new book font public domain cover file interior author paper binding trim size inch gsm # print ebook epub upload distribute duplex inside perforate royalty publisher
How do I upload a new book? This article provides instructions for the title setup process. During the title setup process, you will be asked to provide details on the specific features and dimensions of your book. Ingram needs to know a lot about your book in order to distribute it effectively, and this article covers much of that information in detail. You can change your book’s metadata/information at any time.
Check out our new Print Book Set Up Guide
DO NOT ADD LINKS TO VIDEOS OR WEBSITES
When providing the information for your book, do not add links to videos or other websites. Adding links within any area or field of the title setup pages, where you enter the information for your book, is prohibited within ONIX standards & will cause issues with your title listing on websites we distribute the information to.
- Adding the Information for Your Title
- Title
- Subtitle
- ISBN, EAN, SKU
- Language
- Publishing Rights
- Public Domain Content
- Series Name
- Edition Name
- Authors & Contributors
- Imprints - Publishing Company Name
- Subject Categories
- Audience
- Title Description
- Table of Contents
- Reviews and Quotes
- Keywords
- Market
- Print Cost
- Retail Price
- Wholesale Discount
- Returns
- Compensation Earnings
- Australia GST
- Global Connect
Welcome to your Dashboard/Home page!
Now that your account is fully set up you can begin setting up a title.
You have 3 ways to get started:
- Click the TITLES link in the sidebar
- Select one of the 3 options shown to the left
- Click on Create File With Our Book-Building Tool button
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Make your selection and click CONTINUE. Your selection will be highlighted in green.
You will see another set of options to select from (see image below):
- If you have a print-ready digital file for the interior and a file for the cover
- If you need files created or would like to create the files
- You don’t have the files ready to upload, but would like to start the title setup process
Make your selection and click the CONTINUE button
DO YOU HAVE FILES READY TO UPLOAD?
- If you have files and are ready to upload them, you will need to click on each of the boxes next to each file you have ready to upload (see image below).
- If you are unsure if your files are properly formatted, please reference our File Creation Guide for print files or our EPUB Guidelines for ebook files. If you are missing any of these required files, you can choose "No, I need to create my files" or you can continue by choosing "No, but I will enter my title information". You can then proceed to add the information for your book, but you will need all the required files to complete the file upload process.
- Click here if you would like to sell your title through IngramSpark’s global distribution channels or only print personal copies for yourself, and do not want the book available for sale. This will allow you to provide all the metadata information for your book.
If you do not have files to upload, you have 2 options to select from:
- View available options for creating files.
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Enter the information for your title and upload files later.
If you choose #1 (shown above) to view available options for creating files, you will have 2 choices to select from:
- A) Click the button to use our Book-Building Tool to create the files
- B) Click the button for hire industry experts to be redirected to our vetted and approved list of Experts on our website
Make your selection and click CONTINUE.
If you are not ready to upload your files but would like to add the information for your book and upload the files later. Click the button to "Print, distribute, and sell the book" and click CONTINUE.
After making your selections and you click continue, you will land on the TITLE INFORMATION page where you will begin entering the PRINT INFORMATION for your book. Fields designated with a red asterisk * are required information.
PRINT INFORMATION
Click here to view the image of the Print Information section below
A) TITLE Enter the main title of the book as it appears on the product cover and title page. Keep the title consistent across all formats (paperback, hardcover, ebook). If you have a subtitle, you will enter it in a different field.
IMPORTANT: Once a book is in production and in distribution if the title of a book needs to be changed for any reason, it is best practice to set up a new title with a new ISBN/EAN and a new cover file that displays the new title of the book.
B) PRINT ISBN If you have an ISBN for the print book enter it here. We believe it's in your best interest to be recognized as the owner of your work and hold complete control of your title, which is why we encourage publishers to purchase and own their own ISBNs.
- If you are located in the U.S., you can purchase an ISBN from IngramSpark for $85.00 US, you will own it and can use it wherever you choose.
- If you are located in the US and choose a free ISBN from IngramSpark, you will need to provide a new ISBN in order to publish this work elsewhere. The free ISBN provided by IngramSpark will be associated with this title only if it continues to be available through IngramSpark. The publisher's name will appear as Indy Pub in the global distribution channels.
- If you do not plan to sell your book and are printing the book for your own use, you will have the option to assign a free SKU number (not shown in the image below), which is a "stock keeping unit" number that identifies and distinguishes your title from others. This is only available for print titles.
Click here for more information about ISBN, EAN, and SKU numbers.
C) LANGUAGE Select the language the title is written in.
D) EBOOK ISBN Enter the ISBN for the ebook here or select a free ISBN or purchase one from IngramSpark for $85.00 if located in the US.
E) PUBLISHING RIGHTS Do you own the rights to the content you are publishing or are you publishing public domain content?
If you own the copyright and publishing rights for the title and click in the circle, the message shown below will appear, which you will need to respond to. If you select No you will move on to the rest of the title setup. If you select yes, the title will need to be reviewed by the IngramSpark team before continuing.
- A reproduction is when someone identifies a piece of work in the public domain and reproduces the work.
- A compilation may include any combination of public domain material. You should carefully consider if your use of individual images and public domain works can be used without a license. Usually, collections of public domain material are protected under copyright if creativity was used in the choices and organization of the public domain material. Copying and distributing the complete collection of someone else's public domain compilation is not permitted.
Click here for information about Public Domain content.
F) Click on the link "Show more fields to improve book optimization". These additional fields of information are not required but may help improve the search results for a title.
G) BOOK SUBTITLE A secondary, often descriptive, or explanatory title for the book. Enter the subtitle of the book, as it would appear on the cover of the book or on the title page. Keep subtitles succinct. The longer a title is, the more likely you are to lose a potential buyer's attention. (Amazon recommends that the title and subtitle together remain under 60 characters, though this is not a hard rule.)
H) SERIES NAME and NUMBER Specify a series name for titles that feature an ongoing story (e.g. A Song of Ice and Fire), recurring character, or other organizing principles (e.g. Penguin Modern Classics).
I) EDITION NAME and NUMBER Used to distinguish materially different manifestations of the same work. Different formats (e.g. ebook, hardcover, mass-market) and reprints of the same content are not different editions. Works with no other revised or special editions do not need to specify edition information.
Click here to view the image for the Authors and Contributors section below
J) CONTRIBUTOR #1 ROLE Select the appropriate job title from the drop-down menu.
K) CONTRIBUTOR #1 NAME Enter the name of the first contributor listed for the title. This is the name that will be listed as the author of the book in Ingram’s database and global distribution network; so, if the contributor writes under a pen name, pseudonym, or nom de plume, now is the time to use it.
L) CONTRIBUTOR LOCATION Enter the contributor's location here. This can attract readers who are searching for authors in their own local community.
M) CONTRIBUTOR BIOGRAPHY A brief bio for each contributor, highlighting key information that potential buyers (and searchers) might want to know. If you’re stuck on how to write a bio, look at the bios for authors in other books for ideas.
N) CONTRIBUTOR PRIOR WORK List additional works by the contributor. Be sure to include any popular or important works that potential readers may be familiar with. These may be specific titles, series, or collections.
O) CONTRIBUTOR AFFILIATIONS List important corporate, organizational, or institutional affiliations for the contributor. These may include:
- Businesses or non-profits that they have worked with
- Schools where they studied, taught, or conducted research
- Clubs, groups, or professional associations
- Media or publications they have written for
P) ADD A CONTRIBUTOR If the book credits another author, illustrator, or editor, click on the +Add a Contributor button and enter his or her name and information.
Click here to view the image of the Categorize Your Title section below.
Q) SELECT IMPRINT If you want the imprint to be different than your business/account name, click the ADD IMPRINT link to add another imprint, or click on the drop-down arrow to select from a list of imprints you already have set up.
- An imprint is a trading name used to identify a line of books or a publishing branch. The imprint name is usually displayed as the publisher on most retail websites. Some websites will list the business name or account name you provided when you activated your IngramSpark account.
- If you choose a free ISBN from IngramSpark, the publisher's name should appear as Indy Pub in the global distribution channels and on websites.
- If you are an author and don't own a business and are not sure what to use for a publishing company name, this information may be of help to you. When you set up your IngramSpark account and use your legal name and set up a new title, you have the option to add an imprint to be used as the publishing company name for the title. However, Barnes and Noble and other retailers may not recognize the imprint and list your account name as the publisher. If this happens, you can notify the support team and they will try to help correct this, but there are no guarantees the retailer will change it.
R) SUBJECTS Click on the Find Subjects button to view a list of subjects to select from. Click on the + to the left of the general subject codes to drill down into more specific subjects.
- BISAC subjects, help potential buyers, retailers, distributors, and search engines understand what your book is about - the primary genre(s), topic(s), and theme(s) that matter. Using three subjects is considered best practice to help ensure the broadest reach for the book. The first subject code you select should be the best, most accurate, and most specific code possible.
S) SELECT AUDIENCE Click on the drop-down arrow and select the most appropriate primary audience for the book. Audience codes work in tandem with BISAC codes. Any book with a primary intended audience of children or young adults should have at least one corresponding BISAC subject code.
T) SHOW MORE FIELDS TO IMPROVE BOOK OPTIMIZATION Click on the arrow to open.
U) TITLE DESCRIPTION Enter a detailed description of the book, appropriate for public display, and used for marketing, discovery, and sales purposes. The book description drives (SEO) search engine optimization and it is your best chance to pitch the book and get people interested. You can enter a minimum of 200 and a maximum of 4000 characters and spaces.
- In the lower right corner, circled in red, you will see a counter which lets you know if you have reached the minimum or the maximum number of bytes/characters allowed.
- Circled in red is the Rich Text Editor Toolbar, sometimes called a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor, and allows you to change font styles, sizes, etc.
- Do not include your author bio, excerpt, or a link to a URL.
- Do not include special offers or reduced pricing information for bookstores as this is not the correct pricing they will pay.
- DO NOT ADD LINKS TO VIDEOS
- DO NOT include any reference to price or discount. Violations of this guideline may result in the cancelation of your titles.
V) REGIONAL SUBJECT Click the Find Regions button to see a list of regions to select from. Click the + to expand the list for a region or enter a region, country, etc in the search field. (see image below)
- The Regional Subject provides information on the primary geographic location of the content of the book, to be used in conjunction with BISAC codes. For example, if a book is about a backpacking trip through Central America, select Central America rather than one particular country or city.
W) THEMA SUBJECTS Click on Find Subjects to view a list of subject codes to select from or you can type a subject in the search field.
Thema subjects are required in some countries for booksellers to buy your book. In 2024 all countries in Europe will require a book to have at least one Thema Subject category.
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Thema Subjects identify the major categories of works, including genre(s), topic(s), and theme(s). Thema Subjects are used internationally by global distributors, aggregators, and retailers.
EDItEUR provides more information on Thema Subjects, their history, instructions, and details on all available Thema subject categories. Visit their website for more information: http://www.editeur.org/ - Thema Qualifiers tell where the action in the book takes place. As an example, a school might ask its local bookstore to find middle-grade storybooks that take place in London.
X) TABLE OF CONTENTS This is optional. Not all books will have a table of contents. You can enter up to 4000 characters and spaces.
- The Table of Contents is an outline of the book's content, including parts or chapters, appendices, and all introductory and supplementary materials, and may help potential buyers and search engines find your book more easily, and understand what your book is about.
- Circled in red, in the image below, is the Rich Text Editor Toolbar, sometimes called a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor, and allows you to change font styles, sizes, etc.
Y) REVIEW QUOTES Add notes of praise for the title and/or contributor(s). Include two to eight positive review quotes. You can come back to this section at any time and add any quotes or reviews you receive for the book. You can enter up to 4000 characters and spaces.
- These should be from a variety of sources and should highlight different aspects of the book. Ideally, reviews will come from people and publications known by influential potential buyers.
- Each quote should be brief (no more than 50 words each). Provide excerpts from longer reviews.
- Separate quotes with a paragraph break. List the most powerful or effective review quote first.
- Circled in red, in the image below, is the Rich Text Editor Toolbar, sometimes called a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor, and allows you to change font styles, sizes, etc.
Z) KEYWORDS Enter at least 7-11 words or phrases that describe the content of your book (memoir, paranormal, Renaissance, etc) and use keywords from the book description. Keywords will help your book appear in online searches made by potential buyers. Keywords are used by certain online retailers to better understand and categorize your book.
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You may enter as many keyword phrases as you like up to 500 characters (characters, semicolons, and spaces), separated by semicolons.
IngramSpark will accept up to 500 characters, semicolons, and spaces for keywords.
Many retail websites only look at the first 350 characters (including spaces).
- They should be complementary to, and not duplicative of, your BISAC and Thema subject and audience codes.
- These should be terms and phrases that potential buyers may search for.
- Use the Google Keyword Search tool to help you think of other keywords for your book. Google Keyword Search will show you how popular those keywords are (volume data) and help you find keywords with lower competition.
- DO NOT ADD LINKS TO VIDEOS
AA) SHORT DESCRIPTION Enter a brief summary of the book, which may be used in the promotion of your book in the Ingram catalogs and on some retailers and online sites.
- You may enter a maximum of 250 bytes (characters and spaces). DO NOT ADD LINKS TO VIDEOS
- Include any key selling points such as awards, # of illustrations, bonus material, etc.
- Do not include your author bio, excerpt, or a link to a URL.
- Do not include special offers or reduced pricing information for bookstores as this is not the correct pricing they will pay.
Click CONTINUE to move on to the next page.
PRINT INFORMATION - PRODUCT SELECTION
On this page, you will begin selecting the paper, interior color, binding, and cover finish. The first item you select will be the trim size. Once that is selected, the interior paper and color options for that trim size will appear. If you don't see the interior color option you want, then it's not available in the trim size you selected and you will need to choose another trim size.
2A) SELECT A TRIM SIZE Click on the drop-down arrow to view a list of available trim sizes.
2B) INTERIOR PAPER & COLOR The interior paper and color for the trim size you selected will appear here. We do not offer gloss interior paper. We offer the following interior print options and papers:
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Black and White interior prints on:
- Groundwood paper 38#/48gsm, (eggshell) 18-900 pages for paperback books and 18-840 pages for hardcover books.
- Creme paper 50#/74gsm, 18-1050 pages for paperback and hardcover books.
- White paper 50#/704gsm, 18-1200 pages for paperback and hardcover books.
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Standard Color Interior (CMYK) prints on:
- 50#/74gsm White Paper, 18-1200 pages for paperback and hardcover books.
- 70#/104gsm White Paper, 18-900 pages for paperback books & 18-840 pages for hardcover books.
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Premium Color Interior (CMYK) Our best quality color print option, prints on:
- 70#/104gsm White Paper, 18-900 pages for a paperback book, and 18-840 pages for a hardcover book.
Perforated pages are available in Standard Color (50#/74gsm white paper only) in limited paperback trim sizes. Perforated interior pages are produced with a tiny line of perforation that allows for pages to easily be removed from the book. There is an additional per-page cost for Perforation.
Books with perforated pages are not eligible for sale through Ingram’s distribution network. Books with perforated pages may only be ordered directly through a publisher’s account.
2C) BINDING The bindings that are available for the trim size and interior print option you selected will appear. We offer "perfect bound" bindings in paperback and hardcover. This process involves binding the page block to a printed and laminated coverstock with hot glue. We do not offer Smythe-sewn bindings.
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Perfectbound Paperback (80lb cover) This is a "trade" paperback. We do not offer mass-market paperback interiors or bindings.
- Perfect Bound Duplex Duplex printing allows the printing of a sheet of paper on both sides. In the case of a book cover, this allows you to design elements to be printed inside the front and back cover. Available for select paperback trim sizes. See the last page of the File Creation Guide.
- Case Laminate Hardcover casebound covers are made of cardboard wrapped in paper that has the cover image printed directly on it with either gloss or matte laminate coating
- Jacketed Case Hardcover This is a Case Laminate hardcover with a jacket. An image can be printed on the cover and an image can be printed on the jacket. The images can match or be different. The cover finish, or laminate, you choose will be the same on the hardcover binding and the jacket.
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Digital Cloth™ Hardcover Covers are made of cardboard covered in either blue or grey paper and coated with textured lamination that gives the book a linen-type "feel". Available with or without a jacket.
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Spine Text can be added to the spine of books with at least 48 pages.
When setting up a new title as a Digital Cloth™ Hardcover book (available in either blue or gray) three fields will appear for spine text to be entered. Up to 42 characters may be used on the spine in the following order and must not exceed the following number of characters per field:
- LEFT: 12 characters
- CENTER: 26 characters
- RIGHT: 12 characters
If the number of characters allowed per field is exceeded, the text will overlap on the printed book.
The available characters include 26 uppercase and lowercase English-alpha letters, numerals 1-10, space, period, comma, a hyphen, quote, apostrophe, and two parentheses.
Spine text is printed with the Cheltenham Book, 18-point font in non-metallic gold color.
Please type the text exactly as it should appear on the spine of the finished book.
The spine text entered can match or be different from the title and contributor information entered under the title information for the book.
NOTE: Books with a page count below 48 pages cannot contain spine text
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2D) COVER FINISH You can select either matte or gloss lamination for the cover, at no additional cost.
2E) BOOK TYPE This is the description of what you have chosen to have your book printed as. Listed you will see the interior color, trim size, binding, interior paper, and cover lamination.
2F) PAGE COUNT Enter your page count, which needs to be divisible by 2. Page count is the total number of pages in the book, including blank pages. Page count does not include the cover, inside cover, or end sheets.
Reasons Why Blank Pages are Added During the Printing/Manufacturing Process
The page count of the printed book may increase, depending on the printed signature.
There are times during the manufacturing processes of printing and binding when a book may need to have additional pages added, which you are not charged for. (Example: the stored file is 26 pages (not divisible by 4 or 6) and 2 pages are added when printing as four-page or 4 pages are added when printing as six-page).
Books files created with a trim size of 6.14” x 9.21” (234 x 156) and smaller will be printed in either six-page (three front/three back) or four-page (two front/two back) single sheet **signatures.
Books files created with a trim size larger than 6.14” x 9.21” (234 x 156) will be printed in four-page (two front/two back) single sheet **signatures.
**A signature is a group of pages that are printed on both sides of a single sheet of paper that once folded, trimmed, bound, and cut, become a specific number of pages depending on the page size and the size of the press sheet.
Premium Color book interior files are processed with page counts divisible by 2 and printed with page counts divisible by 4.
Lightning Source will automatically add blank pages when printing and binding a book, if necessary. If you want to ensure no blank pages are added during the manufacturing process, the book’s page count should be divisible by 12.
2G) MARKET Select the market to see the print cost for that market.
2H) PRINT COST for 1 copy of this book for the market selected.
Now you can add the pricing for your book. (see image further below) Here you will add the print retail price, the wholesale discount you want to offer, and the returnable option. Add pricing to the markets where you would like your book listed as available for sale. Pricing can be modified once per week.
2I) MARKET (See image further below) You must specifically designate where you are authorizing us to distribute your book by selecting at least one market. By providing pricing for a market, you are indicating both that you have the right to sell the book in each selected market and that you are authorizing us to distribute it in that market on your behalf.
2J) RETAIL PRICE You can enter the retail price for one market and IngramSpark will automatically convert it to the retail price for the other markets. You can make adjustments to this pricing, or delete the pricing from the markets where you don't want your title available for sale. You will also see the compensation earnings amount for each market, to the far right. These amounts will change when you enter the wholesale discount, and/or adjust the retail price.
Here are a few suggestions and guidelines to help you determine what list price to sell your book for:
- Consider how much you want to earn for every book sold.
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Look at the retail price (not discounted price) of books that are similar in size (page count and trim size), the type of binding, and the type of content, of your book.
- Offer your book at a list price that is considered a fair and reasonable price for each market the book is being sold into and the type of content of the book.
- Assign a price to your title that conforms to trade standard pricing, ending in .95, .99, or .00 in ALL markets.
- Pricing errors sometimes happen, and titles submitted with a list price greater than 99.00 (USD, GBP, AUD), will be reviewed by the Customer Support management team. If you believe your book is appropriately priced and exceeds 99.00 (USD, GBP, AUD) please contact Customer Support and let them know, so there are no delays with your book.
CANADA: You can add pricing for Canada, however, the compensation earned for books sold in Canada is the same amount as what you earn in the U.S. because we don’t have a print facility there. The books are shipped to our Canadian distribution partner from Ingram in the U.S. This pricing is true for sales through our Global Connect Program and the Espresso Book Machine. Pricing can be modified once per week.
AUSTRALIA: Compensation earned for books sold in Australia is charged GST before the payment is made to you. Divide your intended Retail Price by 1.1.
The pub comp calculator does not account for the GST on the cost of printing. To see what you will be paid, you need to calculate 10% on the unit print cost and deduct this from your stated pub comp.
Books have a higher price point in the AU market in comparison with US and UK markets. Do your research and price your book similar to those in your book's genre.
Offering a 53-55% wholesale discount should ensure the intended retail price is honored on online vendor sites.
SUGGESTION: You can take the compensation amount and enter it into a currency exchange rate converter such as www.xe.com and convert it to your country's currency. This will help you understand how much you will earn for books sold in each market and if you need to increase the retail price for that market. There are daily fluctuations in currency exchange rates, so be sure you are earning enough money so you don't end up in a negative balance due to these fluctuations.
2K) WHOLESALE DISCOUNT You will be required to offer a wholesale discount. We recommend offering a discount between 40% and 55%, which is the discount the wholesalers receive in each market you provide pricing for. As you can appreciate, we are not the only piece of the distribution chain in your title. Each company that is involved in the distribution chain may receive a portion of your wholesale discount. Bookstores, libraries, and retailers want to receive their standard trade discount when they buy from Ingram’s global distribution network, so you would need to offer a 53% to 55% wholesale discount for that to happen. Also, Amazon and other online sellers receive information for so many books that offering a higher discount may help your book stand out more to the book buyers.
If you offer a wholesale discount lower than 53% in the US market, your book will be considered a “short discounted” title, and many bookstores will not order it. If you decide to offer a lower wholesale discount, just select “Other” from the drop-down menu and enter a discount percentage. Pricing can be modified once per week.
| DISCOUNT/ CONTENT TYPE | ||
| MARKET | TRADE/PROFESSIONAL | SHORT DISCOUNT/ACADEMIC |
| US | 53% TO 55% | 40% |
| UK | 48% TO 55% | 40% |
| AUSTRALIA | 48% TO 55% | 40% |
The following is an example of how compensation earnings are calculated, in US pricing:
$25.99 Retail/List Price of the book
-55% Wholesale discount distribution partners receive
$11.70 Wholesale price the distribution partners pay Ingram
-$7.14 Print cost for a 6x9 (229x152mm) 400-page BW Interior paperback + 1% Global Distribution Fee
$4.56 Compensation earnings
**In the above example, if the book is returnable, the publisher is charged back the wholesale price of $11.70 for each returned book, plus shipping and handling if the book is to be returned to the publisher.
Depending on the country you are located in there may be additional VAT or GST charged on top of the Global Distribution Fee for print books.
Recently, there have been changes in the way booksellers are ordering books. Many online retailers who sell books will no longer purchase books as non-returnable. Having a book available as non-returnable can affect the availability messaging on websites. You as the publisher can decide if you want to give bookstores, retailers, and libraries the option of returning unsold books. You have three options to select from:
- No or Non-Returnable- This option is available in all markets. Select this designation if you do not want to allow your book to be sold on a returnable basis. IngramSpark will not accept returns from booksellers for any title so designated.
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Yes-Deliver- Available in the U.S. Market only. Select this return status if you want to allow your book to be sold as returnable and you would like the returned book shipped back to you. IngramSpark does not guarantee the condition of the book being returned. (This return option is only available for books sold in the United States or Canada.)
- Returns to US addresses - If you select this option, you will be charged for the current wholesale cost of each book returned, plus a $3.00 per book shipping and handling charge.
- Returns to non-US/international addresses - If you select this option, you will be charged for the current wholesale cost of each book returned, plus a $20.00 per book shipping and handling charge.
- Yes-Destroy- Available in all markets EXCEPT Global Connect. Select this option if you want to allow your book to be sold as returnable and you do not want to receive a physical copy of the returned book. If you select this option, you will be charged only for the current wholesale cost of each book returned. No shipping and handling fees will apply. IngramSpark will destroy and pulp any returned books received if this option is selected.
Publishers should be financially prepared for the cost of returned books.
2M) COMPENSATION As you adjust the retail price or discount, you will see the compensation amount change. Keep adjusting your pricing until the compensation amount is what you want to earn.
The amount listed is the currency rate for that market, at the time you enter the pricing. You can take the compensation amount and enter it into a currency exchange rate converter, such as www.xe.com, to find out how much compensation you will earn in your currency. If you set your pricing so that you are making very little in compensation earnings, please check your pricing occasionally, to ensure you are not in a negative compensation balance. If you find you are in the negative, please be sure to increase your retail price or lower your discount.
Click on this link to access the compensation calculator: Publisher Compensation Calculator to help determine what you will earn for every book sold.
If you need help determining what list/retail price you should sell your book for, we suggest visiting your local bookstore or online bookseller to see what books similar to yours in size and content are selling for. Be sure to look at the actual list price and not the discounted price. You can also visit our website www.ingramspark.com click on the heading PLAN YOUR BOOK and scroll down the page to see examples of certain types of books.
Note about Canada- You won't see a compensation amount listed for Canada. The compensation earned for books sold in Canada is the same amount as what you earn in the U.S. because we don’t have a print facility there. The books are shipped to our Canadian distribution partner from Ingram in the U.S.
2N) AUSTRALIA (Goods & Services Tax: GST EXCLUSIVE) Important Note: Both the retail price you enter and the publisher's compensation amount shown for Australia are exclusive of GST or any other taxes. There is a 10% GST charged for printing in Australia, which is not reflected in the retail price or print cost through IngramSpark. To arrive at the exclusive GST retail price, divide the intended Retail Price by 1.1. Example $21.99 retail price (with GST) divided by 1.1 = $19.99 (exclusive of GST)
- The Retail Price you set for Australia should be exclusive of GST.
- The Publisher Compensation amount listed in this pricing section and the amount calculated with the Publisher Compensation calculator are exclusive of GST. When a book is sold through our global distribution network in Australia, the 10% GST for printing is deducted from the compensation amount to be paid. When viewing the Print Sales Report, the compensation amount displayed in the report has had the GST deducted.
2O) GLOBAL CONNECT The retail price you enter is US pricing and the compensation amount displayed is in US dollars. The printer partner printing the book will convert the price to their local currency and may mark up the price, so they can make money, too. The compensation amount you will earn is listed to the right and is also in US dollars. Click here to learn more about GLOBAL CONNECT.
2P) ACCEPTANCE of the pricing selected. Be sure to click on the box!
2Q) ENABLE SEARCH INSIDE THE BOOK This allows buyers to get a sneak peek of the first few chapters of your book on retail sites. By selecting this option, you agree to the Search Inside the Book Terms and Conditions
This feature only applies to print books. This allows buyers to get a sneak peek of the first few chapters of your book on retail sites.
If you’d like to add the Search Inside The Book feature for any existing titles in your IngramSpark account, reach out to our customer service team and let us know at ingramsparksupport@ingramcontent.com.
You can view our Terms and Conditions HERE.
We are unable to directly control whether or not a retailer decides to use Search Inside the Book functionality. Enabling your book to allow Search Inside does not guarantee that the retailers will feature this functionality.
Note about AMAZON
- We do not directly control which pages will be featured as part of Search Inside the Book on Amazon’s listing.
- We make up to 90% of the book’s content available to Amazon, then Amazon will display it on their listing. Amazon can make between 10-80% of that content available for viewing.
- Amazon has indicated all books have a 20% default viewing limit.
- Source: https://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1001119751 Scroll to the bottom of the page to the FLEXIBLE VIEWING LIMIT PERCENT heading.
Point-of-Sale Sampling (per Amazon’s website)
From any book detail page, customers have the opportunity to sample participating books using our Look Inside reader. From both Kindle and Print previews, customers can:
- Sample pages from within the reader
- Switchback and forth between the print and Kindle samples without leaving the reader
- View books on similar topics and previously viewed books
- Within the print sample, customers can also preview random pages and search for specific references or characters.
2R) LARGE PRINT/TEXT EDITION Large Text Editions should be formatted using specific considerations. Click here for guidance on Large Text Editions.
2S) LEFT-TO-RIGHT CONTENT Select this if your content is meant to be bound and read in reverse (i.e. books written in Arabic that should be read from right to left.). Learn more about file creation requirements for this print option.
2T) PUBLICATION DATE This is the official release date of your book. New books are typically released on Tuesdays through traditional publishers. Be sure to make this date far enough in the future so that you will have time to order a printed copy/proof, submit any revisions that arise from the proofing process, and have your first print run produced at least a month before your publication date. It is recommended that the publication date and on-sale date are the same to avoid any problems with the availability status or listing of your book on some websites.
This is the date upon which retailers are allowed to sell your book. This is optional and you do not have to have an on-sale date for your book. If you should use an on-sale date, we recommend this date be the same as your publication date because some retailers do not recognize an on-sale date and this can cause problems with the availability messaging and listing of your book on their website. Once an On Sale Date is selected, it is very difficult to change if it can be changed at all. You will be able to set a publication date and an on-sale date for an ebook, and our ebook retail partners will honor the on-sale date. If the ebook retail partners pick up the ebook, they will accept preorders for the ebook if the publication date and on-sale date are set in the future.
CHANGES TO AN ON-SALE DATE
We use the on-sale date listed for the title at the time distribution services are added by the publisher.
If you attempt to change the on-sale date, the book may already be printed and shipped. We cannot guarantee that pre-orders will be printed and shipped before the newly updated on-sale date.
Depending on how quickly sellers update their websites, they may continue to show the first on-sale date.
If a title is in production:
The on-sale date can be updated to a future date that is more than 30 days from the day the publisher tries to adjust it. For example...
If the date is 1/1/2023 and the current on-sale date is 2/2/2023, the publisher can adjust the date from 30 days up to one year forward to 1/1/2024 or backward 30 days to 1/1/2023 in their IngramSpark account. Click HERE for instructions.
If today's date is 1/1/2023 and the on-sale date is 1/20/2023, it's less than 30 days, so the date cannot be changed unless the title is taken out of production. The publisher will need to email ingramsparksupport@ingramcontent.com for help with this.
If a title is in production with an on-sale date that has passed, the date cannot be updated.
Log into your IngramSpark account
Click on the title of the book you want to change the on-sale date for
Click on the Print Info button
Scroll down to the On-Sale Date and hover over the date until you see a pencil, which allows you to make changes. Enter the new date and click save.
Setting Up a New Title for Preordering: If you would like your book to be available for pre-ordering, a future publication date and on-sale date must be used, preferably 2-4 weeks (at a minimum) from when you set up the title and upload files. It is recommended that the publication date and on-sale date are the same to avoid any problems with the availability status or listing of your book on some websites.
Not all retailers agree to or abide by the contractual "rules" of the on-sale date and only recognize the publication date.
Important things for you to know if you decide to use a future on-sale date for pre-ordering your book:
We use the on-sale date to determine when we ship orders to our global distribution network (we ship pre-orders up to 10 business days before the on-sale date is reached).
You may see retailer websites list your title as available for ordering with no mention of pre-order. As long as your on-sale date is in the future, we are holding all the orders, although a retailer may not acknowledge this. Ultimately, Ingram sends out the metadata feed to the retailers, but we cannot control how every retailer lists a title on their website.
It is normal to see the pre-order status removed within 10 business days before the on-sale date, as Ingram has already started shipping any existing orders.
We cannot make any guarantees as to how retailers will list titles. Some retailers only recognize publication dates and do not recognize on-sale dates.
Please ensure your finalized files are submitted before you enable the title for distribution. Uploading revised files after a book has distribution services added/enabled can cause delays in processing the revision- if we have already received orders and are printing the book. The revision will not be processed until all pending orders have been printed and shipped.
While the revised files are being processed the title is pulled from production and is no longer available for sale through our distribution network.
If the book is already in production and you upload revised files too many times, too often, some retailers may give an incorrect available status on their website. In this situation, you may need to contact the support team to help resolve this.
We use the on-sale date that is listed for a title at the time that title is enabled for distribution. If you update the on-sale date after the title is in production/distribution, we are unable to guarantee that pre-orders will be printed and shipped 10 business days before the newly updated on-sale date and will refer to the original on-sale date.
We ship books 10 business days before the on-sale date.
EBOOK PAGE COUNT If you have a print edition, enter that number. For ebook titles only, you can base the page count on (1250 words = a page).
EBOOK PRICING While the “E-book Retail Price” can be any numeric amount with two decimal places, the “Apple E-book (Agency) Price” has a few pricing rules that must be followed:
- The (Agency) Price for any market must be less than or equal to the Ebook Retail Price.
- The Apple Ebook (Agency) price must end in a ".99" value for the US market.
- If the Apple Ebook (Agency) price is greater than 10.00 EUROS or GBP it must end in a ".99“ and if less than 10.00 EUROS or GBP it should end in ".49".
Most e-book platforms price their books according to the “E-book Retail Price,” but e-books sold through Apple’s iTunes Store follow the “Apple E-book (Agency Price)”; furthermore, some e-book retailers will assign their price to your e-book, but regardless of the price you will be paid the amount listed in the “Compensation” section. This is a big benefit to using IngramSpark since your profits aren’t reduced if the retailer lowers the price on their site.
If you have provided any e-books to Amazon for the Kindle in the past 12 months we will not be able to provide service to Kindle through the IngramSpark program. If it's been at least 12 months since you uploaded any ebook titles to Kindle on your own, you can use IngramSpark to supply your ebooks to Kindle by accepting and signing the Amazon agreement.
EBOOK RELEASE DATES You will be able to set a publication date and an on-sale date for an ebook. If the ebook retail partners pick up the ebook, they will accept preorders for the ebook if the publication date or on sale date is set in the future.
EBOOK DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS If you own the right to sell this digital content anywhere in the world, select “Yes.” This should be true if you are the author of the e-book you’re uploading, but research your regional copyright laws if you feel unsure. If you select “No,” you will be presented with a list of regional markets to go through and check or uncheck. Please contact the customer support team if you need any help completing this step.
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Library Pricing Rules – Here are the restrictions that exist for Library Pricing (this will also be found within the help text for the Library Pricing markets in the pricing section of the title setup:
- Retail pricing must exist for every market the customer wants to enter a library price for – for instance, if they want to have a UK library price, they must also have a UK retail price.
- The library price must be greater than or equal to the corresponding retail price – a library price lower than the retail price will not be allowed.
- Each library price must end with .99 – if the customer ends it in any other way we will round up the price to end in .99
- The typical library price is normally 2X the book’s retail price. This is just best practice guidance, but not required.
- The library price cannot exceed 4X the retail price. This means the customer can price the title as little as the matching retail price for that market and as much as up to 4X than retail price.
IngramSpark now offers the distribution of ebooks to the Library market. Click the following link to learn more about these new ebook sales models: https://myaccount.ingramspark.com/EbookSalesModels) Read further to learn more ...
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Outline of the 3 Library Ebook Sales Models that library pricing triggers – when a customer enters a library price, a sale can happen through any of these models:
- Single-User – One End User is allowed access to the Digital Title at any one time.
- Three-User – Three End Users are allowed access to the Digital Title at any one time.
- Pay-per-use Model – An unlimited number of End Users may access the Digital Title at any given time. Profits are shared equally between the Reseller and the Publisher.
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Outline of how the purchase price is calculated for each of these models:
- Single-User – The Purchase Price for this model will be calculated by multiplying the List Price by the Purchase Discount and subtracting this amount from the List Price.
- Three-User – The Purchase Price for a Digital Title distributed pursuant to this model will be calculated by multiplying the List Price by the Purchase Discount; subtracting this amount from the List Price; and then multiplying this amount by one hundred fifty percent (150%).
- Pay-per-use Model – The Purchase Price for this model will be calculated by multiplying the List Price by the Purchase Discount and subtracting this amount from the List Price, and then the remaining amount will be multiplied by fifty percent (50%).
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List of the partners we will send each model to:
- Single-User – Bibliotheca, Bolinda, De Marque, EBSCO, Follett/B&T, Gardners, hoopla, Mackin, Odilo, OverDrive, ProQuest, RecordedBooks/WF Howes, Wheelers
- Three-User – EBSCO, Gardners, ProQuest
- Pay-per-use Model – hoopla
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The preview requirement for each library sales model:
- Single-User – 10% of Digital Title
- Three-User – 10% of Digital Title
- Pay-per-use Model – No preview requirement
If you set up a print title and the ebook at the same time, you must upload a total of 4 files or 5 files (interior file and cover file + jacket file for the print edition and the same for the ebook edition).
COVER BAR CODE: The EAN bar code on the back cover of the book displays a set of two bar codes side by side. The first bar code on the left is the EAN, which is derived from the ISBN. The smaller bar code on the right is a 5-digit add-on and often contains the encoded retail or list price of the book. This is referred to as an EAN-5. The first digit of the add-on data indicates which currency the price is expressed in. For US dollars, the designated digit is a 5 so an add-on of 51995 indicates a price of US $19.95.
You may choose not to include the retail price information in the bar code. In that case, the default value for the add-on is 90000, a null code that indicates that there is no pricing information encoded in the bar code.
BARCODES: mandatory on all covers. Barcodes on LS cover templates CAN be moved or repositioned on the back
cover, but please do not resize the barcode.
–Barcodes created by the publisher should be 100% black only and placed on a white box/background.
–LS will add/replace barcodes that are unscannable or incorrect. We will add a generic barcode if the
book does not have an ISBN assigned to it. The publisher may not be notified if this manipulation is made.
–If you’re unable to supply a barcode, please leave an area of at least 1.75" wide x 1" high for LS to place
a barcode on the back cover.
EXPORT TO PDF Can I Use the “Export to PDF” Feature in My Design Software?
With Adobe InDesign & Quark Xpress, yes, we do recommend using the "export to PDF" feature and choosing the PDF/X-1a:2001 or PDF/X-3:2002 setting when doing so. It is important to use this PDF setting to ensure you have a stable PDF for printing.
With all other applications, we recommend either:
- print directly to PDF using PDF/X-1a:2001 or PDF/X-3:2002
- print to PostScript file, then distill to PDF using PDF/x-1a:2001 or PDF/X-3:2002.
Before creating a PDF, we recommend converting all custom/spot colors (even those with transparencies) to CMYK.
This should allow you to produce a solid and stable PDF that is ready to print.
PRINT COVER FILE
To upload cover art for your book, you must superimpose the full cover spread on the cover template generated by IngramSpark. To download one of these templates, click the “Help” tab from the taskbar to the left of your screen and select “Cover Template Generator” or click HERE. IngramSpark will then prompt you to enter some basic metadata for your book; you need only enter your ISBN/EAN and IngramSpark will auto-populate the rest of the data. Then, select the template file format you prefer from the drop-down menu InDesign, EPS, or PDF and enter your email address.
These templates come with a free barcode encoded with your title’s ISBN. Please do not resize the bar code. If you want to add pricing details to that barcode, enter your book’s list price, select your regional currency, and select “Yes” from the drop-down menu. Once you click the “Submit” button, IngramSpark will generate your template and send it to you as an email attachment.
Download and open the Cover Template PDF you receive by email; once you’ve done so, you’ll see that your cover art must fit over color-coded spaces. The pink areas are active zones, while the blue areas are bleeds and safety zones. So, while both the pink and blue need to be covered by your artwork or background, any text and important elements need to be confined to the pink areas. The template also displays the exact width that your spine should be, so make any adjustments needed to your cover spread dimensions and place the full-resolution image on the color-coded areas of the template.
Due to variances in the binding process, borders or text can be chopped off or lost in a crease if they are too close to the edge of the book or the edge of the spine— hence, IngramSpark requires about a quarter-inch of extra space (also called bleeds) around all outside edges of your cover spread. Save the combined template and cover spread as a new PDF file, then upload it to the “Cover File” box as you did with the interior file.
At the end of the title setup process, you will upload a cover file and an interior file for the book.
You have 3 ways to upload your files. You can drag and drop or upload the files into your IngramSpark account or you can email a link to your designer or other 3rd parties for them to upload files. See the screenshots below.
You will then be asked to pay the title setup fee. After the fee is paid, you will see the status “Title in Premedia” on your Dashboard for the book. This means that your files are in the queue to be reviewed and processed by our premedia team. They will check to see if your cover file is print-ready (we do not review interior/book block files). The file review and processing turn-around time for new titles is 3-5 business days.
Don’t have the eBook files but would like to upload your printed book?
If you have initially selected to upload the print and eBook simultaneously but do not have the eBook files and would like to proceed with the submission of your printed book the following steps will need to be taken:
- It is recommended to save the text you have added during the current title setup to a Word document, this will ensure that the information you have already inputted can be retrieved.
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You will need to delete the current title setup.
You can locate the delete option on the right of your book:
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Once deleted you can upload your print book only by selecting the following:
If you would like to use our eBook conversion service, the printed book must display the ‘Title Available’ status. We are unable to convert a printed book to an eBook unless it has been submitted, reviewed and approved.
IngramSpark requires that e-books be saved in EPUB format, the universal open-source file format for digital books. If your EPUB file is ready, upload it to the “Ebook File” box. If not, there are many ways to get your print manuscript digitized into a full-flowing ebook file, through IngramSpark and freelancers.
IngramSpark offers a file creation/conversion service for $0.60 U.S., per page:
If you have a print PDF file uploaded to your IngramSpark account for a print book, we can create an ePub file for your ebook. Simply click the Convert button beside the title on your Dashboard to begin the process. More information about our ebook conversion service can be located further below.
What you should know...
- The ebook conversion process typically takes 15 business days.
- We now convert ebooks for all foreign languages except the Hebrew/Arabic languages.
- We will use the PDF file in your IngramSpark account for the print book to create a re-flowable ePub file.
- You will not be able to revise your print file or your ebook metadata until the ebook conversion is complete.
- The cost for this service is $.60 cents per page. This fee will be charged to the credit card on file. The total conversion cost will be displayed on the last screen of the conversion process for your approval.
- A unique ISBN (different from the print version) is required. You can supply your own or if located in the U.S., customers can purchase a discounted ISBN or use a free ISBN during the setup process.
- You will also add the retail/list price for the ebook for each distribution market, during the ebook title setup process.
- Once your conversion is complete, we will upload the ePub file to your account and notify you when the title has been distributed.
To convert your printed book with the status of ‘Title Available’ to an eBook using our conversion service you can select the drop-down arrow to the right of the title and click ‘Convert to Ebook’ and follow the steps presented to you.
**Please note that once the conversion is complete, any significant revisions or changes to the content or cover image would need to be made to the file by you. Alternatively, you can request a new ebook conversion. If there are minimal changes, please contact customer service for a correction.
We recommend only requesting the ebook conversion service once you are satisfied with the content in your print file.
IngramSpark saves the easiest file for last. Your ebook cover image should be a JPG of just the front cover of your book, without bleeds. If you don’t have an image like this saved, ask your designer to prepare one for you or crop it down from your full cover spread and save the file as a JPG.
Finally, upload the JPG to the “Cover Image File” box. Click the “Continue” button to enter the "content validation" phase, where our premedia team internally scans your book files for errors or glitches. If any problems are discovered, IngramSpark will provide you with an error message and how to correct them.
After the files have been processed, you will receive an eproof to approve on your account, and you will also receive an email with a link to the eproof. Approving the eproof allows your title to be available for printing for orders you need and allows you to add distribution services to your book by clicking the "enable distribution" button.
Eproofs for Case Laminate Covers
If your book has a case laminate hardcover binding, your eproof will be cropped to the board area of the book. Content in the gutter area will not appear when your cover is cropped on the eproof, but it will appear when the book is printed.
You will see the gutter content on the eproof page that displays your cover file on our template.
COMPENSATION PAYMENT SCHEDULES
Print Books
Ebooks
Delete / Cancel book:
Once a book has been submitted for review it can not be deleted, however, we can cancel the book for you. Our system is designed to hold an ISBN once, therefore, the same ISBN can not be reused to upload another book.
If your book is returnable, you can visit here to read more about the potential impact of cancelling your book.
If you would like to cancel your book, please submit your request here.
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