CreateSpace, KDP, and What I Know So Far

CreateSpace and KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) have merged and chaos has ensued!

Okay, that is not accurate. However, that is how it has felt over the last week.

CreateSpace and KDP are both owned by Amazon, and as I understand it, Amazon simply wanted all their self-publishing platforms under one roof.

I was unaware that this change was taking place. My CreateSpace account didn't send me any messages telling me big changes were coming--there were no giant orange signs saying "road closed"--and I rarely visit my KDP account because I only have one ebook published through them. I have not received any emails about this upcoming change (although I have been told that others have). I came across a post on Facebook on Monday morning asking how other authors were handling the move from CreateSpace to KDP because of the closure and I had a panic attack. What closure? Why? When? Why wasn't I informed???

I have spent the rest of this week doing research and also complaining loudly to anyone who would listen--and probably many who would rather have not heard what I had to say.

I was not the only one complaining either. I have been roaming through various support groups and forums on Facebook, CreateSpace, and KDP, and what I discovered is that people are not happy. Many people are concerned about the move itself, as they have been encountering many issues with covers, interior files, and such being lost along the way. Some people have been given the option to move but when they try to follow the "3 simple steps" they simply can't--CreateSpace/KDP send them on an endless loop of pushing the same buttons and getting zero results.  Thus, panic and chaos and lots of yelling people. Well, yelling via the internet at any rate. I have not yet attempted to make the move (or even been informed of it by either company) so I cannot attest to the accuracy of these reported issues.

What I can say is that I am not a fan of KDP, which is why I stopped publishing through them after one single ebook and why I rarely check that account. I try to pretend KDP doesn't exist. So when I discovered this merge was happening, I was not a happy camper. However, after doing more digging into the situation and into KDP itself, I can say it's not as terrible as I first assumed.

Some people have made the move without the issues that others are reporting, and KDP is not as horrendous a publishing platform as I had made up my mind to believe--though I still believe CreateSpace was better and more user-friendly. KDP's cover creator is not as good as CreateSpace's, and KDP's royalty system--both payment and also royalty reports--is frustrating for me personally.

As I stated above, some people have made the move without the hitches that others have encountered. Whether I am one of the lucky without any problems or one of the many with a headache in exchange for my futile efforts, remains to be seen. Whether I will get informed, by either company, about this change also remains to be seen. That, in itself, is a major cause of my current frustration.

I will let my currently published books move over to KDP--because I have no choice--and they will remain available on Amazon throughout the entire process. My readers should not be affected by this change at all. I, on the other hand, am re-evaluating my life choices.

Also, I am looking into IngramSpark--another self-publishing platform--, and as of now, I am planning on using that platform for any further books that I publish.

Happy Writing, everybody! And good luck to any Indie authors struggling through this CreateSpace/KDP fiasco.