IngramSpark

IngramSpark prints a book the moment a customer orders it, so there's never a stock-out and never unsold inventory to write off, the same basic promise as any print-on-demand service. What sets it apart is what happens after printing: because it's owned by Ingram Book Group, titles become available to the tens of thousands of retailers and libraries in Ingram's distribution network, a reach that neither Lulu nor Amazon KDP can match on their own. That's the main reason serious independent authors add IngramSpark alongside KDP rather than choosing one exclusively.

The tradeoff for that reach is cost and complexity: there's a setup fee per title, plus a charge for revisions, and the formatting requirements are stricter than KDP's more forgiving upload process. Authors earn a share of net revenue on each sale, and payment terms follow standard book-trade practice rather than an instant payout. IngramSpark also supports preorders for physical books, a feature few competitors offer. It's the right tool once an author is ready to get a book into physical bookstores and libraries rather than just selling direct online.