Greetings,
I hope you've enjoyed the last weeks of February as much as I have, at least outdoors anyway. I think I mentioned in a previous post that I wanted my fifth novel available by spring, but there was a slight hitch. The previous publisher I used didn't notify me till the end of November they wouldn't be taking on my book. So what did I do? I spoke with other authors who have used Createspace to get their books published. Many of them seemed satisfied, so I decided to take the leap.
If you are new to Createspace, I would suggest attending a class on how everything works or sit down with someone who has used it and have them walk you through the steps. Just going on the Createspace home page by myself wasn't sufficient for me. The first step, creating an account, was easy once my friend explained I had to establish an account in order to upload my novel or work with a cover. The next step is downloading the Createspace template for your novel. I chose the 6x9 size since my other novels are that size. You'll need to copy your original work and paste it into your template.
When my account was opened and the novel was saved in the 6x9 template, I uploaded my photo for the cover and worked with Createspace cover templates. Once that's done you can experiment with color backgrounds, and the design fonts too. I tried various designs and colors. I found a color I liked but not the template. Createspace offers cover assistance for a fee, but you also can find your own designer. Luckily for me, the person from my Florida writer's group, who helped walked me through the first few steps on Createspace, told me she does templates for covers. I just needed to send her the photo. The finished product choices for covers are matte and gloss. I chose gloss.
Of course there are other decisions to be made too. The description of your novel. What do you want readers to see on Amazon? What outlets do you want your book available for? Libraries? Universities? How about the price of your book? One author I know suggested checking what other authors in your field are charging for the same size book. Another author, who has several books in the market, said she tries to keep her novels at the same price. Since my last novel published began a new series, I decided the second in the series should stick close to that price.
You can move in and out of Createspace at your own speed. When I hadn't done anything on Createspace for awhile though, they sent me an e-mail asking if they could be of assistance. I ignored the note. As you progress through the steps and save your work, you'll notice a checkmark by the items you've completed and are necessary to publish your book.
The most frustrating part of this self-publishing is how much time it consumes. I've been down in Florida since December and haven't even started on my next novel. The other day I thought I was all set to finally order a large quantity of my novel. I had carefully proofed a downloaded copy and uploaded a corrected version to send for review. When I downloaded the new copy, I discovered my pages weren't numbered. The error had nothing to do with Createspace. It had to do with what I sent them. So my advice to you is---examine everything from top to bottom every time you send something in and save yourself a huge headache.
I want to also put my novel online for Kindle and Nook, but I've decided not to waste anymore time with that. My solution and it may end up being yours, find someone who is skilled in the process and can do it for you.
Until Next Time
This is Marlene Chabot
Mystery Novelist
