CreateSpace Writers Workshop

Photo by adamr

On Saturday, the Center for Women here in Charleston, S.C., held their monthly Womens Writers Forum. The guest speaker was David Symonds, General Manager of CreateSpace, the self-publishing arm of Amazon.com.

First of all, let's just say more often than not, living in Charleston doesn't allow for access to people like David. Typically, companies (large and small) in the publishing world aren't located in South Carolina.
New York? Yes.
L.A? Sure.
Chicago? Sometimes.
Charleston? Um, no.

CreateSpace, however, is located in North Charleston, S. C. I was thrilled at the opportunity to hear from David without travelling to a conference to ask him my questions directly.

David and his colleagues were informative, knowledgeable, and willing to answer even the toughest questions to the best of their abilities. First, he reviewed the process of publishing a book with CreateSpace from start to finish. Then he discussed royalties, and finished with a Q&A session. Needless to say, tough topics came up like the Indie bookstores' boycott of Amazon products, the lack of returnability of CreateSpace products, and lack of access to Amazon Canada, just to name a few.

Here are my takeaways:


1. CreateSpace is just about as easy as it gets for new authors to upload a book, create a cover and hit publish. Now we all know that ease is not the most important thing when it comes to self-publishing, but for someone like me who has used other Print on Demand companies, ease is a welcome change. Who doesn't want easy?

2. CreateSpace (print books) and Kindle Direct Publishing (ebooks published for the Kindle) are NOT the same thing. While they are both owned by Amazon and work together, an author must create an account with both companies and upload your document to both companies. Definitely a downside when you are looking for a streamlined service.

3. Amazon Canada is not part of the distribution options when you publish with CreateSpace, yet Amazon Europe is. Is that a big deal? I think so.

4. Expanded Distribution is optional for $25. This means Amazon will make sure you are listed with Ingram and Baker & Taylor. But, let's face it, the chance that a bookstore will pick up your book when it's not returnable (and CreateSpace is not), is small at best. Unless you are the next Amanda Hocking, they will go with something else to fill that wild card spot on their shelf.

5. There are many different options when it comes to ISBNs through CreateSpace. The options range from the simplest (you are assigned of their ISBNs for free) to publishing as your with your own imprint and purchasing an ISBN at $99. This is a convoluted topic. Do your research before making a decision.

Overall, I was impressed with CreateSpace's software, their commitment to making publishing easy for everyone, and the fact that they recognize they may not be the perfect publishing route for everyone - but they're ok with that. They strive to do the best they can for the authors that choose them.

Finally, here was the Quote of the Day summarizing one attendee's take-away:

"You don't have to pick one way or another (traditional, hybrid publisher, or self-publishing); you just have to have quality content."

Amen.

Ebooks As Easy As 1,2,3

Many people have great ideas for writing an ebook, but have absolutely NO IDEA where to start. Here is your step by step guide to writing and publishing an ebook:

Step 1:  Write the book. 
I know this sounds like it would be obvious, but you would be surprised how many people never actually start writing their book because they aren't sure about the steps following the writing. If you are unsure how to start writing, read our post Just Start Writing. Once you have a written ebook to work with, publishing it is a lot easier!

Step 2:  Pick a Great Title
It may seems reversed to pick your title after writing the book, but during the organization and writing of your ebook, the content can take a different direction than originally anticipated. This happens all the time and is normal. Picking  a title at the end allows you to really get to nitty-gritty of the completed ebook. One thing to remember: because your book will be viewed on a tablet or e-reader, it's vitally important that your title grabs interest. The most successful ebooks have titles that tell the reader what the book can give them in the title. Such as "5 Ways to Make Money Blogging in 5 Days." (Not a real ebook of course, but I would buy it, wouldn't you?)

Step 3:  Design a Cover
I can't stress enough the importance of having your cover professionally designed. Once again, someone browsing books on an e-reader is going to decide whether or not to read the information about your book by the title and by the cover of the book before they ever read a word of what the book is about. Find a reputable ebook cover designer either online, or from a personal recommendation and then don't settle. If you have to spend a little more money in the beginning to get the cover you want, DO IT. You will be happier with your product and it will sell significantly better in the end for the extra care you put into it.

Step 4:  Have Your Ebook Digitized.
This is the step where you select a company to change your document into a usable digital format. Smashwords and CreateSpace are well known websites that can do this for you. Do your research here and make sure that the website you choose for this project fits into your overall publishing plan, not only for this book, but your future work.

Like I said...easy as 1,2,3. Let me be your cheerleader for a moment: YOU CAN DO IT! Really, you can. The hardest part is getting started, but remember, you have something to say and now, with ebooks, you have a forum for it.

Once this your book is ready to sell, it's time to think about marketing, promoting and selling your ebook...but, that's for a future post.  Stay tuned...

Do you have questions about ebooks? We'd love to answer them!