Use CreateSpace to publish your book is not difficult. It is involved, but doable. Here is a brief update on the steps necessary to get your book published by Createspace up to creating your book cover.

Go to createspace.com. This is a subsidiary of Amazon, but  use your search engine to go directly to createspace.com. You will need to set up an account if you do not already have one. I suggest you open an account page now and follow along as we progress here. You can toggle back and forth to make the procedures easier to follow.

Once you log in, you will see My Projects on your member dashboard. Click on “Add New Title” and the “Start Your New Project” page will come up where you will enter the title of your project, and the type of project. Since we are interested in publishing books, click on the “Paperback” option. As you complete this process, toward the end you will find how to create an ebook edition for Kindle if you desire to follow that route as well. I recommend you do. Createspace does not publish hardcover books. You will need Ingram/Sparks for that. [I am learning about that now myself and will post what I learn when I do.] Finally, click on “Get Started” button in the “Guided” setup process – unless you are an expert of course.

The “Title Information” page will appear. Complete as necessary.There are “What’s this?” flags to click on if you get confused as to what to do with each entries. Click on “Save and Continue.” Note that a column appears on the left-hand side of the page with the title of your project on top and the steps necessary to complete it beneath. There will be a white dash inside a red dot next to each step. As you complete each step that indicator will turn into a green check mark.

The next page is the ISBN page.

The ISBN is the International Standard Book Number. It is required for every book published. For detailed information on what it means and what the options are you can click on the ISBN and Compare ISBN option links that follow “What to do on this page.” The instructions outline the three methods of dealing with ISBNs. Once you decide click on “Save and Continue.” I purchased my own numbers. They are expensive. See my post for more in depth information: http://thomasmcgann.com/so-you-want-to-be-an-author/international-st…ook-numbers-isbn/

Next up is the Interior.

You need to select whether or not your book is black and white or color and choose between white or cream colored paper. Opinions vary on choice here. Some say that white is better for ease of reading while others say that cream is easier on the eyes. When it comes time to design the book cover, cream colored pages are slightly thicker requiring a slightly wider spine. This is of no great importance, but you need to know this for book cover design purposes. The dimensions of your book – height and width – is up to you. There are numerous choices but none larger than  8.5″ x 11.69″ (21.59 cm x 29.69 cm) with 6″x9″ being the most popular (which may be a good reason to be different.)

Now it is time to upload your book file. It can be any one of the following: .pdf, .doc, .docx or .rtf. Once downloaded and saved Createspace will provide an Interior Reviewer tool that will tell you any issues that may have arisen, along with a copy of what your book will look like, page by page, to help you solve any of those issues.

Next you must create your book cover. This will require a new post. Hang loose.

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