As we cross the line from manuscript to book I think it’s an interesting dive to talk about the Createspace process and from a first time self-publishing perspective.
We opted to also publish the book to Kobo and Kindle but this specific post is going to be related to using Createspace for Amazon.
As you would expect the first part of the process is registering. I suggest doing this well in advance of when you are ready to publish your book. It give ample time to review the tools, requirements and dig into the forums (which were very helpful) before getting down to the hard work.
I say hardwork but Createspace makes it pretty easy.
Step 1: About Your Book.
You lay out the details of your book from author(s) to contributors. Add the descriptions, categories and keywords. Have your ISBN ready for this too.
Step 2: Interior.
I suggest using Amazon’s templates. Its a bit of a pain transferring all your hardwork into their format but unless you are a word section\margin\header\format\layout wizard the templates are way easier. Basically choose the size of cut your are going to use for your book and then download their template. Move your work into the template and then check a bunch of times to ensure it all moved or and moved over correctly.
My way may not be for everyone but ultimately it took the least amount of time (about 2 hours) that I think I could have gotten it done well in.
Once you have that uploaded you can prewview the interior layout
Now it looks like a real book! (Thats what I squealed when I saw it)
Step 3: Cover.
Again the templates are key here. If you have a professional designer they will need to know the trim size you are going with and want to know you are using Createspace. If you are doing it yourself refer once again to the templates. Amazon will generate you a template based on your trim, book length and the type of paper used. You’ll need to know how long it is and then head over to this link to get the template.
Following this there is an amazon approval process. They check to make sure everything works and meets their requirements. Everytime you need to make an interior or cover change expect you will have to go through this approval process.
Once it’s complete, if all went well, you move on to proofing.
Step 4: Proof your Book.
You’ll have the option for digital and physical proof. This is something that people will have in their hands and in their libraries… do the physical proof. Yes it takes longer and yes you have to pay for the proof copy or copies but it is worth it.
Plus you can use it for a social media post in some pre-launch marketing hype.
While your are waiting for the proof and even during the approval process you can set pricing, choose distribution channels (i’ll post on that later) and finalize the details.
Finally, after you’ve proofed, made changes, gotten approval again and are happy with the final product you can confirm that it is ready.
It takes only a few hours (somewhere around 12 in our case) for the book to appear on Amazon.com and even on Amazon.ca (we noticed this as it is our key market).
Happy publishing!
