Quick Guide to Publishing through Create Space for Free

(Step I: Sign up)

vuideashare it

Anyone who has access to a computer with internet and a little bit of knowledge can self-publish; books, audio, and videos.  Create Space can be a free and easy way to self-publish and get your project(s) listed on Amazon.com.

I will show you the process for getting a book published without any upfront cost by doing it all on your own.  You can have a physical book that is printed on demand when someone orders a copy, a Kindle compatible version, or even both.  Although audio and video are similar, I will not be covering these at this time.

First of all you will need to sign up at www.createspace.com and create a new account.

0001 create account

Fill in all your information and click “Create My Account”.  You will need to read and agree to the terms and conditions to proceed.  One thing I should mention is that publishing through Create Space you still own all rights to your original work.

After you click agree to the terms and conditions you will be directed to your Member Dashboard.  This is where you will find all the resources for publishing.

0003b member dashboard

(Step II: Starting a New Project)

Click on “Add New Title” from your dashboard

Give your project a name

Choose the type of project to start

For a step-by-step set up process, choose Guided to get started

0004b new project

(Step III: Title Information)

Fill in all your information about your project, and make sure to add all the *Required.

The publication date at the bottom is the day you approve your book for publishing.  You can leave it blank and it will automatically be assigned when you approve the final proof of your book.

0006 title info

(Step IV: ISBN)

To have your book published you must have an ISBN (International Standard Book Number) assigned to it.  The ISBN is the bar code that goes on the back of the book.  There are advantages and disadvantage to the free and the custom ISBNs.

The Free

Pro:  Greater distribution options through Library’s and Academic institutes that are not available by using a custom ISBN

Con: ISBN imprint will state that it is a CreatSpace Independent Publishing Platform

0007 ISBN

When creating your book cover, there will be a space on the back of the book for the ISBN.

 

(Step V: Interior)

Choose the type of interior and paper color you desire.  The full color is great for picture books and you can have the Bleed go past the edges for a clean finished look.

0008 interior

There a many different sizes to choose from, but keep in mind that not all sizes are the Industry Standard.  Meaning if you pick an irregular size, you may not be able to distribute it through certain channels.

You can also download a formatted template from Create Space that has all the correct margins for the specific book size you choose.

0010 template

You will need a platform for the writing and layout of a book such as Microsoft Word.  If you don’t have Word there is a free alternative called Open Office.  You can download it for free at: www.openoffice.org  

Note: Open Office can also open Word documents

Tip: Don’t use “Tab” to indent paragraphs, go into the paragraph option and set the indent to first line.  This will indent the first line whenever a new paragraph is started.

Tip: To separate pages, insert a “Page Brake” at the end of the chapters to make sure you get the right alignment

Once your writing is together and ready, Export it as a .pdf file and then upload it to Create Space

0011 pdf upload

Once uploaded you will be able to view it as a virtual book and you can flip through the pages to see if there are any errors before you publish.

 

(Step VI: Cover)

Create Space makes it easy to create a professional looking cover by building it online.

0012 cover selection

You can select a template and then customize it any way you desire.

0013 cover design

For adding your own cover image you need to have the correct size.  There is a free photo editing software called GIMP or (GNU Image Manipulation Program).  www.gimp.org

With this free program you can also completely design your entire book cover and export it as a .pdf file.

 

(Step VII: Complete Setup)

Once you are all finished you then submit your book for review through the complete setup.  It is then checked by someone at Create Space to make sure your book meets all the required specifications and you will receive an email within 24 hours of approval.

From this point you can now order a proof print of your book for your review.

 

(Step VIII: Distribution)

While you wait for your book proof to arrive in the mail, you can now click on distribution.

You will need to submit the correct information to receive royalties for your sells.

It is free to distribute to the Create Space and Amazon stores.  You can purchase expanded distribution for a $25 one-time fee.

0014 distribution

From this page you can customize your Create Space eStore by setting the background color and uploading a banner.

You can create this banner with the title of your book using the free GIMP program mentioned earlier in this writing.

 

(Step IX: Pricing)

Select your list price and check yes on the GBP and EUR for a match in royalties.

0015 pricing

Tip: List the price high to make sure you leave enough room for profit

Amazon will automatically reduce the price of your book after it sells a few copies, and you still receive your full original mark up.

Tip: you can always go and edit the pricing at any time.

 

(Step X: Description)

Fill in all your description information.

Make sure to fill in your search keywords so people can find it when they do a search.

Tip: Be specific with your terms, try to use full phrases that someone would type in when looking for a specific book.  Don’t use one word to generalize! You can only add 5 keywords (or phrases), so choose wisely.  You can also make changes at any time.

 

 

(Step XI: Proof)

Once you approve the proof of your book it will then be published.  It will show up in Amazon.com within 24 hours.

You are now a published author!

You can log on to your Create Space account to track your sells.

 

(Step XII: Get in Kindle)

You also have the option to publish your book for Amazons Kindle.

0017 Kindle

Since your book has already been submitted in a digital format simply follow the steps to get it into the Kindle store.

 

(Step XIII: Look Inside)

Since your book is already in a digital format when uploaded the look inside will automatically be applied after a few days on Amazon’s site.

 

(Step XIV: Author Central)

Go to www.authorcentral.amazon.com and set up your author’s page and list all your published books.