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Tag Archives: Paperbacks
Courtesy Lost in the Digital Age…
Over the years, I’ve had bad experiences with clients. I’m sure we all have and we move on and forward, take it as a lesson learnt and not repeat it. Most of the time it works, however when COURTESY is lacking then I will take a stand. It doesn’t take much to message someone who you were working with to produce a book and let them know you’re going to use someone else.
We all lose jobs or clients at times, though when you’ve worked hard for them including FREE work, then surely it would be a COURTESY let me know they are going to use someone else. I’m upset at the lack of a message, especially after all I did for them. I feel bruised and USED. Like I said another lesson learnt. From now on I won’t be doing any FREE or CHEAP work for those caught out by SCAMMERS mainly because I don’t want to find a post on Facebook saying BOOK LIVE on a manuscript I was waiting to format without realising I wasn’t getting it this time…
No they don’t have to chose my business to do the work even though I’ve redone three books at cost, organised an new illustrator and redesigned several books due to copyright infringement, where they could’ve gotten sued. However, to find them using someone else for interior design without even messaging me is just bloody rude. They could at least tell me WHY?
Finding out why… apparently they didn’t like my FEES for Book three. Get this… I sort out one book making sure DPI was correct, formatting was situated correctly, checking each part for approval, then once approved I make an ebook and I’m asked to upload to their distributor. Then the paperback. No charge. Then we come to the first and second book in a series both of which had copyright issues for which the author could’ve been sued. I find an illustrator, we redo both books and I upload to distributor in ebook and paperback. All approved by client. I only charge $20 USD for uploading due to author being scammed. Now the third book is sorted the same way. I put in real charges this time and yes they knew this. Consultation, sizing of images, formatting of words, approvals, uploads…making ebook and paperback and more. I charged $180 USD. I should’ve been more with an hour rate, though I was still trying to be nice due to them been SCAMMED. I’m not sure how the illustrator feels, though I’m sure they are out of pocket as well.
Now I feel like they SCAMMED me…All the hours I worked on these books and I get paid $220 USD. Way below the minimum wage in the USA and in NZ if I add up the actual hours of work.
DISILLUSIONED IN BUSINESS
FIVERR and the Pros and Cons of Formatting
FIVERR and those who offer Formatting, also known as Interior Book Design, through this platform can be awesome and then not so much. Authors, especially new ones, need to know how to research and get the best. It’s time for those questions again. All Authors need to know what questions to ask to find a good business to help them get the work done. The company also needs to know various things so they can get your Formatting correct without too many edits.
First thing. Remember how long it took you to write your novel! Well, Formatting isn’t done in an hour! I honestly wouldn’t touch any business who says they can format your work for $10 in an hour. There is bound to be something wrong.
Today I watched a video about Formatting. Some useful information, and with the book open on the screen, they showed the results. It was the results which caught my attention. Two things wrong from what I saw. First, the indents looked too big and secondly, the text wasn’t justified. Though, this doesn’t matter on eBooks, in PRINT it is a MUST…Go look at any traditional book, and you’ll see the right hand edges of the text are straight. If PRINT books aren’t Justified, they look horrible. I’m exceptionally fussy, and I won’t even read a manuscript unless it is justified. It’s the first thing I do on a clients manuscript. I will also teach a client how to do this, so they know for next time. You will also find 99% of what I write on my blog is JUSTIFIED. Those articles not Justified are usually SHARED LINKS. I think having your text makes it look nice and tidy.
If you are going to offer a SERVICE to an AUTHOR, please make sure you know what you’re doing. It’s a hell of a learning curve and, unlike many, I’m self-taught and learnt the hard way. I’ve learnt so much now that I’m updating my own books as well as past clients.
QUESTIONS to Ask an INTERIOR BOOK DESIGNER
1. What type of books do you format?
2. What fonts do you suggest for my genre?
3. What size fonts will you use?
4. Do you use the same font for Headings & Titles or blend fonts to work together?
5. What book size do you suggest for Paperback and hardback?
6. What is the best indent size?
7. Do you Justify text?
8. Can you do Contents pages and Linked Contents for eBooks?
9. Headings, Page numbers – Starting at Chapter One, Dropped Caps and Header information?
10. Can your format full-colour children’s books for Paperback and eBook?
11. Do you have samples of your work?
You could probably add a lot more to this list. Make sure you have a good look at the traditional books you see. They can give useful pointers in how you may like to have your text laid out.
QUESTIONS FOR CHILDREN’S BOOKS
1. Font and font size are important, depending on the age of your readers.
2. Do they have experience with Full-colour children’s eBooks and PRINT
3. Do they have experience with BLEED! Will your book have a bleed or not.
4. How do they turn a full-colour book into an eBook and PRINT, so it comes out correct.
5. Will they check the IMAGES are 300 DPI if need be?
HOW MUCH WILL IT COST?
This once again depends on experience and what you want your book to look like. It can also depend on how long the book is. Is it a Novella, Novel or Saga? Is it a Children’s book and if so, what kind?
HELPING AUTHORS.
Once again, as with assisting new authors with bad work, generally from FIVERR Businesses is something we do at Plaisted Publishing House. It can be trying and tiring work, especially if it is a full-colour children’s book. I have assisted with two of these in recent months. If you only pay small amounts, it should clue you in, they may not be as professional or experienced as you might think. I dislike seeing people ripped off, especially if they are on a budget like most Independent Authors are. We’re not all rich, and many of us have jobs outside the home to pay the bills.
Don’t complain about paying someone either. A slightly higher fee could mean better work and that you’re less likely to need someone else to do edits. Remember you pay the plumber to do their job! I have seen bad work. I’ve seen good work. Please do your homework and RESEARCH before you hire anyone.
KNOW WHAT TO ASK, WHEN TO ASK AND MAKE SURE YOU SEE SAMPLES. IF YOUR INSTINCT SAYS ‘HELL NO’ THEN LISTEN TO IT. IT COULD SAVE YOU MONEY.
THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF BAD FORMATTING FROM FIVERR FOR AN EBOOK. WHEN I WENT TO HELP THE AUTHOR, I LOOKED AT THE MOBI FILE, AND THIS IS WHAT I FOUND. I NEVER DID TELL THEM…TO HORRIFIED.
THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT I DID TO MEND THE ABOVE FILE (DIFFERENT PAGE) AND MAKE THE IMAGE LOOK LIKE THE PAGES FROM A PAPERBACK BOOK.
NEEDLESS TO SAY, IT CAN TAKE A WHILE TO SORT THINGS OUT. MAKING SURE IMAGES ARE THE RIGHT DPI AND SIZE – ESPECIALLY FOR PAPERBACKS.
One last thing. I’m still learning. I will always be learning my trade, updating how things are done as technology changes. I’m happy to learn the same as I’m happy to share the Pros and Cons of looking for the right contractor, be it an illustrator, editor or interior book designer.
PLEASE RESEARCH! NEXT TIME I WILL TALK ABOUT EDITING
Fiverr and Images
Many new authors use Fiverr as a cheap place to go and get work done on their books, be it a book cover, images inside a book, editing or formatting. All I can say is please check and research anyone you use, especially from Fiverr and similar sites.
Yes, there are some great people on there, the same as there are in places like Reedsy. Please read their reviews, ask other authors who they use with success. Ask questions of the contractor who wish to use. Find out what questions you need to ask.
My issue with Fiverr, is there are a lot of …well…not so good designers there. After all, you get what you pay for.
Why am I talking about this? Well in the last two months, I have assisted two different authors with their books. First of all the images were the wrong DPI – pixels per inch. If you’re making a paperback book, any images and book covers MUST be at least 300 dpi. It is only with eBooks that the dpi can be lower – 92 to 96 dpi is good.
Another issue is how images are layered! Or were they done with copy and paste? A good artist, illustrator or graphic designer should LAYER images and building them up…NOT copy and paste. When things go wrong it takes a long time to sort out the mess. It’s the same with sizing a manuscript for the paperback. What is the size of your paperback? Do you need a bleed or is it a no bleed book? These are two other issues I’ve had to sort out.
To me Fiverr is starting to become as bad as Vanity Press, though at least you can get a refund with Fiverr.
I know at least one good graphic designer on Fiverr – If they’re still working because, like many new authors, I was one too…once. Seren Waters is a great graphic designer. Maybe it’s time for me to touch base with him again.
PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU RESEARCH YOUR CONTRACTORS BEFORE YOU HIRE THEM OR GO ASK THOSE SIMILAR TO US WHO RUN AUTHOR SERVICES AND OR AUTHOR ASSIST BUSINESSES. WE WON’T LET YOU DOWN AND YOU WILL GET GOOD ADVICE AND SERVICE.
Print on Demand – Publishing a Book!
As a Publishing House, we watch technology to see how it changes relevant to Self Publishing. We are now getting more and more choices for Print on Demand Books.
Here are some distributors who can help you self publish your book. Do remember there is a lot of work involved after you’ve finished writing. Plaisted Publishing House has an Author Assist Program to help you get your manuscript in the best shape for Publishing with any of the companies below. You can find the Submission Guidelines HERE
Distributors of Print on Demand
One of the most popular was Createspace which closed it’s doors and re-opened as KDP Print. Fair enough they still do Print on Demand, though it seems there are still a lot of hassles for KDP Print to get it right. This seems strange considering how good Createspace used to be. I’d like to know how they’ve messed it up so much. It is one I now choose not to use as a Print on Demand Distributor, though we still use KDP for eBooks.
Then we have LULU. They also do Print on Demand and eBooks. It takes a while to learn all the ins and outs, not quite as simple as KDP Print. However, they print on cream paper…YAY, They have LIVE CHAT along with up to 50% Discounts. The only downer to many Independent Authors is you have to buy a proof before they will distribute WIDE whereas with KDP Print you can approve with a digital file at no cost.
SMASHWORDS only do eBooks and it is still tricky. The layout for uploading is pretty easy to use, however, to get the document ready for their site is another matter. They are probably the fussiest of all distributors. The ebook cover has to be a certain size. For the uninitiated, it can be a nightmare of complications. On top of this, your manuscript has to be saved as Doc 97 which very few use anymore. We’ve been waiting for them to update for years.
Ingram Spark is a distributor of Print on Demand. We use this company with several of our clients. They do cost so it is up to the author if they wish to have an account with them. On top of this, they also do Book Covers differently. Instead of RGB colours, they use the CMYK which you use at home with your printer. You also need to download their templates for the book cover size and make sure you add the 5mm on the top, bottom and the unbound edge of the cover and the interior. Make sure you use margins or your file can be rejected.
Draft to Digital is a great distributor for ebooks. They have templates you can use, however, I’m not overly keen on them when I see the files. Some looked pushed up and without the correct spacing. To us this is annoying. They do a good royalty share. Today they ran out their Beta Print Book for testing Print on Demand for Authors to try out. We may well try. We’ve already heard about issues…They don’t do wrap covers…yet. We also noted in the email we received that the royalty share was 40% of the list price and they still take off print cost. Where does the other 60% go? We haven’t seen or read about this yet and will keep our eyes peeled to find this information. Confused? We are too.
These are the Print on Demand distributors most of us know about. However, Europe is digging in their heels with their own companies. Do you want your Self Published Book for sale in Europe? One site we were introduced to also do translations on a royalty share scheme. I suppose this would be a bit like with ACX and Audiobooks.
There you go…Information on ‘How to Self Publish a Book.’ Don’t forget we are here to help you.
Thanks for Reading. Please SHARE
Draft to Digital – POD
YES, YES, YES…DRAFT TO DIGITAL ARE TESTING PRINT ON DEMAND…
I could dance, clap my hands in glee and jump for joy. Though I won’t mainly because I’ve no idea how good POD with Draft to Digital is going to be yet. I’m just excited about there been another company is going through the paces.
No we all know KDP have gone to PRINT and closed Createspace down. We all know they made a mess of things AND considering Createspace worked perfectly, KDP Print has not taken off as it should’ve. A perfect system gone to…Well, I’m not quite sure. I do know they are still having issues and authors are looking for other distributors.
Up until now, we’ve had LULU and Ingram Spark. Both good, both different and using different colour codes.
DRAFT 2 DIGITAL
What are they going to do and offer? At present they are inviting authors to sign up to BETA test their system once they are ready. Did KDP do this? Maybe someone can answer this. I for one am looking forward to testing their POD.
Now for eBooks which they already do quite successfully. They have good templates, though I do wish they would tweak them a little. The paragraphs seem to disappear. As a formatter, this irritates me a lot. I like my stories to look nice. Here is hoping they get great feedback from Beta Testers and get the Paperbacks perfect.
Good luck Draft to Digital it’s great you’re joining the paperback world.
My Journey into Creating a Publishing Company – Part Two
Here I was proud to be a Director of my own limited company. With a gentleman who was going to assist with Marketing in exchange for publishing a book and my daughter as a contractor to do Book Covers.
My daughters hobby business is Ceejay Designs. Claudia was studying Graphic Design after being trapped in our home with agoraphobia. This was her first step into the real world for two years. I was and still am so proud of her accomplishments. Today she still suffers from Anxiety, however she is braving the world, moving from New Zealand to England with her family to have time with her English grandparents.
Back to my Publishing Company…
It was the end of 2014 beginning of 2015 and I had a few articles in the Newspaper about my business, me as an author and my first client (exchange not paid). This bought in three more clients over 2015. It was great. A small amount of work, though I was still learning the ropes. This helped me grow at the rate I needed to. Those clients were – Norman McClean, Captain B M Commons & Bob Sutton, the last two have since passed away.
The other course was a Certificate in Small Business Management, Level 4 which I studied one night a week at Te Wananga o Aotearoa which is a Maori College. I met some amazing students there who are still good friends today. The third course was a diploma in Small Business Enterprise, Level 5. Both of these taught me a lot of different skills which I needed to run a successful business. However, I also needed publishing skills. How to format a book to look professional.
What did I do…?
Research, which is something all authors need to do if they wish to be proficient and successful. This is where the library and the local book stores come in handy. You can look at books and see how they are set out. It is mind-blowing how much work goes into creating a book. As many say – ‘Writing the book is the easy part’. Not sure I would always agree with this, however I now know the ropes to help my clients get the best formatting around. Yeah, I am proud of myself and what I can do.
Some of the things you need to learn as a publisher…!
What does a paperback book page look like?
Where does the Copyright page go?
Do you need a Contents Page?
Do you need a Contents Page?
Acknowledgements & Dedications?
Where does the Author Biography go?
Author Links? How do you make them and where do you put them
Then you need to style the paperback pages…
Headers for paperbacks
Page Numbers.
Fonts Style – Which are the best to use?
Font Size
Margins
Book Size
Footnotes & Endnotes
Criteria for Distribution Websites
What about ebooks…?
Hyperlinks
Contents Pages
No Headers
No Page Numbers
No blank pages
Remembering we read an e-book as if it is a scrolling document. You don’t need to choose a font or font size, the distribution websites do this for you. A reader can change the size and font to what they wish once the book is downloaded. This is unless you embed the fonts you are using
How do Children’s books Differ…?
Artwork & Illustrations.
Full Colour or Black & White
Fewer Pages
Bigger Font Size
Different shape and size books – paperbacks.
What you need so you can turn your manuscript into a product people will buy…
Book Cover Design
Editing and all the different types a writer may need
Beta Readers
ARC Reviews
Contacts & Connections
Social Media
Marketing
The list goes on and I continue to learn something new every few months. I will probably talk a bit more about my learning curve and how or what I had to do to get the job done.
Towards the end of 2015 Plaisted Publishing House made their first Anthology. There were so many entries that two books were made with about 600 pages in each one. These Anthologies were made in conjunction with the Awethors Group on Facebook. They were to be used as a marketing tool for the authors who participated. The e-book would be FREE and the paperbacks – due to being so big, were $25 a piece. It took months to organise with many of the group volunteering their services with Beta Reading, Editing and Checking. I was in charge of the formating and publishing. What a learning curve that was.
We had a huge release day over several continents and if I remember I think I stayed up for 17 hours posting on my website about each and every author who filled in an interview form. Of course in those days I was new to WordPress as well. If I knew I could schedule posts, I probably would have gone to bed a lot earlier.
During the Event several of us did Take Covers on various blogs. This was my post as an author. The characters take control…LOL. This was posted on Northern Witch Books
My Muse Attack
All in a day’s work
by Claire Plaisted
“Claire what on earth are you doing to Fabia, who’s attacking her?” demanding Zoe, flying through the door, Jagan (thank the lord) a small drag on her hand blowing fire.
“Slow down Zoe, and please tell Jagan to stop his fire, I don’t want the fire alarms or sprinklers being set off again,” I told her sternly.
“Jagan,” she scolded.
“Sorry, it’s such fun,” he sighed, curling up to go to sleep.
“Fabia will be fine, she is allowed to have an adventure too.”
“I don’t want her getting hurt.”
“I won’t get hurt Zoe,” said a smiling voice from the door.
“Fabia, she squeals, shoving Jagan in her pocket.
They ran to each other hugging, both talking at once.
“Girls, will you either calm down or get out of my office.
“Sorry Claire,” they grinned.
They sat on the sofa, clasped together giggling when Tristian from ‘Fred the Evil Incarnate’, walked in, they gawked, eyes wide.
“Yes Tristian?”
“What did you do with my son?”
“He went exploring.”
“Please find him.”
“Da da, I’m going to have an awesome adventure.”
Tristian’s youngest boy rushed through the door, his dark hair and grey eyes alight with excitement.
“Where too young man,” he said crouching down.
“Into the other worlds beyond the edge,” he replied.
I cringed, waiting for the explosion of temper, before he could Abraham from GIB walked in, his hands in his pockets. He looked tired and on edge.
“Abraham,” I murmured standing up and approaching him. “What’s wrong?”
“The world is going to go to hell!” he said looking down at me.
“What do you mean?”
“I met…oh never mind, just get ready to die, the world…” sighing he walked out again.
“What was that?” said Zoe?”
“That was Abraham, he works with Garrett Investigation Bureau,” I replied frowning as I sat back at my desk.
“What was he on about – the world going to hell stuff,” said Fabia. “Our world went to hell and is on the brink of returning to near normal again.”
“Tristian, meet Zoe and Fabia, best friends from a book called “Princess of the Earth.”
“Hi,” he smiled down at them kindly. His son tugged on his dad’s hand. “Yes son?”
“Who’s that in the doorway?”
“Hey Cera, solved anymore riddles lately,” I grinned.
“No,” she scowled. I can’t find…”
“You can find anyone.”
“Those dratted faeries took her, I lost her track,” she snapped.
“Well get the heck out of here and find her and hurry up. I want your novel on sale by this coming Christmas at the latest.”
“Charming, has to be my fault.”
“Well you’re the one with the magic powers Cera the Black Cat.”
“Whatever,” she said as she changed into her cat form and padded out of my office, the others with their jaws dropped open.
“Get outta here you lot and go do your thinking, I need to get some of these draft stories finished.
There was a knock on my window. I looked out and nearly screamed, when I realised it was Paul the Moa with David his best friend. Quickly I jumped up and flung the windows open.
“Oh my, it’s two years since I last saw you two, how you’ve both grown.”
“Yeah Paul is quite scary now he’s twelve foot tall,” laughed David, with a cheerful grin.
“So you must tell me your adventures, last time I was writing about you, Paul was only a baby and fast asleep.”
“We’ll stop by soon when you’re not so busy,” he replied.
Pulling on the bridle, Paul pecked me, making me laugh then lifted his head away and off the ran over my back garden, I looked now at the rather large footprints Paul left behind and winced, my gardener was not going to be pleased.
“What the hell was that thing, it looked like an overly large Ostrich,” gasped Eilish Garrett, who’d entered my office while I was chatting with David.
“That’s a Moa, a native New Zealand bird which was thought to be extinct.”
“It’s huge.”
“Maybe I’ll introduce you one day. Meanwhile, everyone out, I need my office back so I can finish at least one novel.
“Grumbling the left, though I knew I would be disturbed again soon. It was always the same with my muses. God help me when the Gothixies finally put in an appearance.
The door crashed open.
“When are you publishing my story?” demanded Jones.
“Another few weeks, now get out,” I was getting aggravated with them all.
“Touchy aren’t you,” he grinned and slammed out again.
“Just one more interruption and I’ll scream,” I muttered as I began to type once more.
Since this was blogged. Jones’ story has been published, the world hasn’t ended and nor has Abraham’s book been finished so you still have time to prepare for the end of the world. The other lovely characters and muses have draft books still pending.
Back to the Event…
What I didn’t realise at the time, was this event would increase not only my knowledge but my connections as well. We enjoyed the event so much, we also did an Anthology in December. Religion sort of got in the way, however my daughter came up with the book title ‘December Awethology’. Once again there were two books though much small this time.
In Part Three I will tell you about the difficulties I had…Publishing isn’t all easy, sometimes Clients can misbehave and I’ve had several.
Uploading your Self-Publishing Paperback to KDP Print
We all know that KDP Print is likely to be taking over from Createspace when they finally close their doors (after all we’ve seen go on in the last 12 mth) I thought it would be good to do a presentation for those who wish to use KDP Print.
In the early days, I heard a lot of complaints. Their book cover wrap kept rejecting book covers which Createspace always accepted. There were no Author priced copies, the author was paying the same as any other customer… etc.
Needless to say they have slowly improved as the last 12 mths progressed. People are happier with their service. I have just put up my first book to see what all the fuss is about and so I can give this presentation to you all.
How it Works
PAPERBACK DETAILS
As you can see from the above image you need to select what you wish to do. For this presentation is it the Paperback. Click on this and you will go to the next image shown.
Following the details, you need to pick the language, put in your book title and any subtitles it may have along with any series information. As you scroll down you’ll see more area’s to fill in. What is the edition? Who is the Author? Are there any contributors?
Now for the description or synopsis. These are difficult to write and need to be in about 500 words. It needs to give a brief glance into your story. Who are the main characters? What is the story about?
Next you choice your copyright and Keywords. I will talk about the keywords below the image. They can be really tricky.
KEYWORDS You need to use short phrases, make a list on a piece of paper about your story, narrow down the words, think of different words you can use or what readers may search for to find your book. The smaller the category the bigger your chances of being in the top 100.
Categories – I really dislike these. They aren’t brilliant. In my opinion they’re too vague. You still need to pick two which you think are closest to your story. If it has adult content then make sure you put in YES.
CONTENT DETAILS
On the second page of KDP Print you get to choose a FREE ISBN or use one you already own. There’s also a publication date…However I’ve never used this either here or on Createspace.
The next part is the same as LULU – though as you can see it is at a later stage in the process. Below are the details where you can pick what you wish the interior of your book to look like. The ones you see highlighted are the ones generally used by most paperback distributors. The costs will vary to what you pick in size and page count.
After you have chosen the interior details, you can upload your formatted manuscript. Make sure your manuscript matches the above details – margins, paper size etc. You will want it to look professional and like any other book you may find in your local bookstore or library.
The second part of the above image is all about your cover. Many Authors have covers made for them, 95% of the time they will be wrap book covers which fit the page count. This means they are front, back and spine. They will be delivered to you from your graphic artist as a PDF and you or your publisher will upload it.
If you don’t have a print ready PDF Cover then you will need to launch the Cover Creator. Of course I forgot to get images of this process. However it is rather simple. You get to choose a book cover template and upload the e-book cover to it. Next you will need to type in or copy and paste the synopsis on the back cover and add any logos, profile image, bio…etc. Next you will review the cover.
The above image shows the book cover and interior so you can check it is what you wanted. As you can see I have missed a few things on mine. Page numbers at the bottom. copyright page and author name/book title in the header. I did this to show everyone that mistakes can be made. I will be updating this book Later. If they pick out any errors you will need to fix them.
PRICING YOUR BOOK
Since the site is American you will need to pick a price for the book which is higher than the Min. The List Price shows the book needs to be above $3.58 So depending on how much royalty you wish to make on your book is how you price is. As you can see i priced at $3.99 – It is a novella in length. After the American pricing you can then sell it on the other 6 market places. Once again you can price it what you want or base it on the American price. You can use which marketplaces you wish.
In the next image you can see the Japanese Price List. I’ve never sold on there, though I know a few who have. Make sure you read the terms and conditions, especially if you are a first time author. Once done you can purchase your proof copy. Some authors like to get the paperback in hand prior to pressing PUBLISH…which you can see on the bottom right of the image.
Of course once you hit PUBLISH you get the Congratulations notice along with being asked if you have yoru story as an ebook.
Once you go back to your BOOKSHELF you will find your book will be under REVIEW, just like in Createspace. Now is the time to wait for your email to see what you’ve missed or if you’re in the clear and it can go LIVE
Thank you for reading my presentation.
I do hope it helps with your publishing.
Createspace – Closing their Professional Services. Is this another step to closing their business?
WE all know I don’t like Createspace anymore due to their Customer Service debacle and how they treat their customers. They are so not with it. I’m glad to get out now rather than when they close their business down for good…To me this is what it looks like and I’ll tell you why.
I have worked in several businesses which have closed down and slowly but surely they get rid of things they no longer need. If your observant enough…you notice and it makes you wonder. Are they closing? Is this why customer service is so bad? Do they really want to work with Indie Authors or are they just money hungry and we’re not bring in enough profit for them anymore?
If I follow my instinct the first thing Amazon rolled out was print on KDP! Why did they do this? Createspace was excellent at the time and I loved using their website. From authors around the world I heard scathing comments about KDP Print and how bad they were, rejecting book covers continually. One author had her cover rejected 37 times where as on Createspace it was accepted straight away. I decided to stay away. I hated the thought of even trying to use them at that stage.
Then suddenly I was having issues with Createspace. Their customer service was all over the place, moving from one to another person, not reading emails, getting things wrong…totally incompetent. In my company they would be reprimanded and given training to upgrade their skill set. Then it was the turn of the ordering area of Createspace. Books disappearing, Tracking number telling authors their books were going somewhere else. They couldn’t even tell the difference between the Northern and Southern hemisphere. Astounding mess. Though this one incident had a happy conclusion in the end nearly five months later. I know for a fact this author won’t order though Createspace again.
Next it ws Copyright Permission. Their policies stated you’re only allowed to upload documents you own or have copyright permission of. Yes there have been a hell of a lot of stolen manuscripts out there, however there are many ways this is done and most have nothing to do with Createspace. So here they are demanding proof…Something new they’d never asked before. If you know your business law (mine was New Zealand) then you can’t share private and confidential information with another party without permission from the person it involves. I never have and never will share contracts, emails or anything else without permission. Saying no to Createspace turned them into …well i’m not sure what. On top of this the book was published as an ebook and is for sale on Amazon, but they wouldn’t publish the paperback. Guess who went to LULU. They’ve been excellent by the way.
What else can happen? Oh yes PERMA FREE. Due to all the fuss I stopped uploading to KDP and started to use Pronoun – who we all know closed this month. With Pronoun you could make a book FREE and no problems. I wish they hadn’t closed. Then Draft to Digital had distribution rights to send to Amazon, however, in their deal you couldn’t mark a book as FREE. So I did the usual request and the second time they said no because it wasn’t uploaded to KDP only distributed. (They accepted the first…meaning they can’t even get this right) They told me to contact D2D and get them to send a request. I’m sure this is more work which D2D don’t really want! Much to my joy they did so but, I can still see a price on it on Amazon. Though this could be me having a New Zealand Account.
Now the reason for this blog. Createspace are no longer going to be offering professional services to authors. They don’t wish to work one on one with you. No Book Cover Design, No Marketing and No Editing (I didn’t know they offered Editing.) This info comes from a friend I sometimes work with. The original blog was from Book Baby who like me offer all the service to Indie Authors. They found the information in a newspaper in the USA/
ARE THEY CLOSING DOWN? WHAT DO YOU THINK?
If you do need services for Editing, Cover Design, Formatting and some Marketing (I’m looking at taking a course in Marketing this year) Then please consider using Plaisted Publishing House. We love working one on one.