4 Reasons to Use KDP Print over CreateSpace Publishing

About this video

Provenance note: this transcript track is in Arabic (verified by reading the actual text, not the ledger label), summarized faithfully in English here. Dale gives four reasons to move a paperback from Amazon’s CreateSpace to KDP Print, against a backdrop of industry worry that CreateSpace might shut down after Amazon added printing to Kindle Direct Publishing. First, expanded distribution: KDP Print did not yet offer it, but he argues that is no real loss — he says expanded distribution loses money to middlemen taking a cut and gives the author little control over advertising, so most indie publishers relying on it are practicing ‘hope marketing’ and making nothing; if you earn nothing from it anyway, it should not stop a move. Second, advertising: apart from an Amazon Advantage seller account, there was no real way to drive internal traffic to a CreateSpace paperback, whereas KDP officially lets authors advertise print books through the AMS dashboard, applying the same skills used for ebook ads. Third, consolidation: keeping ebooks and print in one dashboard removes the slow drain of constantly opening separate dashboards and reports — though he cautions against depending on Amazon alone and urges diversifying an author business beyond it. Fourth, future outlook: although KDP Print was still in beta, Amazon publicly intended to match CreateSpace’s features; since his August 2017 comparison video, KDP Print had already added proof and bulk copies (though proofs could only be ordered after the book was live on Amazon, which he calls clumsy), and Amazon’s own migration article said distribution was intended to expand to Mexico and Canada.

Key takeaways

• Missing expanded distribution is a weak reason to stay on CreateSpace: the creator argues middlemen’s cuts and lack of ad control mean most indie authors earn nothing from it anyway.
• KDP Print lets authors advertise paperbacks through the AMS dashboard, which CreateSpace books could not do outside an Amazon Advantage seller account.
• Consolidating ebooks and print into one dashboard saves time otherwise lost to checking separate dashboards and reports.
• Do not rely on Amazon alone for income — diversify your publishing business through video, audio, or your own website regardless of platform choice.
• KDP Print was still in beta but catching up: proof and bulk copies had been added since August 2017, with distribution to Mexico and Canada stated as intended.

Episode details: published April 20, 2018 · 5:56 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Dale L. Roberts’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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