The dirty little secret about 'Expanded Distribution' through KDP is that they only offer retailers a 25% discount (vs. the 40% they give to Amazon) and don't allow returns. Ask any bookstore owner, and they'll explain that the unfair terms KDP has setup through expanded distribution is exactly the reason they tell indie authors 'no' who ask them to carry their books. I agree it's a great place to start, but you are severely limiting yourself if you still exclusively with Amazon. Also, the print quality through KDP is noticeably inferior because they use less ink.
Thank you for weighing in, Brian. Yes! There is a challenge for the indie bookstore owners if the books are quality ones they want to carry. I've found, though, that a lot of the books first-time authors are publishing are ones many indie stores aren't looking to pick up. It's good to get a start and learn the publishing industry before authors assume all stores are dying to carry their books in a brick-and-mortar store. The online expanded distribution is the best place for a first-time author who doesn't know what they are doing.
I see so many authors asking for help from online friends because they get stuck in the requirements for professional publishing. And many authors don't want to assume the costs for returns and such, which leaves bookstores at a disadvantage too. I wouldn't want to take a risk on a book I couldn't return. And yet as an author/publisher, I don't want to assume all the risks either. So, even with my 50% discount, it isn't the best deal for bookstores that carry my books.
The crazy thing is that books are often coming from the same printers these days. They both use Lightning Source, and I have received both KDP and IS books from the same printers.
Overall, despite having most of my books in both places, the sales on IS are so minimal it's hardly worth my effort. It would have to be the right book and the right bookstore for it to be profitable for me.
I agree with your assessment of KDP and IngramSpark. For my first book, I only published with KDP for the first year. After some time, I also added IS. Some advantages of IS that I wanted were wider distribution (w/o decreased royalties on Amazon), and being able to put my books on consignment in a few of my favorite independent bookstores. Understandably, Indie bookstores do NOT want books purchased through Amazon.
So, now I'm working on my 2nd book and was going to publish through both KDP and IS from the get-go. My mistake was deciding to also publish my eBook through IS. BIG mistake! Initially, everything was good, but then I made some edits to my ePub file, and got some crazy error messages that I was unable to solve (w/o hiring someone who could read code). The problem was that because my eBook and print book were linked, I was then unable to finalize my print book.
I decided to cancel my eBook with IS. BUT...an author can't just delete or cancel a book. I had to send an email to support, and after nearly a week, the ebook was finally canceled. It still took another day or two to get it unlinked from my print book so I could finalize it. What a pain!
I still believe in publishing a print book through IngramSpark, for the benefits mentioned above. But, I will NOT be publishing an eBook with them again, and I would NOT recommend IS initially for first-time authors due to the many issues and hassles you so thoroughly covered. Great information!
Yes, the e-book is a hassle with IS! I had to edit with Calibre to get rid of some errors. Because of the higher printing costs in IS, my royalties are actually not greater there. I give a 50% discount to bookstores. Also, what indie bookstores don't realize if if I order books and have the printed copies sent to me to consign, they are printed in the same places through Lightning Source. KDP doesn't earn anything on those author copies.
The dirty little secret about 'Expanded Distribution' through KDP is that they only offer retailers a 25% discount (vs. the 40% they give to Amazon) and don't allow returns. Ask any bookstore owner, and they'll explain that the unfair terms KDP has setup through expanded distribution is exactly the reason they tell indie authors 'no' who ask them to carry their books. I agree it's a great place to start, but you are severely limiting yourself if you still exclusively with Amazon. Also, the print quality through KDP is noticeably inferior because they use less ink.
Thank you for weighing in, Brian. Yes! There is a challenge for the indie bookstore owners if the books are quality ones they want to carry. I've found, though, that a lot of the books first-time authors are publishing are ones many indie stores aren't looking to pick up. It's good to get a start and learn the publishing industry before authors assume all stores are dying to carry their books in a brick-and-mortar store. The online expanded distribution is the best place for a first-time author who doesn't know what they are doing.
I see so many authors asking for help from online friends because they get stuck in the requirements for professional publishing. And many authors don't want to assume the costs for returns and such, which leaves bookstores at a disadvantage too. I wouldn't want to take a risk on a book I couldn't return. And yet as an author/publisher, I don't want to assume all the risks either. So, even with my 50% discount, it isn't the best deal for bookstores that carry my books.
The crazy thing is that books are often coming from the same printers these days. They both use Lightning Source, and I have received both KDP and IS books from the same printers.
Overall, despite having most of my books in both places, the sales on IS are so minimal it's hardly worth my effort. It would have to be the right book and the right bookstore for it to be profitable for me.
I agree with your assessment of KDP and IngramSpark. For my first book, I only published with KDP for the first year. After some time, I also added IS. Some advantages of IS that I wanted were wider distribution (w/o decreased royalties on Amazon), and being able to put my books on consignment in a few of my favorite independent bookstores. Understandably, Indie bookstores do NOT want books purchased through Amazon.
So, now I'm working on my 2nd book and was going to publish through both KDP and IS from the get-go. My mistake was deciding to also publish my eBook through IS. BIG mistake! Initially, everything was good, but then I made some edits to my ePub file, and got some crazy error messages that I was unable to solve (w/o hiring someone who could read code). The problem was that because my eBook and print book were linked, I was then unable to finalize my print book.
I decided to cancel my eBook with IS. BUT...an author can't just delete or cancel a book. I had to send an email to support, and after nearly a week, the ebook was finally canceled. It still took another day or two to get it unlinked from my print book so I could finalize it. What a pain!
I still believe in publishing a print book through IngramSpark, for the benefits mentioned above. But, I will NOT be publishing an eBook with them again, and I would NOT recommend IS initially for first-time authors due to the many issues and hassles you so thoroughly covered. Great information!
Yes, the e-book is a hassle with IS! I had to edit with Calibre to get rid of some errors. Because of the higher printing costs in IS, my royalties are actually not greater there. I give a 50% discount to bookstores. Also, what indie bookstores don't realize if if I order books and have the printed copies sent to me to consign, they are printed in the same places through Lightning Source. KDP doesn't earn anything on those author copies.