The Best Print on Demand Company - Comparing Book Publishing with Amazon KDP, IngramSpark & Beyond

Self-publishing a book this year? Learn how to format your book yourself with my online course: bit.ly/formattingcourse
The Best Print on Demand Company - Comparing Book Publishing with Amazon KDP, IngramSpark & Beyond // So far on my channel I've talked about Kindle Direct Publishing, IngramSpark, Barnes & Noble Press, Draft2Digital, and Lulu Publishing as print-on-demand book publishing companies. I've gone in-depth with each company talk about the pros and cons. Cost to print, distribution, quality of the book, printing options for the books, and tutorials on how to use the platforms to publish your book on Amazon on beyond. Towards the end of the video, I also talk about how user-friendly the sites are, the options for printing hardcovers, and the costs of publishing your book on each platform. But today is the day we bring it all together! So let's answer the question. What is the best print-on-demand company to self-publish your book?
A Beginner's Guide to Self-Publishing Playlist: • 9 Steps to Self-Publis...
IngramSpark Playlist: • 6 Things to Know Befor...
See in-depth unboxing videos:
Kindle Direct Publishing Hardcover: • KDP HARDCOVER BOOK REV...
Barnes & Noble Press: • Barnes & Noble Press U...
Draft2Digital: • Draft2Digital Paperbac...
Lulu Publishing: • Should You Self-Publis...
0:00 - Intro
2:31 - Cost to print
3:41 - Royalties
5:43 - Proof copies
7:51 - Quality of covers
9:46 - Quality of interior
12:33 - Customer service
14:37 - Distribution
18:49- User-friendliness
20:03 - Hardcover options
20:36 - Cost to self-publish
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Mandi Lynn published her first novel when she was seventeen. The author of multiple books, Mandi spends her days continuing to write and creating KZbin videos to help other writers achieve their dreams of seeing their books published. Mandi is the owner of Stone Ridge Books, a company that works to help authors bring their books to life through cover design and digital book marketing. She is also the creator of The Book Launch Planner, a planner designed to help authors publish and market their books. When she’s not creating, you can find Mandi exploring her backyard or getting lost in the woods.
• The Best Print on Dema...
#bookpublishing #selfpublishing #kindledirectpublishing
DISCLAIMER: This video and description contain affiliate links. By purchasing a linked product or service, Mandi Lynn will receive a small commission at no additional fee to you.

[@MandiLynnWrites]

Self-publishing a book this year? Learn how to format your book yourself with my online course: bit.ly/formattingcourse After a nightmare of an experience, I no longer work with IngramSpark. Watch my latest video on them to see why: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iHW1o6yuib1mZq8

[@shawnwilt7196]

Did you ever find out how much D2D charges for book printing?

[@luminalpyxie6454]

@@shawnwilt7196 They have a calculator out now on D2D. I did the calculation based on everything she had, and it looks like Cost to Print would be $5.60. Of course, this is about a year later and I'm not sure if anything changed with the other companies.

[@zrymill]

Is there a print on demand publisher that doesn't shut down your account out of the blue for no reason. I have a book on tantra massage/sexual massage and I'm worried amazon would just shut me down one day and I'd lose all the other books I've published with them and not be able to get another account.

[@davidclark573]

Amazon KDP Publications scammed me out of over $3000 dollars.

[@uncatila]

​Sounds like a violation of community standards. the community of decent God fearing humans​@@zrymill

[@TaylerMarieBrooks]

You don't get your book automatically sold in-store with Barnes & Noble. You have to sell 1000 copies first.

[@MetokurAssistant]

Could you point me to where I might find out more information about the 1000 copies thing?

[@f.scott.fitzbeagle]

I was in B&N regional stores for a few months. I was billed for the unsold copies. Careful what you wish for.

[@TaylerMarieBrooks]

@@f.scott.fitzbeagle That is true! When your books go in-store, you are responsible for anything that doesn't sell. It's all part of being an indie author. Unfortunately, bookstores don't want to take risks on us. Sorry to hear about your troubles!

[@f.scott.fitzbeagle]

It wasn't terrible. Just a comeuppance.@@TaylerMarieBrooks

[@CraigPriestley]

Thanks for this Mandi. I've only used KDP due to the simplicity, free ISBN and cheapness. Also that's where my readers tend to be (at least for now). This video has helped me realise I'm not missing out on too much by going through KDP, so i'll continue where I am :)

[@MandiLynnWrites]

So glad you found the video helpful!

[@annpippin6388]

WhF does KDP. ?

[@HobbyOrganist]

There is a drawback using those "free" ISBN numbers, if you didn't read what it is, you might do so, I bought mine from Bowker

[@alivemedianetwork760]

@@HobbyOrganistwho did you go with and how?

[@foster_field_trips]

Question- I am considering this after the awful experience I’ve had at Ingram Spark. Do you get your book into libraries or anywhere besides the readers that purchase on Amazon?

[@eduardogarcia9793]

Thank you so much for going to the lengths of going through all of these companies and sharing your findings.

[@3ltawle]

This is so helpful!! I'm so glad i stumbled across your channel 😭❤ as a first time author, my whole experience has been so daunting and specially when i reached to the publishing part but THANKS TO YOU. I have now made up my mind to publish first on KDP and later on once i feel a little more confident i'll use IG too.

[@stephaniemodkins4624]

Thank you for this video. It is so helpful. I was not clear on the most popular POD platforms. Great to hear them rated against each other.

[@thekarmafarmer608]

Super helpful, thanks. I`ve not heard quite so much good about IngramSpark before. I had decided not to use them before listening to you here. Getting finished up to publish and print for the first time, so very grateful for your video here.

[@mikecook_author]

Excellent. I like the breakdown and review from each on-demand publisher. I especially enjoyed the quality of cover and interior portions. I think an author is more critical of how his/her book is printed. Great video.

[@shaunmcmichael6386]

Super helpful! I've previously ordered through Ingram, but I had an experienced book designer prep the files. Cool to hear about KDP as another option.

[@ravenofgaia5638]

This is the best video comparing companies that I've seen so far. You've made it so clear for me what to choose. Thank you for making this video. :)

[@IanHollis]

KDP gets a point for user-friendliness, bringing it up to five, and IS loses a point, taking it down to four. Then IS gets a point for hardcover dust jacket, so it's now equal five, but KDP gets that final point for no cost to having self-publish. I'd say we can take another point off IS for cost of self-publishing, coz you have to pay PER BOOK, not to mention there's an optional 'promote your book' fee when all is said and done. If you ask me, KDP is the clear winner here.

[@jewelbriard5444]

Totally agree. The last pointers should have counted, putting KDP the clear winner. I just wish KDP had better paper for coloring books, and offered landscape bound layout making coloring pages farther away from the bound edge to lie flatter ... spiral bound would be wonderful too.

[@mowgli6345]

Also Amazon has a bigger platform. More people go there = more sales.

[@btownes-oq2lf]

@@mowgli6345 more sales in a way, but more competition as the barrier of entry is low. This could lead to less sales as you are a small finish in an even bigger pond.

[@carolynloughran5450]

@@btownes-oq2lf Excellent and very valid point👍🏼

[@IchNachtLiebe]

I'm nearing the final editing phase of a debut novel. So far, I'm think that I'm going to go with KDP first, get it all squared away, then publish on the other platforms.

[@dougwolven8592]

Mandi, this was a big help. I have six KDP books and have made a lot of publishing mistakes that have come back to bite me recently. I am struggling to get "wider distribution" there with no success. I believe in my books, but at the moment, I have to act as the distributor. Libraries and shops can not get them at a discount. Worst of all, I simply want people to enjoy my books, and they aren't easily available! I learned a great deal from your four "beginner" Tube presentations.

[@debbywilson546]

Thanks heaps for this breakdown, Mandi. I'm on my 4th book with IS (in Australia) and haven't had too many problems at all. Perhaps your videos will encourage IngramSpark to up their game as far as customer service goes, and then the difference will be obvious. Clear winners, I think.

[@YTchannelreviews1]

so exited, i'm shopping around, getting quotes for print on demand. I just submitted my book through Barnes & Noble print on demand so i can try and print a few test copies to make sure it look all good. the last 11 months i been working on a 108k word book on meditation and the phenomena associated with it as well as adding some african spiritual ancient cosmological information that coincides with the metaphysical stuff. sooo happy i'm at this step. Nobody knows how special of a day today is for me 😭🥳 🎉. can't wait to start this journey. I subbed to your channel. Thank you. You helped a lot, gave me the info i needed 👍🏾

[@haleymist09]

What a cool book! Good luck!

[@pjalexander_author]

Super video! Thanks Mandi for all the useful info!!

[@GetReal521]

Mandi, this video is exceptional! I found you detailed the various categories in a way that helped me make my decision for a paperback that I look to publish by month’s end (Feb 2023). Curious? I have decided to go with KDP. I was planning to use IngramSpark, however your comments about both tipped the scales for me. AND I really value customer service - so KDP fits the bill in that area as well. Great Video. Thank you!!

[@Pam24K]

Getting ready to publish my first book and this was very helpful.

[@beckymagnolia1]

WOW!!!!! What an amazing resource!!! Holy cow. Thank you for this.

[@faerierosepress4133]

Thank you for doing this! This information was also very helpful!

[@jeanwilliams2629]

Mandi, thank you so much for this video. I don't know why I've had such a hard time with KDP since 2020. The support is NOT there as it once was. And when I've attempted to publish an illustrated book, forget it! KDP was not only not helpful but driving me crazy with what was their problem: a brilliant illustrated first author copy but after that fuzzy illustrations even on the Amazon book site.

[@gaiastarace5534]

so good...amazing video! love that you're so specific!

[@brucerule]

Very informative video. I was leaning toward Kindle Direct Publishing and your great insights have confirmed my choice. Thanks!

[@royhunt1493]

This is good analysis and research. Very helpful and enlightening thank you Mia

[@thecoffeechronicles]

Thanks! Very helpful. I screwed up and dove into Lulu when I first published. I was winging it. This time around, I'm researching. Lol. Your videos are proving very helpful.

[@devoragray3357]

Gift from the book gods to have this in my suggestions. Self-pub in Nov and I’ve been hunt and pecking this subject the last month.

[@MandiLynnWrites]

Best of luck with your book!

[@donnastokes8808]

I have just written a child’s book that I chose to come out on a different faster avenue. I am first doing a 6 minute video that premiers on U Tube 8-18 with a 1 minute video trailer out 7-1. Then it will be published on KDP hopefully and it’s cartoon is so colorful and cute! It will relate with the book! I am very excited to see how this avenue will work out. They Call Me DOG FACE. Is the name of my inspirational book. Thank you for all your hard work. Just know I am hearing you!!

[@sarahmonnier5207]

This video was awesome. I am working with a small start-up press and getting IngramSpark to get back to me for anything at all is a nightmare. Having to choose between quality and customer service is terrible. KDP is obviously non-negotiable; we want to sell books so we need to work with Amazon, so I'm super relieved to hear you say their quality and their customer service are so fantastic. I was really liking what I was seeing and hearing about D2D so your review is disappointing but I'm VERY grateful for it because it means we won't dive in blindly. Thanks for the video!

[@haleymist09]

I've heard a bit about D2D and it'd be great to have a 3rd option so it was disappointing to not have D2D as a contender yet.

[@themanifestationking21]

You are the best. I thank you so much for this video, as it saved me so much research time. I love you.

[@murraymorison3924]

What a splendid presentation. Thank you. I had a book published with help of a small company - that used Ingram Spark. They knew what they were doing and Ingram Spark were fine. But now I want to do an illustrated book on my own and it sounds like KDP is the one to go with! Thanks again!

[@MandiLynnWrites]

Glad it was helpful!

[@JQRose]

What a thorough review of those book publishers. When you said you were going to discuss so many topics with 5 book samples, I thought this would be pretty boring. But you kept it lively, and I had to snicker at some of your comments. Especially a timely video for me. I just submitted my book for a hardcover book published by KDP. This is my first time to order a hardcover. Plus I ordered premium color and paper. I about had a heart attack at the printing cost--$11.00.--but it is a premium product. Besides, I want it to be special since it's a guided journal for mothers. You know you gotta spoil Mom. Of course, Mom may decide to lay out the cash to write her experiences raising those kids. KDP does have live chat and it saved my life. I chatted twice with the agent. Each time was helpful and delighted I didn't have to wait days for an email or line up on the phone line for service. Yes, it's way too late to be publishing a hardcover book only a month before Mother's Day! I see you rolling your eyes. After I got the price for printing with KDP, I checked Lulu, but it was no better. I saw there was a charge for distribution too? I went with KDP and after watching your video, I feel comfortable. Thank you.

[@johnheav]

Once again, thank you for actionable, usable info!

[@theolambert]

Your video is sooo helpful! Thanks for that!

[@rachaelbarillari4055]

This was SO helpful, thank you!

[@Sean.Vosler]

Thanks for sharing all this! Saved me a lot of time

[@zatazhamaat8098]

This was a really informative video. Thanks.

[@yvonnebelcher1823]

This was super helpful; this is my first book, self-publishing because...who wants to give a publisher 7k to publish a book. Thank you, all the questions I had were addressed

[@SimulationFirst]

That is a great video! Thank you. I have used IngramSpark (previously Lightning Source) to print and distro my books (20-ish books) for years - and I have experienced ALL of the problems that you listed with them. But in general it has gone well. This year I will be publishing my first novel and am looking at different POD options. I think I will give KDP a try. Also, I am going to adjust my Ingram discount level, because they have raised their print prices in recent years and seriously cut into my own profits. I did not realize that it would make such a big difference.

[@MandiLynnWrites]

Yeah you have to keep a close eye on royalty rates with IngramSpark, otherwise you'll lose out on a lot of money.

[@judysheerwatters-youhaveas1996]

Great video! I appreciate you paying the cost to go through all five different companies so that we could see the actual prices that we would pay to do business with them. I would’ve thought that working with KDP would have been the first choice hands-down on everything except for proof copies. I don’t like working with Ingram Sparks after the huge problem I had with the children’s book there just a year ago. But I might take another look at them. thanks and I look forward to your next great video.

[@noramccarthymic-art9245]

Very informative - your thinking is spot on. Thank you.

[@haileym5912]

I'm considering just buying like two copies (hard cover) of my novel so I can have my own copy for me and my co-author. Lulu seems to be pretty easy to use and not overly expensive. We also don't have the background art at the chapter pages so we wouldn't have to worry about that. It looks like Lulu might be a solid option. Have you gotten any hardcovers from Lulu? (and seen how they are with opening them/if they're super stiff and have to be really bent open like the paperback?)

[@benicio1967]

Thank you for all this information. You really put so much time and work into this and it’s so helpful. Do you happen to know if kdp prints calendars? It’s been tough getting a definitive answer when I’ve researched it.

[@GregsBassShed]

Really great video, thanks so much!

[@AKGagliano]

Excellent video and breakdown. Thanks a ton...subscribed.

[@MandiLynnWrites]

Awesome, thank you!

[@tomaria100]

Super helpful! Thank you!

[@yonisapir6270]

Super helpful video, thank you.

[@KellieAlston]

Thank you so much for this video. I was vacillated between these and it looks like I am going to end up using Vervante which will also publish my books on KDP. I simply cannot deal with poor customer service no matter what other pros exist. So, IngramSpark would not work for me. The fact that you have to pay for IngramSpark and they refuse to have a customer service number tells me everything that I need to know. Thanks so much for this info. You have saved me so much pain and strife.

[@RachelRobinson44]

Ingram Spark has always had the better end product. had so many issues with KDP. Whenever I did have an issue with IS, customer service was great. Tired of fighting with KDP so only go through them as a last resort. I rarely pay fees for IS since I am part of a writers association.

[@THERetiredHomeskoolMomma]

Writer’a Assoc?

[@LaTunyaElise]

What do you mean by writer's association?

[@RachelRobinson44]

NIWA (Northwest IndependentWritersAssociation, PNWA (PacificNorthwestWritersAssociation, Alli (Authors Alliance), 20Booksto50k, etc.

[@justonebite]

Do you pay a fee for the association?

[@RachelRobinson44]

Most writer associations have a membership fee. Some are 35 dollars a year up to 99. Depends on their size and what they offer.

[@heathjarvis2362]

When we published our first book through KDP, we ordered two paperback proofs and one hardcover proof. The hardcover looked great, even without the coveted dust jacket. One of the two paperback proofs looked perfect, while the other was cut incorrectly - by a significant amount. So I'd have to say that even a company with great quality still makes mistakes. And yes, the "not for resale" banner on the proofs is certainly annoying.

[@RekhaChadhaAuthor]

I have publish two of my children books on Lulu Bookstore Site, they had a good customer service and they do a good job with a package delivery when they are sending my books, I am looking for another publishing site as my second option for people to buy my books on, so they have two options, Mandi Lynn you are amazing and love the video 😊

[@Greatapp446]

Excellent video. Thanks!

[@Biber0315]

I published through Lulu last April. I went with them after spending A LOT of time comparing options. In the end it was all about the quality of the final product. My only complaint about them was the lethargy in communication.

[@lauranicoleofficial_]

how msany ppl shop there? did you sell well

[@pineconey]

Thanks for your nice comparative look! Regarding Ingram: If something made you "never want to work with them again," I think that's that. It's a deal breaker, even if the final product wins by a hair. I like KDP. Just a couple of issues: Paper is good, but a bit thicker would be better (70 maybe), and hardcover proof seemed to have a bit of warpage in both the cover and pages and a distinct division of the interior into two chunks. Overall, KDP is pretty easy to work with. The worst I've encountered, and it seems rare, is getting an error message upon upload with no clue as to what the error is. But as you said, they're easy enough to contact to work things out, and it's great that they don't charge for setup, revisions, etc.

[@jarekzawadzki]

You've missed one parameter: languages supported, e.g. in KDP you can only publish paperbacks in Western European languages, some Indian languages and Japanese.

[@whyaskwhybuddry]

@Mandi Lynn, Would you add to your Rating Scheme the Speed to Publish? If everything was perfect from the start (cover, interior, Editing, etc), how long does it take for each POD to list your new book as "Available for Sale"?

[@Exayevie]

I don’t care if IngramSpark won every single category by a mile - the payment to upload is a no-holds-barred dealbreaker for me. I’ll always associate that model with vanity presses. In my opinion, when you’re starting out and every sale is a fight, there’s no point cutting into your insanely narrow profit margins with extra fees, especially not for such minimal differences in quality.

[@makennazornes]

Who would you use then for wide distribution?

[@MandiLynnWrites]

Hm, I've never thought of it that way. Very valid point! I don't mind the fee uploading. It drives me up the wall to have to pay fees every time I need to update content as well.

[@Exayevie]

@@makennazornes Personally, I'm honestly not that concerned about wide distribution. I've been watching the publishing and self-publishing industries since I was just a dreamy little kid in the 90s, when selling a self-published book meant roadtripping to all the libraries in your state and passing them out by hand lol. I still think that even with wide distribution, the real success of a book is going to depend above all on the author's ability to shill. So if/when I FINALLY finish this manuscript (haha) I think having it up on just one big, known website and then supporting that with hand sales and my own website would probably satisfy me. That's just me though, I haven't tried it in practice yet - maybe I will regret this opinion some day, but as Aragorn says, it is not this day lol

[@adaddinsane]

You can always find coupons for free upload.

[@debbywilson546]

As an author of exclusively hardcover children's books, IS is definitely worthwhile. So it depends on your intended audience.

[@mikecook_author]

Interesting. I thought I posted a comment but do not see it. I enjoyed your quality of cover & interior portions the best. Great video comparing each print-on-demand company.

[@MandiLynnWrites]

Thanks! I also have the individual videos for each print-on-demand company where I dive a little deeper into the quality.

[@SilverXT]

Woo! First. I guess I'm going with KDP for sure. Biggest return on profit

[@MandiLynnWrites]

Very true!

[@gfunk425]

Thank you for this great content.

[@bobbyrobins4218]

Great info, thanks!!

[@alecharper515]

Very helpful. Thanks!

[@lfjgill6042]

Thank you for this complete, efficiently delivered information. Wish you'd included Quality of Color in the criteria. Have you done that in another video somewhere? I've just completed and uploaded my first book on Amazon (on 10/30), and am having trouble with their making it actually available--oddly, they put it up "live" on every other Amazon site EXCEPT the U.S. one, where it still languishes under their ridiculous notice: "Temporarily out of stock" (six days after their acceptance)--though of course it was never IN stock! ( Six days later, I have not found KDP nor Amazon C.S. to be very helpful with the issue so far.) At any rate, also oddly, I WAS able to order an author copy, and I find the interior color to be dull and of poor quality, despite my uploading all images at 400 dpi. The paper is also too thin, so that image shadow from previous page shows through. Because the images are artistic complements to the poems and haiku, they need to be striking, not dull. BTW, this was with their "premium color" ink, on white paper. Again, thanks for a very helpful video. --Lfj Gill

[@RajBeats]

Super informative thank you!!

[@3PairDesigns]

Wow, Mandi, that was a really good and informational comparison! I have dabbled with Lulu and frankly just wasn't impressed, it was a bit of a challenge to figure out the whole pricing thing. It was not a fiction book like yours, so I am glad I tested it with a puzzle book. I feel that technically, KDP may have won your competition because even though you liked the brighter covers of the other publishers, KDP did do it accurately. Having said that, I think I would have liked the brighter colors too! Thank you for this very informational video, it was very helpful! 😉

[@MandiLynnWrites]

Thanks! Glad you liked the video!

[@PhilStille]

Thank you so much for this video!

[@jonathanweibel6042]

That was super helpful!!!

[@MandiLynnWrites]

Which company do you think is the best print-on-demand option for self-publishing? Let me know in the comments below! I have a book formatting course coming soon! Sign up to the waitlist to get a discount when the course is released! exciting-engineer-5402.ck.page/f0cca0dbcf

[@JohnVDenley]

cool thanks I had heard about these other things, but I am going to stick with KDP for now, as you say, it sounds like the safest bet for my first book!

[@amandas7867]

Thank you for this super helpful video! Is it possible to use both KDP and Lulu with your own Shopify store for the same book listing?

[@exwhyzedprint]

Don't forget us for your next self-published video! We can print one copy or more but our prices are much better for slightly longer print runs. Super cheap at the moment for self-publishers in the States because of how weak the pound is :)

[@drinabridgepress]

Great video! Thank you so much for putting it together! 🤗 I guess I would pick KDP and B&N press. I wish someone would confirm that you could have your print book on B&N shelves if you publish through them!!! That would be the only reason I would use their press.

[@MandiLynnWrites]

I'd reach out to Barnes and Noble Press customer service to find out! I'd like to think the answer is yes, but you never know!

[@HerHealthyHome]

When I went to a local store as a local author, all they said that they needed was my book uploaded on their site

[@captainnolan5062]

I went through the ratings and weighted them; giving 5 points for first place, 4 for second, 3 for third, 2 for fourth and 1 for fifth. When there was a tie, I averaged the points. The Results: Kindle Direct Publishing 28.5; IngramSpark 24.5; Barnes & Noble 21.0; Lulu 17.0; Draft2Digital 14.0. IngramSpark's poor customer service dragged them down below KDP.

[@carolrochester7091]

My choice would be KDP. Thank you so much for sharing.

[@M1GGYG1]

Great Video, thank you.

[@timayres2405]

Super helpful.

[@MsShabriaGxo]

Thanks for this video ❤️

[@taldozer]

GREAT REVIEW!

[@zontar12]

I have published non-fiction books with KDP (starting when it was Createspace) for years. For the most part I have been very happy with how easy it is to work with them, and how good the final book looks. The only problem I've had is when KDP has some kind of issue with the contents, wording on the cover, etc. They just send you a form email with no details and you have to try and figure out what the problem is. Plus when you do manage to get a live person, they can't help you either. Very frustrating.

[@jeanwilliams2629]

My issue with KDP is when they took over Create Space, we now do not own the rights to our books. I found this out the hard way.

[@melissakearns3802]

@@jeanwilliams2629 Can you explain this more? Is it that people who used CreateSpace lost the rights to their books when it transfers to KDP? Or that anyone who uses KDP looses the rights to their book?

[@jeanwilliams2629]

@@melissakearns3802 We read that when Create Space was taken over by KDP that KDP now owns our book once we uploaded that book to KDP. It is in the agreement page.

[@HobbyOrganist]

@@jeanwilliams2629 Did you use their "free" ISBN for your book(s)? there is a catch, that's why I bought mine from Bowker directly, so the ISBN is my property.

[@HobbyOrganist]

@@jeanwilliams2629 I don't see any such claim on their page, it may vary by country but in the US anyway you the author own the copyrights to your book, KDP's rights include being able to display your book COVER on their site and elsewhere for marketing it, to show portions of the inside to customers to decided if they want to buy it or not. If you publish your book in other formats like Kindle electronic- then there's rights they have connected to the customer's purchase of the electronic copy- that they can keep that on their devices etc. There are other issues if you use their in-house "free" ISBN number, one is you can't use that anywhere else- the ISBN belongs to KDP. I never allowed my book to be published in Kindle form, it's paperback ONLY, once you release a digital file such as used by Kindle devices it can be hacked, copied and distributed by anyone anywhere and it's a lot easier to do than people think. Yes, a paper book can be scanned, but it takes a LOT more work, effort and motivation to sit there and scan 300 pages out of a book and fix the results. There is this too that comes up periodically in one form or another on those devices your book mightbe on;; Your Amazon Kindle and your Amazon account could be hacked by just opening a single ebook, according to research published Friday as part of the DEF CON security conference taking place in Las Vegas this week. Once the malicious book is opened, a remote hacker could delete all books on the device and could steal the authentication token used to get into an Amazon account, according to the proof of concept attack developed by researchers at Israel-based cybersecurity company Check Point. “Equipped with these tokens the attacker would now be able to access the victims Amazon account and perform anything on his behalf,” said Yaniv Balmas, head of cyber research at Check Point. An attacker could have also used the Kindle as a launchpad for attacking other devices on a local WiFi network. Balmas was able to create a evil ebook that took advantage of a flaw in the Kindle operating system that meant when parsing images from the book it wasn’t limiting the amount of code that could be written to the device, known as a heap overflow bug. That flaw allowed him to overwrite parts of memory. To get complete control of the Amazon device, he discovered another flaw that allowed him to grant himself root user rights.

[@aging1847]

Love this video. Just curious why you didn't include Bookbaby and Booklocker in this comparison? I'm looking for hardcover with dust jacket so thinking of using IS for that and then switch to KDP for softcover?

[@jacintahudson9252]

Haha. Watching you come around to IS is hilarious. But seriously, thank you for doing this comparison experiment for us and sharing the results. This video has confirmed what I was working with- KDP first, then IS second. Very helpful.

[@MandiLynnWrites]

Always the way to go! Perfect your book in KDP before moving to publish on IngramSpark!

[@danielibauding]

Thank you so much for the information in this video. I'm new to publishing and this will be my first book. I am planning to publish my 1st book by Christmas this year and just to clarify, can I use more then 1 platforms to publish the same book or I can only use 1 platform for the same book?

[@dottiearnold4988]

Great explanations and overall review of all companies! Thank you for the information. Based on customer service alone , sounds like KDP would be my choice.

[@Karen-J-Carlisle]

Ingram Spark prints locally in Australia. I've had great service from the Aussie 'branch'. They've saved my butt with 'walking through' a print to make sure I got it on time when I 'rush ordered' a run for an event. OK the pay to upload is a bummer, but I try to upload when they send a 'voucher'. The quality, service, and Australia printing/post for my event stock is worth it.

[@huraibyel-huraiby7462]

Good video. Very informative. All I would say is that the categories should have different weights depending on importance. With such a system the winner would be more justified

[@MandiLynnWrites]

Very true! I hope anyone watching the video can gauge importance based on their personal preference.

[@kayweda5929]

Based on this video and your tutorial for Ingram spark, I think I would only use it for a hardcover author copy. Thank you for all of these videos, I fell a little less like a fish out of water now.

[@MandiLynnWrites]

Glad it was helpful!

[@jessman8597]

I chose KDP and have never regretted it. Great video.

[@adaddinsane]

I've always used IS (for years). Never had a problem. #justsayin

[@JosueLopez-jx1th]

Excellent video, very helpful indeed ! Does KDP help you with formatting and editing?

[@JustFeathers]

Just found you from this video. I've been writing for 15 years and feel I'm ready to throw myself out there. Buying your Summit book now! Thank you :)

[@MandiLynnWrites]

Thanks! I hope you love the book!

[@JustFeathers]

@Mandi Lynn - Stone Ridge Books I literally just told my friends, "Who do I think I am? I can't publish!" And your comment popped up immediately after, haha!

[@JustFeathers]

@Mandi Lynn - Stone Ridge Books the book just came in the mail, and it's your old cover without the Belle last name! I'm so excited because I liked this cover better, haha!

[@EmmaBennetAuthor]

Thank you so much for this!x

[@MandiLynnWrites]

Glad it was helpful!

[@coastalbeer]

I bought three copies of Robert C Bauer, "The Kid Gallagher Story " from Amazon. My favorite book was a high quality product and my wife loves this author very much!

[@iSoWavie]

Amazing video Mandi would you recommend KDP for a self-help-technique short read (113 pages) book paperback? I'm a first-time author and have gone through Bowker for all my ISBN + Barcode needs plus, they threw in a press release, electronic sell sheet, and book2look I need guidance for distribution ebook and print on demand. Any insight would be helpful from the self-publishing/author community. Thank you all; many blessings and much success to you all!

[@TheAnthropol]

I primarily need to see the comparison based on color quality for photos. Have you done one on that.

[@marzisgarden]

Ebook publishing question.I published my ebook to KDP (i'm a beginner) and also hoping to publish to other platforms you named here ,but want to know if i can add hyperlinks to my book in d2d ,lulu,or IS? I want to add some clickable links in my book, that's important . Appreciate the respond.

[@hardrolls28]

What do you recommend for hard-cover novels?

[@missmissy40]

Have you tried Vervante? I would like to know more about their cost & the process after reading about the benefit that you can collect customers information whenever they purchase while you can’t do that on KDP.

[@SierraNovemberKilo]

Its over ten years since I last published anything. My last book was published by a small organisation and is jot being promoted by them. I'd used Lulu and the KDP version as it was then. Lulu is very niche, it seems to use its authors as a sales/marketing route. I retired my publications there and thus only a single title is still available via Amazon. Its very interesting to me what you found out in your survey. Do I want to return to this occupation? Good question!

[@GothgirlV]

I found this video very helpful. I've been researching all these different services and can't seem to make a decision on which one to use. Most of the videos I have seen recently don't really specify if more than one service can be used at the same time, like if I wanted to publish through both KDP and IngramSpark or any of the other ones. Is that even possible?

[@elsieschmaltz6754]

My children's book: Easter Hunt 🐢🐇 is in print as of Oct in 2022 yr but early for Easter 2023 yr. Waiting is impatience but exacting at the same time because it is my first book and I illustrated it myself.

[@iLearnMiranda]

Hello, Mandi, thank you for your video which guided me in publishing my student's book on IngramSpark. I have a quick question: How can I make the book available for distribution on Barnes & Noble (B&N) and Amazon? Do I need to start by creating a link on IngramSpark, and what are the subsequent steps? Do you happen to have a video that explains this process?

[@victoriasmith9424]

I so agree about Ingram Sparks. I think I hate them! Not only does it take forever to solve an issue, when they respond your right, they don't answer so then again I have to response asking for what I need. back and forth and now days going by to where it's been almost 2 weeks and no resolve. I'm in the final publishing stage with them so I could get my proof,and there was two issues that they aren't addressing. Whereas, if it were Amazon, within 5 minutes they'd call me back and assist immediately. I like your show! Victoria