Self-publishers Rejoice-New Goodies on CreateSpace and KDP

Today I logged on to CreateSpace to add a final polishing update to my upcoming book, Forgotten Valor, which is scheduled to be released November 20, 2013, and discovered some new goodies.

For those of you who don't know, CreateSpace is a self-publishing platform for print-on-demand paperbacks. It can be a pain to format your book for print, but it's awesome to be able to order prints and distribute them and to keep no inventory when you don't have a buyer lined up.

Ok, back to the point. I logged on and there right across the top of the dashboard were two announcements.

1. The long begged for (if you read the CS message boards) matte finish is now available. Not every book works with a shiny cover. Now you can order them with a nice soft finish. Excellent!

2. Expanded distribution to bookstores and libraries is now free, whereas before it required self-publishers to pay a fee. Of course, just as before, sending it out through middlemen to extra outlets requires a slightly higher price, but the option is there, and the mark up isn't all that much.

So, if you publish your books for print with CreateSpace, take a look.

I signed up all my books for the expanded distribution, which doesn't guarantee your book will be carried by other distributors, but does make it possible. I already have one showing up on B&N, but it didn't do that until I expanded all my e-books to them via Smashwords. I think there's a connection there, but I can't prove it.

On a related note, Kindle Direct Publishing also has some new coolness to offer. Their Kindle Match Book is live, allowing readers who buy a book in print to get a copy of the Kindle edition at a discount. And it's awesome because you don't have to be enrolled in Kindle Select.

The second new thing on KDP is an ability to set up better promotions for Kindle Select books. I didn't look at it too closely because you have to sell your ebooks exclusively on Amazon to enroll, and I'm trying to expand my distribution, not limit it. But for those of you interested in selling on Amazon, only, it's definitely worth a look.

So to all, happy publishing!