Kurt R.A. Giambastiani

This past weekend, I gave myself some time off to enjoy “Borderlands 2” on Xbox, but that doesn’t mean I did nothing, writing-wise. I did a lot, actually…

Friday I finished typesetting the interior of FC:I and started working with the printer. There were two printers in contention for the job: Lulu and CreateSpace. I chose the latter. Here’s why.

Lulu had some advantages, one of which was that I’d used them before (the Ploughman books, and Unraveling Time). They’ve done well, they create a quality book, and they do it pretty quickly. In addition, they will print hardbacks (both with and without dust-jackets) which is pretty damned cool.

CreateSpace (owned by Amazon), was unknown to me, but a friend of mine, Todd Baker, has an excellent book that was printed by CreateSpace, so I was able to see the quality of product. Their perfect-bound books are sturdy and well made. The printing both interior and exterior is very good, also.

Three things affected my decision

1. The per-piece production cost at CreateSpace was several bucks cheaper, which (frankly) means more money for me. I like more money for me.
2. Both CreateSpace and Lulu give me a free ISBN, but the “extended” distribution package at CreateSpace is only $25, as opposed to $75 at Lulu. Again, more money for me.
3. CreateSpace, being an Amazon company, distributes ebooks via Kindle. Lulu distributes them via iBook. The contract and pricing stipulations for iBooks is not author-friendly, so I don’t distribute there. iUsers can read Kindle books on their iDevices, but not the other way around. I’m for more readers, more devices, because that means (say it with me) “more money for me.”

So that’s why I opted for CreateSpace. Over the weekend, I was also favorably impressed with their software and process.

• The interior content process noted several issues with my first upload. Text in the gutter region (middle of the book), graphics at less than 300 dpi…that sort of thing.
• Their help and support areas are…well…helpful and supportive. Very easy to understand, very easy to navigate, and almost always spot-on with advice.
• Over the weekend, I had three iterations of the upload and review process. I went through their “final review” process twice, even though they state a 24-48 hour turnaround time.
• I asked for a printed proof of the book around midnight on Saturday, and by 9AM Sunday morning, it had already shipped. Impressive.

I’ll report back when the proof arrives, but so far, I’m very pleased with the experience and quality of the site.

k