Createspace finally extends its operations to Europe

Anyone self-publishing print books through Createspace (and possibly those who chose Lulu instead) should take note that last Wednesday, Createspace added distribution options for the UK  and continental Europe.

If your print books are published only through Createspace, you should certainly go to your Createspace dashboard now and open up your projects to add the new distribution channels, which sell through amazon.co.uk and the other European Amazon sites.

The European prices are higher than in the US. And for a fair comparison with selling books in the UK through Lulu, you have to consider that amazon.co.uk takes only a 40% cut and to sell through other retailers in the UK you would need Createspace’s Expanded Distribution with its 60% cut (in which case Lulu and Createspace would work out about the same).

But for most small- and self-publishers, that’s not important; selling your print books through amazon.co.uk is all you really need. Through Createspace you can now sell books at a lower price (or fatter margin) in the UK and Europe than you can through Lulu. For UK-based publishers, the remaining advantage for Lulu now is that you can get proof copies within days. Createspace proofs are still only sourced from the US and take weeks to arrive.

My advice; be patient and switch Createspace… or wait until orders begin to be fulfilled to iron out any starting wrinkles and then switch.