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CreateSpace Self Publishing
Loading Up the CreateSpace Book

When you get to the page that requires you to input the PDF files, it's not laid out in a way that makes you feel like you can go work on that later. It appears to want everything to be done in one pass. They require a PDF file for the insides, which is relatively normal. I used Word 2007 with its built in PDF generator to create my PDF, which did indeed come out at that correct size.

However, they want a single PDF for the entire cover sheet! Every other publisher I've worked with let you load up a JPG for the front cover, a JPG for the back cover and so on. They didn't require you to get page layout software and calculate how to lay out the front cover, spine and back cover all on one sheet with exact measurements. You have to create an 18" x 12" giant page and center everything properly within it. This makes it very challenging for the novice publisher. They definitely don't offer nice "create a cover" options like Lulu has.

Here's an example of what I had to do. The whole "image" was 18" x 12" - i.e. the big white rectangle. The colored front, spine and back cover are centered in the middle of that. Think of it as if you took scizzors to cut out that center image, then wrapped it around your book like you used to do in school with brown paper bags, to protect the cover.

The upload page doesn't let you upload the inside and look at it, then move on. You have to upload both the interior PDF *and* the cover PDF together, on one page. Which, as mentioned above, can time you out :) It is a VERY slow process compared with the other sites.

The next page lets you set a list price and enable Amazon retail sales and ebook sales. My minimum was listed at $9.99. I could not go below that, so I left it there for now. For another book I loaded in at 310 pages, the minimum price was $13.47.

Then you get a "submit for publishing" option - but you never get to review what you loaded! You have no idea if it is going to look right in book format. They say they'll tell you in 24 hours if they accept your submission. So unlike the other systems where everything is automated and can be done without a wait, now you're stuck wondering if your cover had the right margins ... and twiddling your thumbs ...

I submitted my book at 12:06am on Thursday, August 22nd. Friday afternoon, August 23rd, I still hadn't heard back ... so much for 24 hours ... ok wait, on August 30th I logged in to check and there is actually a note in there claiming to be from the 23rd. It says:

The interior and cover files for Honor and Love - a medieval romance have been reviewed.

The interior file meets the submission specifications; it is not necessary for you to make any revisions to this file or upload it again.

The cover file does not meet the submission specifications for the reason(s) listed below. Please make any necessary adjustments to your cover file and upload it again by logging in to your CreateSpace member account.

Before uploading new files, you may wish to review the Submission Requirements, available under the Books section on the Help tab.

The cover file is too small to fit the selected trim size. You may wish to review the Artwork and Templates section, available under the Books section on the Help tab.

Additionally, we have noted the concerns listed below. You may choose to move forward with the below issues as-is; however, we wanted to bring them to your attention.

The page count for this book was entered as 192 but the files indicate the page count is 186. We have updated the page count to 186. Note that the change in page count may have affected your book's publish-at price. Please visit your book's Sales and Promotion page to see how this change may have affected your book's publish-at price and the royalties earned on book sales.

The interior file contains images at 73 DPI, which will appear blurry and pixilated in print. For optimal printing, we recommend all images be at least 300 DPI.

OK, so they will change page counts for you, which is helpful. I sized the cover exactly the way they stated for me to, so I will have to try to figure that out. The image they refer to is my inside back page bio, with a fuzzy image of me. That's fine :)

CreateSpace Self Publishing
Loading Up the CreateSpace Book
Trying to Make a CreateSpace Cover
CreateSpace Book Photos
Timing of CreateSpace Process
Problems and Issues with CreateSpace