CreateSpace To Do List
So here was my To Do List:
And here's what I have left to do:
Yeah, that whole "Learn InDesign" took a wee bit longer than expected. Go figure.
I took a crash course by signing up for a month's worth ($25) of training videos at Lynda.com. I watched hours worth of videos and followed along on my own files. Great site, it saved my butt.
Also, I never did find my file for the cover art for the print book (which, unlike the ebook cover, included the spine and back copy). I had to redo it. Fortunately, I did still have the front/ebook cover.
Now I'm waiting to hear back from Amazon to hear if my PDFs were formatted correctly. I hope they were, otherwise, I shall have to redo them AGAIN.
If I were reading this as someone considering publishing through CreateSpace, I'd be thinking, "Wow, this sounds like a lot more work than I want to do." And I would be right.
Realize, however, that I brought a lot of this on myself. I hired myself as cover artist, so I had to do that job too. Then, after looking into some professional book interior designers, I decided to hire myself to do that too. I wanted to do a professional job on each one, so I used the tools I would if someone else were paying me (Adobe Photoshop, InDesign). But basically, this meant I was trying to do three jobs (author, artist, designer), all the hard way.
It has never been conclusively proven that I am sane.
# # #
Um, and at some point I need to smack my blog in the face with some Pretty. 'Cause right now it's pretty far from Pretty.
- Final edit on Word File/apply editor's corrections
-Write author's bio
-Learn InDesign
-Format file in InDesign
-Figure out page # of final document to calculate cover art template
-Find or ReDo cover art
-Upload interior PDF and cover art PDF to CreateSpace
And here's what I have left to do:
- Order Proof copy
- Correct Proof copy
- Upload corrections
- Go live with print book
Yeah, that whole "Learn InDesign" took a wee bit longer than expected. Go figure.
I took a crash course by signing up for a month's worth ($25) of training videos at Lynda.com. I watched hours worth of videos and followed along on my own files. Great site, it saved my butt.
Also, I never did find my file for the cover art for the print book (which, unlike the ebook cover, included the spine and back copy). I had to redo it. Fortunately, I did still have the front/ebook cover.
Now I'm waiting to hear back from Amazon to hear if my PDFs were formatted correctly. I hope they were, otherwise, I shall have to redo them AGAIN.
If I were reading this as someone considering publishing through CreateSpace, I'd be thinking, "Wow, this sounds like a lot more work than I want to do." And I would be right.
Realize, however, that I brought a lot of this on myself. I hired myself as cover artist, so I had to do that job too. Then, after looking into some professional book interior designers, I decided to hire myself to do that too. I wanted to do a professional job on each one, so I used the tools I would if someone else were paying me (Adobe Photoshop, InDesign). But basically, this meant I was trying to do three jobs (author, artist, designer), all the hard way.
It has never been conclusively proven that I am sane.
# # #
Um, and at some point I need to smack my blog in the face with some Pretty. 'Cause right now it's pretty far from Pretty.
Comments
Anyways, the next book should be easier...
I like InDesign, but I don't own it, sadly, so I just used Word. I think my book turned out okay with that. I love Photoshop of course. I'd like to upgrade to CS5 soon...
Good luck! I can't wait to get my hands on a print copy. :)
@ Michelle. It was a complete fluke that I happened to have InDesign. I wouldn't have been able or inclined to purchase it. I think I could have made it look decent on Word, but I'm not sure it would have been THAT much easier to format, in the end. I would love CS5 too. Sigh.
This won't help you much, but reading your post made me feel better! As you know, I am in a similar situation. So, I am just going to be your cheerleader and say, "You go, girl!" And like David said, we only have to learn all this new stuff once. (I hope, I hope~)
I do feel badly about your book cover: I know you put your whole heart into that work as a professional. I spent 13 straight hours yesterday (between mouthfuls of chocolate cake,) trying to "smack some pretty" onto my blog, and I am still FAR from satisfied. But I could no longer see, I was not allowed to have any more cake (food for the spoiled 2-yr old muse), and I just finally left it.
And then I checked the stats while ago, and I've had more visits today, including from Ireland and the U.K. than ever before. Point: Don't let it get you down; it all pays off in the long run. Oh, and all those hits means you got them, too, since we're linked! So, there you go. I wish I could give you some cake . . .
Carmen
If you think dealing with CreateSpace is difficult and has a learning curve, note my ratio of books published with CreateSpace versus LSI.
Also, CreateSpace just updated its author interface in its "title management" system and I will admit it appears to be easier to use than the older interface.
I promise if you publish another book the process will be much easier. At least easier than learning InDesign.