Short Createspace Books: Pricing, Popularity, Cover Designs

693 Views 6 Replies 7 Participants Last post by ruecole, Jan 4, 2013

Richardcrasta

Discussion Starter · Jan 4, 2013

I do not think there is a thread specifically related to short Createspace books and these 3 matters. (If there is, please ignore this thread.)

I am thinking of bringing out 2-3 Createspace books of 24-36 pages.

I realized that for the minimum 24-page paperback, you would need to price at $5.50 to get a $1.25 royalty from Amazon (I don't plan to use extended distribution until I see some results on Amazon).

Has anyone had success selling paperbacks of this size and at these prices?

Regarding covers: Which of the Createspace cover designer templates do you think are classy enough as to be acceptable to the average buyer? I am of course of the opinion that with these 3 books, the titles and the content will be the main impetus for purchase, and don't wish to spend additional money on a designer at this time. (Is there any other free cover-creation program for paperbacks that is simple and yields better designs than the CS templates?)

Thanks.

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BenEBrewer

· #2 · Jan 4, 2013

I suppose the question you have to ask yourself is - would readers really want to buy an extremely thin book for $5.50 when they can get the digital version instantly and probably for less?

Personally, I wouldn't publish anything under 100 pages for a print issue but I suppose if it is done right then it may work for you.

If you're going to make three covers straight away, you could download 'Adobe In-Design' but of course - only use it for the 30 day free trial then don't sign up to the paid version after that.

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dotx

· #3 · Jan 4, 2013

I have to agree. There's no way I'm going to pay $5.50 for 25 pages and then on top of that wait for it to be delivered. Maybe if you're offering something full color, full of photos or somehow awesome on paper (that would not look so awesome in digital form).

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unkownwriter

· #4 · Jan 4, 2013

Have you looked at the posts Dean Wesley Smith has done on his site (www.deanweselysmith.com)about the short books he's putting out? He talks about content, covers and pricing.

Also, to do covers, just get a template and use a program like GIMP, or Paint.net if you want something free, or one of the Photoshop versions (or Elements) if you don't mind paying. You'd have to design a back, and a front (which could be used for an ebook) and probably tiny spine area.

Here's a link from someone at the Create Space boards, who has a template generator that's supposed to work better than the CS one:

http://bookow.com/resources.php

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WilliamEsmont

· #5 · Jan 4, 2013

I just pubbed a seventy page book at CreateSpace.. As to whether anyone would buy something that short - I would, if I were interested in the subject matter, so I suspect there's some market for it. Over the past year I've received a handful of requests for a print edition of my zombie novelette. In once case I even sent a reader a signed printout from my home laser printer. He was thrilled.

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Saul Tanpepper

· #6 · Jan 4, 2013

Considering doing a print version of an illustrated "Get the F**k to Work" (the equivalent of a kid's picturebook at ~32 pages), but I wouldn't bother with anything unillustrated for adults under a hundred (which, btw, is about where CS starts to charge page counts; up to that it's all the same price, regardless of size). I have my GAMELAND episodes (each ~135 pages) out there for $6.99, but have seen very little interest in print.

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ruecole

· #7 · Jan 4, 2013

I can't really comment on the pricing or if it's worth it to put a super short book like that in print. I know a few authors who have, but they've basically bought a print run which they're then selling themselves (at a lower cost than Amazon would set).

Regarding covers, you'd have to add the spine and back cover yourself, but you can buy pre-made covers that will look ten thousand times better than the CS templates for as little as $25 from some of the designers here on this board. Shop around a bit.

Hope that helps!

Rue

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