In January 2017, I launched Curl Up Press – a publishing imprint under my company, The Creative Penn Limited. In this article, I'll explain why I moved to a small press model, what the implications are for my books and products as well as fun stuff like ISBNs.
What is Curl Up Press? How does it fit within my business and brands?
Curl Up Press is an independent small press currently focused on thrillers and dark fantasy fiction, self-help and writing related non-fiction. These books are currently just written by J.F.Penn and Joanna Penn.
We also have a small-town, clean and wholesome, sweet romance series by Penny Appleton coming in Autumn 2017.
Books are published in English worldwide, in ebook, print, and audiobook formats. Curl Up Press is not open to submission right now and we have no plans for it to be, so please don't submit your manuscripts – but never say never!
We welcome inquiries around rights licensing, particularly for translation/foreign rights, film, TV, gaming and other media.
What's the difference between a small press/imprint and an indie author publishing under their own name?
You definitely don't need to start a small press or a company/LLC to make six figures as an indie author. Many authors are quite happy publishing under their own names, as I have done since 2008. After all, readers generally don't care who published the book and are not searching by publisher when they go to search for a book.
Ask any reader who their favorite author is and they will rattle off a few names. Then ask them who published those books and it's likely that they won't know.
So why the change for my business?
- I'm now working with other authors and paying royalties to other people. This includes my Dad, Arthur J. Penn for the English Country Garden Fine Art Adult Coloring Book, my co-author for Risen Gods, J.Thorn, and soon, my co-writer for the sweet romance series. As soon as you have to start tracking royalties and paying others, you're actually acting more like an established publisher and you need better systems in place.
- I want to expand my print distribution. By using an imprint name instead of my own name, bookstores and libraries won't question how the book is published. By using Ingram Spark, I can reach a large physical distribution network that expands what I have now through Createspace (UPDATE: Createspace was retired by Amazon and is now KDP Print). More on this below.
- I want to license more of my intellectual property rights and it's easier to do that from a ‘company imprint' and a separate brand, instead of each of the author names that we'll end up with.
Many indie authors use a small press name already and just to be clear, this doesn't have to be a legal entity or registered company. You should definitely check whether the name is used already and get the URL. I have www.curluppress.com
Curl Up Press is an imprint set up under The Creative Penn Limited. It's like a division of the company. As a comparison, Penguin Random House has 250+ imprints under their company structure.
Getting serious about print. Why use Ingram Spark as well as KDP Print (previously Createspace)?
Publishing industry veteran, Mike Shatzkin, wrote in Dec 2016 on his blog:
“Publishers can literally reach most of the customers in the world through two intermediaries, Amazon and Ingram … a publisher with no more organization than relationships with Amazon, Ingram, and a talented digital marketing team can publish successfully in today’s world”
That's right.
If you use both Amazon and Ingram Spark – which indies can – and if you are on the forefront of digital marketing – which many indies are – then you can publish successfully.
I have happily used Createspace only for my print books for years now. Print sales have been about 5% of my income but I haven't really focused on it. I've used print as comparison pricing to make my ebooks a better deal, for marketing purposes and for mainly for non-fiction sales.
Now I'm moving to use both services together.
The reasons to use Ingram alongside KDP Print (previously Createspace) are:
- Your book will be available to 39,000 retailers, libraries, schools and universities—online and in stores around the world. These are outlets that are unlikely to order from Amazon directly
- You can apply discounts which are critical for booksellers to order your books as they need a margin to make some money on the transaction
- You can order your own books by the box or more and ship to customers in bulk – and make money on the transaction instead of just breaking even. I've found this useful in the last month as I'm speaking in New Zealand and Australia, so have bulk-ordered books for those events. Plus, I've had requests for bulk purchases from other companies and previously have had to turn down those orders.
- You can print hardbacks, which are not (yet) available on Createspace. You also have a larger number of options for printing dimensions
- Coming in 2017, Aerio will enable you to sell print books directly from your own website like any other bookseller. You can sell other books in your genre alongside your own if you choose, essentially setting up your own bookstore.
So basically, you set up your print book on Ingram with your ISBN (as below) and then set up the book on Createspace, but don't select extended distribution. Here's an article from ALLi's Self-Publishing Advice blog on using Createspace and Ingram Spark together.
I'm choosing to only use the print only option at Ingram Spark, although you can use them for ebook distribution as well, which might be a good option for those authors who live in countries that aren't served so well by the Amazon self-publishing eco-system. We actually visited the Ingram factory in Milton Keynes in England a few weeks ago and it was pretty cool to see all the books rolling off the presses. The long tail of publishing in action!
ISBNs and print-on-demand setup
You don't need your own ISBNs to be a successful indie author.
In fact, Data Guy reported at Digital Book World 2017 that on Amazon.com, 43% of all ebook purchases are for books with no ISBNs.
However, if you want to get your PRINT book in front of bookstores, libraries and other bastions of the traditional book industry, then you do need your own set of ISBNs.
Once you have decided on your press name, go to the online store that deals with ISBNs in your country. For example, I use Nielsen in the UK. Buy whatever you need and then keep a spreadsheet with how you're assigning those books over time. If you're in Canada, it's free 🙂
In terms of setting things up, you'll need the following:
- An address and phone number for the press which you need when purchasing ISBNs. You can often use your accountant's address if they offer that service, but we ended up setting up a PO Box and also a new telephone number, as the intention is to grow that side of the business.
- Logo – you can commission a logo from one of the many online design sites e.g. 99Designs or Upwork or from a graphic designer you have worked with before. Many book cover designers also do other design work. We are cat lovers so we specifically wanted a cat logo. Also, Curl Up Press evokes the image of curling up with a good book, which suits the self-help-happy-smiley side of me, served by the non-fiction and sweet romance. But it also brings to mind ‘curl up and die,' which brings the darker side of J.F.Penn into the mix 🙂 Thanks to JD Smith Design who did the awesome logo. A tip on intellectual property rights for logos and covers – make sure the designer signs the copyright over to you as you never know where this might end up in the future.
- Small press website – if you want to make it separate to your author site. Here's my tutorial on how to set up a website in under 30 minutes. The Curl Up Press site uses Studiopress Parallax Pro theme.
- Email address – I use GSuite (Google for Work) for all my business email now. I previously used my web hosting service for email, but it's better practice to separate the two as if you have website problems, you'll still get email. I learned that the hard way!
- Reformat your print files for Ingram Spark. There are some differences between the file requirements for Ingram and for Createspace. I just paid a formatter to do it for myself, but there are other DIY formatting options. Here are some more tips on using Ingram Spark and Createspace together, including trim sizes, color saturation, spine width, ordering physical proofs, price changes, and more.
What about copyright? Who does it belong to?
This is not legal advice and I am not a lawyer/attorney. This is just my opinion!
I've been advised by a number of experienced people on this and I'll be discussing it with attorney Kathryn Goldman on the podcast very soon. But for now:
- Copyright remains in the author name – so my books' copyright is in Joanna Penn and J.F.Penn. This gives longer protection than in a company e.g. 50-70 years after the death of the author, depending on the jurisdiction. Copyright held within a company name has a shorter protection period.
- I have registered the copyright for my books with the UK copyright service – and you can do this differently by country. This is not strictly necessary as copyright is applied as soon as the work is created, but provides a form of proof if asked e.g. by Amazon, which is happening more often with boxsets etc. It can also give more protection if things do get serious at some point.
- As the author, I license Curl Up Press, an imprint of The Creative Penn Limited, to publish my books and that is a rolling annual license that I can revoke at any time. By doing this, I protect myself in case anything happens to the company and I want my rights back. You should have this kind of ‘out clause' with any publisher you sign a contract with. Think of it as a marriage. Everyone wants it to go well until things don't go so well and I say that as a happily married woman … on her second marriage 🙂
Numbers for the first month
I now have numbers for January 2017, the first month using Createspace and Ingram Spark together. Print has never been a big channel for me, so these are tiny numbers and I have done nothing to drive traffic to Ingram other than just having the books available. It's basically a new income channel and will enable me to do more with print in 2017, so I'll have better numbers at the end of the year. But for now, just for interest:
- Ingram Spark: 142 units. US$362.47, £12.08, AU$12.93
- Createspace: 289 units. US$300.70, £137.17, EUR47.62
I won't compare it to December as that's an anomaly spike month. But compared to previous months on Createspace alone:
- Nov 2016: 393 units. US$628.19, £100.04, EUR145.24
- Oct 2016: 279 units. US$440.25, £136.37, EUR89.03
- Sept 2016: 268 units. US$471.80, £127.32, EUR46.04
It looks like the sales on Ingram are so far cannibalizing the sales from Createspace, which would make sense because I'm not doing anything different to market them. I am considering a number of ways that I could reach out to libraries, so I'll review this again in May when I do my tax year roundup.
The outsider becomes the mainstream
When the indie author movement started back in 2009, covers were basic, editing was pretty much non-existent and the 99c Kindle millionaires emerged.
Then the competition grew and things changed …
Now, indie authors who are serious about their art – and their business – invest in professional editing and cover design, build an email list, and they continue to work on their craft. They learn marketing and they invest in growing their readership.
Some mega indies moved into the hybrid model, doing deals with traditional publishing for various rights e.g. retaining ebook rights while licensing print. Hugh Howey still fits the original indie model as he self-publishes from his boat as he sails around the world, but he also works with traditional publishing for some projects.
Other indie authors have started small presses or larger companies and stepped up production by working with other authors.
- Sean Platt, Johnny B. Truant and David Wright went from 3 guys self-publishing in disparate genres to now running Sterling and Stone, a company with several different imprints, a load of employees and plans for a story studio to rival Pixar.
- Marie Force has 30+ bestselling romance novels and an 8-figure business as an indie. She started Jack's House Publishing to publish other authors in romance
- New York Times & USA Today bestselling indie author Liliana Hart started SilverHart Publishing, also for romance novels
These stories remind me of how Penguin publishing started out in 1935 as 3 brothers who decided to “create cheap, well-designed quality books for the mass market.” (Sound like ebooks, anyone!)
82 years later, Penguin Random House is one of the biggest publishing companies in the world, with 10,000+ employees, 250 imprints, publishing 15,000 books per year.
Right now, Curl Up Press is just starting out … but who's to say where it will be by 2099 🙂
This is just the start of another step in my adventures in publishing. I'd love to hear your thoughts and questions in the comments below.
Have you started a small press and what are your tips and lessons learned? Do you have any questions if this is a step you're considering? Please do leave a comment below.
Judith Henstra says
Wonderful that you share all this. I’m not an author, but an independent book editor and this is useful information for my clients, so I will share on social media.
Best of luck with the new direction you’ve taken!
Elizabeth R Monnet says
Joanna – great article! As an international lawyer, I was ‘published’ in many prestigious publications. However, I didn’t own the copyright to any of my ‘published’ articles. After I retired from practicing law and began writing fiction, I created my own imprint Milford Cordwent Press, named after my suffragette great grandmother.
Setting up my own publishing company was time consuming. However I found it an empowering experience. I can place my works with whomever, wherever and whenever I choose. This is freedom .
Prasenjeet Kumar says
Hi Joanna. I’m also thinking of using Ingram Spark for some of my better selling books. I have a few questions. Are you using Ingram Spark for only hardcover or for both paperback and hardcover? Secondly, doesn’t Createspace use Ingram Spark for extended distribution?
Joanna Penn says
I’m only using IS for paperback right now – but will do some hard covers later this year – mostly for vanity reasons 🙂 and maybe for hardcore reader fans but I don’t expect that to be a big market.
CS does use Ingram for some of their printing and distribution – so yes, your books may be printed that way already – but if you go direct to IS, there are other distribution options.
Angela Ackerman says
I am wishing you all the success in the world, Joanna! I am amazed at all you take on and all you accomplish, and you are just shooting the lights out. It is terrific, and I love your innovator’s spirit and desire to learn.
I am interested in your take on something regarding your move to use both CS & IS, because I have been wondering if I should make this move as well. I have an unusual situation as I sell a lot of print–around 40-50% of my sales are in print. I also see Createspace ED bulk orders each month which I am certain by the amounts are coming from “other Amazons” like Amazon Canada and Amazon UK where we also sell print consistently enough for their centers to shelve it (when it is Amazon.com ordering, bulk orders are shown as direct sales, not ED).
So I am wondering if a) switching to a lower royalty at IS would be worthwhile when I do sell well at CS (is opening to bookstores and libraries really worthwhile when I write a niche book topic anyway?), and, if switching my ED to IS would possibly jeopardize these “other Amazon” bulk orders.
I don’t know if you would have answers, but if you do have any thoughts, I’d love to hear them. 🙂
Joanna Penn says
I think you’d probably expand your print sales as there are many other markets with Ingram. Definitely worth you looking into some more. They have very helpful people on the phone if you want to discuss it with them.
Angela Ackerman says
Thanks Joanna. I will look into it.
Kate Tilton says
I’m so excited to see you taking this new step Joanna! As a cat lover I adore the new logo and love the extra meanings behind it (and how did I not know you were a cat lover?). I can’t wait to see what 2017 will bring for you!
Joanna Penn says
Thanks Kate 🙂
Sukhi Jutla says
Such exciting new steps for you Joanna! Thanks for sharing, it’s incredible how authors can keep pushing the boundaries and make a life and living from what they enjoy doing. Helps me to see what the potential opportunities there are and how to think more long-term and bigger picture. So exciting to see your next steps on this journey. Loving the new logo for your press too 🙂
elvie says
Hi jo
Are you allowing returns thru spark?
Good luck with the new direction
Joanna Penn says
No, I’m not allowing returns and I’m using the lowest discount rate of 35%. Basically, I don’t expect people to just ‘discover’ my books – I expect to drive the traffic and so people should be willing to pay more because they ‘want’ the book. I may change this later – but I want to make money and clearly the returns model just doesn’t work!
Marion Hill says
As with all the other comments, thanks for sharing your transition into becoming a small press publisher. I wish you much success in the future. I have created Red Mango Publishing in 2016 and will make the transition for all my published work to be under it. I don’t know about doing as a small press yet…..but I’m beginning to understand that creating a business for my writing is essential. I will be referencing this blog post quite often.
Rachel Morgan says
Thank you so much for sharing all this info, Joanna! I’m particularly interested because I’m in the process of setting up a separate company (just to publish my own books at this point). I discussed with my accountant about how I, as the author, still own the copyright, but I have to make some kind of agreement with my company that gives it the license to publish my books. And then I had a moment of panic — “What if something happens to the company?! I’ll need to make sure my agreement has an option for me to back out!” So I like your model of an rolling annual license you can revoke at any time.
My question for you is: what changes have you made to your accounts with each of the ebook platforms? I looked this up about two years ago, and I *think* it looked like you could keep the same account with most of the retailers (on Amazon, for example, can you just change your name to the company name, then change the tax details and the payment details to the company’s tax and payment details?), BUT Apple iBooks told me I would have to set up a brand new account with a new Apple ID. All books would have to be uploaded from scratch, and all reviews would be gone. Is this what you’ve done?
Thanks 🙂
Joanna Penn says
I haven’t set up another company – I still have all my accounts under my legal entity name, The Creative Penn Limited. Curl Up Press is an imprint of the company, but not separate – so I haven’t changed any of the back end stuff – just using the publisher name field now.
Rachel Morgan says
Oh, right, of course. You’ve already been using The Creative Penn Ltd. Thanks, Joanna 🙂
Sarah Rayner says
Hi Joanna, thank you so much for posting about this. I have been getting to a similar point myself with my indie titles, and feeling having my own small press would be worthwhile. My books are non-fiction (Picador publish my fiction) and currently sell more in print than in ebook format so I’ve been trying to work out how to get broader distribution for them. I nearly signed to a small publishing house a couple of weeks ago who were offering great royalties, but they wanted the rights and I couldn’t bear to part with them, so reading this is the route you’re going gives me confidence I didn’t make the wrong decision. Best of luck with your venture, and a giant thank you for being so generous with all you learn by sharing it with the world. I’ve no idea how you accomplish so much, and am in awe. Sarah
Joanna Penn says
Hi Sarah, It sounds like you made the right choice keeping those rights – opportunities are only expanding with print and indies can reach the world now. So definitely check out Ingram Spark!
Sarah Rayner says
Hi Joanna, I’m in the process of checking out IS and understand my CS ISBNs won’t work and that IS will need different ISBNs. Did you have your own ISBNs already, or did you swap them over? Otherwise I have to re-upload all the books, it seems, with the new ISBNs, which means a lot of admin with Create Space as I have six titles!
Joanna Penn says
I’ve just used new ISBNs with IS and kept my old books on CS with the CS ISBNs. So you just need the new ones for IS and then use the same ones for both for new books going forward 🙂
Sarah Rayner says
Oh THANK YOU! I tried so many ways to get an answer to this from CS and IS and ALLi and no one said the same thing. I shall do this, and it will save me HEAPS of time. Consider yourself virtually hugged with gratitude.
Nina Levine says
Thanks for sharing all this information, Joanna. It’s something I’ve been looking into and considering doing in order to expand my print sales. Great to have all the info in one place! Nina
PS Super excited that you are coming to Brisbane soon. I’m hoping to make it to your event.
Joanna Penn says
You’ve been recommended to me as one of the high-selling Aussie indie authors, Nina! Congrats on doing so well and I hope to meet you!
L.J. Diva says
1 – I’ve considered using Ingram for hardbacks and paperbacks but at the moment CS gets all of my books to Australia anyway. They can be ordered through Baker & Taylor/James Bennett for pbs for libraries, and Smashwords delivers them to Overdrive for the libraries. It’s just a matter of me letting the library system they’re available. So I’m not sure I want to mess with setting up Ingram at this point. and Aussie book sites carry them to sell. So I don’t know how much better off I would be since Amazon pretty much ships to the same companies.
2 – I’ve also thought about an imprint name but wish someone here in Aus would write about the finer details of how to go about it. It’s all well and good to be told we can just pick a name that no one’s using, but if someone likes it enough to steal it and register it as a business name, we’re screwed. So I’d like to read the actual steps into setting up a press/imprint or even an LLC to publish under and what the costs/time period etc would be. Legalities annoy me because you can never find out every little detail you need to know and then down the track you get told you didn’t do something. Ugh! Annoying.
Jeremy Collier says
Hello Joanna!
As with everything you do, thank you for sharing this! I actually put off forming my LLC so I could read your experience first.
So a quick backstory on what’s going on with me before I ask my questions. I have been publishing under my company’s name for years, Steam Powered Dreams, but it is not official at this point. Last year I decided to form a company and start to look into publishing other authors work and am now ready to form the LLC to start moving towards that goal.
My question has to do with imprints. As I said, I will form the LLC under Steam Powered Dreams and I plan on publishing under both Steam Powered Dreams and SPDirect. Can you briefly tell me how I would go about this? How do you go about forming an imprint under an LLC?
By the way, LOVE the Curl Up Press logo, huge cat lover myself =)
Thanks!
Joanna Penn says
Check out this interview which covers it: http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2016/04/18/build-author-business/ Glad you like the logo!
Rahim says
Hi Joanna,
Congratulations on Curl Up Press! It’s a perfect name/logo/approach to encapsulate everything you’ve been doing. 2 questions for you:
1. Why did you choose IngramSpark over the more business-oriented Lightning Source? I thought IngramSpark was for authors and Lightning Source was more for publishing companies (like Curl Up Press).
2. I have heard IngramSpark only allows 40% or 55% discounts. How were you able to set yours to 35%?
Thank you,
Rahim
Joanna Penn says
Ingram Spark is the choice for business minded indies. I’m not publishing anyone else, or doing a massive list of books per year, just using a press name. Just look on the dashboard or the help page. 35% is an option.
Lynne says
Hi Joanna ~ love following along with you on your publishing journey. Thank you so much for all you share. I’m a long time listener and learn so much! Like others, I love the Curl Up Press name and logo! Prior to establishing the Curl Up imprint, how did you handle the ISBNs on your print books? Did you use the CS ISBN and just not have your company name as the publisher? How is your relationship, as the author, set up with your LTD? This part is still confusing to me and I tried to see if I could find the answer on my own. I am in the process of preparing my first novel for publication and buying an ISBN is so expensive!! And I know they are not necessary, per se, but I did want to set up a DBA with a business name to work under, as the sole author. Ahhhh!! Sorry for the wordiness of my comment and question, but hoping you can give me some feedback. I’ve spent hours on this! Thanks again, so much, for all you do!
Joanna Penn says
Hi Lynne, I’ve always run my business under The Creative Penn Limited and yes, I used CD ISBNs – Curl Up Press is just an imprint name. Check out this interview for details: http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2016/04/18/build-author-business/
Lynne says
Thank you, Joanna! I will go back and read through the transcripts on this one. Listened to it way back when – so thank you for pointing me in the right direction. It’s been a while!
Nadine Travers says
Thank you so much Joanna to share with us your journey. You inspire me so much for my future like a indie writer and maybe publisher too. Will don’t know 🙂
Kelly K Lavender says
Thanks for the enlightening article! I question my choice to name my indie press after my pen name. While your press, The Creative Penn, can be viewed as a both clever play on words and also a small press, my press unmistakably labels me as an Indie, which can be a marketing minus. Unfortunately, some still consider the Indie brand to be amateurish and second-rate. Since you said, “…After all, readers generally don’t care who published the book and are not searching by publisher when they go to search for a book…”I’m confused by pushback from those who argue otherwise. From a financial standpoint, should I seriously consider re-naming my press in the hopes of branding the book as a higher quality product generated by a small publisher? What a hassle with copyrights, etc. By the way, I managed to set myself apart from the pack by winning highly coveted awards with both of my novels. Thanks!
Joanna Penn says
If you’ve won awards, why are you worried about a press name?
I do have a small press, http://www.CurlUpPress.com, which is more about progressing into print distribution – but we looked at the costs and it just isn’t something worth doing right now. https://www.thecreativepenn.com/2017/02/09/small-press/
David says
Hi Joanna
Great article. I’m at the point where I’m about to publish my first full length novel. I’m heading the way you suggest and I’ll have ebooks exclusive through Amazon, paperbacks through kdp print, and I’d like to have paperbacks through Ingram too. My question is around ISBN’s. In the above setup, do I buy an ISBN and use it for the Amazon ebook, kdp paperback and Ingram paperback? Or do I need one for the Amazon ebook and a different one for kdp print and Ingram print? Or do I need three? A little confused here, any help much appreciated. Thank you.
Joanna Penn says
You need an ISBN per format – but you don’t technically need one for ebooks. It’s your choice. I use them for print and audiobooks but not for ebooks. Have fun!
Maryann Jacobsen says
Thanks so much for this article. I just bought my first ISBNs and already have four books published. My goal has always to expand once I had 5 books. My question is, if I get print versions going with Ingraham Spark, do I need to republish the print books on Amazon with that new ISBN? Also, do you use your own ISBNs for your e-books as well?
Joanna Penn says
I don’t use ISBNs for ebooks, and I just used my new ISBNs for the Ingram version for all the books I needed to catch up on. For new ones, I use the same ISBN.
Seth McKay says
Do you still recommend using CS and IS?
In the numbers you showed, it didn’t look like a big jump but it was also just one month. My wife and I are doing quite well on CS alone but researching buying our own ISBNs and posting on both platforms. It looks like the best option but I just wanted to check in to see how it progressed after the first month.
Thanks! Lovely article.
Joanna Penn says
Yes, I am increasingly using Ingram Spark for print – but moving to KDP Print for Amazon, as they are expanding the capability so much that it seems inevitable that Createspace will shut down at some point.