Tag Archives: Kindle Direct Publishing

Writing

Createspace’s Secret Hardover Option

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Much like the secret menu at In-N-Out Burger (an INCREDIBLE California fast food burger chain), Createspace also has a secret menu. One of the more awesome items is the hardcover book option.

As of the date of this post, the current pricing is:

$99.00 – One-Time Setup Fee
$6.50 – Cost per book
$0.015 – B&W per page cost
$0.15 – Color per page cost
$2.00 – Dust Jacket (optional)

Now, there are some caveats to the Createspace book:

  • The hardcover is set up as a separate title in the author’s account, and gets a separate ISBN number.
  • The conversion takes a ridiculously long time to get done (about 10 days).
  • If there are ANY color images (or text) the ENTIRE book is subject to the color cost per page charge.
  • The book isn’t eligible for any of Createspace’s distribution channels. Really. Only the author can order the book to sell or distribute.

Continue reading →

Self Publishing, Writing

Amazon’s KDP Pricing Schedule – Some People Get It, Some People Don’t

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

In a recent article in the Telegraph by Tom Whitehead titled “Self-published authors hit by Amazon online royalties cut” he complains that “Specialist and minor authors are being damaged by Amazon’s online royalties scheme that punishes those who do not want to sell their books at knock-down prices” and “Writers who are likely to have a small readership, particularly in niche markets, are being penalised if they want to sell their books at a high price.”

Really?

Obviously, some writers can’t do math very well – or haven’t scored a book deal with a publisher lately.

Let’s look at the bottom line: with a traditional publisher, the author receives a percentage of the net profits, which means that he’s probably putting down around 15 – 20% of the sales price of any given title. That’s being generous.

Continue reading →