If you are a self-published author, you know that it can be hard to get your book noticed.
Fortunately, today there are many ways for authors to publish their books without the hassle of going through a publishing house and dealing with agents.
Createspace is certainly one of them.
In this article, we will explore how it works and share some tips on what you need to do to make the process successful!
First of all, you need to create a title, then you have to write the text before moving to the cover design; finally, you can upload it and start promoting through online or offline channels.
CreateSpace was founded by Amazon in 1997 and since then, it has simply made self-publishing easier than ever before.
1. Create a Title
When it comes to choosing a title for your book, many factors come into play. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the options and not know where or how to start.
Choosing the right title is important because that will be what people see when they search for your book online or in stores.
It can also help them decide whether or not to buy it, so make sure you take some time to think about this decision!
The first thing you should do is brainstorm ideas for titles by listing as many as possible without judging any of them. Then, pick out which ones sound best and narrow down the list from there until you find one that really speaks to you.
It shouldn’t be too long or awkward looking on your cover because it will be featured prominently there.
Make sure also not to include more than one word in all-caps. They tend to look like a SHOUT and draw attention away from what you’re trying to promote.
For example, “How To Make Cookies for Dummies” looks good while “HOW TO MAKE COOKIES FOR DUMMIES!” doesn’t seem as professional, even though they both say the same thing.
Once chosen the main topic and the title, you can start the writing process.
2. Write the Book
This is the main part of the process: writing your book! You can either write it yourself or hire an author to do it for you.
If you’re going to be hiring someone, make sure they are a good writer and that their work meets Amazon’s requirements.
Your manuscript must conform to these specifications:
- Pages may not contain more than 200 words per page;
- Margins must measure at least one inch from all edges and text within margins must not touch any borders or other printed material except where justified in content;
- Font size no smaller than 11 point Times New Roman font style, weight & decoration;
Once set all these specifications you or your author can start to write!
How long it could take until the final publishing?
It could take anywhere from one day to a year or more, depending on many factors. On avarage, it should take around 12-14 weeks if you’re an experienced author.
However, we suggest starting with an outline of what the book is about and then going back and adding content in between your headings or chapters.
Once you have finished writing, it will be time to design the cover for your new self-published book!
3. Design your Cover
The cover image is important as much as the content of your book (maybe even more!), so it’s always a good idea to take some time and think about what you want on there.
You can upload any images that are in JPEG or TIFF formats, and they need to be 1600×2400 pixels with dimensions of no more than 12 megabytes.
The text should be readable from 40 inches away (or as specified on-screen), but there’s no requirement for all covers to meet this specification.
Images are required to contain unaltered typefaces without embedded fonts, graphics, and photographs that do not exceed 300 KB each, or that do not have a resolution of less than 300 dpi.
Graphics and photographs cannot exceed 12 megabytes in size.
All in all, there are many options when designing your cover with Createspace – use them wisely!
Consider using one keyword which represents the content of your book; if you have an illustration or photograph which would suit well then include it too – just make sure not to put anything above the title or subtitle.
Some people also choose to use the book cover as a promotional tool, creating one which is eye-catching and represents their work well – this can make it easier for you when marketing your self-published book online too!
If you have any questions about how to design your cover then many helpful sites on the internet will give some tips.
It’s worth spending time on this before moving forward because once uploaded Createspace cannot remove or change anything without deleting the entire order (and all royalties) from Amazon KDP – so do take care if at all possible.
4. Upload to Createspace and Amazon KDP (Kindle) for Publishing
When uploading your manuscript follow the instructions reported carefully, checking all boxes where necessary and making sure not to leave any field blank.
You can add a description of your book, author details, and the copyright symbol at this stage too if you wish – but remember to keep it brief!
You will need to upload both an .EPUB format (epub) file and PDF or Word format for Createspace and Amazon KDP respectively.
Make sure that when uploading any files they are connected on the internet by using absolute paths in Dropbox so there is no confusion when submitting them to these sites.
If not, you may find yourself waiting while a site unsuccessfully tries to locate “its partner” before reporting some error message about unreadable data even though everything has been loaded correctly (they just can’t “find” each other!).
Save the file as a pdf with no cover page so you can create one last, then upload both files simultaneously and wait for them to be approved (Createspace may take three days).
Once this happens, go back into your Amazon KDP account on Kindle Direct Publishing and update your title by adding in an ampersand (&) between words (e.g., my-title&my-cover), uploading a new PDF/Word document with the .EPUB format manuscript already uploaded before – but also including some of the following: author details, copyright symbol, price information; there are tutorials available online about how to do this.
Createspace will take your manuscript and produce a paperback or hardback version of it.
You can either include an ISBN from another publishing house, buy one through Createspace, or purchase the services of Bowker to create a custom ISBN that is specific to you. It’s important to note that self-published books don’t need an ISBN.
It can take around 24 hours before a listing of your book is live on Amazon.
5. Promote your Book Online, on Social Media, and in Person
We all want to promote our books, but it can be difficult and time-consuming to do so.
The first step is figuring out what type of promotion will work best for you based on the nature of your book. There are many different types of marketing strategies available:
- traditional publicity like print interviews or radio broadcasts;
- online promotions such as blog posts, emails, or advertisements;
- grassroots marketing like posting flyers and getting involved in community events;
- word-of-mouth marketing with friends and family members who might have an interest in your topic area;
How often should you post? Is there a certain type of content that works best for promoting your book? What if I’m not good at writing blog posts or creating social media campaigns?
The main recommendation is to start promoting your book on social media by creating an author page and engaging with followers. You can use any of the following sites: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest.
The best thing you can do is post at least one update per day so that people will be reminded about your book!
You could also promote your book in person by booking speaking engagements with local libraries and schools. If you are successful, they may want to buy copies of your book for their collection.
Once again, it’s important not to overwhelm yourself with promotions or marketing schemes that don’t work for your business model.
Time after time, you should be able to see significant growth in sales if you’re the correct marketing strategies.
It’s also worth noting that there are many useful tools available online such as Speaking Empire, Book Yourself Solid, or Hootsuite which can help simplify this process even more!
You’ll need content management software like WordPress or Drupal so that once the first draft has been completed, you can start to format it for public viewing.
Also, file conversion services like ConvertKit or MailChimp may come in handy, so that once your book is published on Kindle and Createspace, you can let people know about the new release!
Let’s Sum Up!
So, that’s it!
These are the steps you need to take to create a successful self-published book.
We’ve provided some helpful tools and tips along the way which will make this process much easier for you.
Remember, there is no point in publishing your content if nobody reads it – so do everything in your power to promote yourself online with blog posts and advertisements!
Createspace is a Print on Demand service, so you have the option of paying them to produce copies for your book.
We recommend that you use this service if:
- You are planning on selling it in stores or at conferences
- You want books with glossy covers, such as an autobiography
When ordering books from Createspace, they will be shipped directly from their warehouse via UPS Ground. This means delivery can take up to two weeks (sometimes more).
If you’re looking for faster turnaround time and shipping rates then there may be other options available to choose from – but this is another story!
Are you ready to write your first book through Createspace?
