I had promised you a post detailing how to move your books from Createspace to KDP Print. Here are step-by-step instructions, courtesy of Createspace/Amazon:

Specifically, the video above explains how to:

  • avoid getting your book listed in two places (your book will disappear from Createspace when you move it to KDP Print)
  • avoid having to upload your files again

It’s literally as easy as ticking a couple of boxes and copying/pasting your ISBN, so be sure to watch all 3 minutes of it and avoid a lot of hassle down the road!

Here is a breakdown of the process:

  1. Set up a new paperback title on your KDP Bookshelf.
  2. On the Paperback Details page, enter the same metadata used for your CreateSpace book.
  3. Select “Yes” when asked whether this book was previously published on CreateSpace.
  4. Click “Save and Continue” to move on to the Paperback Content page.
  5. Under the ISBN header, enter the same 13-digit ISBN used to publish your book on CreateSpace. Do you have a 10-digit ISBN issued by CreateSpace? If so, use the ISBN converter to find your 13-digit ISBN equivalent.
  6. Click “Continue” to sign in to your CreateSpace account and validate your ownership of the title.
  7. Once you’re redirected back to KDP, your book’s files and details should update automatically. Scroll through to see that your files and information have properly transferred over. You can launch the Previewer to review your book before publishing.
  8. Scroll to the bottom of the Paperback Content page and click “Save and Continue.”
  9. In the Paperback Rights & Pricing tab, you can enter the same price you used on CreateSpace.
  10. Now scroll to the bottom to submit your book for publishing.

After you publish your CreateSpace book on KDP, Amazon will automatically remove your CreateSpace paperback from sale. Your KDP sales will be tracked in your KDP sales and royalty reports. You can still access historical sales reports on CreateSpace, but you won’t need to take further action there.

What If I’ve Used A Createspace Template?

Did you use a CreateSpace template to format your cover or manuscript file? If so, you can normally reuse the same files to publish your CreateSpace paperback on KDP (see exceptions where you’ll need to edit your Cover files and Manuscript files below). Did you pay for a CreateSpace cover or interior service? If so, contact CreateSpace customer support to get your files.

If the Previewer tool finds errors in your uploaded files, correct the formatting and upload the files again. You can check out the Paperback Publishing Guidelines for detailed help with formatting errors.

Cover files

Some older CreateSpace cover templates include white space around the edges that trigger errors in Previewer. If you used a CreateSpace template to create your cover, make sure it matches your book’s intended trim size. Remove any extra white space. Click here to learn more about KDP’s cover size requirements.

Manuscript files

KDP does not support custom CreateSpace trim sizes. If you used a CreateSpace interior template to create your manuscript file, make sure it’s in a trim size KDP supports. If not, reset the trim size and reformat your manuscript file to match your new trim size.

As a side note, KDP Print will offer certain paperback features currently unavailable to Createspace titles. These won’t affect existing CreateSpace titles unless you choose to republish them on KDP. In other words, these will take effect only if/when you decide to re-upload your manuscript.

What About My Royalties and Taxes?

The lovely author D.G. Kaye has shared with us Createspace’s response as to what happens to your royalties.

I understand that you are concerned with the royalty balance you have accrued should you publish your work on KDP.

After you publish your CreateSpace book on KDP, we’ll automatically remove the CreateSpace version of your paperback from sale.

Any pending CreateSpace royalties (resulting from sales up to the date on which your book went live through KDP) will be reported and paid through your CreateSpace account. Your book remains available throughout the transfer process so that you don’t lose any sales

Going forward, from the date when your paperback becomes available through KDP, royalties earned from sales of your book on KDP will be reported and paid through your KDP account in accordance with KDP’s payment terms.

As far as your current account, payment, and tax information, more good news: they don’t need to be updated.

Oh, Canada… And More

And now, on to the final question: what happens if you’re outside the US? KDP Print distributes to most of the countries with Amazon eshops, including Japan (which is not covered by Createspace). However:

  • it does not yet distribute to Canada and Mexico (Amazon.ca and Amazon.com.mx respectively) and
  • it does not yet offer expanded distribution to bookstores and non-Amazon websites.
  • It does not support several languages supported by Createspace, including Greek. For some reason, KDP Print only supports languages also supported by Kindle. Click here for a full list of supported languages.

The two first features are expected in the future. However, I have no information on the third one.