Print on demand on Amazon, anyone ever tried?

[Rene K]

Anyone tried or have an experience with kdp.amazon.com, Amazon's print on demand service?

[Pandora H]

I've never even heard of this service. I see it's for Kindle Publishing, as apposed to graphic printer.

I have heard of Kindle though, and can add this little bit of trivia:

This  thing you linked might be one of many reasons that the "Kindle Market" is a bit messy right now. Some reallly low quality stuff has been surfacing. The system needs better Q &A, without a doubt.

(I came adress some misc online articles abvout the "kindle market" in general, the last few months).

[Rene K]

Pandora, I agree that since the eBook revolution allowed everyone and their cousin to publish stuff for free, all kind of c***p is now available on the electronic shelfs.

But back to my topic, Amazon also does print on demand books. I'm interested in those because I may have an idea that may sell in France, where eBooks never really caught up (people prefer printed books).

That's why I am asking for feedback if anyone has experience with this service.

[Petra R]

Me..

Via Createspace (actual printed book you mean, right?) which is Amazon's self-publishing arm.

What you wanna know?

[Rene K]

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@Petra R wrote:

What you wanna know?

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 E-mail coming your way...

[Wendy C]

Rene, you might also want to chat with a couple of mutual pals.  If you need emails, Skype me.

[Kim F]

I've used CreateSpace and KDP for both myself and clients...

Although it sounds mad, one anomaly with using CreateSpace in Europe is that if you order printed copies for your own use, it works out cheaper to order them from the US and have them sent to you rather than from the UK or elsewhere in Europe.  And it doesn't take much longer.

[Rene K]

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@Kim F wrote:

I've used CreateSpace and KDP for both myself and clients...

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 Is this the same service? Can you publish the same title both ways (print + Kindle)?

[Kim F]

Yes. CreateSpace is the printing side, KDP, is Kindle.  You can offer both versions and they'll appear as alternatives on Amazon for that title.

However, it's wise to reformat for Kindle and not rely on an automated conversion from the print version. Although it looks like the easy option, the automated conversion can (depending on how the print version is formatted) produce some strange results. The more complex the print layout, the more surreal the conversion. Plus, you'll usually want to add hyperlinks within the mobi file.

If you're going for real completeness you might also want to produce an epub (for Nooks etc.) in which case you'll probably want to use Smashwords or similar. 

[Rene K]

Thanks Kim.