Self-Publishing Points Part II
In my previous post, I gave a basic outline on what's needed before beginning to publish a book. In this post, I will break it down for you a little further, highlighting my favorite my favorite self-publishing website, CreateSpace.com, but also comparing it to the other two sites I've used, Lulu.com (2nd favorite) and Bookemon.com.
1. What is CreateSpace?
CreateSpace is a website where creators can publish their works on their own without having to go through several other parties, publishers, producers, etc. Using CreateSpace, you can publish
books, music and short films on your own. Its parent site is Amazon.com, so anything published on CreateSpace is made available on Amazon within a few days (my books have never taken longer than 72 hours to appear on Amazon once published on CreateSpace). It is a FREE resource, though they offer optional services you can pay for, such as professional editing.
2. Why CreateSpace?
In my experience, CreateSpace is the most user friendly of the three websites I've used, and utilizes the most resources. As I mentioned in Part I, your works are made available on Amazon in the US as well as the UK upon publishing. You have options to create an e-Book format, and to make your title available in databases that bookstores and libraries use when purchasing the books they shelve in their stores. There are so many opportunities for distributing your book--plus it's so easy to tell your friends and family to search your name on Amazon, and watch as your title pops up!
CreateSpace walks you through the process rather easily, clearly setting up steps you have to finish before your title is made available. They help with checking the format of your title, offer an option to purchase a proof of your book, and offer options for professional help with editing, cover designs and more (of course, these are at an additional cost.) You can also create your own coupon codes to offer your customers discounts for being loyal book buyers!
3. ISBNs and Bar Codes
An International Standard Book Number, or an ISBN is basically your book's social security number. It is either a 10 or 13 digit number and it's what is used to look up a book when it's in a database of so many other authors. This ISBN is printed on the bar code of your book as well. Fortunately, CreateSpace offers its writers a free ISBN that is also printed on any bar codes on or in your book, as when looking to get an ISBN and bar code from other companies, it can end up being costly. Unfortunately, if you are assigned an ISBN by CreateSpace, you CANNOT use this number on any other site or with any other publisher. For instance, if you published a book on CreateSpace and got an ISBN from them, but later wanted to publish this same title on Lulu.com, you would NOT be able to use the ISBN from CreateSpace (I will touch more on why you'd want to this in a moment!).
This ISBN is what makes your book accessible by anyone who would want to purchase your book, and is especially necessary if you want your title to be available to databases, bookstores and libraries. Therefore, this useful aspect of CreateSpace is one of the main reasons behind it sitting at the top of my list for the past six years.
(For more info on ISBNs, click here.)
4. What do Lulu and Bookemon have to offer?
Lulu is my second favorite website to use for self-publishing. You will end up with a book just as professional as if you use CreateSpace.
They also offer ISBNs, although I do not believe they offer them for free. In addition, they have incredible sales where you can pass coupons on to your friends to purchase them with a discount; as well as coupons for you as the author to buy your own books at a discounted rate. With Lulu, you can also create photo books, calendars, e-Books, and hardcover books!
Bookemon is my least favorite website for self-publishing mostly because it was not what I was looking for in a self-publishing website. It is geared more towards kids and families looking to
make books for school projects or family keepsakes. One of the cool features of the website is that others in the Bookemon community can view and read your book, like or love it, and share it with others. However, this greatly downplays the need to actually purchase the book. I would recommend this site for parents with kids who really love to write and draw, and would like a physical book to own and show to others.
5. What does each site lack?
CreateSpace, in my opinion, lacks only the choice of creating a hardcover book. Were this future to be added, it would definitely be my go-to place for absolutely everything. It also isn't particularly a website for photo books, calendars, or anything of that nature. It is purely a site for those looking to self-publish their works and share their stories with others. It is excellent for those just starting out, but also for those who have been in the game for a while.
Lulu is not as user-friendly as CreateSpace. The steps to submitting your book are very rigid and have to be followed in a specific order. With CreateSpace, you can skip around to a certain extent and work on the cover even if the book isn't finished yet. With Lulu, you must submit the PDF or Word document first. Lulu did not always give me a book formatted the way I wanted the first time around. It took some experimenting, going back and making edits to my PDF or Word file a few times before I was satisfied with the proof product they showed me online. Last I remember of the site, it is also a bit more difficult to obtain an ISBN, and as I mentioned above, I cannot remember if they offer them for free or not. I would check the website just to be sure.
Bookemon lacks the professionalism of both Lulu and CreateSpace. Like I said, it is more for school projects or kids. If you are looking to work on a project with your kids, grand-kids or classroom, this is a perfect site, as it is easy to use, you can read other young people's work, and the book is well-made.
Do you have any other questions about self-publishing, or my experiences with the sites I've listed above? Please don't hesitate to comment below or on my Facebook page!
All the best,
Reina
