- Have you been thinking about moving your paperback book
from CreateSpace to KDP Print?
(upbeat music)
Do you wanna know the benefits of publishing your print book
on KDP Print versus CreateSpace?
Then, you'll want to tune in today as I give you
four reasons to move your CreateSpace book to KDP Print.
Stick around.
(dynamic music)
Welcome to Self-Publishing with Dale.
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Have you published a paperback book
on the Amazon-owned CreateSpace Publishing platform?
Are you beginning to wonder if CreateSpace
is shutting its doors?
Drop me your thoughts, I'd love to hear from you.
Not too long ago, we published a video on YouTube
about the potential death of CreateSpace.
Many industry insiders worry over the potential closing
of the Amazon subsidiary of CreateSpace.
Understandably so, considering the recent addition of print
to the Kindle Direct Publishing platform.
Sure, people were sweating the demise of CreateSpace
out the gate.
But, now that KDP Print is slowly implementing changes
and benefits that CreateSpace doesn't offer,
it has many indie authors wondering,
should I move my CreateSpace book to KDP Print?
That's why I thought I'd kick you a handful of reasons
to move your CreateSpace book to KDP Print.
As per the usual disclaimer,
though this list isn't exhaustive, it certainly gets you
guided to a more informed decision.
One, no expanded distribution sales.
In my previous posts about how does expanded distribution
work on CreateSpace and is expanded distribution
on CreateSpace worth it, I covered the pros and cons
of using this option on CreateSpace.
Currently, KDP doesn't offer it.
According to the feature comparison checklist of KDP Print
to CreateSpace, they plan to eventually add this feature
to the KDP platform.
But, let's face the facts.
Expanded distribution has two factors
working against it.
One, is the loss of profits due to the middle man
collecting their cut.
And, two is you don't have much control in advertising,
therefore, you're left to either driving traffic
to the various expanded distribution platforms
or hope marketing.
Sadly, relying on hope for marketing or organic traffic
doesn't quite get the book sales for most indie publishers.
So, if you aren't drawing a dime on expanded distribution
or even use that option, why not consider
moving your book from CreateSpace to KDP Print?
Two, advertising.
Outside of opening an Amazon seller account
like Amazon Advantage, there's really no way
to internally drive traffic to your CreateSpace book.
Technically, Amazon reps state that Amazon Advantage
is not for advertising your CreateSpace print books.
At least, that's what they have informed me
and others time and again.
Recently, in my post about AMS Ads for Authors:
Advertise Your KDP Print Books,
I share how KDP is officially allowing you to advertise
your books through your AMS for Kindle dashboard.
I've covered how AMS ads are dead simple
in my YouTube video series How to Use
Amazon Marketing Services in Under 15 Minutes.
With that being said, you can now take the knowledge
you've built on driving traffic to your e-books
and apply it to advertising your KDP paperback today.
Three, one less item.
Ling-chi, also known as, death by a thousand cuts.
Every time you have to open a different dashboard
or check the latest report, you slowly remove
tiny chunks out of your day.
And, that's time that'd be better spent on producing
more high-quality work or marketing your latest book.
Having your e-books and print books in one spot,
for lack of better words, cuts down
on the number of distractions.
I understand how some indie authors feel
about putting all their eggs into one basket
when publishing e-books and paperback books in one account.
The truth is, you shouldn't hedge your bets
on any one avenue.
That's why you should diversify
your self publishing portfolio and build
a business that reaches beyond the Amazon marketplace.
You have the choice of building a brand through video,
audio, or even your own website.
Relying solely on Amazon KDP or CreateSpace
for your income is a disaster waiting to happen.
So, if you're balking at moving your CreateSpace books
to KDP Print because of worry over losing it all
at one false step, then you haven't taken the proper steps
to protect your business anyway.
Focus on how to protect your business first,
and then look at how you can optimize your workflow
by only having to open one dashboard instead of two.
Four, KDP Print future expectations.
Though KDP Print is still in beta,
they've already publicly stated their intent to acquire
the same features and perks you've come to expect
in publishing books on CreateSpace.
In August 2017, I published the YouTube video
about KDP Paperback versus CreateSpace Book Publishing.
At that time, CreateSpace had only one factor
working against them, distribution to Amazon Japan.
And, KDP Print didn't have much working in their favor
including no proof or wholesale copies,
no distribution to Amazon Mexico and Canada,
and no expanded distribution.
Well, KDP Print has changed significantly since that post
and though they haven't picked up distribution
to the previously mentioned regions,
they have opened proof and wholesale copies.
Admittedly, their idea of ordering proof copies
is kind of wonky at the time of this release.
You can order a proof but only after it's live
in the Amazon Books Store.
If enough of us complain about that misguided option,
I'm sure KDP will fix it to where we can order proofs
before our book goes live.
All that to say this.
KDP states in their article Move Your CreateSpace Paperback
to KDP that they have intent to get expanded distribution
and distribution to Mexico and Canada.
And, if I were a betting man,
then I'd say it'll be sooner than later.
With more reasons stacking in favor of moving
your print book from CreateSpace to KDP Print,
you'll eventually have to wonder when it's finally time
to take the dive.
I know it can be scary especially if you're used to
the comforts of the familiar CreateSpace platform.
I can assure you, (lively music)
I share the same reservations.
I'll remain cautiously optimistic and will share
with you soon how simple it is to migrate
your CreateSpace paperback book to KDP Print.
Till then, if you enjoyed today's content,
then help out a friend out and share it with them too.
This has been Self-Publishing with Dale,
and I'll see you soon!