Soft Cover Createspace or IngramSpark ? Which did you choose and why?

[D.M.]

I used Createspace, mainly because I knew I could pull off getting my book written, uploaded, and approved with minimal interference from others, and at little cost to myself compared to traditional publishing.

I do have an IngramSpark account, but I didn't make it until after my book was already published, and I did it mainly because I knew that Createspace is using them as their middle man to expanded distribution, such as libraries and book stores. I just wanted to be in the know about what was going on on their end. But with time wasted, I saw that I would have to let go of Createspace if I planned to work directly with IngramSpark, which was not worth it to me. I actually enjoy working with CS.

CS also does offer up to 70% in royalties through Amazon and Kindle, but that only applies to certain countries. To keep it even, I chose to go with the 30 (or is it 35?)% option, because it made it even across the board and I am more interested in exposure of the text than promoting myself or earning higher royalties.

Of course, that's just my personal opinion.

[Christine]

Hello, I wanted to share my experience here with the two publishers on Amazon. I had a hard time having the three books (hardcover, paperback, kindle) linked. They were appearing as two separate entities. The paperback and kindle were co-joined but the hardcover was out there by itself. I finally called Createspace and they were able to link the Ingram book to the paperback and kindle. This way the book appears once but has three different editions. This is super important because you CANNOT ameliorate the categories on an Ingram book, therefore, it behooves authors to link all books and recategorize the paperback. Phew! Hope that makes sense and hope it helps someone.

[Conrad]

C.A. wrote: "How much does it cost to upload a paperback book to Ingram Spark?"

I believe it's $35 for the interior, $35 for the cover.

[Conrad]

We've used LightningSource & Ingram for our 4 paperbacks and have had good success. We do our interior layout with InDesign, our own editing (very very very intensive), and for the last novel hired a cover design at $495—money well spent. Uploading was $70, books including shipping were $4.47 each. We buy in batches of about 250 (but you can buy as many or as few as desired) and sell them direct, doing all the fulfillments ourselves. Ingram charges $12 annually to carry your book in their database, so it can be ordered through any bookstore. We have modest sales, but it works for us.

[Don]

Conrad wrote: "We've used LightningSource & Ingram for our 4 paperbacks and have had good success. We do our interior layout with InDesign, our own editing (very very very intensive), and for the last novel hired..."

Hmm, I am not sure on the minimum but 250 may be enough to make it worth having the batch done in offset instead of POD. I would suggest checking into that. I haven't in a while since I don't do the fulfillment. By the way, the $12 annual fee was dropped a couple of years ago. They still charge $50 per title for setup, however they often run free setup specials via coupons. Also you spot a typo, or want to change the cover they also charge $25 to fix either one.

[H.]

I went with Createspace in large part because of a friend recommendation. They've been cost effective, extremely accessible, and their customer service is amazing.

UPS had destroyed one of my print runs from them and I called CS up (at 2am because I was so upset with UPS that I couldn't sleep) and they replaced the entire order with rush delivery for free! Got my relpacement books 2 days later. They've also been fantastic at making sure all of my listings were where they're supposed to be.

I don't have any means of comparing them to IngramSpark as I don't have an account there, but I've been very happy with CS. :)

[Christine]

H. wrote: "I went with Createspace in large part because of a friend recommendation. They've been cost effective, extremely accessible, and their customer service is amazing.

UPS had destroyed one of my prin..." So true! Createspace is amazing. I find IngramSpark to be OK, but often lacking in workable solutions. But they do hit a larger market base. ✏️👍

[Mark]

If IngramSpark paperback (but not e-book) is sold on Amazon, why shouldn't I just publish one paperback on IngramSpark and e-books on both IS an CS? Would it affect Amazon sales or book reviews? What else am I missing?

I have read through all comments on this topic and still am confused. I published my previous novel Enemy in the Mirror: Love and Fury in the Pacific War as both paperback and e-book on CS in 2012 - it was fine on Amazon but bad for independent bookstores. I am not sure of advantages of publishing paperback on both IS and CS. I would greatly appreciate clarification and advice.

[Christine]

Mark wrote: "If IngramSpark paperback (but not e-book) is sold on Amazon, why shouldn't I just publish one paperback on IngramSpark and e-books on both IS an CS? Would it affect Amazon sales or book reviews? Wh..."

From my humble experience:
Createspace and Kindle: Ebook and Paperback work best for Amazon sales.

IngramSpark: Hardcover, paperback and ebook for everyone else... Barnes & Nobles, Apple etc (I don't think I've sold much via these venues yet but at least it's available and the book is quite new, it takes time for everything to get out there.)

Hope that helps.

[Mark]

Christine wrote: "Mark wrote: "If IngramSpark paperback (but not e-book) is sold on Amazon, why shouldn't I just publish one paperback on IngramSpark and e-books on both IS an CS? Would it affect Amazon sales or boo..."

Thanks Christine