Publishing with Amazon

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   Aya Katzposted 14 years ago

   Is there any way to publish traditional books directly with Amazon? Every time I try to look that up on their site, they direct me to their Kindle section.

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      saket71posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      hi Aya, what you can do is publish using Createspace and then opt for EDC, which will allow you the access to Amazon. I had got my book published on a POD publisher based out of India, then with the same ISBN and a different cover, set it up on Createspace with the extended channel option, so the book is now available on Amazon,  as any other book available there. You can check the book there (If Truth were to be told).

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         Aya Katzposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Wow! That's a great idea!

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      daisyf1305posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      http://www.amazon.com/gp/seller-account … =200260520
      The above link will take you to the createspace site that connects to the amazon self publishing. I am trying this myself not quite done though.

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         Aya Katzposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks, Daisy! That is helpful!

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2. 82

   Aya Katzposted 14 years ago

   So... No ideas on this?
   
   From what I've been able to see, you can publish your book directly on Amazon, but only as an electronic text down-loadable on Kindle.
   
   To publish as a traditional book in the print-on-demand line, you have to go somewhere like Lulu.com or its competitors.
   
   Am I right? Or is there another way?

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      The10DollarMarkposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I'm almost 90% sure you can't publish non-electronically on amazon. Like you said, you'll need to go to Lulu.

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         psycheskinnerposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Yes you can, via their wholly owned POD service Createspace.

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      saket71posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      You need to go to www.createspace.com and get published there. Then chose for EDC, which will put your book on sale on amazon.com. You may check details on my hub on the topic.

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3. 82

   Aya Katzposted 14 years ago

   TenDollarMark, thanks! That's what I figured, but I wasn't absolutely sure, because I'd seen people talking about how you don't need any other service and can go straight to Amazon.
   
   However, lots of people balk at the expense of getting a Kindle, so it makes sense to also be published in a more traditional medium.

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      celticmelodyposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Aya Katz:
      
        Yes you can publish on Amazon.  If you go through their company Createspace.    At Createspace.com you can publish a book, a DVD, OR a CD.    Createspace is also free for the basic service and, like lulu.com, people can order hardcopies of your book.  Both companies have book packaes that include upgraded covers, editing, formatting, and more.       Lulu does charge a small fee (if you do not buy one of their packages) if you want to be listed on Amazon.   With Createspace, it is free.   Although, Createspace does charge to be listed on extended databases:  barnes & noble, wholesalers to libraries etc.
      
      http://www.lulu.com/services/marketing/retail_listing/
      On lulu.com, you must be considered eligible for distribution.  Not all projects will qualify. 
      
      On Createspace, if you have your own ISBNs and publishing imprint (ex. AyaKatz books), you can submit them to Createspace,  Which I thought was a big plus.   
      
      Months ago BookSurge and Createspace merged.   Both are/were subsidiaries of Amazon. 
      
      Sorry to be so windy in my answer.  I've been researching this myself if you haven't noticed

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4. 82

   Aya Katzposted 14 years ago

   Celtic Melody, thanks so much! This is the information I needed. Why don't you write a hub about it? I'm sure many of us will want to read it.
   
   So, to recap, I can use my own publishing company's name and ISBN number in order to get print-on-demand services on CreateSpace and market free of charge on Amazon?

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      celticmelodyposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I'm in the process!   I'm so far behind technologically speaking. I'm still figuring out how to add links etc. to my hubs.   I'm helping my belly dance students get ready for their spring performance so I've been very time crunched lately.  But, I hope to have some hubs up. ( One on THIS topic) before the end of the week!)     
      
      My books are nonfiction.  I decided to go with CreateSpace and purchase the LCCN # (Library of Congress Control #) because I want my book available to libraries.

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   Falsor Wingposted 14 years ago

   Is amazon just a vanity publisher? would I have to pay them to publish something?

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      Aya Katzposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      The idea with print on demand is that it's not like vanity publishing. If there is no demand, nothing gets printed and nobody is out any money. If there is an order, you get your cut and they get theirs.
      
      However, if you want them to edit or get you a cover or provide some kind of service besides print and sell, then they charge you.

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         Falsor Wingposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         do you know what these services might include?

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            Aya Katzposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            You should check out the different packages they offer.
            
            Some include PR or marketing, some don't.

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         psycheskinnerposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Amazon is a vendor, CreateSpace provides publishing services.  Any kind of self-publishing could be called "vanity" although it is normally reserved for situations where the author is paying an up front fee.

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   classicalgeekposted 14 years ago

   I just wrote quite a detailed hub on this a month or so ago, including a link to a quite well-researched pdf file on many different publishers.
   
   If you have your own publishing company and own ISBNs, you can skip Amazon entirely.

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   katiem2posted 14 years ago

   Great topic, thanks for bringing it up, I enjoyed reading this thread and learning a great deal of insights...

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   ryankettposted 14 years ago

   I got halfway through publishing with Lulu, before realising that my time was probably better spent on hubs.

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      Joy56posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      hi love the avatar Ryan

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         ryankettposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks, I can't claim credit for it though... I just stole it from Google images

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   Stacie Lposted 14 years ago

   i'm ready to write a book and this is one outlet I'm considering..

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      Website Examinerposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Lulu has a package, for previously unpublished works, that gives you an ISBN and automatically links to Amazon's database, among others. Lulu is very user friendly, flexible.

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         Stacie Lposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         ok i'll check it out...

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         SilverGenesposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Is there anything like this with Blurb? I'm just beginning to check things out and find it all a bit confusing.

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            Website Examinerposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            I took a quick look at their website. Seems that unlike Lulu, the company you mention does not issue ISBNs. At Lulu, these are optionally provided free of charge. Since Blurb does not administer ISBNs, I wouldn't count of them being able to hook you up with other databases.

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    Cheeky Girlposted 14 years ago

    You can write your book as a traditional book and get it published 2 ways with Lulu.com. Sell it from their site (they have a deal with Amazon and so all Lulu titles are sold automatically on Amazon anyway!) as a traditional book (cover, books pages, etc). Or publish it electronically as an eBook. You can sell an eBook via any site you like. Even set up your own one for free. (webs.com let you do eCommerce on their free sites for free, I think!) You can sell the eBooks via Lulu.com (they get part commission) and via Amazon (they get part commission). Whoever sells for you gets a cut. You can sell yourself! Publicise via Hubs and other sites or blogs or facebook if need be.
    
    Hope this helps.

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    Website Examinerposted 14 years ago

    What Cheeky Girl says sounds true for e-books without copyright protection. If the books are encrypted to prevent sharing, the distribution options are fewer and the author cannot sell via their own sites.

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12. 59

    Dr Love 69posted 14 years ago

    I am totally lost on this topic other than regular ads I receive.  I am "old school" and have only been writing on the internet for a little over a year.  (I'm used to being able to hold the books and papers in which my writing is published.)
    I DO recall one option that might be helpful.  It's an online option that allows you to publish online and you get paid according to the sales of your book.  the thing that caught my eye was how it seemed to be different than all those vanity press businesses which require you to put up all this money from day one.
    I'm not sure any more about the name of the company but I am sure one of the big surfers here would know now that I have described it.  personally, I like getting a check from a publisher for my writing as opposed to the other war around BUT going into something where you DO get paid when sales are made and keep all your rights could be good for something not very "mainstream" like poetry.

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    Website Examinerposted 14 years ago

    Print-on-demand publishers like Lulu work this way. There are no up-front costs, you set your own price, and the publisher deducts printing costs and overhead from any sale; the balance is transferred to the author, who retains copyright.

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14. 59

    Dr Love 69posted 14 years ago

    Thanks Web!  I am not surprised YOU knew!  I'm not sure if that's the one that sends me e-mails but that is exactly what i am referring to--thanks!

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    RobertAllenSavageposted 14 years ago

    If you want shoddy work, high costs and everything that makes your book a losing proposition, by all means go with Lulu. You can in fact get both digital and physical editions of your book through CreatSpace.

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       Website Examinerposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       I don't find this to be a particularly fair, accurate or constructive criticism of Lulu. However, I will set out to learn more about Create Space.

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          ryankettposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          To be honest, I have to agree with him. A 138 page standard size paperback for me had a Lulu cut of something like £8.20!
          
          I would have to charge £10 ($15) for a self-published 138 page paperback, just to make £1.80 for myself. Who the hell is going to pay £10 for a thin paperback unless it was highly unique and in demand? The marketing costs are the authors at the end of the day, the margins are just not great enough to make self-publishing through Lulu viable.
          
          If I decide to publish the book which I decided against publishing at Lulu, I will give Createspace a go. I would be looking at charging £6.99 maximum with a cut of at least £1.50 for myself.

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             Website Examinerposted 14 years agoin reply to this

             I just ran those figures through Lulu's cost calculator, which I have found reliable:
             
             138 pages, Pocket size (4.25 x 6.875), Black & White interior (full color cover); Perfect bound; 1 copy
             
             Manufactoring cost: £3.79 / $7.26 / €10.38.
             
             On top of that, Lulu would charge 20% of the overhead, so about £1.42 on a £10.00 book, leaving you with a profit of approximately £4.79 - close to 50%.
             
             Shipping charges are not included in the above.

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                ryankettposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                But it is essential for certain aspects of my books interior to be colour, in fact just 5 pages. The whole book just doesn't work without these colour illustrations.
                
                Now, run the cost for a colour book. I have just checked and it is in fact 158 pages, I wanted it in pocket book format ideally.
                
                Now calculate the margin on that! It is not viable...

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                   Website Examinerposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                   It probably isn't viable with a color interior, I'm not into those kinds of books.
                   
                   Well, if you could contribute the relevant figures for Createspace, then maybe we can run a Lulu check again and compare. I am not a Lulu fanboy or anything, it would be good to have all the facts out there in the open.

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                      psycheskinnerposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                      Generally Createspace produces a lower price product by a clear margin, but I haven't tried it with a full color project.

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                   psycheskinnerposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                   Most of these self-PODs don't allow you to designate just a few color pages, so they price it as a full color project.

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16. 84

    Marisa Wrightposted 14 years ago

    Just checked out Classical Geek's Hub, I think a link is justified as it's very relevant to this discussion:
    
    http://hubpages.com/hub/publish-your-own-book

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       lisabeamanposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       I agree... very useful hub. I'm glad you posted the link! Thanks.

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    Jael Turnerposted 14 years ago

    I agree Createspace or Lulu. jael

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18. 84

    Marisa Wrightposted 14 years ago

    I just signed up with CreateSpace - and discovered that I have to apply to the US tax office to get something called a TIN number.
    
    I don't understand - I've had to submit declarations to other sites to say I'm a foreigner, but that's easy.  This is the first time I've been asked to apply for anything.
    
    Is that because books are different?  Or has Amazon just got it wrong?  I remember having a similar problem with Commission Junction a while ago (which they've now fixed).

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       RobertAllenSavageposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       TIN is a Tax Identification Number, required with any US business entity. Now I will finish my story about the treachery of Lulu, I had an oversea buyer of my book, they charged full international rates, it wasn't cheap, my buyer on the other end then emailed me and said that the book was actually produced by a firm in his own country, there should have never been international shipping involved, but let us not call that shady.....okay. How about the fact you cannot even preview a physical copy unless YOU pay for it? Maybe you don't find butchered artwork set wrong to margin on the front cover something that bothers you. Maybe you do not even consider the fact that Lulu never answered emails at all. Just for kicks, try to call Lulu sometime! See to those of us who still believe that ethics in publishing is important, this really bothers us, but hey if you want a cheap product as a presentation of your life work, then go with Lulu.

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