8 Comments

Great article Winston. I went with IngramSpark because I wholly expect Amazon to censor me in the future lol. Amazon KDP is probably less clunky, but once I got the hang of it, I find Spark pretty easy to use. It does not offer a custom book cover generator and does not tell you where your book is listed once it's published. I had to search around to find them all but they did cast a wide net, with all the usual suspects carrying my book, including Amazon. Customer service has been helpful, but yes, the time difference does have you waiting until the next day.

That is a great royalty rate KDP gave you though! if anyone is curious, this is how IngramSpark's breakdown it's royalties:

The following is an example of how compensation earnings are calculated, in US pricing:

$25.99 Retail/List Price of the book

-55% Wholesale discount distribution partners receive

$11.70 Wholesale price the distribution partners pay Ingram

-$7.14 Print cost for a 6x9 (229x152mm) 400-page BW Interior paperback + 1% Global Distribution Fee

$4.56 Compensation earnings

Hope that helps someone!

Expand full comment

Hey Victor, thanks for reading, and for sharing your experience with IngramSpark. It’s super helpful to get that perspective as many folks want to weigh their options with self-publishing. I’m sure things will continue to improve for all parties involved as these processes get refined and updated.

Expand full comment

This is so helpful, Winston! Thank you! It actually sounds like fun and not as daunting as I imagined. I think it has motivated me to finish my book so I can finally publish it :-)

Expand full comment

I can’t wait to hold a physical copy!

Expand full comment

Totally appreciate you sharing the process! It’s really helpful. Thanks!

Expand full comment

Glad you found it helpful, Priya!

Expand full comment

Super-helpful, Winston. Straight in my saved folder!

Expand full comment

Thanks, Adrian!

Expand full comment