Previously I blogged about print on demand’s dirty little secret: the use of third-party printers whose quality cannot be assured, and included this in the 2nd edition of The Global Indie Author. In particular I looked at the use of Lightning Source (“LSI”) to fulfill CreateSpace’s Expanded Distribution orders and the problems that can result. Unfortunately, CreateSpace have now expanded their use of third-party printers to fulfill “overflow” orders, and if my recent experience is anything to go by, authors need to be very concerned.
With the recent release of the 2nd edition of The Global Indie Author, I placed a book order with CreateSpace to fulfill my local distribution needs. At first glance the books looked fine, but when I began leafing through one I discovered to my horror that on almost every page of my 412-page book was randomly bolded text. Sometimes a few characters, sometimes the whole word, sometimes whole lines were inexplicably bolded. I freaked.
When I took the matter up with CreateSpace, it transpired that they had used a third-party printer to fulfill my order. (One of the giveaways was that there was not a production page with manufacturer information added to the back of the book, as is customary.) At first CreateSpace tried to hide behind their contractual caveat that allows them to use third parties and CreateSpace’s warning that quality cannot therefore be assured. I replied that, while I expect some variations in cover color fidelity or interior image and font quality due to different printing technologies, randomly bolded text was way beyond what could reasonably be expected as a mere “quality variation.” Can you imagine a customer receiving such a book, I asked? The reader would have no idea this is a technical problem with a printer and would assume I am some really weird writer who is inexplicably compelled to emphasize bits of text. This would likely result in a negative review that could cause harm to my reputation.
(And if you look at the scan below, you will see that the bolding is not true bold text but a bold text effect: “Do not use carriage returns to force text onto the next page” is bolded in the source document and is a true bold, while “best avoided”, “such as at the” and “the next page you must insert a page break instead. To insert a page break, see” have had a bold text effect applied by the printer. It’s a total dog’s breakfast.)
Worse still, when I asked CreateSpace for assurances they would not continue to use this printer until the problem was sourced and rectified, they refused; they would only guarantee my book would not be printed by this printer in future. They also claimed that this particular printer is not used to print Amazon customer orders, but CreateSpace refused to put this in writing for the purpose of reassuring my fellow authors who use CreateSpace’s services. Consequently, I feel an obligation to warn you all, and perhaps you might wish to call CreateSpace and demand assurances that this unnamed printer not print your books either (CS will not share the printer’s identity, though I do not believe in this case it is LSI as the print technology differs from my LSI proof). Feel free to quote my name and book title (The Global Indie Author: How anyone can self-publish in the U.S. and worldwide markets – 2nd edition) and order #30989614. Maybe if CreateSpace get enough phone calls they will reconsider their position. In the meantime, if you order books from CreateSpace, you would be wise to check each copy before you sell it.
By the way, legally speaking CreateSpace cannot hide behind their alleged contractual caveat because it does not exist for Standard Distribution channels or publisher orders. There is nothing specific in the Member Agreement, and what CreateSpace say on their website is only this: “We print the majority of book orders in our facilities. Additional print facilities may be used to ensure we can deliver your order on time.” It is only for CreateSpace’s Expanded Distribution that a warning about print variations exists on the website, and even then they are referred to by the more palatable euphemism “minor differences”: “Books sold through the Expanded Distribution channels may be manufactured by third parties. There may be some minor differences in manufacturing (e.g. paper thickness, color shade, etc.) between the Expanded Distribution channels and other channels.”
CreateSpace are replacing my books but that does not solve the problem. Clearly they need better quality control, and they need to choose printers with more integrity than one that thinks nothing of shipping out such an obviously defective product.
CreateSpace didn’t work out for me. The book came out great but when it came time to pay out my royalties, a big fat ZERO. The payouts met the minimum threshold, too. They just gave a bunch of lame excuses that never panned out. At the end, simply stalling tactics. There are also many complaints about CreateSpace underreporting sales. CreateSpace is a Amazon company, but it’s a shady operation. I would stay away from them.
Hi Michelle,
I am setting up a Delaware LLC to buy U.S. ISBNs, deal with LSI, and collect revenues from Amazon, etc. I plan to get in touch with you in about two months’ time regarding ebook formatting and other services.
By the way, if you haven’t already done so I suggest joining the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) and advertising your services on this page:
http://www.ibpa-online.org/pubresources/showcat.aspx?id=390
I had been looking at a couple of competitors I found on this page, including 1106 Design, until I read your book and it changed my mind!
Thank you again for all of your comments.
Cheers,
David
David:
I should also add that the quality of your writing shows as well. Please keep me abreast of your publications as I like to inform my readers here and on FB about other readers’ works.
David:
Thank you so much! What makes me most glad is that you’ve captured the essence of what I am trying to impart upon my readers: you don’t have to do it all, but by understanding what is involved you know the questions to ask, you can avoid the fraudsters, and you maintain control over your product. Cheers back to you!
Michelle
Hi Michelle,
I have just purchased the Global Indie Author and after several hours of reading found it excellent. I have purchased numerous self-publishing advice books and yours is far and away the best one, because of its detailed treatment of numerous subjects that other books omit or gloss over.
For instance I had been dying to understand the DETAILS of how eReaders handle image files. I simply could not find this information anywhere — that is until I found your book. Another example is the detailed discussion of ebook formatting. Even though I will be hiring a professional for this task, I still want to understand the challenges and tricks of the trade.
I will be reviewing your book favorably on Amazon and recommending it to others.
Cheers,
David
Hi David:
Thank you for your kind words. Yes, I am M. A. Demers. I’ve written Baby Jane, a metaphysical mystery novel, both editions of The Global Indie Author, and a shorter work, To Kindle in Ten Steps. I’m at work on another novel.
If you’ve just entered the self-publishing field, I would highly recommend the 2nd edition of The Global Indie Author. It may seem overwhelming at first but it’s not intended to be read front to back in one go; rather, read each section as you need it then use it as a reference guide after that. Most of the common problems can be avoided if you learn about the industry before you dive in.
I personally use both CreateSpace and LSI in order to reach the widest market I can without having to print in advance and self-distribute or hire a distributor. I do some local self-distribution but that’s all. In order to use both CS and LSI, though, you have to own your ISBN, so that will be your first order of business, and you can arrange this even if you haven’t yet finished your book. The reasons for this, and all the ins and outs of the ISBN system, are covered in the book.
Cheers,
Michelle
I may have asked a dumb question. After reading further I realized that Michelle is M.A. Demers, the author of this blog.
Hi Michelle,
I read each of your posts in this thread and happened to notice your flawless writing. I’m curious: what books have you written?
I’ve just entered the publishing field and am looking at using either LSI or CreateSpace for POD (or both). It’s a confusing subject, but one you seem quite knowledgeable about.
Cheers,
David
Thank you for your insults in return. My point is that your comments are made without context. I have never had a problem with any of my books, designed in InDesign and converted to PDF, not printing properly with CreateSpace or Lightning Source or my own printer or anywhere else except this unidentified third party. If the problem were with extraneous code in MS infecting my ID file, the problem would not be confined to one printer. As for my selling books with info that can be “googled in 5 minutes”, please specify which info in my books you believe gives rise to your comments. Because anyone who has read my books — one of which is 412 pages long — would clearly disagree. If you’re going to add an armchair review of my books, at least have the decency to read them first.
I resent your insults. I am a professional and I format books for publication for $100. Just because some people think that would be writer are suckers to be bled of cash doesn’t mean everyone does. I format for both POD and ebooks. I have published over thirty books and everyone of my clients have been ecstatic with the results.
I find the problem is that when switching from using a Microsoft product to an adobe product there are often times problems because Microsoft adds tons of extraneous proprietary code to document that is not only un-needed but specifically designed to make it incompatible with non-microsoft products.
Clearly you don’t know as much as you would presume about software.
For the record I don’t condone publishing and selling books that supposedly help would-be writers but don’t. this site is no more than a marketing ploy to try and convince fledgeling writers to buy 2 books they don’t need filled with info that can be googled in 5 minutes.
There are far too many schemers selling worthless books on how to write books preying on the wannabe writer.
No, these are not formatting errors when switching from one program to another; this is a company with a glitch in their system that is not reading Adobe PDFs properly. I have a background in graphic design and use professional-grade software. The file prints properly on CreateSpace’s own system as well as with Lightning Source. And I take offense that you would suggest I failed to properly format my book when you have clearly not even looked at it.
Also, from your comments I would assume you are talking about ebook formatting — no print designer worth their salt would lay out a 412-page manual for $100.00 (actually no decent ebook formatter would format a 412-page book for $100.00, either) — while this is print. Your comments also suggest you only did so to promote your company rather than to engage in a legitimate conversation about the file and possible issues. That should serve as a warning to others not to use your services.
The problems you mention here looks to me to be formatting errors that I’ve seen occur when the manuscript is switched from one program to another. Many Self-publishers will pay hundreds to get a work edited and proofed but nothing on the formatting. The best way to avoid such problems is to do a final formatting of the layout of the book AFTER you’ve stripped all formatting from it. That way only what you want in the way of formatting is in there. That is why I have started a formatting service that is becoming very successful. If you spend hundreds to get a book edited and proofed, go ahead and spend another hundred to get it properly formatted.
Hi Ron:
The problem with CreateSpace and all POD is that quality control is minimal and there is no “standard.” With 10,000 sheets printed per hour on a machine calibrated once per hour, not once per book, quality can vary considerably. And the publisher is not given proper ICC profiles to target because the files are shared either with third parties, as is the case here, or with subsidiaries, as is the case with Lightning Source (who have also branched out into third parties in Germany and Brazil).
If the publisher receives bad books then they are replaced upon complaint. But if a customer receives a bad book, how do they know it’s bad? They have no source document to compare to. That’s the risk with POD. The publisher receives a good proof and then remains blissfully unaware of the varying quality sent to the consumer. It’s only after a bad review (or from reading my posts!) that the author-publisher becomes aware of the problem. By then the damage is done.
What makes this current situation so scary for me is that previously the problems were confined to color fidelity and the overall resolution of the interior — not the best but hardly worth losing sleep over — but random text effects is really bad. That affects the content itself.
Hi Brian:
The problem with the other options is expense. Maintaining stock with Amazon comes at a price. Using CreateSpace means my titles appear as “In Stock” on Amazon US and Europe. I also use Lightning Source for other Amazon sites and competitor retail sites, but if I used Lightning Source or any other POD manufacturer for the main Amazon sites my books would be listed as “Usually ships in 1 to 3 weeks.” It’s a lie but that’s how Amazon behaves. It’s all about forcing publishers to use CreateSpace, owned by Amazon.
The problem you describe as more to do with printing trade customs and quality standards, rather then whether CreateSpace printed your book on this press or that. The books are either produced to trade standards or they get rejected and the printer reprints (at their cost). The best printers have jobs rejected from time to time. It’s part of the process. With that said, one of the problems with many of today’s digital printers is they aren’t really printers.. they are glorified copy shops with no roots in the printing industry.
From the sounds of it, Createspace replaced the bad books. That is all you can reasonably expect them to do. If the quality issues continue, you need to change printers.
I’ve been in the printing industry for over 40 years. It’s a crazy business.
Hang in there
In the modern world of global outsourcing, not only quality concerns but other problems such as IP piracy, information security and service/delivery failures have multiplied at an alarming rate.
I’m struck by the seeming indifference and arrogance of the response from CreateSpace to your issues, to say nothing of their apparent belief that it is sufficient to hide behind contractual terms that might even be considered unenforceable.
There are other POD indie publishers available to you. Perhaps you should explore these. You could still avail yourself of the Amazon sales channel by using FBA to deliver your books, maintaining a stock with Amazon that reflects your sales activity.