Createspace Merges With KDP! Move Books From CS To KDP

Createspace And KDP Become One

So what was expected has now happened with Createspace. The official news is out about Createspace operations finally being merged with KDP, something that had been in the internet grapevine for some time. Rumors that stay consistent and fail to go away have a tendency of coming true.

In any case, most authors who were publishing books on Createspace believed that it was just a rumor and kept uploading their books to the same platform. Some decided to be proactive and uploaded their new books to KDP Print and a few even moved their old Createspace books to KDP Print, the paperback publishing arm of KDP.

For those who may not know, a bit about the background of KDP Print. KDP stands for Kindle Direct Publishing and was created in November 2007 to cater to the Kindle ebook market. Over the years KDP became the preferred platform for publishing for self publishers because of the various advantages that it offered. In order to replicate the success of KDP for ebooks, they decided to expand into paperback publishing as well. In 2014 they launched KDP Print for publishing printed books.

Previously authors wanting to publish printed books had to do so using Createspace, another Amazon company. But with the launch of KDP Print they had an alternative that would also give them the same benefits as KDP authors. This included using Amazon’s AMS ads for promoting books and a greater market reach with more countries where Amazon products are available. Createspace sells its books only in the US, UK and Europe.

Since yesterday many Createspace authors received notifications asking them to move their books to KDP. Quite a few authors were taken by surprise, while some knew it because they had seen the writing on the wall. The internet has been buzzing about rumors of Createspace shutting down the platform after being merged with KDP.

There have also been uploading issues with Createspace in the last week indicating that the end was near. Finally, the inevitable happened yesterday.

Also watch the video here:

Facts About Createspace To KDP Merger

If you have books on Createspace, here are the most important facts that you should know:

• All Createspace books will continue to be available for buyers, until any further notice pertaining to the status.
• However, since KDP will be the platform that Amazon will use for publishing all types of books, you might as well start moving your books to Createspace from now on.
• If they are not moved within a certain period of time, KDP will move your books for you. Hence you don’t have to worry about your books disappearing suddenly because Amazon will take care of the movement.
• Once the automatic movement of Createspace books to KDP begins, there will be a freeze on uploading any new books.
• After the migration is over, KDP will be the only Amazon platform for the publication of ebooks and print books.

How To Move Your Books From Createspace To KDP

The process is very easy and you can do it yourself in a few minutes. Of course it will take time if you have several books but you can do it a few at a time while carrying on with your other tasks.

• You need to have an account on KDP, so if don’t have one be sure to create one immediately.
• Log into your Createspace account.and go to your dashboard.
• You will see a popup that says “Get Started”.
• Verify your account.
• And then link your KDP account by clicking the button as shown.
• You will have to log into your KDP account so that it gets linked.
• Then you can click on “Start The Move” button after which you will be directed to KDP
• Since your Createspace and KDP accounts have been linked, you will see your book on the KDP dashboard and a button that says “Continue Setup.”
• What will follow is basically a confirmation of details that were present in your Createspace account for your book.

If in case you don’t have the notification yet, either wait for it or use the Paperback option in your KDP Dashboard to fill in the details.

Should You Move Books Now Or Later?

Technically, you will be able to move books until the time Createspace stops it and KDP starts moving it for you. But why postpone it when you know that it is something that needs to be done as soon as possible?

By delaying it, your books will not disappear but waiting might mean delays. As days go by, more and more Createspace authors will start moving their books, as some will see the notification or hear the news later. So do it soon and relax in peace. Besides you can start getting used to the new platform, including the additional features and reports that it offers.

Conclusion

As it always happens with any new changes on Amazon, Createspace merging with KDP will also be fraught with challenges. However, if you have only a few books and you acted soon enough and moved the books you’re lucky. There will be a bottleneck for a few days or even weeks but ultimately let us hope that the transition becomes smooth and authors can get back to their main task i.e. writing more books.