Many Growing Concerns Over IngramSpark Publishing

Are you self-publishing your books through IngramSpark publishing? Were you aware Ingram stands a LOT to gain out of your wholesale discounts? Or how accepting returns can leave you thousands of dollars in debt while getting ALL new books printed in lieu of the real returns? What's going on at IngramSpark? And can we trust the platform anymore? Find out all that and more in this podcast.
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[@ebonyharris4710]

Can you pin the comment about the author alliance. I want you to get credit.

[@selfpubwithdale]

You got it: DaleLinks.com/ALLi And thanks so much for asking. I appreciate the support.

[@ebonyharris4710]

@@selfpubwithdale thank you, I signed up a few days ago, it took time to listen to it on the recording and get it. You may want to pin it on your video, that will help others in the future.

[@myrany8407]

As an older lady thinking about self publishing a book, I just wanted to say thank you for your insightful instruction on this channel. I was sort of feeling like a deer in the headlights before I found you. Now I at least know what I need to learn more about before I do ANYTHING to save myself issues later.

[@selfpubwithdale]

That's great to hear! Nothing good should ever be rushed. Just so you know, IngramSpark has made some BIG improvements since I did this video. They just got rid of the $49 upload fee at the beginning of this month. They also updated their dashboard, offer new print options, new shipping rates, and free ISBNs for US account holders. I talked about it in the video I published yesterday: kzbin.info/www/bejne/i3jNl4qjprWcgKs

[@izzyb7111]

Thank you Dale...it is refreshing to always have an honest and educated/experienced author such as yourself...helping to shine the spotlight on what we NEED to consider and sidestep...grateful for you!! Happy 2022! ^^

[@selfpubwithdale]

Happy to help. I just hope IngramSpark does something about these issues. I truly want the company to succeed but not at our expense.

[@wildmoz-wild]

Thank you Dale. Mauiritz here. Ingraham Sparks just told me Title has been Cancelled, Part has expired. After my book has been selling through them for four years. Maybe they have stopped dealing with African customers??? Who knows. I was never notified. I found this out when I wanted to publish my next book three days ago. Then I found this vlog of yours. Keep up the good work. Thanks. They will never se me again!

[@selfpubwithdale]

Man, that really sucks and I’m sorry you went through that. Well, I guess now you can take your business elsewhere, where they WILL appreciate it. Thanks for the kudos.

[@wildmoz-wild]

@@selfpubwithdale Thanks for the reply Dale. I have had that book on sale for 13 years with almost every publisher. Its my best performing book and is paired with 'Watership Down' for teaching inner city kids about story tilling. Ingraham must be going nuts. They've lost it!

[@Moments_by_Mark_Photography]

Thanks for the podcast and your perspective. Here it is 7 months after your video and I am not liking Ingram Spark's online platform for uploading my book title. I receive all kinds of errors and zero response from customer service. I'm a first-time self-published author and I've been told Ingram Spark is not the platform to use if you are first-time author. Your podcast just reinforced that. Many thanks. I need some recommendations for other honest and vested distributors who will work with self-published authors.

[@selfpubwithdale]

Well, the good news is after posting this video, IngramSpark contacted me and are working on fixing some of my issues. Yes, IngramSpark is NOT the easiest platform for beginners. But, as you get experience, it's much easier. Check out my full self-publishing company comparison video series. It'll give you a better idea of the options out there: kzbin.info/aero/PLNIg6rKSONCe3L45x6C5bqDpKvIXJJfQ3

[@globalselfpublishing]

Absolutely love your passion in this video Dale! I agree, can you imagine how incredible the platform could be if they made all or even just a few of the changes you have suggested! Yes, the transparency absolutely needs to be improved and they have every opportunity to provide better reporting with their new ‘Reports’ but have again failed to show where your sales are coming from? I really do appreciate the opportunity to publish on Ingram and if they could make some changes, it would be insane!

[@selfpubwithdale]

Yeah, after I shot this video, IngramSpark got ahold of me directly. They're working on a few of those items and I should have first dibs on announcing those roll outs. They were extremely nice and assured they'd be correcting a few issues. By the way, what's up! haha I dig your content. Keep up the great work.

[@stevelyon9409]

You deserve a medal for this, my friend. I get wiser and more savvy every time I listen. Always time well spent. Thanks!

[@selfpubwithdale]

Thanks for listening! It sucks to speak so negatively of a decent company, but I think they're capable of so much more if they'd only listen to the authors using their platform. Just don't give up on IngramSpark altogether. I'm sure better things are on the horizon.

[@stevelyon9409]

@@selfpubwithdale 👍

[@MWinklerBooks]

Thank you so much for your rant about Ingram Spark. The things you mentioned had been bugging me separately over the years I've been with them. Hearing them all mentioned together has motivated me to finally get my website set up for sales. I'll stay with them for now, but if things don't change I will seriously consider moving away from them. Great video as always. Maybe next year I'll catch it live more often XD

[@selfpubwithdale]

That'd be awesome! Thanks so much for watching and commenting. It really does help out a lot here on KZbin.

[@read4funtv105]

Thanks. This info is gold.

[@selfpubwithdale]

Hey, I appreciate it. I need to do an updated video on IngramSpark because a few items have changed since I posted this video. In fact, watch this one: kzbin.info/www/bejne/i3jNl4qjprWcgKs

[@rileyraspberries]

This. I feel like I just want to publish my debut novel using KDP for print and get the eBook out wide with PublishDrive. It seems like a far better deal right now until Ingram gets their crap together... I’m joining your main channel tonight. I know I’m in good hands here. This is my favorite source for self pub info. I feel lost in this whole process but bit by bit I am forming a plan and a lot of that is thanks to these videos. If you had one on one coaching I might be game.

[@selfpubwithdale]

Thanks for the kudos. Yeah, I have high hopes for IngramSpark turning things around. For now, I'm cautious. As for consults, I do. Drop me an email with more details about what you're doing and we'll see if I can help: [e-mail].

[@rileyraspberries]

@@selfpubwithdale I will do that closer to launch. I want to make sure I get this first time right... I did learn in the past 24 hours since my post that you don't have to accept returns and you can set that discount on IS to 30% and it won't make as much of a difference as they try to scare you into believing. I just don't want to miss out on Baker & Taylor for library distribution, so I think I'm going to have to do IS... and let's face it, we all love a good glamour hardcover :). Not gonna lie, I can't miss out on that vanity exercise.

[@l.r1972]

This was so needed! I sincerely hope IS responds to these serious concerns. Thanks so much for making this video!

[@selfpubwithdale]

I need to direct message or email them this video. I’d be interested in hearing their response. Thanks so much for tuning in.

[@ulkeshkosh6164]

Great video Dale 👍 fyi, Ingram Spark founder Robin Cutler only retired for 1 day before taking a position at the head of Michael Anderle's LMBPN Publishing company.

[@selfpubwithdale]

Thanks for the insights. Robin is an asset for any company willing to work with her.

[@GuyGiardSpeaker]

Wow Dale..... what a storm rave about IS. Very interesting and enlightening. Seems IS was good while it lasted, but now there are other alternatives to consider, maybe do a video about these. Maybe we get a bit less wider distribution, but more friendly human touch and services? Thanks again for rocking it!

[@selfpubwithdale]

Glad you enjoyed it. I'm trying a couple new avenues and will report back to you guys.

[@GuyGiardSpeaker]

@@selfpubwithdale Thanks, today i did a workshop on audiobooks and they had no idea of the whole questionable issues with Audible. Good thing you are here #1

[@selfpubwithdale]

@@GuyGiardSpeaker oh, wow! Glad you could spread the message. Thanks so much.

[@authortommcauliffe3692]

You were spot on and we love your passion

[@selfpubwithdale]

Thanks, Tom!

[@TheEpicSpire]

The news part is at 32:32 in case anyone want's to skip to it. the whole video was Great and had great information. Thanks

[@selfpubwithdale]

Sorry about that. Usually, we shoot the podcast on Monday and it's all edited by Wednesday, but we were late this week. The news segment will be out shortly and the podcast will be edited to just the content.

[@TheEpicSpire]

@@selfpubwithdale no need to apologize. The Q&A portion before the news was great! You mention in the beginning that people could skip to the news, so I just wanted to put the timestamp in for those that wanted to. I'm glad I found your channel

[@selfpubwithdale]

@@TheEpicSpire You're the best! Thanks. I wish I could get someone willing to do timestamps for all my videos. People do find them useful.

[@TheEpicSpire]

@@selfpubwithdale if I catch the video, I'll do it for sure. Timestamps are useful. When I get back home I'll go back and timestamp some of the Q&A

[@selfpubwithdale]

@@TheEpicSpire Oh, man, thanks so much. Sadly, the Q&A will be gone soon. I just edited the podcast down to the meat. But, I can always use time stamps on the podcast. Some people like to skip forward to the points. If you did that, I'd be forever indebted to you. Thanks so much. That's super kind of you.

[@conwaystearn5881]

All authors should be aware there is no longer customer support at Ingram Spark. You used to be able to call customer service or use their chat feature. Both phone and chat support has discontinued as of November 2022. The only “service” which remains is email and I have sent several through their email support feature with absolutely NO response. If you decide to use Ingram Spark expect no support if you run into problems, which you will because their system is GAR-BAGE!!!

[@selfpubwithdale]

Noted. I’ll be chatting more with IngramSpark about some of these issues. The loss of support is not a good look, so I wonder why they would remove it.

[@solomonpetchers9522]

Dude! Yesterday, I decided to go with Ingram and today, I’m not so sure!!! Argh. What should I do!?

[@selfpubwithdale]

Test them out. I believe they still have value, but I do want you to be realistic on what to expect. I didn't want to discourage anyone from using IngramSpark. Just warn viewers about some complications. They're actively working to correct some issues and I'll let everyone know once those rollouts come. In the meantime, use my coupon code DALE2022 to waive your upload fee the first time. I don't get any kickback on it, it's simply a gift they hooked me up with for you guys. Enjoy and good luck, Solomon!

[@mikicasains2309]

Thanks, buddy, super clear & informative as always, cheers!!

[@selfpubwithdale]

Thanks, Miki!

[@InYourDreams-Andia]

Distro red flags everywhere with Ingramspark. Lack of transparency and other distro crimes = desperate greed. Book publishing is a new thing for me, but distro platforms are not. Im from the music side, and theres many parallels. Spotify is one bottomless pit, as is distrokid, both in shady partnership, both ripping artists as much as possible. The sad thing is many think its normal, and don't think twice to use them, just because many others do. Thanks for being a light out here in self publishing land. 🤟

[@selfpubwithdale]

Thanks so much for the love and support.

[@rmc7882]

Hi Dale, I have published with KDP. I'm now wanting to expand my distribution and considering Ingramspark. I was wondering how your experience was with Ingramspark and any recommendations you might have? Thank you

[@selfpubwithdale]

I feel like I covered my thoughts in this video. TL;DR I like IngramSpark and continue to use them for paperback and hardcover distribution. But, I do NOT enable returns and do NOT like offering the 55% or more wholesale discount. For ebook distribution, I don't bother since they won't allow me to deselect certain avenues (i.e., Apple, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, etc.). I hope that helps. Oh, and you can waive your upload fee with this one-time code DALE2022. It's good till the end of this year.

[@rmc7882]

Hi Dale, thank you for your reply. It is very helpful. Thank you very much for the free code. Take care

[@bartstewart8644]

Virtually every self-publishing channel on KZbin is saying the same thing. And this video is two years old! How is Ingram Spark staying in business??? I guess by ripping people off! Doesn't a company's reputation eventually catch up with them? They are the only distributor that reaches libraries and brick and mortar book stores. It's just heartbreaking that they are so lame. Their user interface is supposedly damn near impossible. Are there ANY alternatives?

[@selfpubwithdale]

Look into Draft2Digital and Bookvault.

[@snipercwf]

Will you be doing a video on a viable option for a replacement service of Ingram Spark? Does Lulu distribution have the same concerning setup? Where else can you distribute with hardback (dust jacket) option?

[@selfpubwithdale]

I covered quite a few alternatives in my Self Publishing a Book Online series. Watch it here: kzbin.info/aero/PLNIg6rKSONCdUYw9PGhhgiEoagx3rlO8P Off the top of my head, Lulu, Blurb, Barnes & Noble are just a few. Sadly, none of them have the incredible reach of IngramSpark. That's the dilemma we face. Damned if we do, damned if we don't. haha

[@snipercwf]

@@selfpubwithdale ... yup. I think I'm currently swaying towards KDP and then Lulu for going wider, and integrating sales through Lulu on my own site. Like it or not, most sales are coming from Amazon I think. I'm still not ready to publish, but like you have said... no point shooting first, aiming later! Thanks for always taking the time to reply. Your videos have been an invaluable resource of information and news.

[@selfpubwithdale]

@@snipercwf glad to help.

[@authortommcauliffe3692]

It’s been 7 months… Dale did they ever reach out to you about this?

[@selfpubwithdale]

Oh, yeah, I've been chatting with them a few times since. It's a hurry up and wait situation. I've got some intel and have a verbal NDA with them. I'll just say this - they're making efforts on all the issues. But, it's going to take time, as you can imagine. By the way, I love the new profile pic, Tom. I didn't recognize you at first. haha

[@schweve53]

@The Self-Publishing with Dale Podcast - Sorry, I missed your shout-out. (Had to run off.) The IngSpa help desk told me I couldn't upload a press-ready cover. YOU.CAN.NOT.UP.LOAD… Yeah, well, you damn well can.

[@selfpubwithdale]

haha The struggle is real, Steve! Hang in there. Thanks again for supporting the channel. I truly appreciate it.

[@sadelouise]

Where would you suggest going then? I've been having problems with Ingram which has totally messed with my publication schedule and it's just so frustrating but I really wanted to do the jacketed laminate case...

[@selfpubwithdale]

I never said or implied you shouldn't use IngramSpark. It's just being aware of those issues. Recently, IngramSpark reached out to me and are working hard to remedy those issues. Have you looked into other print on demand companies like Barnes & Noble Press or Lulu? They both have hardcover with dust jacket options. I believe Blurb does too.

[@sadelouise]

@@selfpubwithdale Thanks for your insight! I wasn't trying to imply that you weren't suggesting Ingram, I've just been having serious issues with them that have been super frustrating so I was curious to know if you had other recommendations so thanks and I'll look into the ones you suggested!

[@selfpubwithdale]

@@sadelouise Oh, sweet! Thanks for clarifying. And, yes, I share in your frustration, too.

[@jeannemoore6610]

Wide distribution or not, I'm not an Ingram Soark fan.

[@selfpubwithdale]

There are sooooo many other avenues beyond IngramSpark, so it's not an issue if you're not a fan. Look into Bookvault, Lulu, Barnes & Noble Press, and the scores of other platforms I've covered on this channel.

[@sallyalter6003]

Well, I waited 47 mins for you to get round to talking about Ingram Spark and I have decided I won't use them now.

[@selfpubwithdale]

Sorry, I normally cut my podcasts down to the content by now, but I'm a day behind. If you ever see the uncut podcast (usually about an hour), skip to the last 20 minutes. That's where the meat of the content is. I edit it down within 24 hours of airing. Sadly, I'm at the mercy of KZbin since I have to wait for them to render the live broadcast. It's not my intent to waste your time, but I do have to be conscious of my live viewers who enjoy the banter and live chat. That's why I air it, wait, then edit it so when you watch the replay, you get just the content you came for.

[@Hondalover3000]

These greedy companies only care about profits and not their loyal customers who made them rich in the first place. It's just a shame the customers are always getting the rotten end of the stick. :(

[@selfpubwithdale]

Yep. It stinks.

[@beastbook4950]

Is Lulu still good despite the interface.

[@selfpubwithdale]

It's got its share of pros and cons. I did a whole video about Lulu in comparison to Blurb this week. Go back and catch that for more info.

[@hollywoodyugoslavia8883]

Are there self publishing companies that can help you avoid eating return costs or is this the way it is?

[@selfpubwithdale]

You do NOT have to opt into the refunds on IngramSpark and I wouldn't recommend it.

[@hollywoodyugoslavia8883]

Do you have to opt in for returns on publishdrive? I’ve been strongly considering them to use

[@selfpubwithdale]

@@hollywoodyugoslavia8883 To my knowledge, no. In fact, I don't even think they have it as an option. Again, you don't have to select returns on IngramSpark. They make that available for people who want to increase the likelihood of a physical store stocking their shelves with your book.

[@hollywoodyugoslavia8883]

Thanks for the info. I’m thinking of using ingramspark or publishdrive but leaning toward publishdrive after watching this video lol