# Createspace



## JP Harker (Mar 14, 2016)

OK, I appreciate there have been other threads on this but the ones I read are a good 3 years old and I just wanted to get some recent opinions:

  Although I'm still emailing agencies to try to get published the traditional way, the cynic in me is thinking it's probably worth looking into self publishing options.  By far the best spoken-of options that I've seen in my research are Createspace and Lulu.  I have 3 fairly broad questions to that end;

  Does anyone have any particularly positive or negative experiences with these two that they could share?  

  I am something of a technophobe, how tech savvy does one have to be to make this sort of thing workable?

  If I self-publish a book, is there any legal jiggery-pokery I should be wary of if I subsequently want to publish the traditional way?

  Sorry if this has been gone into before but I know that these things change and I'm an extremely paranoid man - all opinions appreciated!


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## psychotick (Mar 14, 2016)

Hi,

For sales the best place to self publish your ebook is Amazon kindle. CreateSpace is a good platform as a back up though. However I don't use it much any more as my books are all going out on Kindle Unlimited which requires exclusivity.

Cheers, Greg.


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## MichaelSullivan (Mar 15, 2016)

JPT said:


> Does anyone have any particularly positive or negative experiences with these two that they could share?



I have nothing but positive things to say about CreateSpace. And highly recommend them. I've used Lulu for hardcovers and they have been "mostly fine" but I have had some books that were messed up very badly (containing other people's books within mine. kind of thing.



JPT said:


> I am something of a technophobe, how tech savvy does one have to be to make this sort of thing workable?



Both are really easy to work with. 



JPT said:


> If I self-publish a book, is there any legal jiggery-pokery I should be wary of if I subsequently want to publish the traditional way?



It depends. I was picked up by traditional big-five BECAUSE I had self-published, not INSPITE of the fact. But some publishers prefer to have a clean slate when it comes to works. Bottom line, if your sales are outstanding, it'll help you. If they aren't great than it might hinder the situation.


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## MichaelSullivan (Mar 15, 2016)

psychotick said:


> For sales the best place to self publish your ebook is Amazon kindle. CreateSpace is a good platform as a back up though. However I don't use it much any more as my books are all going out on Kindle Unlimited which requires exclusivity.



I may be wrong but the exclusivity aspect of Unlimited is only for ebooks. It prevents you publishing the ebook on B&N or Apple, but it doesn't have anything to do with the print version.


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## JP Harker (Mar 15, 2016)

Cheers both - paranoia assuaged somewhat!


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## psychotick (Mar 15, 2016)

Hi,

Oops, sorry - having a mature moment before. Was thinking Smashwords and Lulu before. Use CreateSpace by all means since it's also Amazon along with Kindle - but concentrate on your ebook with kindle first. Ebooks sell most for us indies.

Cheers, Greg.


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## TAGallant (Mar 17, 2016)

I think the thing about self-publishing is the danger of not doing it right. One of the benefits (I nearly said _few_) is that the publishers always have editorial teams and access to basics like good cover designers. The self-publishing market is rife with thousands of books that should never have seen the light of day without a lot more editing.

So I'd say: self-publish if you're a perfectionist with a lot of patience, or have access to some objective people who will catch your weaknesses and mistakes. And be willing to spend money on a professional-looking cover. (Honestly, if I were not a graphic artist myself, I don't think I could afford to self-publish....)


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## psychotick (Mar 17, 2016)

Hi JPT,

I'm just going to add to what TAG said. Do not self publish at all until you are absolutely certain that the work you are putting out is the best you can do. That means the work has been beta read and edited to within an inch of its life. The cover design is professional and of the type expected for the genre and style. It's been properly formatted.

If you want to go trade and get an agent etc that's good. But these days we are moving into a new market paradigm where a lot of self published authors will be picked up before complete newbies. Self publishing may actually be your ticket to getting a trade publishing deal - though usually not for that particular book. Just for the ones that may follow. I'm currently going down that road myself. 

Think of this book if you self publish as your audition. It's the one that will tell an agent / publisher - this guy can write a damned good story. He can sell. I want him.

And by the same token think of this book if you do a half hearted job as the book that will sink your career before it begins. Too many take that path.

Cheers, Greg.


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## JP Harker (Mar 17, 2016)

Thanks,
  busy pestering yet more people to beta the crap out of it even now!  Like you say, I don't want to become another self-published writer who clearly didn't put the work in.  So...to work it is!


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