- Print-on-demand titles have no conventional print run: each copy was produced after an order, so the trade idea of a single "first printing" does not apply in the usual way.
Publisher
CreateSpace
CreateSpace was Amazon's print-on-demand self-publishing platform, grown from BookSurge (bought in 2005) and folded into Kindle Direct Publishing in 2018.
- Editions tracked
- 13
- First editions
- 12
- Books
- 13
- Years
- 2009 to 2016
About CreateSpace
CreateSpace was Amazon's print-on-demand self-publishing service, which let authors publish paperbacks printed only when a copy was ordered, until it was folded into Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) in 2018.
It grew out of BookSurge, a print-on-demand firm founded in 2000 in Charleston, South Carolina. Amazon announced its purchase of BookSurge on 4 April 2005, describing it as a printer and fulfiller of books that held no stock. The business operated legally as On-Demand Publishing LLC. CreateSpace did not edit or vet what authors uploaded, and by 2018 it had issued more than 1.4 million books for over 15,000 authors.
In July 2018 it announced a move to Amazon's Media on Demand services, and at the end of August 2018 Amazon told authors that CreateSpace and KDP would become a single service, with CreateSpace titles moving to KDP. Books carrying the CreateSpace name are therefore self-published works rather than the output of a conventional publishing house.
Holding a copy? The first edition checker shows CreateSpace's practice for the year on your title page.
Identification
How to identify CreateSpace first editions
Authors
Books
Published by CreateSpace
Frequently asked questions
How do I identify a CreateSpace first edition?
- Print-on-demand titles have no conventional print run: each copy was produced after an order, so the trade idea of a single "first printing" does not apply in the usual way.
How many CreateSpace books does MyVolumes track?
We track 13 editions published by CreateSpace, 12 of them first editions, across 13 books.
Where these facts come from
- Amazon.com Acquires BookSurge LLC, Amazon, 2005 (press.aboutamazon.com)
- CreateSpace, Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
- Amazon to merge CreateSpace and KDP, Books+Publishing, 2018 (booksandpublishing.com.au)
- CreateSpace Merges With KDP, Goodreads author blog, 2018 (goodreads.com)
Every fact on this page was checked against the sources listed. Checked 22 October 2026. Reviewed by Harriet Ellis; read how we check facts.