Do I Need Different ISBNs for CreateSpace and Ingram?

ISBNIn December 2016 I wrote about transferring my books from CreateSpace Expanded Distribution to IngramSpark.

The process was easier than I’d anticipated, because IngramSpark has directions for transferring title assignment right on the site, and both CreateSpace and IngramSpark were available to help walk me through the process.

Imagine my surprise, then, when I recently read a comment on a popular author forum stating that a different ISBN had to be used for each distributor. Now, this is true if you’re using one of CreateSpace’s ISBNs, because in that case, CreateSpace would be the publisher, and they’re the ones who decide how you get to use it. You can read more about ISBNs here.

But if you bought your ISBN, you’re the publisher, and that’s actually indicated within the ISBN itself. Without getting too complicated, that Continue reading “Do I Need Different ISBNs for CreateSpace and Ingram?”

Help! Someone else is selling my book!

Dont-Panic1While taking a short break from obsessively Googling your name and checking your KDP dashboard, you wander over to search for your book on Amazon. Imagine your surprise when – gasp – you see two listings. Or three listings. Or even more! Someone named IHeartBooks is selling your paperback on Amazon! Not only that, but – horror of horrors – they’re charging more than you are. Or maybe less than you are. Or maybe you’re one of those authors who’s stumbled across a copy of your paperback selling on Amazon for $6,789 or some such outrageous price.

The stinkin’ pirates! You should immediately fire off a DMCA takedown notice to have your book removed. Shouldn’t you? Continue reading “Help! Someone else is selling my book!”

Moving Print Book Files from CreateSpace to IngramSpark

ingramspark-logoA couple of years ago Lynne Cantwell gave a great overview of three of the most popular choices for paperback distribution:  CreateSpace, Lulu, and IngramSpark. As Lynne explained, while all three have benefits, IngramSpark, owned by Ingram Content Group, “has the most robust distribution chain of any of the three POD services, as its parent company is the largest book wholesaler in the world.” In fact, when you choose Expanded Distribution for your paperbacks through CreateSpace, the business of printing and distribution actually goes through Ingram.

“Wait,” you’re thinking, “if Expanded Distribution is sourced out to Ingram, why don’t I just go directly through Ingram?” Or you might not be thinking that, but I was, because going directly through Ingram – in this case, their subsidiary, IngramSpark – offers some benefits you just can’t get with CreateSpace. Continue reading “Moving Print Book Files from CreateSpace to IngramSpark”

#IndieHero Mitchell Davis

indie heroes logo darkBack when we first started batting around this Indie Heroes idea at the IU water cooler, the very first thing I thought of was the fact that, to my mind, CreateSpace has revolutionized the publishing industry. Many of you will know that CreateSpace was not an Amazon creation out of whole cloth, but was a very successfully streamlined idea that grew out of an earlier revolutionary concept, BookSurge. Created in 2000, BookSurge was the brainchild of Mitchell Davis and friends, and was the world’s first integrated, global print-on-demand publishing platform. Now, all of our brains work a little differently; mine works in stories, planting them and then growing them in my head until I have to write them down. I doubt I could ever come up with a new idea for a business, and certainly not one that would change an entire industry. Mitchell Davis’ brain, however, does just that. I decided to do a little literary brain surgery to find out just exactly how he developed his idea that has freed so many writers from the paralyzing grip of traditional publishers.

Mitchell, first of all, thanks so much for agreeing to talk with me. I have to admit, I feel a little like I’m sitting at the feet of a giant, so if I gaze up at you adoringly, just ignore that. My questions will be two-pronged, first about how you came up with your idea and then about how that idea has changed the world we know. Continue reading “#IndieHero Mitchell Davis”