Self-publishing via Word and Createspace – page setup

I don’t use Create Space’s templates because too many people I’ve talked to have had poor results. In truth, once you’ve followed the steps Flory provides, you aren’t far from creating your own Create Space ready file.

1. Go to the Format > Font > Advanced Features dialogue and turn ligatures on.

2. If you are using fully justified margins turn on Tools > Hyphenation automatic and make sure to allow no more than 2 hyphenated lines in a row. Then turn on automatic kerning for type above 12 points in the advanced fonts dialogue. This should remove unsightly rivers and gutters in your justified text.

3. If you haven’t applied a style to your chapter titles and subheads (which you should have) apply a style, or create one and apply it to every chapter and section head. Make sure to set the style format.

4. Make sure any images are 300 ppi.

Double check every page and make manual adjustments. Save as a PDF file and submit.

Make sure to double check the pdf proof and then order a printed proof.

Meeka's Mind

This is the second post in this series and this time, I’ll be showing you how to setup your Word document to match the Createspace template for your chosen trim size. If you’ve forgotten about templates and trim sizes, you can find the post explaining what they are, why you need them and where to find them…here.

Right. So in this post I will assume that:

you have typed up your manuscript in Word or in a Word compatible format – e.g. Rich Text Format or .rtf for short.
you want to change that manuscript to make it compatible with Createspace so the printing process goes smoothly
you have decided on a trim size
you have downloaded the appropriate template [from Createspace] specifically for that trim size
you have looked at the template but did not change any of the settings

If any of these assumptions are incorrect…

View original post 1,004 more words