How to Edit for CreateSpace Publication

How to Edit for CreateSpace Publication

Following is a checklist I made to help in converting a word document formatted for Amazon to a word document formatted for CreateSpace. This is the procedure I used to convert my book Murder by the Clock. I hope I haven't forgotten anything important.

Start with the Amazon eBook Word Doc File. I usually use Word in 2003 mode. Load the file into Word and do the following:

1. Delete the cover page which eBooks have, but printed books do not. It will be used later to make the book cover.

2. Insert two blank pages at beginning. Keep in mind that books are printed on both sides of the page, so to have one complete blank page in the beginning; you need two pages in Word.

3. Add the first title page. It is plain with no graphics. Just the title and author. Insert another blank page.

4. Leave the title page alone.

5. Add a blank page after main title page, after the copyright page and after the TOC. It looks nice for each of these to be on a facing page with a blank back page. Same for dedication page if you have one.

6. Go through the book putting two inches of space above each chapter title. Three inches is sometimes normal, but it looked like too much on a Kindle. Make sure that each chapter ends with a page break if you didn't have that in your eBook version.

7. Remove the Table of Contents. In an eBook you should have had a TOC without page numbers. That doesn't work for a paper book.

8. Add a footer with page numbers. It's safer to put the page numbers in the center. That way you don't have to worry about which side of the page the gutter is on.

9. Insert a new section after the TOC and restart page numbers from one.

9. Add a new TOC with page numbers. To save time later, move the tab for the page numbers left so that the numbers will be on the page when the pages are resized to the smaller size. I used a five by eight book size. If you have more than one hundred thousand words, consider a larger size.

10. Revise all graphics, including glyphs to 300 dpi and reinstall from the filename, not cut and paste. I have done it with cut and paste and haven't had a problem, but some people claim that it caused them a problem.

11. Go to CreateSpace.com and start a project.

12. Insert title, author, use CreateSpace ISBN and choose book size.

13. Choose the Guided not the Expert setup procedure.

14. Upload your manuscript DOC file to CreateSpace. Note that this was probably originally in an 8.5 x 11 size.

15. As the manuscript was letter size, CS will allow reflowing to the chosen book size. Do not choose to resize the book down and keep the same number of pages.

16. Check the automated reviewer and notice all marked mistakes.

17. Download the DOC file produced in the new size back to your computer. It should have everything correct for page size, gutter placement and others.

18. Load the DOC file into Word and revise the DOC file to fix any important mistakes found in the reviewer.

19. Go to View and set it to view two pages at one time. The page on the left is the facing page; the right one is the back side.

20. For a more professional look, insert a blank page at the end of each chapter if needed to make sure each chapter starts on the left or facing page.

21. Check to make sure no glyphs are left stranded by themselves on a page.

22. Revise TOC so that page numbers are shown on the same line as the chapter name and are not wrapping to the next line, by moving the tab stop "Small L" at the top of the page.

23. On a separate page at the end, put in any back material, such as Author bio, email address, blog address or other books published.

24. Add enough blank pages at the end to have a complete printed blank page, in other words, at least two blank pages.

23. Upload the final version to CreateSpace and rerun the previewer. If you find any mistakes do it again.

24. Download the PDF file and check it for mistakes in format.

25. Now all you have to worry about is the cover. I won't go into that, but it helps to download the template for the number of pages you have.