CreateSpace users merging to KDP: similarities and differences

If you were a member of CreateSpace, you were likely shocked when they announced in August of 2018 that they were merging with KDP. They gave no notice. Accounts were moved over automatically. The KDP website crashed. Massive amounts of members lost their books, royalties, and struggled with a hot mess transition to the new company. We were told all CreateSpace books would print the same with KDP. However, cover creator is different with KDP. Now the big question – What will it be like when I am ready to publish a new book with KDP?
 
My first 6 times publishing were with CreateSpace. I’ve since published 3 books with KDP. All 3 happened to be published on the same day, October 29th of 2018. Some things were the same. Others were different. I hope this blog is helpful to you in knowing what to expect if you are a former CreateSpace member who will now be using KDP. 

What is the same with KDP as CreateSpace?

 

• Ownership and facilities – Both companies are owned by Amazon and use the same printing facilities. They are still made in America!
• Pricing is the same and there are no new fees. All the things that were free with CreateSpace are still free with KDP.
  • It’s free to join.
    
  • There are no membership fees or annual fees of any kind. 
  • It’s free to add a title.
  • It’s free to publish a book through them.
  • If you can’t afford an ISBN, they will provide one at no cost. That does list them as the publisher.
  • The cost of ordering author copies is the same with KDP as it was with CreateSpace.
• All the title information you filled out with CreateSpace is mostly the same with KDP. It’s the same information. The website is a little different to navigate.
• They still have community forums. 

What is different with KDP for the better?

 

• It’s available on Amazon as soon as it’s published. You’ll have a buy link to post with your announcements.
• If you make changes to your book, your title stays live until changes go through. With CreateSpace your book would be pulled from the market for a few days until the changes were approved. With KDP your book never becomes unavailable when you upload a new interior (ex. fixing typos) or upload a new cover.
• There is no threshold for royalties. You don’t have to reach $100 before payment.
• The dashboard allows you to filter your books. You can filter it to only show your books that are currently live. This is nice for those of us that have retired older editions of our books.
• You can unpublish your books straight from your KDP dashboard.
• You can run ads on Amazon through your KDP dashboard.
• If you also have Kindle e-books, it is nice to manage your digital book and your print book in the same place. 

What is different with KDP for the worse?

 

• The website is not as intuitive as CreateSpace was. CreateSpace was easier to navigate and to add titles.
• We’ve lost the ability to enter a BISAC code. Our genres are chosen through an Amazon drop down menu.
• The cover creator with KDP is so severely awful that I pretend it doesn’t exist. CreateSpace’s cover creator may have been a bit basic, but with a little effort you could make beautiful covers. If you’re using KDP, you’ll need to make your own cover or hire a professional.
• Proof copies have a ‘not for resale’ gray banner across the cover.
• You don’t get to choose your publishing date. With CreateSpace, you would submit your book for approval. After it was approved, you would hit the publish button when you were ready. You could easily set the launch date and announce it in advance. With KDP, you submit your book for approval. The approval process may take hours or days. Once they approve it, they let you know they published it. Your scheduled and marketed launch date may not work out.
• You cannot print books without distributing on Amazon. With CreateSpace you could print books just for you or to sell exclusively on your website or in person. KDP does allow you to choose expanded distribution or not, but you must have your book on Amazon.
• When you go to order copies you might be in for an unprofessional surprise. CreateSpace had us order our books right on the CS website. KDP makes us request author copies. It can take several hours for the request to go through. You will then be redirected to Amazon.com to checkout your books (at author copy price) like you’re simply shopping for a regular item.
• Royalties are paid 60 days later. With CreateSpace it was 30 days.
• The royalty reports are also more difficult to navigate. CreateSpace had a better setup. 

Best wishes to you in
​your publishing journey!

For more information on writing, indie publishing, and marketing your book(s), read my book Lessons on the Author Life. Click on the title for more information.