Editing Openai/6929d771-fc30-8010-ba46-601b29411176 (section)

=== Assistant: Good questions — yes, there are costs or at least trade-offs to publishing paperbacks and hardbacks via IngramSpark, bu… ===
Good questions — yes, there are costs (or at least trade-offs) to publishing paperbacks and hardbacks via IngramSpark, but it’s more nuanced now than it used to be. And yes, if you own your ISBN, you can use that with IngramSpark. Let me break it down in two parts: costs & fees and using your own ISBN / metadata setup.

==== 💸 Costs & Fees with IngramSpark ====

Here’s what to expect as of the most recent IngramSpark policies and community updates:

| Type of cost / fee                                  | Status / amount                            | Notes / caveats                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
| --------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Account setup / title setup                         | Free now                                   | In May 2023, IngramSpark removed the title setup fee for new books. 
Reddit
+3
IngramSpark
+3
IngramSpark
+3                                                                                                                                                        |
| Revision (“make changes after publishing”)          | Free window + paid afterward               | You get a 60-day free revision window from your book’s first production date. After that, changes (cover, interior) may incur revision fees. 
On The Cobblestone Road
+3
Reddit
+3
IngramSpark
+3                                                                   |
| Print cost / manufacturing                          | Varies by size, pages, color, binding etc. | You pay the printing cost whenever a copy is sold (or when you order author copies). Use IngramSpark’s “Print & Ship” / “Publisher Compensation” calculators to estimate costs. 
AuthorImprints
+4
IngramSpark
+4
IngramSpark
+4                                    |
| Distribution / “market access” / wholesale discount | ~1% of list price (for wide distribution)  | As of a recent policy change, IngramSpark introduced a 1% market access fee applied on distributed sales (i.e. through their global wholesale / retail network). 
On The Cobblestone Road
+1                                                                        |
| Returns handling                                    | Depends on how you set return policies     | If retailers return unsold copies, you either pay for return shipping + wholesale refund or choose “destroy returns” option. In the U.S., return handling may cost ~$3 + wholesale cost if you have returned books mailed to you. 
AuthorImprints
+2
IngramSpark
+2 |
| Shipping / fulfillment                              | You or the system pays shipping cost       | When you (or a buyer) orders a printed copy, there’s a shipping / handling charge. That’s part of the cost you or the buyer bears. 
IngramSpark
+2
AuthorImprints
+2                                                                                                |

Example / ballpark numbers
* A 200-page black-and-white paperback might cost ~ US$4.00+ to print (depending on trim size, paper, etc.).
* If you set a standard 55% wholesale discount (so retailers buy at 45% of list price), your royalty is: List Price – (wholesale discount) – printing cost. Blue Paper Technology<ref>{{cite web|title=Blue Paper Technology|url=https://bluepapertech.com/small-business-operations/choosing-the-list-price-of-my-ingramspark-paperback/|publisher=Blue Paper Technology|access-date=2025-11-28}}</ref>
* Because of the 1% market access fee, for each distributed sale, you’ll lose an extra 1% of the list price from your royalty pool.

So the more expensive your book (or the higher your discount), the more that 1% eats into your margin.

Also, returns are real: if a bookstore orders 100 copies and returns 20 unsold, you may need to refund them (or pay for their return), which reduces your effective earnings. Blue Paper Technology<ref>{{cite web|title=Blue Paper Technology|url=https://bluepapertech.com/small-business-operations/choosing-the-list-price-of-my-ingramspark-paperback/|publisher=Blue Paper Technology|access-date=2025-11-28}}</ref>

==== 📖 Using Your Own ISBN & Metadata for IngramSpark ====

Yes — if you buy your own ISBN, you can include that in your book’s copyright page, and you can supply that ISBN to IngramSpark in their setup process. Here’s how it typically works:
* IngramSpark requires (for distribution) that each format (paperback, hardcover, etc.) has its own ISBN. IngramSpark<ref>{{cite web|title=IngramSpark|url=https://www.ingramspark.com/faqs|publisher=ingramspark.com|access-date=2025-11-28}}</ref>
* In your setup (metadata) you’ll enter your ISBN for the format (e.g. your paperback ISBN, your hardcover ISBN).
* On your copyright page in your interior file, you should list your ISBN in the standard way (e.g. “ISBN 978-1-2345-6789-X”) for that edition.
* When IngramSpark publishes your book, they’ll use that ISBN for that edition in their distribution metadata.

So yes: after you compile your interior + cover with your ISBN correctly shown, you just provide that metadata in IngramSpark and they’ll use it when distributing.

One caveat: make sure your ISBN is registered correctly (you own it) and that you don’t accidentally assign another ISBN in IngramSpark or allow them to provide a free/assigned one (unless you intend that).

If you like, I can run cost estimates (print cost, royalty, net revenue) for your specific book dimensions (say ~200 pages, 6×9 trim, black & white) using IngramSpark’s current rates so you see a real example. Do you want me to do that?