Publishing with CreateSpace

Publishing is getting easier and easier. Writers everywhere are discovering that the interface between them and their readers is now more direct. It is possible to build a readership without the traditional expedients of agent or publisher.

Even for traditionally published authors, this new directness has a number of benefits and possible uses. Out of print volumes can be resurrected, and short pieces can be published in slim volumes that used to be commercially not feasible.

For these easily-managed books, an author can resort to putting out self-published editions that do surprisingly well for some. Using CreateSpace, which is the self-publishing arm run by Amazon.com, is one option. Having tried it myself for a small volume, I can say that the experience is not unpleasant.

I took a novella, which I had already made available as an eBook, and added four bonus short stories which were compatible in theme, tenor and narrative style. I then spent a lot of time formatting the text and illustrations on MSWord. (I use the 2010 version). Using the page size I chose on CreateSpace, I worked to get each page as close to perfect as I could. I read advice about fonts, margins, using pictures and pagination on various sites I googled. There is a lot of information available, and most of it is useful. I then converted the pages into PDF format using the 'Save As' facility in Word. It worked! Proofing the PDF is essential: I had to do the conversion process three times before I was happy with the result.

Designing the cover was also pleasantly simple. I chose one of the templates at CreateSpace and personalized it using the number of options offered. It took time, because I wanted a cover that would be compatible in colour and character with my other books.

I then let everything rest for a day, for two reasons. One was a raging head cold. The other was the necessity of viewing the manuscript and the cover with a fresh eye. Needless to say, I discovered half a dozen errors I could not have picked with streaming eyes, between sneezes. A pair of tired eyes 'used' to a manuscript will see what they want to see, not what's actually there.

I spent an enormous amount of time reading the benefits and disadvantages of self-publishing with Amazon's CreateSpace. It is not for every author, neither is it for every book. Decisions must be made about pricing, distribution and management of sales - not to mention royalties and taxes - that could be different for each individual book. So what seemed beneficial for me, and the title I was working with at the time, might not apply to my next book, or to another writer with a similar book. Each title must be considered carefully.

That is part of the advice I have that comes from my experience. Authors need to examine the benefits and options available, and apply them to each single and individual title. There are disadvantages tied in with every single choice one makes. Sometimes they are negligible, sometimes considerable. Caution, and reading fine print, are recommended. Just because I chose CreateSpace this time, for this title, does not mean I can do it again without thinking, for another book.

An author needs to ask: What do I want for this book? Who do I think will read it? Is it a book I want to make money from, or is it a potboiler? Does this kind of distribution fit my needs, and access my audience, wherever I think it is? Is tax an issue?

The so-called revolution in publishing is doing a number of things. It is separating the concept we had of 'the book' into at least three streams. Books ain't books any more, just as oils ain't oils. All authors and readers ought to examine what they think they know, and how they think it's all changing, and take each step in the publishing journey as carefully as possible. The mistakes one makes can be written up as experience, because there is a lot to learn.

Why It Makes Sense to Give Books Away

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Cory Doctorow

Not all authors are hugely prolific. Some take a long time to craft a story; then chiselling it into a book takes time, irrespective of whether one goes the self-publishing way, or is taken up by a mainstream publisher. Everything to do with books is very time-consuming. Even authors with a high out-put say that time is one of the things they wish they had more of.


So why on earth - or online - would an author ever decide to give their writing away for nothing? There are some perfectly good reasons to do this. There must be: some authors with pretty big names have given books away for nothing. Cory Doctorow is perhaps the one that first comes to mind. There are many others. Here's an article that includes interviews with ten authors who decided it was the way to go:

Interviews with authors who give books away

They were all asked the same questions, and some gave very different answers. The crux of the matter, however, is exposure. Giving half a book away might entice a reader to buy the second half. Obtaining an entire book by an author might very well persuade you - if you like what you read - to purchase everything that author has ever published.

That, perhaps, is what I tossed up when I was presented with the concept, and the opportunity, to give away some of my books. Some! Yes - at the moment, I have three small books up at SmashWords that anybody can download and own for absolutely no dollars... or pounds... or yen... or euros.

What's more: they are available in nine digital formats, which means that there is no excuse, no matter what platform you do your digital reading on, for you to go on without trying out my stories! Seriously - this is a great opportunity for readers to try authors out, because many are doing this. They are tried out on PCs, on iPads, on Kindles, on Nooks... on every digital device known to humankind. Before they go and splurge on a lovely paperback - without the least notion, except perhaps for a review and a say-so from a friend - they try the author out and see whether whether their books are what they like to read.

Now I have taken a great risk, because the three books I have at SmashWords are literary fiction. They are atmospheric stories that are mostly about location, culture, folklore, tradition, and about language. They are almost fancy writing, I suppose. But they do tell you a lot about the person who thought them up, who wrote them. They tell you how I think, and how many styles I can write in, and where my fancy roams.

Then you can decide whether to purchase my debut novel, a mystery called Death in Malta, or not. And it will persuade you, perhaps, to purchase my brand new thriller, According to Luke - soon to be released by BeWrite Books. It will not be such a great risk, and your euros, or dollars, or yen, or pounds, will be well spent.