KDP to the rescue!

I spent thirteen hours reformatting the paperback and hardcover to KDP’s specs, and I’m thrilled to report that new proofs are already on the way.

Every delay this project has experienced was due to Ingram, but choosing Ingram was my mistake. I should have given up on them a month ago, and I’m annoyed that I didn’t. 

This update is about why I ended up stuck in this toxic cycle with Ingram in the first place. It’s going to have a few sections, so scroll to the parts that interest you.

Why did I choose Ingram, which has notoriously terrible service and an archaic-to-the-point-of-uselessness system?

In ’22 and ’23, when writers, artists, and publishers were discovering how machine learning systems were trained, I did some investigating into whether or not Amazon (Kindle Direct Publishing’s parent company) was using our files to train their own bots. Over the course of several weeks, I went back and forth with various levels of KDP’s customer service. None gave me a straight answer. 

After evaluating their various legal agreements, which every user opts-in to without actually reading, I learned that Amazon/KDP does retain the right to use the content for training material. Unfortunately, this meant that I had to pull all 12 of The Dread Machine’s issues and both of our anthologies, because we were publishing the works of writers who overwhelmingly did not consent to their stories being used this way. As the publisher, I am not technically the copyright holder, and therefore didn’t have the legal right to consent on the writers’ behalf. (I wouldn’t even if I could, because I’m not going to help Bezos bury writers and booksellers any more than he already has.)

If you want to know more about that, here’s a publicly accessible file containing all the evidence I could gather, which I sent off to various news outlets, none of whom seemed to care that one of the two viable printing/distribution companies in the world was doing this.

I swore then that I was done with KDP forever. That’s how we got stuck with Ingram.

Why is Ingram so terrible, and how is KDP better?

Ingram, like KDP, is a book printing and distribution company. Unlike KDP, Ingram primarily serves the Big 5 publishing companies: Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Hachette, and Simon & Schuster. They DGAF about indies, but they’re happy to take our money via IngramSpark, their division designed for micropublishers (like The Dread Machine).

After uploading a file to Ingram’s system, the title goes into “Processing” for a ridiculously long time (10-14 days). Then, you get an e-proof, which is supposed to reflect what the cover and interior will look like in the physical book. I have recently come to learn that the “e-proof” is the exact PDF uploaded, with a watermark stamped on top. It does not reflect what the final title looks like.

Because I don’t trust Ingram, I always order physical proofs, and if you read last week’s update, you can see why. These proofs take weeks to arrive, and they’re expensive AF to print and ship.

I’ve come to believe these delays are intentional, as Ingram charges $50 per revision upload after 60 days. They are incentivized to drag the process out as long as possible.

KDP, by comparison, is about ten thousand times more user-friendly. Title setup is fast and painless. They generate templates instantly, if you need them. Once your files are ready, you upload them and can immediately access their file previewer, which shows you exactly what the cover and interior will look like. 

If there are any errors, their system flags and links the page, so you can find the issue and resolve it. They won’t allow you to publish the title until the errors are resolved. Needless to say, revision uploads are free, because charging for them is ridiculous.

Of course, this means that my book is going to be used to train their bots, but as the author and copyright holder, I have the legal right to consent. 

Do I love the idea of my work being used this way? No. 
Do I have a choice? Also no.

So, what’s the fulfillment timeline looking like?

In a word: awesome. I submitted a proof request this morning. KDP generates a special purchase link and puts the books into your cart, so you aren’t paying retail prices. That process takes about an hour. 

Once they’re ordered, the titles enter the queue at the nearest printing facility (mine is in Delaware). I have enough experience with KDP to know that what I see on the preview is exactly what I’ll get, but KDP’s colors can be a bit wonky, so I’m going to run some proofs to make sure no color adjustments are necessary. If they aren’t, I’ll be able to make our order before the end of the month.

What do printing costs/profit margins look like?

Over the last few years, printing costs have exploded. Because Plane is 160 premium pages, full-color, printing it is not cheap.

What’s next?

Now, we wait until I get my hands on those proofs. Until then, I’m working on Home Sweet Home (an embroidery game) and The Welcome Wagon (a collection of games my friends and I have made). Kanishk is still working on the solo campaign for Plane, which is almost ready for playtesting. My contribution, Plane: The Office Party, is done. I’ll be releasing it in PDF once he’s done, which will likely be around fulfillment time. 

I’m so relieved about where Plane is right now, I feel like someone pulled a giant weight off my chest. So, as much as I resent Amazon/KDP, I’m very glad they exist today.