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Help! New author here! IngramSpark, do or do not?!
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Ingram Spark is a great POD service. I use them for paperback distribution to everywhere except Amazon. If you publish through Ingram, they can distribute your books to BN. The royalties are generally better with non-Amazon sales when you go through Ingram. You will need to buy your own ISBN(s) to publish to Ingram. If you are serious about writing books (and plan to write more than 1), I recommend buying a bulk lot of 100 ISBNs, which makes each one cheaper than buying one at a time. I only bought 10 in bulk and regretted it when I realized how many more I would need. Each book format (hardback, paperback, epub, mobi) needs its own ISBN. Each edition of each book needs a new ISBN. If you are publishing the exact same cover and interior file that you used with Createspace, you don't need to call it another edition just to publish it elsewhere (it's still a first edition until you change the manuscript). But it will need a different ISBN.
I don't have experience with hardback copies on Ingram so I can't speak to that.
Do you use Createspace/KDP Print for expanded distribution? If so, you will want to undo that before publishing with Ingram. There is something like a $50 fee per title to set up on Ingram. You might be able to get this fee waived if you search out coupon codes. You can order author copies but it may be in bulk. I've never ordered author copies through Ingram before. Website sales tend to be slower than retail sales (unless you have an extremely popular website and web presence) so you might want to keep bulk orders low until you see how many are selling through your website.
Marie Silk wrote: "Ingram Spark is a great POD service. I use them for paperback distribution to everywhere except Amazon. If you publish through Ingram, they can distribute your books to BN. The royalties are genera..."Thank you Marie. I appreciate all the info. I don't have a Createspace account as they are doing away with it anyway, it's becoming KDP. I wasn't able to do expanded distribution, which I guess is a good thing now if I do go through IngramSpark, I assume because I used the KDP generated ISBN when I did my paperback...
Hi Shanna,I just used IngramSpark to publish my first book as an ebook, paperback, and hardcover. I picked Ingram because they have great distribution reach, and the quality of their print on demand books is very good.
Like Marie said, there's a fee for setting up titles on Ingram, but they often run promotions that waive or discount it.
I wanted a hardcover edition of my book for the same reasons you listed: it's my first book and hardcovers are a nice edition for readers to have. My hardcover is clothbound with a dust jacket and the title printed on the spine.
As for buying copies, Ingram gives you a discount, but that's about it. They don't have a special author's copy; after uploading the message you get is to "order a copy to check quality before your official publication date."
All in all, I am happy with the quality of my books through IngramSpark. Hope that helps!
Danielle wrote: "Hi Shanna,I just used IngramSpark to publish my first book as an ebook, paperback, and hardcover. I picked Ingram because they have great distribution reach, and the quality of their print on dema..."
Yes, that does help! Thank you, Danielle. I'm also curious about the percentage you give. I've read and watch some videos on Youtube about giving the whole discount at 53%, otherwise your book won't be wanted, what are your thoughts there?
Yes, most retailers like a 50-53% wholesale discount, but I set mine based on what I would make per sale. Right now I'm running a 35% discount on my hardcover (otherwise the publisher comp was pitiful) and 50% on paperback.
Danielle wrote: "Yes, most retailers like a 50-53% wholesale discount, but I set mine based on what I would make per sale. Right now I'm running a 35% discount on my hardcover (otherwise the publisher comp was piti..."Ok, that's understandable. Thank you! I just dread having to make a second edition if I put mine on paperback on IngramSpark since I used the KDP assigned ISBN as I know that the Amazon reviews I have won't be on there anymore. I think I can ask to have them put back, but it all sounds like a real pain... I wish I would have known about IngramSpark before I started on KDP. I know a lot of authors do both since the profits are higher on Amazon for kindle than for the ebook version on IngramSpark...
I don't see how it would affect your Amazon reviews unless you unpublish your book from KDP then publish and distribute to Amazon through Ingram. Even then, you could probably combine the new paperback with your current ebook edition on Kindle through Author Central. Royalties are generally better when you use both POD services: KDP for all Amazon markets, Ingram Spark for all other retailers. Just specify that you don't want Ingram to distribute to Amazon when you set up the title.
Marie Silk wrote: "I don't see how it would affect your Amazon reviews unless you unpublish your book from KDP then publish and distribute to Amazon through Ingram. Even then, you could probably combine the new paper..."Yeah, true!
"And third, do you have the ability to get Author copies like on KDP?"Yes. You can purchase copies just like under CreateSpace for a base price plus shipping. The shipping obviously varies with how many copies you order.
Peter wrote: ""And third, do you have the ability to get Author copies like on KDP?"Yes. You can purchase copies just like under CreateSpace for a base price plus shipping. The shipping obviously varies with h..."
Thank you for the info!!
Marie Silk wrote: "Each book format (hardback, paperback, epub, mobi) needs its own ISBN. Each edition of each book needs a new ISBN. If you are publishing the exact same cover and interior file that you used with Createspace, you don't need to call it another edition just to publish it elsewhere (it's still a first edition until you change the manuscript). But it will need a different ISBN...."Bowker would love for you to think this, but it ain't necessarily so. You don't need an ISBN for MOBI/Kindle because it never leaves the Amazon universe; they don't use or reference the ISBN for Kindle books. If you're distributing the exact same paperback through both CS and Ingram, you can use the same ISBN; the ISBN tracks the book edition, not the distributor. For the same reason, if you upload the same ePub to Nook, Kobo, iTunes and so on, you can use one ISBN for your ePub.
As an unregulated monopoly, Bowker has a vested interest in trying to make you burn through mass quantities of ISBNs. You don't need to let them.
Shanna wrote: "I’m thinking of doing it on hardback with IngramSpark, it is my debut novel after all and (and hardbacks are so nice) although it’s the first book in a trilogy it is also a stand alone. Thoughts on that?"Personally, I think you're going to spend a lot of money and not sell a copy to anyone other than your mother. Let's face it -- you're an unknown, an indie, and a debut novelist. Your hardbounds are going to cost a fortune because you don't have the advantage of the economies of scale, as the big boys do. Who do you expect will pay $30 or more for your book? It's hard enough to get people to shell out $16 for a trade paperback. Eat the cost of a second ISBN (one you own) for a trade paperback you distribute outside Amazon and consider it the cost of learning.
Shanna wrote: "...do you have the ability to get Author copies like on KDP?"
You can, but they're more expensive and the shipping is slower.
I distribute my trade paperbacks through CS (for Amazon) and IngramSpark (everywhere else). However, if I want to buy author copies, I do it through CS. The only reason I buy a copy from Ingram is to get a proof to see that they're printing it correctly. For the same reason, I set up and proof my paperbacks through CS first because there are no setup or change fees. Once it's good to go with CS, I can use the same files with Ingram and be reasonably sure they're going to work right.
One more thing: don't expect much help from Ingram. They're not set up for it. Their online reporting tool is clunky even by publishing standards.
Yes, they're a pain in the butt to work with. But if you want your paperback to show up anyplace other than Amazon -- especially if you want an indie bookseller or library to stock it -- you'll need Ingram.
Lance wrote: "You don't need an ISBN for MOBI/Kindle because it never leaves the Amazon universe;"True, but if you want to choose the name that appears for "Publisher" on the Amazon product page, a Bowker ISBN is needed.
Lance wrote: "Shanna wrote: "I’m thinking of doing it on hardback with IngramSpark, it is my debut novel after all and (and hardbacks are so nice) although it’s the first book in a trilogy it is also a stand alo..."Thank you for the advice, Lance.
Marie Silk wrote: "True, but if you want to choose the name that appears for "Publisher" on the Amazon product page, a Bowker ISBN is needed."Not so. I didn't put ISBNs on my last two Kindle books and the correct publisher name shows up just fine on their product pages.
I must have been thinking about Createspace for the Publisher field and ISBN.
I was glad to see this thread because some time ago I decided I wanted to have print versions at Ingram. I bought ISBNs to get started, decided on a name for my "publishing" house and started with one book. So far, after about 4 months of work, it is still not available at Ingram because I cannot (and neither can my cover designer) get the cover the way they want it. Every change results in another error message, different than the one before. Attempts to get clarification from them have not done so well and as of today, I am giving up until I have more time. I still believe that having paperbacks with Ingram are a good idea but as someone already said, they don't provide much help.
I’m looking to get some feedback about IngramSpark and your personal experiences/takes on whether to go with them or not to! I am a new indie author on Amazon, my book is in ebook and paperback versions. I also have it on B&N too, I understand that if I go with IngramSpark I have to take it off B&N because they also distribute to them!
I have a few questions:
First, I unfortunately didn’t read the fine print when I used a KDP generated ISBN for my paperback on Amazon so I realize that I won’t be able to distribute it elsewhere. However, I just realized this after I got the ok to publish and print on B&N, they ok’d the ISBN from Amazon, how is that even possible that they missed that?
Second, since I’ve already done this and don’t want to go through the hassle of having to make a second edition release for my paperback, I’m thinking of doing it on hardback with IngramSpark, it is my debut novel after all and (and hardbacks are so nice) although it’s the first book in a trilogy it is also a stand alone. Thoughts on that?
And third, do you have the ability to get Author copies like on KDP? I really want to be able to sell and distribute my own books too (on the website I haven’t yet set up!)
I want the exposure and the satisfaction of seeing my book out in the world and in stores, so I feel like even though the returns will be less, at least I will get the exposure of it all! Can someone else please let me know your thoughts on the matter?! Thanks so much!