Createspace is part of amazon, the largest book retailer in the world. Kdps print on demand service allows you to selfpublish your book in paperback and sell it on amazon websites in the us, europe, and japan, as well as other retail book sellers through kdps expanded distribution channels. The createspace publishing checklist how to save time and. Make a book cover spine with gimp selfpublishing with dale.
I hope the post helps you speed up the createspace process and saves you some money with the free resources at the end. It really is just one of the many ways you can jumpstart a business on amazon when it comes to starting your life as an author, getting an agent or a traditional publishing deal is mostly geared for the elite. Whether youre formatting your book for print or an ebook, there are some pagination rules you must follow. Many aspects of the selfpublishing process can be intimidating and confusing, especially the first time you do them. You can earn up to 70% royalty on kindle ebook and 60% on paperback sales. Liam porritt the back cover must include but may also include title, subtitle etc. Through createspace, anyone can upload the text and cover files for a book and have it available for sale on amazon in minutes. Dont try to test them on that rule of spinal matter on smaller books. Kindle direct publishing paperback option is nearly.
You dont have to pay any costs upfront or carry any inventory. Go back to your createspace template and use gimp to create a new layer again right here, and click okay. Having my book in print is the fulfillment of a longheld dream, but its certainly not without its challenges. How to self publish a book self publishing on amazon. What file formats does amazon createspace accept for books. Individual pdfs of each chapter or parts do not make a complete book. Last but not least, mind the gutter this is the margin closest to the book spine. Its fast and easy to independently publish your print book with createspace, your digital book with.
Making your book a bestseller is hard enough without an ugly cover sabotaging your efforts. The dimensions from the spine calculator include a 18. File requirements for print books how to self publish a book. How to make a book cover spine with gimp createspace. How to use the templates both offered from ingram spark and createspace, they can. How to add text to the spine of your book in createspace. Within a few days, the lamination on the nonspine side on both the front. If your page count is under 100 pages, you shouldnt add spine text. This is a normal pdf file that obeys certain rules, regarding margin, gutter and. Learn about isbn options, costs and the necessary steps to using createspace publishing to produce your print book. You will need to tell your designer how many pages your book is so they can make the spine the appropriate size. We are open and staying safe during the covid19 crisis to make sure your book orders get made. Create a cover for a createspace physical book entitled the rules of revision. Unlike a kindle book cover, you need a full jacketa front, spine, and backin order to publish a print book.
A stepbystep guide to publishing with createspace by lyn horner explains how. Keep the type and elements that you dont want trimmed off at least 38. A stepbystep guide to book publishing with createspace. This article, written by lyn horner, guides us stepbystep through the process of publishing a book with createspace.
Fiverr freelancer will provide book design services and convert your book cover to paperback, createspace, or kdp print including printready within 2 days. Create a paperback cover amazon kindle direct publishing. Hi everyone ive also published through createspace and was amazed how professional the result looks. If you have a book large enough to allow for spine text, include your last name in capital letters at the bottom of the spine and the books title in mixed capitalization at the top. Kindle direct publishing kdp is an amazon selfpublishing service. You will also notice that you have margins within the spine of the book too. This post is written for the author who wants to use createspace to publish their paperback book, leveraging amazons reach using the print on demand model of selfpublishing.
Create a cover for a createspace physical book entitled. How to make your own free book cover in ms word the. Now we can see our spine, but its clearly going the wrong direction, so we need to go to the rotate tool and rotate it vertically. In a mustread book a target audience of teenage girls will coast through, the hilarious yet dramafueled book the trail rules follows one girls adventure into selfdiscovery and security, leading to a goose bumpinducing conclusion that will inspire young adults to take worthy risks in their own lives that could reap a handsome reward. Heres createspaces rules for adapting an existing cover to a cover for them. Something i noticed and went back and forth with createspace on. The book fan numbers to a particular author will increase if the book cover is one of that is going to be memorable. Once you are set with the back cover layout, follow the instructions after step twentyeight in the how to make a book cover with gimp tutorial. Every printed paperback will have a front cover, spine and back cover, simple. Make a back book cover for createspace selfpublishing.
Createspace will reject your cover if you dont honor those rules. Use the following form to get pixel dimensions for photoshop and other design programs. Learning how to self publish a book is much easier than you think, especially with the modern day option of self publishing on amazon. I need a cover designed for createspace for the book entitled. The thicker the book, the wider these margin need to be so that the text doesnt get eaten up by the spine. You can either use fiverr to convert your kindle book cover to a createspace cover, or have your kindle designer do it for you. How to get the best paperback cover you can with createspace. For your ebookonly project, you can choose as few as 2 pages for your book. Your book is printed on demand when customers purchase it. You can use kdps free tools to prepare your book and publish quickly. We now offer specialized options for your different publishing needs. Of course, shut off the sample cover layer before you export your finished paperback book cover to pdf. Createspace putting content on the book spine question on. Text on larger spines must be sized to fit the spine, with at least 0.
Login to get started with kindle direct publishing, manufacturing on demand, or print on demand for publishers. I am professional on kindle and createspace interior book design and formatting. Book spine calculator book thickness calculator what. You can publish your books in digital and print for free and sell on amazon to millions of readers. A pdf of the front cover alone is not a complete cover pdf. I came up with these spine width calculations based on the instructions to calculate spine width provided by createspace and the spine width calculator published by ingram.
Createspace spine calculator choosing a spine for your book. The stepbystep guide to formatting your print book for kdp. Createspace vs ingramspark how do the books compare. Amazon got rid of createspace altogether, so kdp print is your only option now.
As the createspace spine looks perfect, this whole thing just leaves a. In conclusion, as long as you follow the templates and basic design rules mentioned here, you should get a decent paperback book result, and get featured on amazon really fast, which is exactly where you need to be. Here is what you absolutely need to know before working with createspace. And if your book is likely to rip your readers hearts out of their chest, cartoonish illustrations with bubble fonts have no business on the front of your book. What is the minimum number of pages i can use for my book. Amazon kdp formerly createspace and ingramspark printon. You can use this overlay to develop a cover that will fulfill the guidelines for. The hinged spines will usually add a professional look to your book. Full cover design dimensions calculator for amazon kdp and createspace. Simply put in your page count, book interior trim and paper color and your jacket cover size will instantly appear at the bottom with all the details. I have recently gone through the process of publishing my book with both createspace and ingramspark. Some students just seem to absorb information, effortlessly.
However there are many reasons why you may be tempted to give it a shot anyway. There was extra glue or something also dribbling out of the spine of the book too. Yes, the postage is an issue, but with a 70% royalty option, theres enough money in the pot to reduce the price accordingly to make the book more. Before you upload to createspace, youll need both a book cover and a book file. Before you order your cover, though, youll need to format your book.
I was planning on publishing it with createspace until i found you. Page numbers and createspace normally you would expect a publisher to help you make sure your book is done correctly. New createspace barcode policy selfpublishing advice. We moved your createspace files and can print your book using your existing cover creator cover. Liam porritt the back cover must include but may also include. My initial reason for choosing to create an imprint for a print book was to have a real publisher to list on the title page and to put at the bottom of the spine on the cover. I would upload an image to show but that is not a feature i see here on sitejabber. Creating a cover for your createspace print book katrina. Unlike a kindle book cover, you need a full jacketa front, spine, and.
However, in an odd twist, createspace is refusing to publish books until they incorrectly number their pages. There are no hard and fast rules here, but nonfiction books will often choose this. Most indie publishing experts will warn you against making your own book cover, with good reason. Until now, its been possible to generate your own barcode and add it in to your books cover design before you upload your cover design to createspace cs ready for publication. So, with tail between my legs and my head held high i wish to revise my book and submit it to booklocker. In this article, ill go through why you should selfpublish in print, the use of printondemand vs doing a print run, which printondemand companies are recommended, the files and information that youll need to print, how to use createspace and where to get more help if you want a company to do the work for. Many authors have bemoaned their createspace paperback quality, i. How to selfpublish a paperback book with createspace. You might want to bookmark this page for future reference if you plan to publish with createspace. Amazon, kdp, kindle or createspace cannot be listed as the publisher of your book. Free word template 6x9 format ready for createspace. This means all the information text and images on the front cover, back cover, spine and flaps if cover is a dust jacket assembled into a single pdf. Although it was also possible and easier to allow cs to add its own instead, adding your own to your artwork enabled you to keep control of the complete design, and to use a more elegant format than.
Download blank templates download templates with sample content. Write on top of what is already written, and if you need to add or delete chapters, do it from the outline view to make sure the structure of the doc is ok. All experienced cover designers are familiar with this process. You can now manage your createspace content on amazons improved publishing services. Oh, and what would happen if after printing you found a mistake in the book.
To find your template, click download, open the zip folder, choose your language and trim size. Bookbaby vs amazon createspace self publish amazon. If you want to update your cover after the move to kdp, youre welcome to design a new one using kdps cover creator. The book cover should be colorful, and the spine also should share similar colors from the book cover. The createspace publishing checklist how to save time. Should selfpublished authors create their own publishing. How to create a book cover for ingram spark and createspace. Createspaceputting content on the book spine question. There are also other benefits of having an imprint name such as the listing on an. However, we are not taking client walkins or pickups at this time. Look at the back of paperback books for ideas, and be careful to leave space for the barcode and trimming, as per createspace instructions. Kindle direct publishing paperback option is nearly unusable, stick with createspace for print on demand update.
Createspace publishing is a print on demand, or pod service of. Rotate the text to a perfect 90 degree angle and center it on the spine. As you add text to your cover, make sure it exactly matches the book details e. Ready for createspace 6x9 specifications bleeding, margins, etc.
No books are held in inventory, since the books are not printed until the order is received from the buyer. Book covers should follow the rules of design in a way that makes sense for your genre. I forgot to mention that if i have your kind permission to use your original book covers and spine for my book on the history of the british theatre of. The shift caused the front cover to wrap onto the spine, part of the spine is on the back cover, and the spine is no longer centered. A year ago i allowed myself to be persuaded into going to createspace to publish my book even though ive been very happy with your handling of my other book. Well, and i sometimes make up the rules as i go along. I hope the post helps you speed up the createspace process and saves you some. Ten successful students help you achieve outstanding exam results author name. If youre unsure which size to pick, find books with content similar to yours to get an idea of what readers expect. With amazons self publishing services you can reach millions of readers worldwide and keep control of your work.