here to help you.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Today we’ll be talking about two of the major Print-On-Demand (or POD) companies out there: Amazon’s CreateSpace and Lightning Source’s IngramSpark. These are POD printers that self-published authors can use to create print versions of their books. We’ll talk about the pros and cons of each as well as the approach I took. If you'd rather watch this video, feel free to click play below. Otherwise, keep reading!</span><br /><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/R3oARWA..." width="560"></iframe><br /></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">So what is a POD or print-on-demand company? POD is a printing technology in which copies of a book are not printed until an order has been received, allowing books to be printed on a “one-off” basis, or in small quantities. Why is this important you ask? POD printing dramatically changed the game for self-publishers. You don’t need a minimum order quantity in the hundreds or thousands and you don’t have to pay for all of those copies up front in the hopes that they’ll sell. Now, if one person places an order for one copy of your book, the book is printed by a POD company and shipped to that customer. Why wasn’t it always like this? Most likely due to costs, but hallelujah, they finally figured out how to do this in a cost-effective manner. Self-published authors rejoice!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">First, let’s look at IngramSpark. IngramSpark is a POD printer that also offers distribution services to self-publishing authors. That means that in addition to being able to print your book, you can also distribute your book to a book wholesaler, such as Ingram, who will then make your book available to Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, as well as other book retailers, both online and off. Lightning Source and IngramSpark are both owned by Ingram, which is one of the largest book wholesalers. Lightning Source is used by large-scale publishers like Penguin Randomhouse, Putnam, Little Brown, etc, whereas IngramSpark is used by indie publishers. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Now let’s look at CreateSpace. CreateSpace is owned by Amazon. CreateSpace offers two choices for distribution, <i><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Standard</span></i>and <i><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Expanded</span></i>. The <i><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Standard</span></i> option will get your book listed on Amazon only. The <i><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Expanded</span></i>option will get your book distributed to Ingram, although concerns have been raised that CreateSpace does not offer a large enough discount to wholesalers, therefore making it harder to get your book into brick and mortar stores. Whether this is true or not, I have no idea, but it does kind of make sense. Amazon is the #1 competitor of brick and mortar stores like Barnes and Noble, so would Ingram buy from its direct competitor (CreateSpace) and turn around and sell it to Barnes and Noble? Seems unlikely to me, but everyone has differing opinions. I digress.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">So let’s talk about the pros and cons of each POD printer to find the one that is right for you. In order to compare the two, we’ll need to use a real life example. Let’s say your book is a 300-page B&W (meaning the text is black and white and there are no pictures or illustrations), paperback, 6x9, perfect bound, gloss finish, and cream paper. If you have no idea what I just said, that’s okay – as a self-publisher, you have to decide the dimension of your book, the binding type, whether you want a gloss or matte finish for the cover, and what color paper (normally, white or cream) you want your book to have </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Okay, so pros and cons:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><u><b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">COST PER COPY TO YOU, THE AUTHOR</span></b></u></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">CreateSpace will charge you $4.45 while Ingram Spark will charge you $4.86. This is straightforward. CreateSpace is less expensive – it costs 0.41 cents less than IngramSpark for your book to be produced.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><u><b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">COST OF SETUP</span></b></u></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">CreateSpace doesn’t charge anything for you to set up your book on their website. IngramSpark charges $49.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><u><b>DISCOUNT</b></u><br /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">This is one of the big factors in making a decision, and it is the one that confuses most indie authors. I’ll try to break it down to simple terms.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;"></span></div><ul type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">CreateSpace takes 40% when you sell on Amazon.</span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">CreateSpace takes 60% for expanded distribution (other online stores, libraries and bookstores).</span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">With Spark you can choose whether to allow 40% or 55% for distribution.</span></li></ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><u><b>DISTRIBUTION</b></u><br />CreateSpace distributes your book through Amazon. You can also choose Extended, which can allow it to get into libraries and brick and mortar bookstores. IngramSpark’s distribution is worldwide.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><u><b>ISBN</b></u><br />You need an ISBN for both CreateSpace and IngramSpark, however with CreateSpace you do have the option to use a “CreateSpace-assigned” ISBN and not have to pay for an ISBN through Bowker’s service, myidentifiers.com. To give you an idea, 1 ISBN costs $125, so using CreateSpace’s free ISBN is well worth it if you’re concerned about costs.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><u><b>QUALITY</b></u><br />This is somewhat subjective. Seeing as I’ve ordered from both POD printers, the quality from both is very good. I would say that IngramSpark’s quality is a tad bit higher – to me, the pages feel thicker and the images and text on the cover seem a bit more crisp. But all in all, the quality of the book itself from both companies is very good.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><u><b>PROFIT</b></u><br />Of course, this is the area most self-published authors really care about: which one will make me the most money? Let’s say you charge $15 retail for your paperback book. If you use CreateSpace and sell on Amazon, your profit would be $4.55. If you use CreateSpace and sell anywhere else (like a bookstore), your profit would be $1.55. If you use IngramSpark and sell on Amazon, your profit will be $4.14. If you use IngramSpark and sell anywhere else, your profit will be $4.14. It would be the same. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">You’re probably thinking, those are a lot of numbers Kristen, so what does it all mean? It means that it depends on your goals for your book. If you really just want to sell online and don’t really care about getting into brick-and-mortar bookstores, then CreateSpace is probably the right POD printer for you. You’ll pay less for set-up, printed copies, and shipping, plus you’ll earn a greater profit for every book you sell. But, if you are thinking that one day you would like your books to be sold in a place like Barnes & Noble, you may want to consider IngramSpark. Sure, it costs a little more for set-up and I will admit that their website is less user-friendly than CreateSpace’s, but they do have worldwide distribution and they do offer wholesalers a larger discount, making it more likely that your book could end up in a bookstore someday.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">What did I choose to do? Seeing as I tend to land “in the middle” on many things, like being a plotser (my definition of an in-between plotter and pantser), I chose to use <b>both </b>POD printers. They both have advantages that I wanted to, get this, take full advantage of. Is it more work for me? Absolutely. Is it a more of a headache to deal with both? You betcha. But I’ve already noticed that the pay-off of using both and not just one is well worth it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">I use CreateSpace for these advantages:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">     </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">AMAZON: Amazon has taken the bookselling industry by storm. And by using CreateSpace, I have fast and great distribution through the largest online book retailer.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">     </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">DOMESTIC SHIPPING: Createspace offers fast and affordable shipping to U.S. customers. This is important because when people buy my book online, I don’t want them to pay a ridiculous amount for shipping. Have you ever added something to your cart and when you go to check out, realize that the shipping costs equal the amount of the product you’re buying? Makes you think twice about buying that product, doesn’t it? I don’t want my customers to second-guess buying my book because of crazy high shipping costs.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">     </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">ARCs: CreateSpace makes it so simple to send review copies to bloggers, as well as copies to winners of Goodreads giveaways. I don’t even have to have a physical copy here where I have to package it and take it to the post office to ship it. I can do it all online on CreateSpace’s website and type in the shipping address I need the book to go to. CreateSpace will print it, and ship it to that address. Which means that I don’t have to take my daily dose of Excedrin’s tension headache.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">I use Ingram Spark for these advantages:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">     </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">DISTRIBUTION: With IngramSpark, my book can be distributed worldwide. So I chose this option: to distribute via IngramSpark to all other stores EXCEPT for Amazon. That way, I have all of my bases covered.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">     </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING: Ingram Spark offers fast and affordable shipping to international customers. I have a lot of readers in the UK and Europe. Again, I don’t want my readers to pay a lot for shipping, so while CreateSpace helps US customers on shipping, IngramSpark helps out my international customers. Win-win.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">     </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">OPTIONS: With Ingram Spark, I can ship high quality copies as samples to bookstores as well as use it for autographed copies. IngramSpark also offers hardcover printing, which CreateSpace does not, and I want to see all my bookbabies in hardcover versions! IngramSpark offers a lot of options, and I like having options!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">So which POD printer is right for you? Each person has to look at their own situation and determine what strategy suits them best. For some, it might be CreateSpace only. For others IngramSpark only. For most, though, I think you’ll find the combination of using both CreateSpace and IngramSpark offers the best solutions for all of your needs.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">There you have it, an in-depth look at the pros and cons of two of the biggest POD printers, Amazon’s CreateSpace and Lightning Source’s IngramSpark. Don't forget to check out my debut novel, THE ALPHA DRIVE, which is available for purchase in both paperback and ebook on Amazon.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Alpha-Drive... alt="http://www.amazon.com/The-Alpha-Drive..." border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cbHyRA5A_7..." /></a></div><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Until next time,</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q8c-fapNGi..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q8c-fapNGi..." /></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;"></span> </div>