Last month, I shared here the details of moving my books from CreateSpace to KDP Print in 3 easy steps. I also promised to see if there’s anything else you need to do next. Amazon has done all it can to ensure an easy move but it turns out that yes, there are still some issues and possible glitches that require your personal attention in order to ensure that the move goes as smoothly as possible.
Here is a checklist of things to check for after moving your files:
- Create Space had fewer keywords than KDP. You can now add more keywords to your paperback.
- KDP Print offers two categories — one more than CreateSpace. Put this extra book category to good effect!
- Check the rights for your books. Specifically, if you are the sole editor of your book, check All territories – worldwide rights for it, as this will be turned off by default.
- Printing costs are higher for some books. Check that your prices are still profitable in all marketplaces, especially Japan.
- All books seem to transfer with the print options they had in CreateSpace (in my case, black and white interior on cream paper, matte cover). But it doesn’t hurt to double-check.
When making changes, remember: You cannot just edit the price. KDP makes you go through the whole editing process, i.e details, content, rights, and price. You can keep the data already transferred and just save and continue without editing. While this is going on, your book will appear on the bookshelf as “LIVE – Updates in review”. A message that your book update will be manually reviewed will appear on the screen.
Also, KDP Print is stricter than CreateSpace when it comes to manuscripts, especially those with plenty of illustrations such as children’s books. In the case of Runaway Smile, KDP refused to update the keywords and categories for the print edition, claiming there is a problem with image bleeds. As this was not an issue before, I’m still confused as to what to do about it. Thankfully, my title is still available on Amazon while I sort this out.
Finally, author Toni Pike shared this tip: about 1 in 20 paperbacks on Amazon Australia have the book description cut off after 2 lines. Check your product page on Amazon to make sure this hasn’t happened to you!
#Authors – do you have a paperback listed on Amazon? If you do, check the product page on Amazon Australia. About 1 in 20 paperbacks there have the book description cut off after 2 lines. Contact them about having this glitch corrected.
Please spread the word.#ASMSG #amwriting— Toni Pike (@piketoni1) October 18, 2018
Tweet This
Thanks so much for sharing my tip about Amazon Australia, Nicholas. Even traditionally published books are affected, including some books by Dan Brown. But there is still no resolution in sight.
Wow, that’s so weird. Thanks for the update, Toni!
Hey Nicholas! Thanks for staying on top of all this. My book moved over without issue. But now on my Bookshelf I cannot find where to order the books I want for myself. On the CS page it just had a button to order your personal copies. Any clue where that is on KDP?
I found it Nick! There are 3 little verticle dots to the far right of the book title – there is a drop down menu – it’s there. Think they hid it well enough?
Oh, I just finished explaining where to find it 😀
Yes! Go to KDP and hover the cursor over the three dots on the right-hand side, right under where it says “PAPERBACK ACTIONS.” A small menu will pop up. Click on “Request author copies” and follow the instructions.
Thank you Nick! More people will now know since you posted it too! It was hard to find – and not very intuitive… But I did a price check without the shipping and the price was on 2 pennies more that I paid last on CS. Hope you are well… I am writing the next book it is taking a long time. I will keep sharing your marvelous posts. 🙂
Yay! Thank you, Luna, you’re a star 😀
Super checklist, Nicholas. I need to confirm.
Glad you found it useful, John 🙂
I think I’m glad I never completed the Create Space process so I can simply start on the KDP? It’s all a mystery to me. I’m ready to get this done but don’t want to do it wrong and have to spend lots of time rebuilding the wheel.
It’s not so bad, and it lets you control the process. The move is happening at the end of the year anyway. For me, it’s best if you do it now instead of waiting for Amazon to do it automatically and having to go through the process then–with whatever bugs Amazon may have introduced to the process.
Thanks for sharing your experience with this- it seems like a lot to navigate!
It does, but it’s not so bad, actually. Amazon has taken away the hard work of moving across each book individually, so it’s easier than it sounds 🙂
As usual, this confirmed my lack of desire for publishing and marketing a book. But if I ever change my mind, I know where to come for expert advice. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
Lol–sorry to hear that. Of course, I’ll keep trying to change your mind 🙂
Thanks for this info Nicholas! I moved everything from Createspace to KDP Print, but foolishly didn’t get around to checking everything (other than looking on Amazon to ensure the prices/covers were correct.
This was a very timely prompt, so thanks again!
Yay! So glad you found it useful 😀
Nicholas, I usually leave the print formatting side to my other half, but somewhere in the set up for a new book instead of only ordering a proof copy it went live without me proofing the p’back – it’s something to be aware of.
I also noticed they said we can only order 5 copies at author rates. Does this mean only in batches of 5 or altogether? This is a huge blow, as I usually buy in 8 at a time and keep them to sell locally.
Lucinda, I’ve recently ordered author copies via Amazon and ordered way more than 5 at a time. Not sure where that “only order 5 copies at author rates” came from… hopefully just a glitch
Thank you for that, C!
Good point, the book goes live the moment you move it. There’s no proofing period. Then again, if the book was fine on CS you should be fine on KDP, too.
Not sure about the 5 copies. It so happens that was the exact amount I bought last time. I’m able to buy more, so I take it it’s in batches of 5, but I’ll need to double-check.
Lucinda – I did a test without clicking purchase – and it let me put 10 copies – i did not try for more as i usually have 10 in house for autographed copies.
Thank you for sharing that, Luna 🙂