I thought I would share this, as I thought some people might find it helpful. This is the process I use to convert my ebooks to print format when putting them up on Createspace. This is only going to cover the print formatting, not cover creation. Most of the process of going through the publishing process on Createspace is pretty simple, so I won’t be addressing that, unless asked.
So, you have your book open in word. Createspace now allows uploads in .doc, .docx, as well as .pdf formats. The first thing you need to do, is set up the page size. So go to the page setup option under file in word, and open it. Here is how you want to set those three tabs up:
Margins: Top: 0.5, Bottom: 0.3, Inside: 1.0, Outside: .75, Gutter: 0 (ignore gutter position)
Orientation: Portrait
Pages: On the multiple pages menu, select: Mirror Margins
Make sure to apply it to the whole document.
Paper Tab:
Width: 6"
Height: 9"
Layout Tab:
Section start: New Page
Headers and Footers: Check both boxes for: Different odd and even, Different first page
From edge: Header: 0.3, Footer: 0
Vertical alignment: Top
Why these settings? Book price is determined by the number of pages. 6x9 is a standard format supported pretty much everywhere. You want to use as much of that page as possible, without looking poorly or causing problems, and these settings have worked very well for me.
You want different headers, so you can put your name on all even numbered pages, and the book’s title on all odd numbered pages.
To set up page numbering, go to the first (title) page and use the option under insert. Select the settings for Top outside of page. Do not check ‘show on first page’. This will also suppress page numbering at section breaks.
NEXT: At the start of each section if you do not want the header on that chapter page, insert a ‘break - next page’ on the end of the previous chapter. You may have to delete the hard return that was already in there separating the chapters after the insert. (You may also have to click on the numbering format and tell it to continue the numbering, but only if it tried to restart the numbering from ‘1’ - this is not likely)
Set the headers up next. (menu option under view) Even page header will have your name, (New Times Roman, size 11, centered, italic - to separate it from the book text) FOLLOWED by a carriage return (spacing). You need space between the header and the text. Odd page header will have the book title(New Times Roman, size 11, centered, usually italic to separate it from the book text - Bold can work too) FOLLOWED by a carriage return (spacing). Check that the page number on the outside, is the same font type and size!
NOTE: The font and size I suggest above can be changed, 11 is just a suggestion, I do advise using at least one point smaller than whatever your text it. Making it italic or bold will help separate it from the text, which makes reading it easier.
Important notes!!!
JUSTIFY the text!! All of it. I usually select everything from the start of chapter one, through to the end of the book, then go back and adjust the title headings while inserting section breaks at the start of each chapter. Inserting the section breaks suppresses headers and numbers on the first page of each chapter. I also insert them on the copyright page, and any dedication page I might have.
HEADERS: Don’t enter them on the pages that they will be suppressed on, or they won’t carry through the whole book.
FONT SIZE FONT SIZE FONT SIZE: (Did I get your attention? Good!). Remember, you are paying -by the page- The more pages in your book, the more expensive it will cost your reader, and the less profit margin you will have. My default font is Times New Roman, 12 point. If you go with a smaller font, you will use less paper. BUT!!! (There is always a but) get too small, and you can’t read it! However, there is a wonderful font you can use, that will let you get away with a much smaller font, and still remain readable. It is called: Georgia. Georgia is a very helpful font.
BEFORE YOU SAVE!!
Any special fonts you use? Yeah, they’re probably going to be thrown in the trash when you save and try to convert, UNLESS you go to the tools menu, selection OPTIONS, then select the SAVE tab. You will see a box there to ‘Embed TrueType fonts’. You must check it! I usually check the ‘Embed Characters in use only’ box as well, to keep file size down.
NOTES:
If you see a line with waaaaaaay too much space in it, it needs a carriage return on the end of it.
Always indent the start of a paragraph by at least a few spaces (I use 3, and there is a setting for that in word) it makes it a lot easier on the reader.
Always check the document before uploading to make sure it looks right.
Always use the interior checking tool on createspace to make sure it uploaded correct. Check page numbers and chapter breaks, as well as the end of the book.
Let me know if you have questions, and I hope you find this helpful.
(I hope I didn’t forget anything).
**Update: I added a file that has the menu boxes with the proper settings. Those of you who have been cursed with the ribbon, you should be able to figure it out.
Here are what your page set ups should look like in Word.doc (70 KB)
