Defunct Publisher Series
CreateSpace Authors: What Happened and What to Do
Amazon closed CreateSpace in 2019. Millions of authors had their books moved to KDP with little warning and no real explanation. If your royalties fell, your files disappeared, or your book quietly stopped selling, you are not alone and the problem is fixable.
By Gia K., Director of Editorial and Book Production • May 6, 2026
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Get my custom quote →What Amazon Did to CreateSpace Authors
CreateSpace launched in 2007 and spent over a decade as Amazon's primary print-on-demand platform for independent authors. At its peak, it hosted millions of titles and served as the easiest entry point for authors who wanted a physical book without dealing with offset printing minimums or traditional publisher gatekeeping.
In August 2018, Amazon announced it would merge CreateSpace into its newer KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) platform (David Gaughran, accessed 26 Aug 2026). The migration continued over the following months, and CreateSpace titles were fully transitioned to KDP by 2019, at which point CreateSpace was permanently shut down. Authors could no longer log into CreateSpace. Their titles, files, and sales data were migrated to KDP automatically.
Amazon framed this as an upgrade. For many authors, it was not. The migration created three categories of problems that still affect authors today:
The Three CreateSpace Migration Problems
1. File loss and corruption. Interior PDF files and cover files were not always transferred cleanly. Authors who needed to make a simple correction found their files had been corrupted, replaced with low-resolution versions, or were no longer downloadable from KDP's dashboard.
2. Royalty cuts on expanded distribution. CreateSpace offered expanded distribution through Ingram with a respectable royalty rate. KDP's expanded distribution pays significantly less per copy, and KDP Print titles listed through expanded distribution carry a price premium that makes bookstores reluctant to order them.
3. ISBN lock-in. Every free ISBN issued by CreateSpace was registered with Amazon as the publisher of record. That fact did not change when KDP absorbed the platform. Your book still shows Amazon as publisher in every wholesale catalog, which makes libraries and independent bookstores far less likely to stock it.
None of these problems are permanent. All three are fixable with the right republishing strategy.
First Step: Check Whether Your Files Are Still Intact
Before doing anything else, log into your KDP dashboard, navigate to your title, and attempt to download your interior PDF and your cover file. This takes less than five minutes and tells you immediately which category your situation falls into.
If your files download cleanly and open without errors: You have a straightforward republishing path. Your content can be transferred to a new ISBN under a professional publisher imprint without any reconstruction work. Most authors in this situation are republished within two to three weeks.
If your files are corrupt, missing, or not downloadable: This is more common than KDP acknowledges. Our production team has reconstructed over forty books from original Word manuscripts and author-supplied PDFs when KDP files were unrecoverable. If you still have your original manuscript file, the reconstruction process typically takes four to six weeks.
If you have no files at all: This situation is more complex but still solvable. We can order a physical copy of your book, scan it at high resolution, and use that as the source for reconstruction. The timeline extends to eight to ten weeks and there is an additional cost, but it has been done successfully.
Free File Audit
Send us a screenshot of your KDP file status and we will tell you within 24 hours exactly what category you are in and what it will cost to fix it. No sales pitch, no upsell call required.
Request Your File AuditThe ISBN Problem and Why It Costs You Sales
An ISBN is not just a barcode. It is the identifier that every bookstore, library, and distributor uses to look up your book, check its publisher, and decide whether to stock it. When your book shows Amazon Publishing or CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform as the publisher of record, the wholesale system flags it.
Independent bookstores work primarily through Ingram and Baker and Taylor. Both distributors allow ordering from Amazon-published titles, but booksellers actively deprioritize them because the discount structure is unfavorable and returns are complicated. The practical result is that your CreateSpace book, even after migration to KDP, is functionally invisible to the 9,000 independent bookstores operating in the United States.
Libraries present a similar problem. Most library systems purchase from Ingram's library programs and prefer titles with publisher ISBNs from recognized publishers. An Amazon ISBN signals a self-published book, which many library collection managers deprioritize.
Republishing under Columbia Publication's Gravitas Press imprint assigns a new ISBN registered to Gravitas Press as publisher of record. This single change restores your eligibility for the full Ingram wholesale catalog, library systems, and international distribution. Authors who have made this switch typically see their bookstore and library orders begin within sixty to ninety days of the new listing going live.
What Happened to Your Royalties
CreateSpace paid authors approximately 35 percent of list price on expanded distribution sales. KDP's expanded distribution pays a printing cost subtracted from a fixed wholesale price, which for most trade paperbacks works out to roughly 10 to 18 percent of the retail price. This is not a rounding error. On a $14.99 paperback, the difference between 35 percent and 12 percent is $3.45 versus $1.80 per copy.
The change went into effect automatically when KDP absorbed CreateSpace titles. Amazon did not prompt authors to review or approve the new royalty structure. Authors who were selling modestly through expanded distribution noticed their quarterly checks decrease and, without access to comparable data, often attributed it to declining sales rather than a royalty rate cut.
Republishing through Ingram Spark as your primary distribution channel, with Amazon as one retailer among many rather than the controlling platform, gives you the wholesale economics that CreateSpace originally offered. This is part of what we configure in every Gravitas Press republishing package.
How We Republish CreateSpace Books
Our production team follows a standardized CreateSpace migration process. We can give you an accurate timeline and price after a fifteen-minute review of your files and current KDP setup.
STEP 1
File Audit and Recovery
We download and test your KDP files. If they are intact, we proceed directly. If they are corrupt or missing, we quote reconstruction separately before any work begins. No surprises.
STEP 2
ISBN and Imprint Assignment
A new ISBN is purchased through Bowker and registered to Gravitas Press as publisher. Your author credit and copyright remain yours. Only the publisher of record changes.
STEP 3
Distribution Setup
We publish through Ingram Spark with full wholesale terms, making your book available to every US bookstore, library system, and international distributor that Ingram serves.
STEP 4
Amazon Transition
Your book remains on Amazon with no gap in availability. We coordinate the ISBN transition so the old listing redirects to the new one. Your reviews transfer with the product listing.
CreateSpace (KDP) vs. Gravitas Press via Columbia Publication
| Factor | KDP (Your Current State) | Gravitas Press via CP |
|---|---|---|
| Publisher of Record | Amazon / CreateSpace | Gravitas Press |
| Bookstore Eligibility | Limited | Full Ingram Catalog |
| Library Orders | Deprioritized | Eligible |
| Expanded Distribution Royalty | 10-18% | Standard Ingram Rates |
| International Distribution | Amazon Only | Ingram Global Network |
| ISBN Ownership | Amazon-owned | Publisher-owned via Bowker |
| File Ownership / Access | KDP controls master files | You receive all source files |
Republishing Packages for CreateSpace Authors
Three situations, three price points. We quote before we begin.
CLEAN FILES
$1,499
Files intact, needs ISBN + distribution upgrade
New Bowker ISBN, Gravitas Press imprint, Ingram setup, Amazon coordination. Typically 2-3 weeks.
FILE RECONSTRUCTION
$999+
KDP files corrupt or missing, manuscript available
Layout rebuilt from your manuscript, cover redesigned if needed, full republishing. Typically 4-6 weeks.
SCAN + REBUILD
$1,799+
No files, no manuscript available
Physical copy sourced, scanned, reconstructed from print. Full republishing included. Typically 8-10 weeks.
Published Somewhere Else That Closed or Underperformed?
CreateSpace is not the only publisher authors have had to walk away from. If your book came out through a different press, these guides cover the same rights recovery and republishing questions for your specific situation:
- Troubador Publishing Review: costs, author feedback, and alternatives for authors published through Troubador.
- Austin Macauley Publishers Review: fees, contracts, and what authors need to know before or after signing with Austin Macauley.
- PublishAmerica Authors: rights recovery and republishing guide for authors caught in a PublishAmerica contract.
- Abbott Press Closed: what authors need to know now that Abbott Press has shut down.
- AuthorHouse Authors: what to do if you published with AuthorHouse, from contract review to republishing.
- Xlibris Authors: what to do if you published with Xlibris, from contract review to republishing.
- Trafford Authors: what to do if you published with Trafford, from contract review to republishing.
- iUniverse Authors: what to do if you published with iUniverse, from contract review to republishing.
- WestBow Press Authors: what Christian authors published with WestBow Press need to know before republishing.
Columbia Publication in Brief
Columbia Publication is a full-service book publishing and printing company operated by Columbia Publishing LLC, a US company, serving authors and organizations in the US and worldwide.
- Pricing
- Publishing packages from $1,499 (Global Publish) to $45,000 (Gravitas). One flat fee, set before you start. See packages
- Rights and royalties
- Authors keep 100% of their rights and 100% of their royalties. No royalty split, ever.
- Distribution
- Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books and Kobo, plus bookstores and libraries through IngramSpark. ISBNs registered in the author’s name. Distribution makes your book orderable; it is not a promise of shelf placement or sales.
- Printing
- 100 to 250,000+ copies, with commercial offset runs from 500 copies. Book printing
- Proofing
- A free digital proof on every order. Nothing prints or publishes without your approval.
- Payment
- Under $4,500 paid upfront. $4,500 and above in three stages (50% / 25% / 25%), or in full with a 10% saving.
- Track record
- City of the Gods by Jason Patterson: 21 verified Amazon reviews, 4.7 stars. A recent 3-Day Bestseller Launch reached #1 and #9 in its Amazon categories.
- How it compares
- Hiring freelancers through Reedsy runs $2,940 to $5,660; Palmetto Publishing reports a $3,800 average author spend; Scribe Media charges $29,000. Sourced cost index
- Quotes
- A custom quote within one business day. Call +1 (703) 997-9787 or book a free consultation.
- In writing
- Before any payment you receive a written agreement listing scope, deliverables, revision rounds, price, payment schedule and refund terms. Refund policy · Terms · Help centre · Complaints process
- Ownership
- Your Amazon KDP and IngramSpark accounts are in your own name. You receive the final book files and the digital source files when the book is finalized.
- Revisions
- Two revision rounds on every deliverable: cover, interior layout and each editing pass. Ghostwriting includes one round per chapter plus a full-manuscript review. Extra rounds are quoted before any work starts.
- AI use
- None in your book. Editing, design, illustration, formatting and ghostwriting are done by people; AI is used only in our website chat assistant. AI-use statement
- Company
- Columbia Publishing LLC, trading as Columbia Publication. 1550 Wilson Blvd, Arlington, VA 22209, USA
Frequently Asked Questions
Get Your Free CreateSpace File Review
Tell us your situation and we will send you a written assessment within 24 hours. No phone call required unless you want one.
Your book exists. Your readers exist. The only thing between them is a broken publishing setup.
Columbia Publication helps authors recover from CreateSpace, Tate Publishing, and other defunct and failing platforms.
Get Your Free File ReviewYOUR BOOK ISN’T FINISHED
Your book can have a second life
When a publisher closes or stops selling a book, the book itself still exists, and so does your right to it. Republishing is usually more straightforward than authors expect, and done properly it gives the book a better chance than it had the first time.
Start with your rights
Many publishing contracts include a termination or rights-reversion clause. Once your rights have reverted, the book is yours to republish.
A new ISBN in your name
A republished edition needs its own ISBN. Registered in your name, it makes you the publisher of record instead of a company that no longer exists.
Fresh files, a fresh start
The original publisher’s files often can’t be reused. A new interior and cover is also the chance to fix what held the first edition back.
Keep what it earns
With Columbia Publication you keep 100% of your rights and royalties. No share of sales goes to us.
What we do for returning authors
We rebuild the book for republication: editing where it needs it, a new cover, a new interior formatted to today’s print and ebook specifications, an ISBN in your name and distribution. Pick only the parts your book needs.
An honest first step: if you are not sure whether your rights have reverted, look at your contract’s termination or reversion clause before anything else. Republishing comes after that.
Get a custom quote to republish my book →