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Amazon is Merging Createspace Into KDP Print

I called it.

Amazon has just taken the step that I am sure many saw coming. A new notice has been posted to Createspace user dashboards, informing them that CS is merging into KDP Print. Amazon has also launched a new page in the KDP help pages that explains how this merger will affect authors, and how they can move their titles from Createspace to KDP Print.

 

Acquired by Amazon in 2005, Createspace started life as a DVD and CD production service, but later added book POD services after it merged with Booksurge (which Amazon also bought in 2005). Judging by the website, Createspace has operated essentially unchanged since that merger, right up until Amazon started shutting it down earlier this year.

The author services dept was the first to go, and then in July Amazon announced Createspace’s DVD production had been merged into a new Amazon unit, and now book POD is getting swallowed by KDP Print.

Launched in July 2016, KDP Print is intended to give authors an easy to to manage both their print and digital books in a single location. In its early days access was quite limited, but the service opened for a public beta test early last year, and Amazon has been adding features ever since.

The newer platform doesn’t have as many features as Createspace. For example, KDP Print only offers expanded distribution in the US, while Createspace supported Australia, Japan, and Europe. Also, KDP Print charges authors full retail for author copies, while Createspace  gave authors a wholesale discount.

Update: Amazon PR disputes the point about expanded distribution, insisting that KDP Print has the same reach as Createspace. That’s not what their last announcement said, however.

Unfortunately, we’re just going to have to live it, because Amazon has made it clear that soon there will be nothing more left of Createspace than there is of Lexcycle, Booksurge, Mobipocket, or the many other companies Amazon has consumed.

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Comments


Eric V. Van Der Hope August 27, 2018 um 7:52 pm

Hey Nate – yep, saw this coming as well, sometime after they launched their Beta test for KDP Print it was becoming obvious. For some time now I’ve been encouraging my students and clients to no longer use Createspace.


Carmen Webster Buxton August 27, 2018 um 9:40 pm

I just posted about switching to KDP on my blog! I’ve only moved 3 books though. I have a couple in draft I was having problems with. I hope I can start over without it getting tied up in transit. I don’t recall if I had assigned an ISBN to those books already or not.

I did see an expanded distribution box in the set up screen, but I did not check it. It looked like maybe using that option meant you had to set the price higher, and I don’t want to do that.


Tracy August 28, 2018 um 7:28 am

Hmm… it’s not on MY dashboard on Createspace.

I’m staying with Createspace until I’m forced to move, and then I’ll do it unhappily.


kathyide August 28, 2018 um 10:55 am

Charging full retail price for author copies? If that’s true, a lot of authors are going to be looking for other publishing options.


Jean-Thomas Cullen August 28, 2018 um 12:30 pm

As a small press publisher with over 50 tities out, I was looking into B&N’s effort to revive its own POD press (B&N Press). One thing I learned that shocked me is that apparently many of these POD fronts are actually arrangements with Ingram’s Lightning Source. I fled from L/S after ten horrible years. Is that true for CreateSpace also? Secondly, I will say that the CreateSpace website has been looking like a neglected junk yard for many months… so maybe this explains it. The problem with Kindle has been that there’s nobody home; try getting a response from their customer service; nobody answers because nobody is there. Will that change? I suspect that Jeff Bezos does not like to invest in infrastructure; will that change? CreateSpace help is/was in India, but they were very good at responding to most issues.


Robin Praytor August 28, 2018 um 1:17 pm

Have two books published through CS and one project pending publication. Nothing on my Dashboard; no new messages or announcements since late July; nothing under "Press Room." Also, no related posts under "Community." What’s happening?


Terry Odell August 28, 2018 um 6:24 pm

I also see nothing on my CS dashboard, and if I click "add new title" it opens without any warnings. I’ll wait and see. It’ll be a while before I have another print release, so maybe things will be clearer by then.


Carmen Webster Buxton August 31, 2018 um 1:09 pm

OK, this is weird! When I moved my books, there was an option on the KDP menu to order author copies, which I did for one book, and they were very similar to CreateSpace on price. The shipping cost has a high minimum, so it’s only feasible to order enough that the per copy price is still less than retail. Then people started complaining that KDP didn’t offer author copies at a reduced price, and when I checked, it looked that way! The description of "Author Copies" was full retail price! But just now I checked again and it again offers author copies at "printing cost only." I wish I had made screen shots!

They seem to have also changed the protocol for moving over books. When I did my first 3, it asked if hey were published already on CreateSpace, and when I said yes, I could use the same ISBN and it just moved the PDF files over without my reloading them. That question about publishing n CS is no longer part of the KDP setup screens for paperbacks.


Amazon News and Tools October 25, 2018 um 1:02 pm

[…] “Amazon is Merging Createspace Into KDP Print” on The Digital Reader […]


Createspace To Merge into the KDP Platform | Official Website of #1 International Bestselling Author – Eric Van Der Hope April 22, 2019 um 2:18 am

[…] [NOTE: I’d like to recognize Nate Hoffelder (the founder and editor of The Digital Reader) for “catching” this latest newsworthy piece of information that’s been in the works for a long time. I’ll reference his article here: https://the-digital-reader.com/2018/08/27/amazon-is-merging-createspace-into-kdp-print/]. […]


ISBN Registrations Jump 40% After Cretaespace is Merged Into KDP Print | The Digital Reader October 16, 2019 um 12:10 pm

[…] increase is probably due to Createspace being bundled into KDP last year, and reflects authors taking the opportunity to create print editions for their existing […]


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