What You Need Before You Start
IngramSpark expects print-ready files and a few business decisions made in advance. Gather these before you create the title so the setup flows without stops.
Your own ISBN
For wide distribution you generally need to own your ISBN rather than use a free retailer-assigned one. In the US you buy ISBNs from Bowker; some countries issue them free through their national agency. Owning the ISBN means you are listed as the publisher of record everywhere the book sells.
A print-ready interior PDF
Your manuscript exported as a single PDF with the correct trim size, bleed, and margins. Embedded fonts, no crop marks. This is the file IngramSpark sends to the printer, so it has to match the trim size you select during setup.
A full wraparound cover PDF
Not just the front cover. IngramSpark needs back cover, spine, and front as one flat PDF. The spine width depends on your page count and paper choice, so IngramSpark gives you a cover template generator that produces the exact dimensions once you know your page count.
Your metadata and pricing decisions
Title, subtitle, author name, description, BISAC categories, keywords, list price for each market, your wholesale discount, and whether the book is returnable. Decide the discount and returns policy before you start, because they affect whether bookstores will stock the book.
Publishing on IngramSpark, Step by Step
The flow is the same for a first book or a tenth. Work through it in order and order a proof before you make anything available for sale.
Create your free account
Go to ingramspark.com and sign up. The account is free, and since 2022 IngramSpark has dropped its per-title setup fee, so creating a title costs nothing. You only pay for proof copies and for any author copies you order.
Start a new title and choose your format
From your dashboard, create a new title. You choose whether you are publishing a print book, an ebook, or both. Print and ebook are set up as separate products under the same title, so you can do one now and add the other later.
Enter your title metadata
Add the title, subtitle, contributors, description, BISAC subject categories, keywords, audience, and publication date. This metadata feeds the Ingram catalog and is what retailers and libraries see, so make the description and categories accurate and specific.
Choose trim size, binding, paper, and lamination
For the print product you select your trim size, binding type (paperback or hardcover), interior paper (white or cream), and cover lamination (gloss or matte). These choices change the spine width and the print cost, so lock them in before you generate your cover template.
Add your ISBN
Enter the ISBN you own for this format. Print and ebook need separate ISBNs, and a hardcover and paperback of the same book each need their own. IngramSpark assigns the catalog listing to whatever ISBN you provide.
Upload your interior and cover files
Upload the print-ready interior PDF and the full wraparound cover PDF. Use IngramSpark's cover template generator first, it builds a template sized to your exact page count and trim so the spine and bleed line up. IngramSpark runs an automated file check and flags problems before you proceed.
Set your wholesale discount and returns
Choose your wholesale discount, commonly 40 to 55 percent, and decide whether the book is returnable. Bookstores are far more likely to stock a book with a trade-standard discount and a returnable setting. These two settings are the single biggest factor in whether physical stores carry your title.
Set your list price for each market
Enter the retail list price for the US, UK, EU, Australia, Canada, and other markets. IngramSpark shows your print cost and projected compensation per copy at each price so you can see your margin before you commit.
Order a printed proof
Before you make the book available, order a physical proof copy. Check the trim, the cover colors, the spine alignment, the paper, and the interior layout in your hands. Printing and shipping the proof takes a few days. Never skip this step.
Approve and go live
Once the proof looks right, approve the title. IngramSpark runs a short review, then your book enters the Ingram catalog and becomes orderable by Amazon, Barnes & Noble, independent bookstores, libraries, and international retailers. Distribution typically opens within a few business days.
Getting Your Files From AIWriteBook
AIWriteBook produces the two files IngramSpark needs. It does not upload to IngramSpark for you, but it hands you print-ready exports so the upload step is straightforward.
Finish the Publish step
Complete the Publish step inside AIWriteBook. This is where your book's final metadata, cover, and formatting are locked in for distribution.
Export the print-ready PDF
The Export step gives you the print-ready interior PDF. Choose the trim size that matches what you will select in IngramSpark so the file and the title settings agree.
Download the cover
Download the cover from the Publish step in the matching print aspect ratio. Use it with IngramSpark's cover template generator to build the full wraparound cover with the correct spine width for your page count.
Upload to IngramSpark yourself
AIWriteBook does not connect to IngramSpark directly. You take the exported interior PDF and the cover into your IngramSpark account and upload them during title setup. Everything else in this guide is the same.
Pricing, Discounts, and Returns
Three settings decide how your book performs in the trade. Get these right and bookstores can stock you. Get them wrong and the book is effectively Ingram-listed but unstocked.
- List price: set a retail price per market that leaves a healthy margin after print cost and the wholesale discount. IngramSpark shows the math per market as you type, so you can tune each price.
- Wholesale discount: this is the cut the retailer keeps. The trade-standard range is 40 to 55 percent. A lower discount means more per copy for you but makes stores far less likely to order. For bookstore reach, stay in the standard range.
- Returnability: bookstores order on the expectation they can return unsold stock. Setting the book as returnable signals you are a serious trade title. A non-returnable book is much harder to get onto a physical shelf.
- Proof and author copies: these are the only real costs. You pay print cost plus shipping for proofs and for any copies you order for yourself. There is no setup fee and no annual fee.
Why Authors Use IngramSpark
IngramSpark's value is reach. It is the channel that puts an independent print book everywhere that is not Amazon.
Real bookstore distribution
Ingram's network reaches tens of thousands of retailers worldwide. When an independent bookstore orders a title, it almost always orders through Ingram, so being in the Ingram catalog is what makes a bookstore order even possible.
Library access
Libraries source books through Ingram. A returnable, trade-discounted title in the Ingram catalog can be ordered by public and academic libraries, a channel that is closed to Amazon-only books.
Worldwide print on demand
IngramSpark prints close to the buyer in multiple countries, so a reader in the UK, Australia, or the EU gets a locally printed copy without you holding inventory or managing shipping.
Hardcover and ebook in one place
Beyond paperback, IngramSpark offers hardcover binding and ebook distribution to Apple Books, Kobo, and other retailers, so one account can cover several formats and channels.
A Complementary Digital Channel: NanoReads
While your print book moves through the Ingram catalog, you can also publish your finished book to NanoReads, AIWriteBook's own reading platform. It is a digital channel that sits alongside IngramSpark's print distribution, not a replacement for it.
- Free to publish to, with one-click publishing from inside AIWriteBook and no review wait.
- Reaches 100,000+ registered readers across web, iOS, and Android.
- You keep your rights, so publishing to NanoReads does not affect what you do on IngramSpark.
- A low-effort way to reach early readers and gather reviews while the print edition makes its way through distribution.
Common Questions and Myths
Myth: IngramSpark charges a setup fee per title
It did once, but IngramSpark dropped the per-title setup fee in 2022. Creating an account and creating a title are both free. Your only costs are proof copies and author copies.
Myth: You should use IngramSpark instead of Amazon KDP
Most authors use both. KDP Print is strong for Amazon sales, and IngramSpark covers bookstores, libraries, and international retailers. They are complementary, and using both is a common, well-worn strategy.
Myth: You can use a free ISBN for wide distribution
For serious wide distribution you should own your ISBN. A free retailer-assigned ISBN ties the book to that retailer as publisher of record. Owning the ISBN keeps you in control across every channel.
The Bottom Line
IngramSpark is the practical way for an independent author to get a print book into bookstores and libraries worldwide. The account is free, there is no setup fee, and the process is just careful file preparation plus a few pricing decisions.
The two things that decide success are file quality and your discount and returns settings. Order a proof, keep your wholesale discount in the trade-standard range, and make the book returnable if you want physical shelf space.
Write and format the book in AIWriteBook, export the print-ready PDF and cover, upload them to IngramSpark, and optionally publish the same book to NanoReads as an extra digital channel. That covers print distribution, retail, libraries, and early digital readers in one workflow.