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| CreateSpace | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Manuscript screening: | No | ||
| Kind of contract: | Non-Exclusive | ||
| 2+2=5 | They reserve the right to change the terms and conditions of the agreement whenever and however they see fit. It is your responsibility to keep track of those changes and you don't have a grace period in which you can opt out before those changes take effect. | ||
| Distribution: | Their site, or their site and online retailers mostly if you opt for their Expanded Distribution Channels (it is worth noting that 'their site' is amazon.com) | ||
| Basic fees: | Paperback publishing | Basic paperback fee is $538.00 ($499.00 for the Author Advantage Package plus $39.00 for 'Pro Plan' upgrade that allows for expanded distribution). | |
| Hardcover publishing | Not available | ||
| Combo publishing | Not available | ||
| Color publishing | Basic color publishing fee is $898.00 ($859.00 for the 'Total Design Freedom Children's Package plus $39.00 for 'Pro Plan' upgrade that allows for expanded distribution). | ||
| eBook publishing | This publisher belongs to amazon.com and the terms in that regard are the same any other author would encounter (free, non-exclusive and with royalties ranging from 35 to 70% of retail price). Distribution through other retailers must be arranged separately. | ||
| Royalties: | Rather than as a fixed percentage, royalties are calculated as Retail Price minus a percentage of retail price (this figure ranges from 20% for eStore sales to 60% for external channels) minus printing costs but over all the results are extremely favorable to the author. | ||
| Author's discount: | Authors can buy copies of their books paying only their printing costs. | ||
| Break-even point: | Less than 200 copies of an average length book. | ||
| Basic retail price: | Set by the author but can be extremely competitive (you could set a $12.95 retail price for a 200 page book and still earn a competitive royalty on external sales) | ||
| Layout: | You select a number of options and they will provide you with a basic layout. | ||
| Graphics: | Available as an extra only. | ||
| Cover options: | Cover design is your choice out of eight possible templates. | ||
| Trim size: | You have a number of trim sizes to choose from. | ||
| Additional options: | Distribution via external channels requires an additional payment of $39.00, though this also lowers your printing costs considerably (this fee is included in the above mentioned examples). You can publish basically for free if you can supply your own layout and cover. They offer one less expensive package ($299.00) where they help you design your own cover and layout. They also offer a more expensive one ($758.00) that features a custom cover and layout. |
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| Pros*: | *Good distribution. *Reasonable setup fee. *Great royalties. *You can buy copies of your book paying only your printing costs. *Competitive retail price. |
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| Cons*: | *There is a huge problem with their contract (as in you could wake up tomorrow to find that you are now bound by an exclusive contract you can no longer walk away from or even that they own all rights to your work. To be fair, these scenarios are unlikely but under the terms of their current agreement they cannot be entirely ruled out). | ||
| Comments*: | This publisher has renamed itself so many times it's not even funny any more (first it was Great Unpublished, then it became Global Book Publisher, then BookSurge Publishing and finally CreateSpace). This publisher is owned by amazon.com, a fact that gives it a significant advantage when it comes to distribution. |
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| The Bottom Line*: | CreateSpace gets the second place in this comparison because, due to the fact that it belongs to amazon.com, it can offer a deal no other publisher can match when it comes to dollars and cents and the fact that authors who can supply their own ready to print layout and cover can theoretically publish for less than $100.00 doesn't hurt matters either. On the downside their contract does include an extremely dangerous clause, one that may well be a deal-breaker. |
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| Visit the publisher's site | |||
| Last updated: 06-26-2011 | |||
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