I laid out the interior pages and the cover as described in CreateSpace’s PDF Submission Specification document. The only thing left to do is upload my files and get it approved.
Initially, I was going to document the entire process, step by step. I began taking screen grabs of the process as I went. However, the process was simple and straight forward. CreateSpace has put a lot of thought into making the creation of print-on-demand books as easy as possible.
[Note: Createspace no longer exists and was replaced by KDP Print. The instructions below are no longer current. However, it is largely the same as KDP ebook uploading now.]
To give you an idea, these are the steps.
- I supplied CreateSpace the name of my book and chose the “guided setup”. There is an expert version for those familiar with the process, but after going through the guided version, I am left wondering how much could be left out to “streamline” it. It’s easy and quick to begin with.
- I uploaded my interior pages and the file underwent an automated print check. I could have skipped this step, but everyone makes mistakes. I’d rather find out now. The automated print check looks for content in the book that falls outside of their PDF specifications.
The print check caught one issue with my margins. I opened up my document in CreateSpace’s Interior Reviewer. I had set everything up correctly in Adobe InDesign, but what I failed to take into account was when certain italicized characters like “g” or “f” began a line, their descenders (parts of the letter that fall below the baseline) stick out beyond the margin. The font I used was ITC Galliard and as you can see, the tail of the “g” stuck out beyond the margin by 0.04 inches (I had to measure it 😉 ). That tiny overshot on the margin caused my file to fail. Luckily there was an easy fix. I shifted the live text area 0.04 inches away from the gutter on facing pages, but kept the layout the same. InDesign has an option to carry the change over to all pages, so this change took very little time. I re-uploaded the interior and passed with no errors.- Next step was the cover. I uploaded it in the same fashion and previewed the file online.
- With everything good, I submitted my book for official review, I’m guessing by a person this time. A few hours later, I was notified by email that my “files are printable and have successfully passed the review process.”
- Along the way, I had to enter a description for Tied, and pick keywords and a BISAC category. These steps are very similar to the steps used when publishing an ebook for Kindle, which I’ve written about before.
- The last step was to proof the book. CreateSpace does have the option to proof digitally online for free, but I chose to order a proof copy of Tied. I want to hold it in my hands. It should be here in about two weeks.
The print check caught one issue with my That’s it. The process it so simple that it’s really hard to screw up the technical side of things. However, it’s no substitute for a great editor. The checks that occur pay no attention to the actual writing in the book. So, hire an editor!
