The most popular self-publishing distribution service for print books—owned by Amazon—is being integrated into another Amazon division
Last week, an email announcement from Amazon started arriving in inboxes: the self-pub services CreateSpace (for print) and Kindle Direct Publishing (for ebooks), are merging into one entity.
The move has been rumored ever since the launch of KDP Print in early 2017, when it became possible for CreateSpace users to transfer their print titles to KDP. However, at the time of KDP Print’s debut, there were considerable drawbacks to the service.
Today, KDP Print is more or less equivalent to CreateSpace. Let’s first cover what has not changed, then consider the differences.
What remains the same:
- KDP offers Word templates for book interiors and a Cover Creator tool, as CreateSpace did.
- Authors retain ISBN flexibility—you can either request a free ISBN from Amazon or bring your own.
- The financials and distribution options are practically identical. KDP Print offers distribution to Amazon only, international distribution, and the option of expanded distribution to retailers outside of Amazon, on the same terms as CreateSpace. However, those who were using CreateSpace for expanded distribution only and not selling through Amazon will now have to sell through Amazon as well.
- Printing costs are the same. The two services use the same printing facilities, and delivery times are the same.
There are some distinct advantages to KDP Print:
- You get a sales dashboard that integrates sales figures for print and digital copies.
- You can buy Amazon advertising for your print books (already available for ebooks).
- Copies ordered by authors based in Europe will be locally printed, although it’s unclear just how local the printing will be. Still, it’s presumably better than having the books printed and shipped from the United States.
- If you have to update an existing, published book (e.g., upload new files to correct typos), KDP does not take the book down from sale while approving new versions, as CreateSpace did.
It’s not all good news, though. Some early adopters of KDP Print, as well as those who are now grappling with the change, have been grumbling about deficiencies in the service. Arguably, they affect a small number of authors, but just the same, we’ve observed some frustration and loss of trust.
- Authors cannot buy pre-release copies from KDP Print without them being labeled as such. At CreateSpace, it was possible to order an unlimited number of print copies before the book went on sale; such copies could be sold or given away by the author. While it’s still possible to order proof copies, they come with a mark that says they’re not for resale.
- Pre-orders for print books are still not available. Pre-orders are still available for ebooks via KDP, as before.
- Many languages are not supported in KDP Print. CreateSpace accommodates several different languages, alphabets, and writing systems, including Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and Urdu. KDP Print is limited in this regard; see the list of accepted languages here.
- Production costs will increase for shorter books in Europe. On KDP, color books less than 30 pages and black-and-white books under 110 pages will see an increase in unit (printing) cost.
- Your subtitle may need to be modified. CreateSpace has no restrictions on book subtitles, but KDP Print does. Your subtitle must match what’s on the cover.
Anecdotally, customer service under KDP seems to be worse than under CreateSpace. Partly that’s because CreateSpace has always offered a phone number that you can call for assistance. KDP relies on email and tends to offer more canned responses, leading to slower progress.Bottom line: If one measures the market based on number of ISBNs issued, CreateSpace has 80 percent of the self-publishing print universe and has issued more than half a million ISBNs. That’s a lot of titles to potentially migrate to Amazon KDP. Authors are being alerted in phases to the change, so if you use CreateSpace, you may not be able to migrate just yet. The good news: if you do absolutely nothing to migrate your CreateSpace titles to KDP Print, and if you leave them untouched, they will remain available for sale on Amazon. Here’s Amazon’s full FAQ.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
