CreateSpace Closed: The Fallout & What You Should Do

About this video

Dale Roberts explains the fallout from CreateSpace closing and merging into KDP Print. He recounts that KDP rolled out print in beta in late 2016, CreateSpace features such as editing, distribution, and cover services gradually disappeared, and the full merge was officially announced in late August to early September 2018, with CreateSpace account access completely shut down in December. He stresses the merge was not automatic — authors had to complete the roughly three steps themselves to link CreateSpace to a KDP account — and warns unmerged books could remain on sale while royalties had nowhere to go. For authors who had merged, he gives a post-merge checklist: expand keywords from CreateSpace’s five slots at 25 characters each to KDP’s seven slots at up to 50 characters each and refresh them after 90 days, improve the book description with HTML formatting, and fix categories because CreateSpace allowed one BISAC category in-account while KDP allows two, with up to 10 categories possible per print book via KDP support confirming browse paths. He also advises reviewing pricing and distribution because print costs changed by region, checking worldwide rights/distribution, and considering expanded distribution. For terminated KDP accounts, he relays what he says KDP told him: contact the KDP Print team about merging into a new account or delisting, noting some viewers reported successfully merging that way, with no guarantee.

Key takeaways

• CreateSpace did not auto-merge: authors had to move their catalog to KDP Print themselves or risk books selling without royalties reaching them
• Update keywords after merging: KDP offers seven slots at up to 50 characters versus CreateSpace’s five slots at 25 characters
• Re-check categories after the move — some did not carry over — using the two KDP categories and asking support about all browse paths attached to an ISBN
• Review regional print pricing and distribution settings, including worldwide rights and expanded distribution, because costs changed in the shift
• If a KDP account was terminated, contact the KDP Print team about the specific case rather than assuming CreateSpace titles are lost or automatically delisted

Episode details: published March 6, 2019 · 10:56 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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