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CreateSpace-Amazon logos | From the blog of Nicholas C. Rossis, author of science fiction, the Pearseus epic fantasy series and children's booksFollowing the closure of CreateSpace’s eStore, Amazon has now delivered a further blow to the company. This makes it all more likely that all of CreateSpace operations will eventually be rolled into KDP Print.

In a surprising statement, Amazon announced its decision to move CreateSpace out of paid author services such as professional design and editing:

After a thorough review of our service offerings, we’ve made the decision to discontinue Createspace’s paid professional editing, design, and marketing services. We will work closely with impacted employees through this transition to help them find new roles within the company or assist them with pursuing opportunities outside the company.

Amazon Statement

Even though most Indie authors I know prefer to use their own resources for such services, CreateSpace’s design and editing services were in direct competition to book publishers such as BookBaby and IngramSparks. Still, Amazon says the latest round of layoffs won’t affect its printing operations in the Midlands, and its North Charleston office will stay open. This indicates that CreateSpace’s book printing side of business is safe, at least for now.

It now looks like CreateSpace will focus exclusively on what it, arguably, does best: Print On Demand–aka get books ready for publishing on Amazon. As a reminder, Createspace, which makes books, CDs, and DVDs on demand, was initially known as BookSurge, a startup that Amazon bought in 2005.