To add to the ongoing debate about whether to source our books from Amazon CS or IngramSpark…
I have ordered two proof copies of my new book, Happiness Matters, one from Amazon’s CreateSpace and the other from IngramSpark, the ‘publishers self publisher’ which is widely used for extended distribution.
How do the paper copies compare?
Amazon CreateSpace
Quick delivery if you opt for the priority or express delivery but expensive for a proof copy, and no reason that I can see to downgrade ‘standard’ delivery times to something like seven weeks: the proof copy itself may be inexpensive, but who wants to wait seven weeks to see it? Priority delivery can be within the week, so I think that Amazon could revisit their delivery strategy and charges for proof copies.
The price of delivery for paperbacks from the US to the UK is a major factor, considering that if you live in the UK and use CreateSpace to source all your paperbacks, this will be an on-going expense.
The other bugbear, apart from the hassle of ordering from abroad, is the currency conversion fees, which pop up on bank statements having snuck under the radar. It feels like a complete pain not only to have to stump up extra fees for priority delivery from overseas but then be met with these little costs. Not expensive, but annoying.
Quality is good.
IngramSpark
If you live in the UK, the paperbacks are printed here, so delivery charges are lower and delivery times are quicker and there are no hidden charges.
If you intend to sell books yourself, or have them available to sell in the UK, set up an account for extended distribution with Ingram Spark. Their website is smooth and easy to use, though being designed for use by mainstream publishers, takes a bit of getting used to. Most of the answers can be found with a bit of research without recourse to the Support line.
Book quality is marginally better than Amazon, especially the look of the cover.
I would welcome your comments about your experiences. Thanks for reading.
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June 5, 2017
‘Philomena’ by Martin Sixsmith
Fran Macilvey Books I Have Reviewed, Fran Macilvey 2 Comments
Book Review – ‘Philomena’ by Martin Sixsmith
This is a relatively fat book, written by a very reputable journalist with an engaging and informative style, so I was really looking forward to it. Despite hints in the subject matter – tales of the Magdalene Sister slaves having now come into public awareness – that all would not be well, I looked forward to reading about Philomena and learning about her life.
Interestingly, this account is about so much more than one woman, and exposes the deep and painful hypocrisy embedded in the antediluvian system of Irish ‘care’: young girls who had the misfortune to become pregnant out of wedlock – in a culture where young men expected to have a fling or two before ‘settling down’ aged thirty-five or so – bore the full brunt of society’s disapproval, being forced into a painfully closeted, almost captive existence in which their ignorance of sex was mocked, their sorrow and naivety scorned, and in which young women and girls were forced to work in kitchens, gardens and laundries for three years and never once allowed to leave the confines of the catholic ‘home’ in which they found themselves.
Sixsmith does an excellent job exposing the web of conspiracy and intrigue that allowed this venal system to perpetuate for decades, enlisting our sympathy for our subject matter, and our immense gratitude that things have finally changed. It is so easy to take our freedoms for granted. I really empathised with Philomena and found myself aghast as the blinding hypocrisy of a system which lied, cheated and stole, for no better motive, it seems, than profit.
Once the link between Philomena and her long-lost son is made, the bulk of the book is about him. From the reader’s point of view, it is fortunate that her son had an interesting life, and that his inner landscape revealed so much of the pitfalls of adoption. For all that, I would have loved to learn more about the life and struggles of the woman who lent her name to the title of this book, and whose contribution is slim, compared to that of her beloved, darling boy, torn from her at the age of three and sent to live in America.
All in all, a very worthwhile, provocative read, if only because it reminds me to be grateful for all my blessings.
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