I get asked this question a lot: “Can I use my CreateSpace PDF for the ebook version?” The simple answer is ‘no’. Well, you could, but I doubt you’d be very happy with the finished results — and more importantly, neither would your readers. Frankly, a PDF is the last format you should use to create an ebook from as it does so many things that you just don’t want an ebook to do.
The “new” self-publishing
Mercy Pilkington and Goodereader interview two spotlight authors who opted to self-publish via CreateSpace, both from vastly different ends of the genre spectrum but both alike in that they did not actively seek the traditional industry for an agent or a publisher. Steven Konkoly and M. Louisa Locke, both authors who self-published in their respective genres, took note of where the industry was headed and made the informed decision to go it mostly alone.
Female readers drive 59% increase in self-published titles
According to Bowker, 71% of self-published books in the past 12 months were bought by women, with romance titles the most popular category, followed by literary fiction.
More than 80% of last year’s self-published ISBNs came through just eight self-publishing houses. Amazon’s CreateSpace had the biggest year-on-year increase, followed by Smashwords, Lulu and, in fourth place, the Random House imprint Author Solutions.
These figures refer to self-published books with an ISBN, so are likely to be an under-estimate of the overall DIY market.