CreateSpace Publishing: The # 1 Killer Formatting Secret

by Paul Stevens

I’ve published 7 books on Createspace. It’s been an absolute nightmare and it’s my own entire fault. I’ve spent days on end struggling with small formatting issues that are actually very difficult to solve. To say this taxed me to the limit is an understatement. The Kindle is a much easier and friendlier platform to publish on. It overlooks your errors to a large extent. I’m not saying Createspace is a difficult set of tools to use. Exactly the opposite. It’s a piece of cake, a walk in the park basically. No, it’s the additional disciplines and requirements imposed by a Print version of your book. It’s got to look professional. It’s got to be consistently laid out in terms of top bottom and side margins and page numbers and chapter headings. You and I have read hundreds or thousands of books in our lifetime but how observant have we actually been on how the printed text is presented? See that paragraph? See how the first line is indented? See the spacing? See the propagation of author name and book title or chapter title? See where each new chapter starts? See where on the page it starts? See how the text is consistently lined up with the top and bottom margins? See how the page numbers run? See how the introductory page numbers run? You see, you see? A stack of little issues maybe, but they have to be right. Here’s how to avoid the biggest mistake when setting out to publish your first Print book which can be a few as 24 pages. In fact it’s the # 1 Killer Secret to easy and professional Createspace publishing. [Article - 890 words - 2 print pages]

37 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 5, 2012