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Using CreateSpace for ARC's
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Can you send out .pdfs or are you looking for unsolicited reviews?
I'm actively soliciting reviewers, but I don't need sandbagger or glad-handers. I need unbiased brutality in the pre-release phase. I'll need to spot plot holes, points of confusion, flat characters, etc. I need five to ten volunteers.The book is going through its first editorial trial by fire right now, and I'll have a few days' work to do before I can release the ARCs.
Each reviewer will get a printed ARC in 5.5 x 8.5 format, for markup in red ink. When done, send the ARC back to me so I can incorporate changes. I'll sign each one and send them back to you. When I release the finished version, you will get a free copy and may then publish your review on Amazon and GR.
I looked at your past reviews and I think you'll do fine.
I'll take a look at Lulu. In CS, I'll burn an ISBN but by using "ARC" in the title I can get away with processing the work up to "PROOF" and then kill off the project.
Jon wrote: "I'm working on the final edits for a new book and want to send out ARC's to get reviews. Manuscripts are 350-450 pages and cost a major organ to print out on a laser printer. So I'm considering p..."Jon, the idea of using CS for your review copies is a fine one. They look professional which gives you much more credibility and can be ordered a few of (when you think of more places to send them. If you have the cover design, use it with a "medallion" on the front that says "ARC" and the galley information on the back instead of reviews. Check the Publishers Weekly website for the info they require and use it as a guide. You can even use it as a true review galley-- upload your cleanest,best, typeset .pdf and order a few copies to give to your snarkiest friends. When they get back to you with the inevitable typos, clean up the file and reupload for copies for reviewers. When you're finished with that process, you can reupload new files for the cover and use them as the final copies. A tip: The CS utility won't accept your submission of the files unless you enable at least the Amazon distribution.(At least that was true the last time I used it this way.) As soon as you hit "publish," go to the "help" utility on the left and send a message that this title is only a review galley and to please withhold it from distribution until you notify them otherwise. (You'll have to do that each time you upload a file until you actually do publish.)
It is possible to order multiple proofs (and multiple copies of the same proof.) There won't be any distribution until you approve the final proof. There should be no reason to notify CS unless you accidentally approve a proof.
Creating an ARC version locks you into a specific physical format. So long as that isn't a limitation, you can use the same project over and over for different books. This is easier if you use a generic white cover w/o artwork. I don't know whether CS queries their database to spot ARC spoofers, but in case they are, I haven't done any of this stuff -- I heard about some guy named Eric who does it all the time.
I'm not sure what you mean by "ARC spoofers," but Ingalls Publishing has had an account with CS since 2003 and has done 30 plus ARCs for review. Since there's no upload fee for books, there's no reason to try to pull anything cute to get multiple titles. It's cheaper to order a couple dozen copies for reviewers than to order multiple copies through the proof utility.
Are proofs more expensive than production books, given the same number of copies?
There's no price difference between proofs and approved finished copies anymore. You used to have to buy distribution to get the better price, but since they changed the pricing model, that's no longer the case. now, the only difference between buying proofs and production copies is that the proofs have a page with the word "Proof" on it.
I'm on my second round with CS paperbacks. Repairs, I mean, but I have the cover in place because I want feedback on it, too. Slowly but surely, my product is getting better and better. (If I had 6K for a good editor, trust me, I'd be there.)
A person can buy the paperback directly from CS if you don't want to go through all the distribution channels.You won't get the massive exposure, but you can Link your CS store to your website store.
Happy selling.
This is a great discussion. I am finishing a 'first finished draft' of a book and am looking for people to critique it. Putting it on CS or Lulu sounds great (possibly Lulu if they don't burn an ISBN...)
Thanks, all!
Thanks, all!
I'm just curious. A couple of people seem to want to avoid the CS, ISBN. Why is that?
Some people want their own isbns. Additionally, the book is not in its final form, and major alterations might requrie a new one. Lots of reasons.
Got it. For early stages of the work. Thanks.
I'm publishing ARCs without cover art. This will make them easy to distinguish from production books. It also let's me avoid biasing the critiques. I've already had a reader tell me "that's an ANGEL" when I showed her a picture of some clouds. That set up expectations which were rudely dashed the first time she ran across some mild profanity. I spent an hour explaining the obvious, but I'm sure she wasn't listening.
I went online and bought a copy of an excellent book that had been given me (and destroyed by my dog). I went to Half.com, chose a good seller, and was glad to receive my 'new' book.
Imagine my surprise when I found that the very last paragraph in the book, which tied the horrific beginning to a redeemed ending, was missing.
What the--? I looked - and I saw that what I had purchased was an ARC. Grrr...
The author had obviously realized that he needed one last paragraph to tie in a loose end. I suspect he hadn't even thought of that when he finished th book, that it had come as a flash of inspiration when he had the ARCs out for review.
The book, by the way, is
The Year of Jubilo: A Novel of the Civil War
Imagine my surprise when I found that the very last paragraph in the book, which tied the horrific beginning to a redeemed ending, was missing.
What the--? I looked - and I saw that what I had purchased was an ARC. Grrr...
The author had obviously realized that he needed one last paragraph to tie in a loose end. I suspect he hadn't even thought of that when he finished th book, that it had come as a flash of inspiration when he had the ARCs out for review.
The book, by the way, is
The Year of Jubilo: A Novel of the Civil War
The ARC project should never see the light of day. Plain vanilla cover, big "ADVANCED REVIEW COPY" banner on the front, and a project title like "ARC - The Vampire Unicorn" all combine to stop that special version from going live.
Diana wrote: "I went online and bought a copy of an excellent book that had been given me (and destroyed by my dog). You DID have the cur destroyed, didn't you?
Jon Etheredge
Jon wrote: "You DID have the cur destroyed, didn't you?
No, no. I never mess with critics. They might turn on me!
No, no. I never mess with critics. They might turn on me!
Hey guys, not quite related but as of tonight, Amazon drops price of CreateSpace ED (Extended Distribution) to $0.00.That's right, it's free now! Sign all your babies on!
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Jon Etheredge