Createspace – Up and Running With POD

One Small Step

The trouble with writers is we never finish.  We like to fiddle with words, and that fiddling is neverending.  Sometimes it takes a friend or family member physically removing you from the computer and saying:

“Enough already, this is as good as it’s going to get. Time to move on.”

My name is Lesley Curnow and I am a wordaholic.

After promising Peter I was putting the novel to bed

I gathered up my courage and registered with Createspace, Amazons POD publishing arm.  I chose Createspace for a number of reasons:

1. I had my free proof copy with no obligation to publish as a result of the ABNA competition.
2. Their set up is very easy, requiring only a PDF file of your book.
3. They have very easy to use templates for cover designs which allow you to use your own art.
4. There is no upfront fee
5. You can price your book competitively – this is a huge problem with many of the POD publishers.
   
6. They issue you with an ISBN and barcode if you don’t have one, again for free.

Preparation

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and thats what I did.  I scoured my bookshelves and chose the books I liked the look of.

I looked at:

• Most effective cover designs
• Best font
• Wording of disclaimers
• Dedications
• Acknowledgements
• Paper

In the end it all comes down to personal taste.  But the exercise was worth doing in that it allowed me to focus on what I really wanted the book to look like.

Looking at font characteristics was especially valuable

In the end I chose Bell MT with a line spacing of exactly 15 point

I also chose the cream paper option because it has a warmer look

Traps for Young Players

• Don’t forget to number your pages (I didn’t do this, and had to resubmit)
• Make sure the images you use for your cover are at least 300 DPI.  There are lots of good, free image resizers out there.
  
• Set up your paper size as the size of your finished book. In my case I chose 6×9.
• Get someone else to check your manuscript for typos.
  

A Giant Step

There are no words that can express the thrill of holding a copy of your book. The thrill lasts for about ten minutes, and then you start to notice the blemishes. A proof is a proof. Mine had all sorts of warts.

I began tinkering the next day. Peter threw his hands in the air in disbelief.  it took me two months to whip it into shape.

I Changed

• The cover design.
• The back cover blurb to have a very short teaser and then reviews.
• Page numbering.
• Rewrote and tightened.

Hold-ups

If you live outside the US you will have to obtain an International Tax Identification Number (ITIN).  This is what has held me up in my publishing effort.  It requires filling in the IRS W-7 form.  You can download the form from the IRS website.  You also need a letter of intent from Amazon.  The hold-up for me is they ask you to file a tax return.  As I haven’t earned anything yet, that is rather hard to do! I’m hoping to have this sorted out in a couple of weeks. I will keep you posted.

Then the fun will really begin.

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