Create Space: Help!

[Justin]

I've launched my book, The Magic Shop in ebook form with no issues, but I am struggling with Create Space and the print version.

I bought a MG book (word) template from http://www.bookdesigntemplates.com/ that I really liked with a trim size of 5.06 x 7.81.

I have a couple of issues:

1) My word doc size is around 629 pages. I would have thought that when I uploaded the PDF version, CS would have halved the pages (two text pages for every one print page).
2) By Selecting expanded distribution on CS, my minimum book cost goes up to $20 (I know my page size drives this too, hence issue #1). However, if I deselect the expanded distribution, my cost goes down to $13.

Any tips for overcoming these issues? I'm particularly concerned with point #1.

Thanks in advance for helping me learn from your experience!

Justin Swapp
Author of The Magic Shop.

[Heidi]

Justin,

Typically the template you use will have the same number of pages as the book. They are designed to be laid out as a print pages so that it is exactly the way the book will look when it is printed. There are some options you can use to decrease the page count. 1. go with a larger book. 6 by 9, for example. 2. (and I am not a huge fan of this, because it looks less professional, but most readers, especially midgrade readers will not notice) If your layout dictates that each new chapter starts on the right, remove that requirement. One author who chose to do that cut their book down nearly 20 pages. 3. (The most difficult one) Edit your book down or make it two books. Is there a natural break point that will lead readers to want to buy the next book, but wraps up enough of the story to work nicely? Cut the book there. Make two books. If not, try editing it down. Are there any scenes that are not necessary? Are there scenes that are a bit wordy? Trim it.

If it were me, I would go with option 1 as I am sure you have already trimmed as much as you felt appropriate since you are ready to go to print. Best of luck to you!

[Justin]

Thanks so much, Heidi! These are very helpful tips. :)

Justin

[Heidi]

You are welcome!

[M.G.]

I love all of Heidi's comments.

Just my two cents, but 629 pages is pretty hefty for middle grade -- not completely unheard of, but awfully hard to get away with unless you are J. K. Rowling and working on your 5th book with a die-hard audience in place.

It might take some time and plot tweaking, but you could almost divide 629 pages into a trilogy. There are HUGE advantages in selling a trilogy over a stand alone, so it might be worth the effort.

[Justin]

Great feedback, thanks M.G.!

[Philip]

Hi, Justin! Don't want to repeat, just reinforce: 629 is mighty long. I'm an editor; to me, that's usually a sign of a story that has swelled on its own accord, following its many story sidetracks and offshoots. But it's not necessarily a benefit to the reader. A reader often enjoys a shorter story, then looks for more work by that author. The J.K. Rowling comparison is apt; her first Harry Potter book was 320 pages or so. A good story can be told in that length or shorter.

The additional problem is that in the print world of CreateSpace and other POD approaches, the number of pages affects costs greatly. Even 50 pages makes a real cost difference. A related "problem" (as I see it, wearing an editor's hat) is the the ebook approach doesn't encourage as much editing. But when you go to consider a print edition . . . you see the costs.

There might be a slimmer book inside the large one, which is what you'd look for as a writer thinking about also being a publisher of print editions.

[Justin]

Philip,

Thanks for the feedback. My page count is MSFT Word page count, so, once create space puts two sides to a page, I believe the page count cuts in half (?).

I just received some help from the company I bought my template from, and she was able to cut the MSFT Word page count down by a 100 pages just by adjusting the trims etc.

I think I'll go back and look the book over again (its been professionally edited). I'm sure I can figure out a way to shorten it a bit.

Thanks again!
Justin

[Rebecca]

Justin, I agree with MG and Philip. But to clarify, CS counts the pages just as they'd be numbered--i.e., page one on one side, page two on the back, etc. So the page count doesn't change.

Second, for the record--you don't have to buy a template. CS gives them away for free. I know it's a little late to say this now, but. . .

Another compromise is print size. I used a little bit smaller and more compact font and type style to keep my second book short enough to be $10. Also, to be completely honest, I'm not sure the expanded distribution is worth it. The vast majority of my print sales are via hand-selling (i.e., readings and class visits), followed by Amazon. The main advantage to the ED is the possibility of selling to libraries and bookstores--but you'll still have to get out there and convince them to buy it. In my case, I just made myself the supplier and cut out the middle-man.

[Justin]

Rebecca - thanks for the very helpful comments.

I look at various sizes. Also, I appreciate the detail of your experience (what sells the most...)

Fingers crossed.
Justin

[M.G.]

Not to belabor the point or anything, but my 240 page ms document ended up being 350 pages in print. Your book is likely to be much, much longer than 629 pages when you're finished, not shorter. Mainstream publishers use larger font sizes/less words on a page for middle grade books because dense, small text can be intimidating for younger readers.

[Justin]

Yikes!

Thanks for the heads up.

So much to learn...

J

[Jemima]

Yes I was surprised at the conversion from Word to CSpace that you were using, too. My Princelings Trilogy is about 300 pages in Word and just over 400 in print at small font, 480 in medium font. I'd really like it larger as I did with Traveler (That's 12 pt Garamond, cf 11 pt for the Trilogy), but costs go up and you have to think of affordability even with 3 books in 1.

I bought extended distribution for the Trilogy when I upped the page count/font size, and then discovered how much more the minimum price would have to be. That made it completely unrealistic in my view. There's not much point putting it on more shelves if it's just too expensive compared with its peers.

Hope my experience helps. I'm working on a non-fiction book to go out on CSpace at present, so I'm learning all the time.

PS Any reason for buying a template rather than using CSpace's?

[Justin]

Thanks for your experience, Jemima.

Yes, the template I got has style attributes as well (fonts, style buttons for various paragraph types etc...)

If I had to do it again, I might just go with th CS templates.

[Jemima]

You can adjust your styles to anything you like in the CS one as well.

But if there's the 'look' you want it can be easier to just go with it :)

[Justin]

Thx

[Heimdall]

Justin,

Like has been said, formatting is really going to change your page count, but the one thing I didn't notice you mentioning is your word count. Harry Potter is a good book to measure by. As mentioned, it's about 320 pages, and is just under 77,000 words. That's about 240 words per page (I think 250 considered average). If you're doing something lighter, like Diary of a Wimpy Kid, you might want to decrease your words per page to make it easier to read.

But if you're doing hard fantasy/sci-fi, like The Hobbit or Ender's Game, you can get away with more words per page, as your target audience is probably more advanced readers. Both of my fantasy novels are 80,000 words in 216 pages and has gotten great feed back by young readers.

[Justin]

Thanks, Heimdall. That's great perspective on genre and reader expectations.

J