Something I've always wondered about Createspace.

[anthorn]

When ordering samples on Createspace, when it gives you the options. Does that money go into your own pocket like it would if you bought your own book?

 

[Nick B]

No. The proof is just bought from CS

 

[Brian G Turner]

The proofs are bought discounted of royalties.

 

[Nick B]

But with huge delivery costs if you arn't in the US sadly. The proof of Liberator cost around £12 including delivery. And it got lost in the post, but CS sent a new one by fastest delivery, which was like 48hours. They do have very good service and answer queries and requests very promptly.

 

[Steve S]

I've used Createspace for my latest novel (and for new editions of my existing books). I've generally found it a very good service. The website is easy to use and the process was fairly painless. The quality of the books I felt was slightly superior to previous ones I'd published (printed by Lulu.com) and they were certainly cheaper, even with the higher delivery costs. I had an issue with one of the proofs (there was a mis-alignment on some of the pages) - I raised a support query with Createspace, which was handled promptly and politely, and they are sending me another proof at no cost.

Overall, I'm pleased with the experience I've had with Createspace and expect to use them for future books.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

I never ordered a proof but just trusted it was right. Ulp

 

[Nick B]

We signed the proof and gave it to our cover artist as a gift. The proof is dated, and shows it was printed before the paperback release date, he was well happy.

 

[Gary Compton]

You don't need to order a proof, the eproof is sufficient - in my opinion

 

[Nick B]

The eproof doesn't show you the cover though, that was the main concern we had.

 

[Gary Compton]

It does on mine. If you don't download it (that is as you say) view it on their site. Cant remember the link. Just done one and reviewed it no problem.

 

[Gary Compton]

Digital Proofer is the link

 

[Nick B]

Strange, I ran through the whole proof of Liberator, and the cover wasn't on it. May have just been an error, never mind, all worked out fine!

 

[Brian G Turner]

The cover didn't show on the initial internal content check, but once my files were approved, it showed on the previewer.

However, I got alerts suggesting minor issues with both editions' covers, so I've had to order a copy of each so I can manually check. I'm just really thankful I planned all this well in advance, so as not to be caught out with my deadline.

 

[Gary Compton]

For future reference when I got my email there was a link to review. There were 2 buttons 1) Digital Proofer and 2) Download.

I tried the download first and got the same probs as you guys. The DP gave me the screenshot above.

 

[Nick B]

Thats probably it Gary, tbh i cant remember if i dl'd it, so probably did by the sound of it.

 

[CWScott]

I always order a proof. You'd be surprised at the things you catch. The cover is important and looks totally different in real life and something to check. One thing that is difficult to check digitally is the gutter size. My gutters seemed ok, but when I got the proof they were too small, and the reader would have been forced to really bend the spine to read comfortably. Sometimes the text won't be quite centered on the spine, regardless of what it shows on screen. Createspace can and does screw up on occasion. In the US it's cheap to order them, so well worth one more check.

 

[Brian G Turner]

Another reason to order proofs well before deadline - I got a notice that CreateSpace have a major centre in North Carolina, and that much of the state is currently suffering from severe flooding due to the recent hurricane.

 

[thaddeus6th]

Just going through some of this stuff. Query on covers: apart from the obvious matte/glossy difference, is there a quality difference or are both viable options?

 

[Brian G Turner]

Just going through some of this stuff. Query on covers: apart from the obvious matte/glossy difference, is there a quality difference or are both viable options?

Both seem viable - I made sure to order a paperback with a glossy cover, self-published by another self-published author, to help make my own decision.

 

[thaddeus6th]

Cheers, Brian.

Also (forgot to ask this before, ahem), two small issues I need to resolve: how to make a PDF for the cover (might not be essential, I need to have a look at the more basic approach) and how to increase the DPI for images (one's a map, the other family trees, so just fonts turned through 90 degrees). I think larger fonts and maybe a larger snapshot of the map (it's a smaller part of a large map I made). Any guidance would be appreciated.