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[ebookassistant]

How to Write an Ebook on Canva and AI in Less Than 24 Hours - for Free - Step-by-Step Checklist & Instructions

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How to Write an Ebook on Canva and AI in Less Than 24 Hours - Step-by-Step Checklist & Instructions

I got to get this written down, before I forget. Has this happened to you? You are looking at the result of one late night when I had an idea for a book or ebook. I decided to record it on a voice recorder app on my phone, then that is the origin of Ebook Assistant. There is more to the story, and I hope to share it later, yet also I have to give credit to a video I watched that encouraged me to take action on this, and it ended with this saying, "enough thinking about it, just go do it". I did and now we have Ebook Assistant. I hope you enjoy today's blog and podcast. I love to hear (signals) from you, so please like, follow, share, and comment - even message me at our site ebookassistant dot com if you like. Now, enough thinking, just go do it....

About this Post

Why stay until the end? Stay because you will like what I have to give you, please stay, or save or download this now; so that you can refer back to it for years. Share it on your social media. Here is the link to copy to your Social Media posts: https://howtowriteanebook.blog/{Post Name}

Terminology and Jargon: You will learn these and much more

proofreading - draft - Canva - AI - Beta-Reader - Bard - ChatGPT

Good to Take Notes of These Because You Will Use Them ....

Start Somewhere

Write it, Record it in audio or video on your phone, write it on a piece of cardboard from a container you are putting in the trash, or sit down at your computer and type it. Just get it down and take action now, or reserve a day this week or weekend to start.

Direct Your Sail Boat - Mind Setting and Mindset

Set your mind on this: You Can Do This! I believe in you. Write down on a piece of paper something like the, 'I will have my ebook online for sale by tomorrow, and then I will promote it and I will earn money from the sales of my ebook in a month or less'

Do this, it does wonders for your chances of succeeding. Then understand that Setting your Sail Boat direction is pointing yourself in the right direction to achieve landing at your goal, and I have gladly provided a well-planned map for you. Just read until the end and save it to your bookmarks - favorites or download it.

Meditation - Thankfulness - Calmness, & Prayer

No special instructions really here, it is just something that most people overlook. Do these things above, and the better you ask for prayer to God for success than not, even if you do not believe in God, i think you will be glad to have God on your side. Be thankful for your opportunity to do this. Meditate or just quietly focus a few minutes, and do some things that allow you to be calm. I turn down the lights and play some water sounds from YouTube sometimes as I write.

Go to Your Happy Place

Try to get to a quiet place you can write. I know of friends that have their office in their closet, and one that has an office the size of a phone booth (look it up if you do not know what a phone booth is, it is small). I saw it, and it was amazing. Worst case, if you have a loud home, you may have to sit in the bathroom, or in a car. I see people often film YouTube videos from their car, so you would not be the first to have to do this. When you are filming or recording it is required to have quiet. It is very important to you, and it is okay to talk aloud to yourself or ideas.

Go to where you can get your ebook writing done with quietness, focus, without restriction on your emotions, and thoughts.

The Idea

This is the most important part. It is the seed your ebook masterpiece grows from. Protect it and expand it. It will be a complete ebook soon. You will be able to share your idea and influence improvement in complete strangers, while earning.

Outline (The First Draft of Table of Contents)

How will you record it: pen/pencil paper, typewriter (explain for younger audience), phone voice recorder (app suggestion), word processor Google Dogs

Cover - Make it Now or at End -

I do recommend Canva.com for your cover creation. Just search for ebook cover once you login with your free login. I would recommend editing an existing cover. I usually just use a cover that gets my attention over all others. I try to imitate some cover that comes from a bestselling book that I see when searching for bestselling book book covers. I just use there idea as inspiration for mine, and I do not use the same cover idea. An example is if a top book has a all white modern background with one big word on it. I may use that same idea, and the word will be different and it may be in different colors. Remember you have to be 31 percent different to avoid copyright errors.

Research - How to Do

Keep it simple and this will work for every book you ever write. Look up the top listings, sort by page views or likes, for at least a month in history, and write on what they talk or write about - do not copy , just write on similar topic, even same name, if it is something that is common like: how to use Google docs for example . Although you can make your name better, by adding some good things and combining with things others are talking of in their posts or videos

Record it - Document it

again, How will you record it: pen/pencil paper, typewriter (this is the thing that we made books with before computers, it has a keyboard and a piece of paper that comes out just above the keyboard), phone voice recorder (app suggestion), word processor Google Dogs

Get it in Writing - Write It - Use AI ChatGPT or Bard

If this is your first use of ChapGPT or Bard A.I. (artificial intelligence, yet i prefer assisted intelligence); you are in for a treat. It is like searching on Google, yet, you just say things (called Prompts). An example is "tell me a list of 5 books about writing I should read" or "write me 10 titles for a book about romance that is set in Paris" . It will give you some amazing results. Go here to get a free account and get started in the A.I. age of enlightment:

ChatGPT: https://openai.com > Menu > "Try ChatGPT"

Bard: https://bard.google.com > Login with a Google account

PROMPT

"Give me a name for a new ebook about succeeding in writing ebooks" (check this on yours, you probably will get the same response, although it may not be the first respons. I tried this with a video I saw of someone in another country and I did get same response)

Example, Created by Bard: (first result response to prompt)

(result) From Blank Page to Bestseller: The No-Nonsense Guide to E-book Success

Same Example by ChatGPT: (first result response to prompt)

(result) Wordsmith's Triumph: Mastering the Art of Ebook Success

So, you see, probably not the title you would have written.

Let's say you wrote your idea on a napkin at lunch, now you need to get it in computer file on your word processor. If you recorded with voice recorder app for Google, then you can just export, or save the transcript to Google Drive or Docs. (explain More)

Summarize (This is Great for All, and Not Done by Many)

Simple - Just cover again the main big points that you talked of. Basically if you talked of 20 points, then you can summarize them all in 5 to 7 big sections. This meaning that your outline can be 10 to 20 points, yet it should be divided into about 5 to 7 bigger headings that contain these 10 to 20 points or sub-sections

Edit it and Add Your Style to it

Now Edit (cleaning for authors and writers): and Keep Your Style or Add your new style. I suggest this order of editing: Spell Check, Grammer Check, Add Paragraph every 5 to 7 Lines (where thoughts change), and Add SEO (keywords) use Find and Replace (explain)

ReRead it (Proofreading, Format, Cover, Guest Reader)

Fast Feedback is Good (remember you only have 24-hours) [Click Here to Go to Our Feedback Request on our Support Page]

I am sure you will get at least one feedback. Send me, gj, a message at ebookassitant.com/contact and say in the message "i need fast feedback". You see you already have a dependable virtual ebook assistant to help with writing ebooks.

Check your format and add Section Bold Headings, as I have here, if you like. Done is better that perfect, just get it done. You will price it cheap enough, so that the information is most important - not every detail.

Cover - Make sure it good and looks like something that is a successful ebook or book. Search Google for best sellers, and look at the Image results. Pick the one that stands on the page, and imitate that style

Guest reader, Beta Reader - A beta-reader is the B reader or second reader of your ebook. They can read it and give you notes on changes and fixes. Preferably a friend, Post a entry on Facebook and ask for a few readers to message you for a free copy (2 at most, I guess because of time constraint) and turn away the others. Say in the post you are only accepting two, so act fast, because you have a deadline of 2 to 4 hours. Implement fixes that are suggested and are appropriate.

Post it to Internet for Sale

I suggest Etsy (0.20$ per posting) or Free, Amazon KDP, Gumroad, or Ecwid (the last 3 are free) - Contact us for help - https://ebookassistant.com/contact

Market and Promote it

Social Media, I prefer Pinterest, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube Shorts or Videos - in this order. Just post about your creation. I suggest pages from your ebook pictures (use screen shot or screen capture it is on your phone or computer), cover pictures, videos, how-to's, short videos of you or words on a presentation videos use Canva, and why you want to help them as content.

Share it on video if you like. The key here is to post daily for weeks afterward. If you found your passion (the thing you would write on even when you do not want to write) then posting will be great.

Setup a free ConvertKit account and make a Landing Page. Give them a one-page summary of your book for signing up on your landing page or some useful checklist. Put this link as the link they buy from (if you use it), and make the link shorter by using site TinyURL.com.

Get Sales -How to Write a Ebook that Sells

Make sure you include a link to two places to buy it. I suggest one place to buy as Amazon, then I suggest two being a free one or Etsy. I say this because if for some reason Amazon closes your account, you need a backup. Really it is better practice to have both Amazon and one other.

Now What - Expectations

You can expect to feel drained from writing. It takes much out of you, and it expands your thinking. You can expect to have mixed feelings or success from writing, then maybe sadness if you do not get sales or "signals" from the Internet. Signals are some one liking your content on social media, or comment on your posts. It takes a week or so. Stay in it and post daily. It will happen. Stay small, do not try to do everything. Only have at most 2 of each social media, sales pages, etc. AND please do contact us at Ebook Assistant to get help, proofreading or evaluation of your work before posting, technical help, and/or if we need to explain something further or edit this post

Article Summary

We have here about 15 points that basically are in about 4 main sections: The Idea and Mindset, Writing the Book, Placing Online to Sell, and Marketing and Promotion. You will do good to follow this outline, and add to it as-needed. Make sure you do some mindset preparations, and train on AI with the help of YouTube videos. It will greatly improve your ebooks and save you much time. Implement Canva not only for covers, also try to use Canva to do the entire book. Canva also make video easy, so you can make video in Canva to produce your marketing and promotional content. AI is the future, so learning it now will be great for you. And your AI books will be using the latest technology while also improving with the expanded knowledge AI can add to your ebooks.

Congratulations - All of That in 1 day is a Large Accomplishment

Do not worry - Do it in a Weekend, or A Week if you Want - And View Videos on YouTube for direction, just try not to sit and scroll videos to long. If you focus for 1 full day on only this, you will be done. And have confidence to write more while promoting on social media.

Do all of this and you will have become a published author, or if you are already a published author you have a really useful checklist and you may write and publish your first book in one day. Hopefully you will get sales in one day. If so, and any other great things happen - please Comment or Message Us!

DO GET YOUR FREEBIE - JUST FOR READING OR SEEING THIS CLICK HERE or go to: https://tinyurl.com/myfastebook

Do This When You Can: Follow Our Blog, Podcast, or Social Media; Take a Look at our Exclusives and Freebie membership at Patreon.com/ebookassistant; Go to our Shop at Etsy.com/shop/gjwriting, Comment or Send us a Contact on our site at EbookAssistant.com/contact + Let Us Help - Ask via Contact

Like - Follow - Share - Comment (Just Click the Little Buttons Near The Post and It Should Do It:)

[itesservices]

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Explore why eBook conversion services are essential for publishers and writers to strive and thrive in the digital-first world today. Learn how these services curate a delightful experience for readers beyond geographical and language barriers.

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At Elegant Pages, we specialize in transforming manuscripts into beautifully crafted books that captivate readers. Our expert team meticulously designs layouts that enhance readability and visual appeal, ensuring your content shines on every page. Whether you're publishing a novel, memoir, academic thesis, or any other genre, we bring professionalism and creativity to every project. Trust Elegant Pages for exceptional book layout and design services that elevate your words to new heights.

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[jbookcoverdesign]

Welcome to our official Tumblr!

[ebookassistant]

What is an ebook 'market' and more about 'average' ebook sales

..We are in the ebook store .. this is the market ,, i speak of.. ..I am are saying that this is only ebooks and we do also work in digital products books and other downloads of printables that are in electronic form, and ebooks is our primary market. Just like in a bookstore, we provide the other things that ebook readers want.

I want you understand average sales is is not every ebook, meaning it's not every ebook that gets produced produces sales. I think every ebook that is offered for sale wil get some sales. that is an average.

A high end of average I think is selling about 300 ebooks. There seems to be a 3 to 4 segments of sales and these are: a few sales meaning less than 10. , those that get hundreds, those that get thousands, and those that get 100,000 plus..

And you may not believe this, or have thought of it - as I see it the quality of books in all of these segments of sales can be almost exactly the same. One of differences ,, the things that will get you more sales is proper techniques in telling others about your book - this process called ebook marketing.

Find out more when you take a look at our Blog. See it by going to ebook assistant dot com, and looking at the BLOG link in the upper right. Do send us a Contact message and let us know you will be visiting us for advising and useful info to help with writing ebooks and selling ebooks.

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[publishinghub]

[mostlysignssomeportents]

An open copyright casebook, featuring AI, Warhol and more

I'm coming to DEFCON! On Aug 9, I'm emceeing the EFF POKER TOURNAMENT (noon at the Horseshoe Poker Room), and appearing on the BRICKED AND ABANDONED panel (5PM, LVCC - L1 - HW1–11–01). On Aug 10, I'm giving a keynote called "DISENSHITTIFY OR DIE! How hackers can seize the means of computation and build a new, good internet that is hardened against our asshole bosses' insatiable horniness for enshittification" (noon, LVCC - L1 - HW1–11–01).

Few debates invite more uninformed commentary than "IP" – a loosely defined grab bag that regulates an ever-expaning sphere of our daily activities, despite the fact that almost no one, including senior executives in the entertainment industry, understands how it works.

Take reading a book. If the book arrives between two covers in the form of ink sprayed on compressed vegetable pulp, you don't need to understand the first thing about copyright to read it. But if that book arrives as a stream of bits in an app, those bits are just the thinnest scrim of scum atop a terminally polluted ocean of legalese.

At the bottom layer: the license "agreement" for your device itself – thousands of words of nonsense that bind you not to replace its software with another vendor's code, to use the company's own service depots, etc etc. This garbage novella of legalese implicates trademark law, copyright, patent, and "paracopyrights" like the anticircumvention rule defined by Section 1201 of the DMCA:

https://www.eff.org/press/releases/eff-lawsuit-takes-dmca-section-1201-research-and-technology-restrictions-violate

Then there's the store that sold you the ebook: it has its own soporific, cod-legalese nonsense that you must parse; this can be longer than the book itself, and it has been exquisitely designed by the world's best-paid, best-trained lawyer to liquefy the brains of anyone who attempts to read it. Nothing will save you once your brains start leaking out of the corners of your eyes, your nostrils and your ears – not even converting the text to a brilliant graphic novel:

https://memex.craphound.com/2017/03/03/terms-and-conditions-the-bloviating-cruft-of-the-itunes-eula-combined-with-extraordinary-comic-book-mashups/

Even having Bob Dylan sing these terms will not help you grasp them:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/10/25/musical-chairs/#subterranean-termsick-blues

The copyright nonsense that accompanies an ebook transcends mere Newtonian physics – it exists in a state of quantum superposition. For you, the buyer, the copyright nonsense appears as a license, which allows the seller to add terms and conditions that would be invalidated if the transaction were a conventional sale. But for the author who wrote that book, the copyright nonsense insists that what has taken place is a sale (which pays a 25% royalty) and not a license (a 50% revenue-share). Truly, only a being capable of surviving after being smeared across the multiverse can hope to embody these two states of being simultaneously:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/06/21/early-adopters/#heads-i-win

But the challenge isn't over yet. Once you have grasped the permissions and restrictions placed upon you by your device and the app that sold you the ebook, you still must brave the publisher's license terms for the ebook – the final boss that you must overcome with your last hit point and after you've burned all your magical items.

This is by no means unique to reading a book. This bites us on the job, too, at every level. The McDonald's employee who uses a third-party tool to diagnose the problems with the McFlurry machine is using a gadget whose mere existence constitutes a jailable felony:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/20/euthanize-rentier-enablers/#cold-war

Meanwhile, every single biotech researcher is secretly violating the patents that cover the entire suite of basic biotech procedures and techniques. Biotechnicians have a folk-belief in "patent fair use," a thing that doesn't exist, because they can't imagine that patent law would be so obnoxious as to make basic science into a legal minefield.

IP is a perfect storm: it touches everything we do, and no one understands it.

Or rather, almost no one understands it. A small coterie of lawyers have a perfectly fine grasp of IP law, but most of those lawyers are (very well!) paid to figure out how to use IP law to screw you over. But not every skilled IP lawyer is the enemy: a handful of brave freedom fighters, mostly working for nonprofits and universities, constitute a resistance against the creep of IP into every corner of our lives.

Two of my favorite IP freedom fighters are Jennifer Jenkins and James Boyle, who run the Duke Center for the Public Domain. They are a dynamic duo, world leading demystifiers of copyright and other esoterica. They are the creators of a pair of stunningly good, belly-achingly funny, and extremely informative graphic novels on the subject, starting with the 2008 Bound By Law, about fair use and film-making:

https://www.dukeupress.edu/Bound-by-Law/

And then the followup, THEFT! A History of Music:

https://web.law.duke.edu/musiccomic/

Both of which are open access – that is to say, free to download and share (you can also get handsome bound print editions made of real ink sprayed on real vegetable pulp!).

Beyond these books, Jenkins and Boyle publish the annual public domain roundups, cataloging the materials entering the public domain each January 1 (during the long interregnum when nothing entered the public domain, thanks to the Sonny Bono Copyright Extension Act, they published annual roundups of all the material that should be entering the public domain):

https://pluralistic.net/2023/12/20/em-oh-you-ess-ee/#sexytimes

This year saw Mickey Mouse entering the public domain, and Jenkins used that happy occasion as a springboard for a masterclass in copyright and trademark:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/12/15/mouse-liberation-front/#free-mickey

But for all that Jenkins and Boyle are law explainers, they are also law professors and as such, they are deeply engaged with minting of new lawyers. This is a hard job: it takes a lot of work to become a lawyer.

It also takes a lot of money to become a lawyer. Not only do law-schools charge nosebleed tuition, but the standard texts set by law-schools are eye-wateringly expensive. Boyle and Jenkins have no say over tuitions, but they have made a serious dent in the cost of those textbooks. A decade ago, the pair launched the first open IP law casebook: a free, superior alternative to the $160 standard text used to train every IP lawyer:

https://web.archive.org/web/20140923104648/https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/openip/

But IP law is a moving target: it is devouring the world. Accordingly, the pair have produced new editions every couple of years, guaranteeing that their free IP law casebook isn't just the best text on the subject, it's also the most up-to-date. This week, they published the sixth edition:

https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/openip/

The sixth edition of Intellectual Property: Law & the Information Society – Cases & Materials; An Open Casebook adds sections on the current legal controversies about AI, and analyzes blockbuster (and batshit) recent Supreme Court rulings like Vidal v Elster, Warhol v Goldsmith, and Jack Daniels v VIP Products. I'm also delighted that they chose to incorporate some of my essays on enshittification (did you know that my Pluralistic.net newsletter is licensed CC Attribution, meaning that you can reprint and even sell it without asking me?).

(On the subject of Creative Commons: Boyle helped found Creative Commons!)

Ten years ago, the Boyle/Jenkins open casebook kicked off a revolution in legal education, inspiring many legals scholars to create their own open legal resources. Today, many of the best legal texts are free (as in speech) and free (as in beer). Whether you want to learn about trademark, copyright, patents, information law or more, there's an open casebook for you:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/08/14/angels-and-demons/#owning-culture

The open access textbook movement is a stark contrast with the world of traditional textbooks, where a cartel of academic publishers are subjecting students to the scammiest gambits imaginable, like "inclusive access," which has raised the price of textbooks by 1,000%:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/10/07/markets-in-everything/#textbook-abuses

Meanwhile, Jenkins and Boyle keep working on this essential reference. The next time you're tempted to make a definitive statement about what IP permits – or prohibits – do yourself (and the world) a favor, and look it up. It won't cost you a cent, and I promise you you'll learn something.

Support me this summer on the Clarion Write-A-Thon and help raise money for the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop!

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/07/30/open-and-shut-casebook/#stop-confusing-the-issue-with-relevant-facts

Image: Cryteria (modified) Jenkins and Boyle https://web.law.duke.edu/musiccomic/

CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

[physalian]

IngramSpark: Good or Nah?

I decided to work with them last minute to set my book up for success, and, in case they screwed me over, I could hate them in a properly informed manner.

So!

IngramSpark (IGS) vs. Amazon (KDP) so far: A detailed comparison.

Spoiler Alert: FUCK INGRAMSPARK

Alrighty these are two proof copies (author copies) of the exact same book made with the exact same PDFs. IGS is on the left in all pics.

Stuff to note:

The IGS copy is slightly greener, the purple is less vibrant. KDP made the exact colors I painted this with in photoshop.

The KDP book is slightly thicker and while the spine print is slightly off center, the front cover is perfectly centered. Compare both of the lower moons on the right side and it's very obvious that IGS cut theirs incorrectly. It's cut incorrectly because their paper is thinner, thus needing a slightly narrower print PDF (which isn't something they would tell you).

KDP is slightly thicker because they used thicker paper. Theirs is less polished creme, you can feel more of a grain of the pages, but because they're thicker, they're less transparent. I can read straight through to not only the back of the title page, but straight onto the next piece of paper for the IGS copy, and theirs cost more to print.

KDP shipped in lighter packaging, which meant my copy got a little banged up as opposed to the cardboard coffin the IGS book was in. Pick your poison.

KDP

PROS

A breeze to work with in most areas. I did not need to use customer service, so I can’t comment on that, but I’ve heard it’s superior to IGS in every way. They do have a community chat that I have used when confused (more below) and pages upon pages of how-to resources.

Simple user interface, very easy to click through all the set-up menus and not once did it freeze or crash on me (more below).

Did not use their formatter or cover generator, I used Adobe and did my own so I can’t comment on their quality.

Their “print previewer” was fantastic. I could click through the whole book and they explained very thoroughly where some issues were and what I should look out for and they let me use my own files without issue instead of having to build them in the platform.

Their royalty rate is the best you can get in this industry, because they’re not selling to anyone but themselves so there’s no middle man taking a cut of the profit.

Print quality of the book itself is fantastic. Only thing I miss is the ability to emboss, but no print-on-demand company does that as far as I’m aware. The colors were an exact match to my design in Adobe, I have no complaints.

Instant reports and near-live report refreshes for ebooks. Print copies don’t register on reports until the book ships, but Amazon prints and ships within ~2 days.

Because it’s Amazon, even though proof copies aren’t applicable with Prime, my copy still got here in 5 days including print time. My print copy totaled the print cost plus $3 in standard shipping that I could have rushed.

It did get a little banged up on the bottom but I think that was during shipping not at the printing press.

If you’re really strapped for cash, they do offer free ISBNs *but these are KDP only ISBNs, you don’t own them, and they are non transferable between vendors and POD companies. Bite the bullet and just save up for your own ISBNs and buy them in bulk if you can and you plan on publishing at least 2 books in your lifetime (like a paperback and hardcover of the same book, even).

After I submitted my ebook for preorder, I kept finding little details to fix and lines I wasn’t happy with that got nixed at the 11th hour. Updating this was seamless and free and the updated versions were processed within 6 hours or so. Amazon did not lock in the files to the date the preorders were set like IngramSpark would have.

CONS

They still don’t have paperback preorder, but they do have a feature where you can submit for a future release, which is just giving your files over to go live on a set date. Thing is: When you get to the end of the setup, there’s a button that says something like “submit for publication” which does not actually mean “move your publication date to right now” like I thought. So I missed my paperback date by 2 days.

Their proof copy has that annoying grey “Not for Resale” stripe across the cover so it looks wonky in marketing images.

They have a “cover art size calculator” feature, which did not line up with the actual file size I needed come submission time, off by a few millimeters. Which meant resizing in Photoshop and it was incredibly annoying and tedious.

Upon finally hitting the “publish” button Amazon flagged my book and told me to fix the highlighted errors. Well there were no highlighted errors, and said error(s) could be anywhere across four pages of details. I had to consult the community notes to figure out what they were talking about (it was an ISBN issue) which was quite annoying.

IGS

PROS

Well-known as the best print-on-demand (POD) company with the widest reach, including Amazon, for expanded distribution. (NOT IN MY EXPERIENCE)

Also well-known as the highest quality self-publish paperback, that still doesn’t do embossing. (NOT IN MY EXPERIENCE)

They do paperback preorders (which I did not participate in).

Integrates flawlessly with libraries and retailers that Amazon won’t do (which is about its only claim to superiority). My book was searchable on Barnes & Noble within 48 hours.

IGS, like KDP, has free ISBNs (US only), with the exact same non-transferable issue. However, because they integrate across all sellers, Amazon included, if you only intend to work with them, you’ve reached every market anyway.

CONS

Their royalty rate sucks ass. I had to price my book $1 higher through IGS because I was literally at a deficit with all the printing costs and vendor discounts (so if you want my book for slightly cheaper, buy it through Amazon). Through IGS, I think I’m making about $1 in royalties, when all is said and done. And I’ve heard, shockingly, that that’s pretty good.

I didn’t try to use their customer service because I know it’s notoriously terrible. But it would have been helpful when their website crashed.

Their website crashed on me three times when trying to upload my files. Before it crashed, their “submit files” button simply did not work, so I had to go the roundabout way through their formatter and cover wizard (which I didn’t like) which then told me my 300DPI cover art was too small. The exact same file I submitted and had in my hands at perfect resolution to Amazon. It took almost 2 hours of running around in circles on their site to essentially start from scratch to get this up and running—and I did all of this with polished files from the get go because I knew revisions would be tedious. Can’t imagine the hassle if you aren’t ready to go immediately (this is why I didn't do a preorder with them).

I have heard that if you make changes to your files, they don’t go into effect until the next month, meaning if you have typos, and anyone buys your book before the next calendar month despite you fixing them in the system, that person is still buying the old version. I have also heard that generating reports is not seamless. After 60 days, revisions also cost you $25 a pop (KDP is free).

If you submit pre-made PDFs for your manuscript and cover (as in, you don’t format or generate them within their system) they do not have an instant previewer. Mine took 48 hours to deliver a link, when that shit should be automated and instantaneous and should allow me to use my own files.

IGS does not have Amazon’s monopoly on shipping, so to get my book here at all quickly, it cost me almost $20, rush fees applied for only 1 day faster than Amazon did. “Quickly,” being I ordered the proof on the 24th, and it won’t get here until the 28th. Meaning, that if you’re not paying rush fees, you’d have to wait longer.

They can be quite confusing with revisions during the preorder process. Per their website, they can begin printing your book “generally” 30 days before go-live. Which means someone who preordered your book on the 3rd gets the version of the book that was available on the 3rd, even if you update it on the 5th, because they print those immediately, even if the book’s official release date of the 30th hasn’t passed. You’d pretty much have to be completely done with revisions before setting up for preorder with them to be absolutely sure, which means wasted time. I don’t know why they don’t just queue up the books to be printed on a hard deadline a few days before release.

So. While I hate that Amazon has a monopoly, about the only thing IGS has going for it is their expanded distribution when everything about their business, from their platform to their user experience to the actual quality of books is at best dead even with KDP, but in my experience with my best foot forward, IGS annoyingly inferior.

I don’t think they’ll remain the “best POD company” for very much longer. I did not do hardcover for ENNS as of this post so I can’t comment on either service’s print quality, only what I’ve seen in other reviews. Some people like the jacket-less print-on-the-cardboard look (Amazon), some people (me) like the jacket, if only so I can use it as a bookmark.

*I wrote the above paragraphs before getting my proof copy from IGS and fucking hell they're not even competent at printing

It is also a massive waste of paper and shipping resources to have to print multiple versions of proof copies fixing errors outside of my control. My proof copy from KDP is perfect. IGS? Nope! But they wouldn't let me properly preview it so I had no idea this would happen.

Even as a consumer who might hate the idea of giving Amazon more money, there’s an argument to consider: I totally understand the desire to keep brick and mortar stores afloat and I don’t want Amazon’s monopoly on the market to grow even larger. However, Amazon makes sure that you’re making more than pocket change on your book, unless you jack up the prices for readers on the back end so the whole thing costs more all the way down the pipeline. I refused to do this.

That deficit that forced me to price ENNS even $1 higher than Amazon really bothers me with IngramSpark. That deficit exists because of a higher print cost and a 55% discount given to vendors so they can still make their cut of profit from stocking your book. IngramSpark had me sit through a whole video saying “if you don’t do this no one will stock your book” while saying you could go as low as 54% but that might scare off vendors.

In essence, at this time, KDP makes sure that you, the creator, make money. IGS makes sure that they and the businesses selling your book for you make money. I didn’t do any of this for profit, but it does hurt seeing all your hard work, possibly years of effort, have a royalty of $0.87.

So, yeah, is IngramSpark worth it?

I don’t yet know what their reach will amount to. It’s a dream of mine to see my book on a bookstore shelf, but signing up with IGS does not guarantee you sales, it just guarantees you the best chance possible at reaching potential buyers. But at the moment, all it looks like to me is fees, a bad UI, cheap printing, arrogance from perceived superiority in the market, and a business built boldly in favor of its own profits.

Amazon’s a shady-ass corporation, but I’m going to have to say they’re the better bet. At the very least, for your first book when you don’t have an audience and if making a profit is important to you.

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I did not try to use any other POD like Draft 2 Digital or Barnes & Noble Press, as I already have KDP and IGS is the best platform to integrate with KDP.

See here for the cost breakdown of my debut novel from draft to publication.