Dear Editor…
Is Amazon Children’s Publishing a paid market or a pay for print company?
Thanks,
Elizabeth
Dear Elizabeth…
You’re not alone in wondering what kind of publisher Amazon Children’s Publishing is. The confusion stems from Amazon’s successful branding of its pay-for-print publishing entity CreateSpace. Anyone can use CreateSpace to self-publish by uploading their own text files and images and paying fees for their printing choices; these books are sold on Amazon.com, with Amazon getting a percentage of each sale. In contrast, Amazon Children’s Publishing is a full publisher in the traditional model, selectively acquiring manuscripts for seasonal lists, paying its authors advances and royalties on each book sold, designing and paying for the production of the books, financing the marketing of each book within a whole-list campaign, then selling the books through Amazon.com and any retailer willing to stock books with the word “Amazon” on them. They make the books available to booksellers and librarians through distributors Ingram and Baker & Taylor, just like any traditional publisher.
Happy writing!
The Editor