I’ll preface this brief essay by saying that others may have had different experiences with these two print-on-demand giants. The following summarizes my experience in working with each platform.
Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is part of Amazon.com and that association alone may cause an independent author to hesitate. Yes, Amazon is the one-hundred-pound gorilla or the elephant in the room—whichever metaphor you prefer. It’s the company many people love to hate. KDP’s appeal is a simple-to-use platform, fairly generous royalty structure, and no cost to publish on their platform. Also, there is no cost for revisions—plus superior customer service. The main drawback is KDP’s limited distribution and marketing options.
IngramSpark is a competitor. Like KDP/Amazon they are also a large company. At one time, they charged for initial publishing on their platform but (possibly in response to no-cost practices at KDP) they have recently offered free initial use of their platform. Their strength is distribution since they promise to promote a book with bookstores, libraries, and major retailers (Target and Walmart.) Their drawbacks are a relatively complicated platform, unresponsive customer service, tiny royalties, and charging for revisions and most everything else after initial publication.
Let’s break this down:
Cost for Use of the Platform: Neither KDP nor IngramSpark charge for the initial uploading of a book. I’m not including other platforms like Bookbaby or Lulu or Barnes & Noble because I haven’t yet tried them. However, I tend to steer clear of any site which charges upfront to use their platform.
Ease of Use and Contact Us Help: Maybe it’s because I’ve used it so often, but I find the KDP platform very simple to use. IngramSpark is a bit more complex, primarily because the site doesn’t offer instant feedback. When you upload interior pages and cover on KDP you can view an instant preview which identifies errors and recommended fixes. And you can instantly correct errors. Also, you can contact someone by telephone for an instant (immediate) call-back if you need help. IngramSpark is more complicated. There is no instant preview and no one to telephone for help. Everything takes place by email with considerable delay between asking a question and receiving a response. Plus, the IngramSpark responses tend to be canned (IA or Bot) responses which don’t really address the question asked. You can “hire” an expert to talk/chat with you through something called “Ingram/Spark Connect.” But clicking on that service leads to a set of “frequently asked questions” which are often too general to be of much help. If you want one-on-one help similar to what KDP offers, you have to pay: $25 for a half-hour and $49 for an hour and, even then, the help is not immediate but must be scheduled for a future time.
Royalties: KDP’s royalty set-up works like this: The list price of the book times 60% minus the cost of printing the book equals your royalty. For example, if you self-publish a 100-page paperback book with a cover price of $10, then 60% of $10 is $6.00. Since it will cost $2.30 to print the book, you subtract that amount from $6.00 and your royalty is $3.70. Doesn’t sound like much does it? You can purchase author copies at the KDP printing cost and sell books on your own for a profit exceeding the Amazon marketplace/KDP royalty. IngramSpark royalties are often lower since you are urged to sell your book at a steep discount to encourage bookstores and libraries and retail outlets to purchase it. For a 100-page book with a cover price of $10, IngramSpark charges $2.68 to print, which leads to a compensation of $7.22 if the book sells at the full cover price. However, in order to enable wide distribution, IngramSpark urges authors to sell their books at a steep discount (50% or more.) When a book is discounted and the printing cost is subtracted, this results in a much lower royalty compensation. That is, if a $10 book sells for $5.00, the royalty reduces to $2.22.
Formats: Both KDP and IngramSpark offer paperback and e-book formats. KDP has recently begun offering a hardcover option although not all book dimensions are available. IngramSpark offers hardcover but, in my experience, there appear to be quality issues.
Promotion, Marketing, and Distribution: Your published book will appear on the Amazon marketplace in the U.S. and multiple countries, but it’s up to you, the author, to promote and market your book. IngramSpark circulates information regarding the availability of your published book to a number of outlets including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Walmart, Target, libraries, and wholesale book jobbers. IngramSpark’s distribution is wide but, due to discounting, your royalty per sale is lower than KDP. IngramSpark offers marketing services for which the author must pay.
Summary: I’m continuing to learn about self-publishing and print-on-demand. I’ve had the best experience with KDP, but there are other choices. IngramSpark’s distribution system is certainly a point in their favor. The internet is full of videos made by users who share their experiences with various print-on-demand options. If you are considering going this route, I encourage you to view user videos before deciding which service to use.
A Sincere Invitation to Other Authors: If anyone reading this blog has had experiences with Kindle Direct Publishing or IngramSpark or another print-on-demand publisher, please share your comments below. And please feel free to critique and (as needed) correct any of my insights included in this blog.
Is there a way with both KDP and Ingram to find out how much the cost to print a book will be? (ahead of publication, obviously and based on number of pages, size, etc.)
Yes, both platform have cost calculators which will give you a fairly accurate ‘ballpark’ figure. Here’s the link to KDP’s calculator: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/GSQF43YAMUPFTMSP
Here’s IngramSpark’s calculator link: https://myaccount.ingramspark.com/Portal/Tools/ShippingCalculator
If, for some reason, those links don’t compute in this comment box, you can just do an internet search for “KDP printing cost” and “IngramSpark printing cost.”
Thank you, Donald Paul Benjamin, for an insightful and informative blog post. I’ve used (and continue to use) both KDP and IngramSpark, and I agree with your comments about their relative complexity and the responsiveness of their customer service. As I mentioned, I continue to use both companies, primarily to take advantage of Amazon’s more generous royalties (where I make the bulk of my sales) and IngramSpark’s wider distribution. One word of warning if you are considering using both: Avoid selecting KDP’s “Expanded Distribution” option during setup if you believe you may want to use other distribution services later. The Expanded Distribution option only reaches a fraction of IngramSpark’s coverage and pulling out of it later took me several months of emailing both companies. While I ran into this issue several years ago, I believe it to still be the case, but will yield to anyone with more recent experience.
Bruce, Thanks for your comment. I believe you are correct about the Expanded Distribution option. Selecting that option on KDP does preclude the use of other distribution services. IngramSpark definitely offers wider distribution (albeit at a somewhat reduced royalty.) Your experience in trying to undo the KDP Expanded Distribution option is a word to the wise. On my next book, I may opt for using both platforms which would mean I DON’T click the Expanded Distribution box and set the book up on both platforms. This link to a 2020 “Birds of a Feather” blog sets out the options fairly well (I think the information is still current.)
https://www.birdsofafeatherpress.com/amazon-expanded-distribution/
Hi Bruce, Thank you for the tip about Expanded Distribution. I appreciate it.