I love using Createspace.
I can’t believe I’m saying that.
When I first started making print books with Createspace I hated it.
Yes, using Createspace when you’re new is tough, but it’s like that with everything. I decided to stick with it, and now I have close to 20 of my books in print format. What’s more, some months my print book income exceeds my eBook income. Pretty cool!
So how can you get your eBooks into print format, and is it really worth it?
In this post we’ll discuss Createspace for print books and if it’s a good idea for you. I’ll talk about some of my earnings, as well as some of the headaches I have. In the end, however, I think you’ll see that print is a good option for you, and using Createspace to get that option is a good fit.
To get the best fit, however, you need to maximize your Createspace earnings. That’s the real function of this post – to convince you to get your book in shape so it makes the most money it can for you. Let’s get started.
I can’t believe I’m saying that.
When I first started making print books with Createspace I hated it.
- The site was hard to figure out;
- The templates were a pain in the butt;
- Getting page numbers to work sucked;
- And don’t even get me started on pictures!
Yes, using Createspace when you’re new is tough, but it’s like that with everything. I decided to stick with it, and now I have close to 20 of my books in print format. What’s more, some months my print book income exceeds my eBook income. Pretty cool!
So how can you get your eBooks into print format, and is it really worth it?
In this post we’ll discuss Createspace for print books and if it’s a good idea for you. I’ll talk about some of my earnings, as well as some of the headaches I have. In the end, however, I think you’ll see that print is a good option for you, and using Createspace to get that option is a good fit.
To get the best fit, however, you need to maximize your Createspace earnings. That’s the real function of this post – to convince you to get your book in shape so it makes the most money it can for you. Let’s get started.
Here’s an image of what some of my Createspace earnings looked like for a couple months:
Making more money from Createspace
Here’s what they looked like for a single month this year:
Createspace monthly earnings
As you can see, I’m making some money. A lot of that money comes from just a few books, and one of the things you need to figure out are which books are making you that money. But don’t stop there! You also need to figure out how you can maximize those earnings.
Whoa, maximize Createspace earnings? How do you do that?
One of the things I like to do is formatting. I wrote about formatting my Montana print books awhile ago, and that posts shows you how I increased my royalties by around $1 on each title, just by reformatting. I encourage you to read that post to learn more.
Whoa, maximize Createspace earnings? How do you do that?
One of the things I like to do is formatting. I wrote about formatting my Montana print books awhile ago, and that posts shows you how I increased my royalties by around $1 on each title, just by reformatting. I encourage you to read that post to learn more.
Getting a POD proof copy is a great way to do a final typo check
One thing that I do when I work with Createspace is to order a proof copy. I like to do this before I put the book out there for anyone to buy. I enjoy sitting down in my chair and going through the book, finding typos, captions that aren’t centered, page numbers that are off, or other little things. Maybe there’s a sentence on one page. Sometimes I’ll take out a space under the chapter number to get rid of that.
The point is, there’s lots of little things you can catch when you do a proof review on Createspace. What’s good about this too is that you can get those proof copies sent to you in just a couple of days. It costs about $15 to $20 for shipping, but if you want to get a book out quickly, this is the way to go. I did that when I released Hustlers and Homesteaders last fall, and it was well worth it.
The point is, there’s lots of little things you can catch when you do a proof review on Createspace. What’s good about this too is that you can get those proof copies sent to you in just a couple of days. It costs about $15 to $20 for shipping, but if you want to get a book out quickly, this is the way to go. I did that when I released Hustlers and Homesteaders last fall, and it was well worth it.
I want to get back to the idea of price, however. I really think it behooves you to get your book cost down, both to benefit customers and yourself.
Here’s a look of what I did with my book English Rocks recently. This is one of my best sellers, and if it’s going to get 20 sales a month, I might as well get as much from that as I can, huh?
Here’s what it looked like before I reformatted it and after:
Here’s a look of what I did with my book English Rocks recently. This is one of my best sellers, and if it’s going to get 20 sales a month, I might as well get as much from that as I can, huh?
Here’s what it looked like before I reformatted it and after:
Createspace royalties before reformatting
Createspace royalties after reformatting
Alright, maybe $0.51 isn’t that much, but when you do the math it can add up. Twenty sales is an extra $10.20 a month while 100 sales is an extra $51 a month. Let’s say I did that with 20 books, getting 20 sales a month. That’d give me an extra $204 a month with no work besides that initial reformatting. Over the year that’s $2,448 in extra income – all from the same books!
That’s what lowering your font size, changing your spacing, and decreasing image size can all do. It’s about getting that book to have fewer pages so it costs less to print and ship. That means you make more money as an author.
That’s what lowering your font size, changing your spacing, and decreasing image size can all do. It’s about getting that book to have fewer pages so it costs less to print and ship. That means you make more money as an author.
Now, just because you can do this…should you? What if your book is already 100 pages? Would getting it down to 80 pages help you?
No, because it’ll turn off readers. Who’s going to pay $9.95 for an 80 page book…and I’m sure you’re charging more than that.
I’ll tell you who will pay, no one. I know this because I have books like that (Ale Quest & Black Walnut). The point is, you have to balance the page count of the book with your need to make a profit. I decreased my book English Rocks by about 50 pages, but people keep buying it because it’s useful. But if it was 101 lessons in fewer than 101 pages? Well…I don’t think I could charge $19.95 for it, do you?
So balancing price and profit is a key part of being a successful POD author on Createspace, especially when you’re doing all the work yourself. But if you do it right, Createspace books are the gifts that keep on giving. They really do require little maintenance after being published, and each month you’ll get a few paychecks depending on how many countries you sell to.
If you’re still on the fence about Createspace, you shouldn’t be. Get your book out there to a wider audience – go POD today!
No, because it’ll turn off readers. Who’s going to pay $9.95 for an 80 page book…and I’m sure you’re charging more than that.
I’ll tell you who will pay, no one. I know this because I have books like that (Ale Quest & Black Walnut). The point is, you have to balance the page count of the book with your need to make a profit. I decreased my book English Rocks by about 50 pages, but people keep buying it because it’s useful. But if it was 101 lessons in fewer than 101 pages? Well…I don’t think I could charge $19.95 for it, do you?
So balancing price and profit is a key part of being a successful POD author on Createspace, especially when you’re doing all the work yourself. But if you do it right, Createspace books are the gifts that keep on giving. They really do require little maintenance after being published, and each month you’ll get a few paychecks depending on how many countries you sell to.
If you’re still on the fence about Createspace, you shouldn’t be. Get your book out there to a wider audience – go POD today!
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