LSI ending their distribution relationship with Amazon

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The POD manufacturer Lightning Source International (LSI), owned by Ingram Content Group, announced on Friday (yes, a typical release-bad-news-on-Friday-and-hope-nobody-pays-attention move) that LSI will no longer be distributing directly to Amazon, B&N, Baker & Taylor, Espresso Book Machine, and NACSCORP, and to other wholesale distributors in the U.S. Instead, all titles will now be distributed only via Ingram Book Group, who in turn will resell to all retailers and other wholesale distributors. What this means is that Ingram, who previously did not earn a fee on LSI sales to the aforementioned Read More …

Third edition of The Global Indie Author now available in Canada

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Well, after much trial and tribulation, the third edition of The Global Indie Author is out now in Canada. Readers can find it on Chapters/Indigo and Amazon.ca. By the way, that “Usually delivers in 3-5 weeks” declaration on the Amazon.ca website is nonsense; the book delivers in less than a week. The extended delivery time is just part of Amazon/CreateSpace’s strategy against competitor Lightning Source, which, incidentally, is covered in detail in the book. If you want to avoid supporting Amazon, buy from the Chapters/Indigo website, where the book is Read More …

Third Edition of The Global Indie Author is now available in U.S. and Europe

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The third edition of The Global Indie Author is out now in print on Amazon U.S., UK, Germany, France, Spain, and Italy. All other territories coming soon! eBooks are also on the way. As mentioned in my previous post, the third edition features a new cover, new subtitle — to reflect the truly global phenomenon that self-publishing has become — and a great deal of new content (over 80 pages). The technical chapters have been completely overhauled to deal with the complexities of image handling, the increasing frustrations of font Read More …

Amazon are bullying traditional publishers — why you should be worried

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The BBC has reported on the latest round of negotiations between Amazon and UK publishers as Amazon attempt to secure ever more favourable terms for themselves. Many of you will already be familiar with the Amazon versus Hachette dispute, whereby Amazon are trying to bully large publishers into lowering ebook prices. In the UK, Amazon have further upped the ante by demanding that publishers hand over their print files and give Amazon the right to print any books where the publisher has failed to provide Amazon with adequate stock. But Read More …

Is Lightning Source refusing to accept new self-publishers?

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In an earlier post regarding Ingram’s new IngramSpark, I looked firstly at Ingram’s subsidiary Lightning Source International, its contempt for indie authors, and the consequent difficulties in opening an account. I then looked at Ingram’s new self-publishing portal, IngramSpark, and how it compares to LSI. Now, according to anecdotal evidence and self-publishing guru Aaron Shepard, LSI’s contempt continues: indie authors are not only steered toward IngramSpark as the de facto option, but indie authors who do their research and conclude they would be better off with LSI are being denied Read More …

Is Ingram’s new Spark a viable alternative to CreateSpace’s Expanded Distribution?

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UPDATE: DECEMBER 13/2013: CreateSpace have removed their fees for Expanded Distribution, no doubt in direct response to the launch of IngramSpark. Ingram, the U.S. wholesale distributor and parent company of Lightning Source International, have launched IngramSpark, a self-publishing portal intended to give CreateSpace a run for their money. But will it, or is it a case of too little, too late? When I first began self-publishing in 2011, LSI’s attitude toward self-publishers could only be described as contempt. The application process was onerous, the staff often condescending in their communications Read More …

Is Canada the next battleground between Amazon and Lightning Source?

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In The Global Indie Author I write at length about the predatory practices Amazon/CreateSpace have exercised in the area of print on demand. Watching what’s going on with the Amazon Canada catalogue, I am of the opinion that CreateSpace are positioning themselves to supply the Canadian market directly. Why do I believe this? To answer that we need to look at bit at the history between CreateSpace and its main rival, Lightning Source International, a subsidiary of the giant U.S. wholesale distributor Ingram. Amazon had long been selling titles for Read More …

CreateSpace relax rules about barcode placement

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While working on a new book cover for a client, I discovered that CreateSpace have finally relaxed the rules about the placement of the barcode on the back cover of their print books. Previously, a blank space had to be left in the lower right-hand corner (as evidenced on their templates) into which CreateSpace added the barcode during pre-production. Designers were not left with the option to place the barcode anywhere else. Now CreateSpace allow the placement of the ISBN/price barcode anywhere on the back cover, as long as the Read More …

Lightning Source International’s new standard color offers lower-cost color printing

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About a month ago, Lightning Source International announced the introduction of its Standard Color, a full-color print-on-demand service that prints and delivers in the same time as its black and white option. So how does this new option stack up? Reviews on the various forums indicate the quality is acceptable, though the thinness of the paper does result in some image bleed through, not sufficient to penetrate the paper but sufficient enough to create a shadow image on the reverse side. For most publishers this is an acceptable flaw in Read More …

Kindle expand into Canada – is CreateSpace next?

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Previously, Kindle customers in Canada were serviced by the U.S. site but now Amazon have opened a dedicated Kindle store on the Amazon.ca site. Indie authors whose books are available worldwide will automatically see their ebooks listed on the Canadian site at a price converted from your U.S. dollar price; if you want to set a separate Canadian dollar price, you need to visit your dashboard and update your book’s info. Those authors with a Canadian bank account can now elect to be paid for Canadian sales in Canadian dollars, Read More …