I’ve thinking of publish book ‘Potassium Production in Most Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan’ using Print-On-Demand, if agent she let me.
Just think. You can publish a book, when you want, not for publisher’s schedule. You have book look like you want it, not like random design of publishers’ art departments, who always make book look like back end of tractor.
And you can get your thrilling book out to all your friends, your chickens, your favorite prostitute, who you like, in the form of a real book with wipe-clean cover, rather than just online.
You like! You have sexy time!
So imagine orgasmic pleasure to everyone in Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan when I told them of my friend Petrona talking about CreateSpace, the new (or, she say, only-slightly-soiled) PoD initiative from Amazon, hailed by great friend Timo Hannay, he of the Way of the Eagle, as he says Publishing News Of The Decade.
Well, now I am reading the small print, I am holding my goats and chickens. Small print says clear even to Glorious Nation etc etc that CreateSpace work only if you are American Citizen. Yes, it could tell the world about Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, etc etc, because distributes to the world through Amazon.com, but to use the service you have to be a US Citizen, a fact that must have escaped scrutiny of Petrona and Timo – and me, too, for a whole day, while I imagined being able to use CreateSpace for make cultural learnings to make benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. And also earning dollars which would be very nice.
Until I read this small print. Here, buried longer way down FAQ than the badger down my cousin Arkady’s trousers, is about how you get paid.
Members living inside the United States will receive their royalty payment via direct deposit into their bank account. This service is free. Enter bank account information by the 20th of the month to begin direct deposits in that same month. Information entered after the 20th will be used for the following month. By written request, a member could choose to be paid by check, but an $8 dollar handling fee applies.
Fine, I thought, for members in the U S and A, but what Most Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan? What of any country outside the U S and A? Even outside New York? Even if their governments are made of little girls?
Note: We don’t currently support book setup for non-US members.
I am no longer imagining sexy time together with CreateSpace.
Note: Before we can send any content license royalties, you will need to provide your tax identification number: social security number, employer identification number, or individual tax identification number. A payment record is provided on your Account History Report.
This look even worse than scrotum of Producer. My fears confirm when click even tinier link and read.
For members residing outside the United States, royalty payment checks will be mailed. This service is free. By written request, a member could choose to be paid via wire transfer directly into their foreign bank account. A $25 dollar service fee applies per transaction for this wire transfer service. Note: We don’t currently support book setup for non-US members.
So you can be an American in America to have sexy time. You can be an American living outside America to have sexy time, but position can only be missionary. But if you are Un-American Citizen you have no sexy time at all, not even in motel room with Producer and Chicken.
To find out more I go on Global Odyssey with Producer in Ice-Cream Van (and Chicken) and visited CreateSpace, where a nice person called Kelly she tell me, as plain as the wart on my Aunt Svetlana’s private parts, that:
“At this time you would need to be a US Citizen. Pls continue to visit our website for future product information!”
Well, we won’t be holding our breath here in Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, I can tell you!!!
Hi Henry
As an American ex-pat residing in London, I can’t help observing that there are hundreds of very sexy things I’m not allowed to do here, such as vote (even for my own local council, to whom I contribute a hefty chunk of tax money every month), take “recourse in public funds” (i.e. go on the dole even if I’ve contributed a large part of my salary to the kitty) and be eligible for most grants. So it’s not necessarily surprising that some American firms don’t support international uptake.
The reason is probably to do with the current tax law. I occasionally earn freelance fees from American companies and recently there’s been a bit of a kerfuffle in the IRS over withholding. Given how byzantine US tax law already is to comply with, it’s possible that it’s taking time to work out how to execute taxation on royalty payments for non-US citizens.
It’s probably nothing personal! After all, I’m sure Amazon is eager to get its paws on your money too.
I think you’re right. The implication of Kelly’s remark (she at CreateSpace) is that they are probably developing CreateSpace platforms for territories outside the U S and A. After all, CreateSpace books will be available only from Amazon.com, not from Amazon.co.uk, etc.
You know, I’d not thought of that before. As a Brit living in Aus, I get to pay taxes but don’t have a vote. Didn’t you colonials fight a war over that?
As the small print says for the ads on BBC TV for Gardeners’ World and the like, other print on demand book publishers are available – most famously Lulu.com (I want that to be named after the fiesty Scottish singer, a’la Dolly the Sheep, but I fear not).
Doesn’t explain why CreateSpace got quite the coverage it did in the UK press. But hey.
The funny thing is, lulu.com doesn’t have the same hang-ups as CreateSpace with respect to US tax law. I wonder why?
I think companies like Amazon (they don’t have to be US, but it seems to help), just enjoy being arbitrary.
Some while ago I produced an ebook, which I was making a healthy profit selling a copy of each week on eBay. After months of doing this, eBay suddenly pulled the listing and said I wasn’t allowed to sell it.
I asked why, and after about three attempts (whenever you ask eBay, PayPal or Amazon a question, the first answer is always useless – has anyone else noticed this?) they said it was because of copyright concerns.
Now I was selling an ebook which has on its copyright page a very clear statement that I was the one that wrote it. It had my email address (the same one eBay had) and everything. But no. eBay was unmoveable. I couldn’t sell it because I was infringing the author’s copyright.
When they got to “you can keep emailing us but we won’t reply” I gave up.
Brian – that’s a scandal! I suspect that you were caught in the crossfire. Perhaps eBay was worried about people selling eBooks in which the sellers really did have no rights, and so enforced a blanket ban, to protect themselves.