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MS Word - What version and what else can you do with it?
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I don't think it really matters whether you use Word 2007, 2010, 2013 or LibreOffice or... (take you pick). All of these are capable to do the job. The first question is: With which version do you feel more capable yourself?In the end, the most practical solution is to upload an epub (KDP) or pfd (CS).
IMHO
@Miss Sue: I'm on Word 2011 for Mac. But I think Mr Zoltán is correct. Doesn't really matter which version. As for covers, I literally just insert the image, throw some text on top, and... *grins sheepishly* ...take a screenshot of the whole darn thing (crop it after)
Speaking of screenshots:
Yeah, totally ghetto, eh? *shrugs* Funny enough, I've used Photoshop in the past and am pretty decent with it. Oh! You may wanna check out GIMP as well. That sucker's not too bad either. I'm just too lazy to redo them now hahaha.
Hugs,
Ann
ANNIE!!! That's fabulous!!Okay, first I have to ask, were these images photos taken? Here's why I ask is being on a no budget and all, I'll either be taking my own photo or scanning a drawing. Does the size of the original matter?
I downloaded Gimp, but haven't had time to play with it.
Thank you!!
Hugs, Sue
I use Office 2013, but Office 2007 can perform anything I need to write and format books. I experimented with Libre Open Office, but it didn't provide the same degree of freedom to create chapter headers and footers that I wanted, but many books use the same headers/footers through the entire book anyway.Word does permit users to edit images which is needed to create a cover, but it is not designed for graphics -- it would be like using a hammer to turn a screw. Graphic programs are designed for the purpose, but I am comfortable using PowerPoint.
As an aside, I was pleased to learn that Office 2013 new features include overflow from one textbox to another, and the option to rotate textboxes. Before Office 2013, I had to use Publisher to accomplish these tasks. I use these features to create one-sheet chapbooks (search Youtube for "Chapbook folding") which I use as an activity when I speak in public schools, and to promote my published books.
@Miss Sue: Don't worry about budget, ma'am! It cost me $0.00 to whip up that book. I *think* those images are from Unsplash. There are a ton of websites offering free HD stock photos. I believe I saw a thread here recently, but I can't recall where exactly. Sooo you're gonna have to find that yourself, ma'am ^_~Hugs,
Ann
Yes, Annie, there was a thread titled something like, "Stock Photos That Don't Suck" or something like that.Thank you!!
Hugs, Sue
Sue (Dog Mom) wrote: "ANNIE!!! That's fabulous!!Okay, first I have to ask, were these images photos taken? Here's why I ask is being on a no budget and all, I'll either be taking my own photo or scanning a drawing. Doe..."
Virginia posted a great resource for free stock images here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Size matters (yes, I went there...) For a paperback cover you'll want your image to be at least 300dpi, but that could end up making your kindle file bigger than necessary, so what I do is make a high res cover knowing that will be printed, and then I make a lower dpi copy for the ebook.
@Miss Christina: When you say size matters, are you referring to length or width? *wink wink*Annnnd this is how someone gets kicked outta groups XD
Okay... *serious face* ...may I ask why you make a lower dpi for the ebook? I intentionally made it ginormous so that the "look inside" would be shorter *grins sneakily* But...
Is that a bad idea?
Hugs,
Ann
Christina,Thank you for the link!
Dpi... I haven't even dealt with that yet. May I please ask how you change the dpi settings on the image?
Thank you.
A 300dpi 6x9 cover is going to be roughly 5 or 6 MB, which will bloat the size of the ebook file, which in turn will make the delivery fee higher. It's a savings of pennies per book, but they add up. The lowest resolution Amazon recomends (I think) is 72dpi. I did this for my box sets because I knew the covers wouldn't be getting thrown on a paperback and because the collections were going to be huge files as it is. As for how to make the changes... In Gimp it's under advanced settings when you make a new file. My suggestion is youtube tutorials. There's a lot of good info out there.
OH, smack me upside the head!! I actually have a manual for my version of MS Word! I'm sure it's in there. It's upstairs. Will get it later. Back still out. Thank you very much!!HUGE HUGS,
Sad Sofa-Bound Sue
Christina! I forgot about YouTube! Shame on me. I was just using it yesterday trying to learn how to set up a free Weebly website.I plan on making my paperback 5 x 8 because that that size, it will only be around 350 pages long.
Thank you for your great advice!
Hugs, Sue
Sue (Dog Mom) wrote: "OH, smack me upside the head!! I actually have a manual for my version of MS Word! I'm sure it's in there."Hahaha that wasn't a "go get it yourself". That was a "I totally can't remember so you'll have to look" XD
Gingerly hugs Sue,
Ann
Sue - In regards to making covers in word, I do the same thing as Annie, only instead of taking a screenshot I select all, copy, then open in Preview and save from there as I like all the options I get there for adjusting the contrast and brightness and warmth etc, And I have also used photos that I myself have taken before!
No, no, I didn't take it that way. I totally forgot I had a manual, but never had need to look up working with images before.Thank you, Hugs, Sue
Thank you very much, Jane!!Being a dog rescuer, I would never tire of seeing photos of your dogs.
Sue (Dog Mom) wrote: "Thank you very much, Jane!!Being a dog rescuer, I would never tire of seeing photos of your dogs."
You're welcome! I have a LOT of pictures of my doggies, but I try super hard not to bother other people by sharing them all the time, if all my Facebook friends were like you I'd probably post at least a picture a day! Maybe I should use a picture of Ivory and Pearl for a book cover one day, although they don't really go with romantic suspense so I don't think it would work!
Sue (Dog Mom) wrote: "Hi Everyone! I have a few questions about Microsoft Word.In every manual I've read about publishing on KDP and CS, and I've read several, they reference using MS Word 2007.
What versions do you..."
You'll have to double-check the facts to make sure, but I don't think it's the version of MS Word that matters. What they are really after is for the document to be in .DOC format, not the newer .DOCX
The more recent versions of Word will create .DOCX unless you explicitly tell it to use the earlier format when you "Save as".
Ian wrote: "Sue (Dog Mom) wrote: "Hi Everyone! I have a few questions about Microsoft Word.In every manual I've read about publishing on KDP and CS, and I've read several, they reference using MS Word 2007. ..."
Docx is fine. I just think Amazon hasn't updated their guide.
Christina wrote: "Docx is fine. I just think Amazon hasn't updated their guide. "And it's quite possible I just haven't updated my memory. Still working on GreyCells 1.1. Also I might have been recalling something from Smashwords :)
Hi Ian,I misstated. I should have written that all these books teach using MS Word 2007 and show screenshots of 2007. Perhaps that's why the .DOC vs .DOCX file issue was not written about. I didn't know it had to be a .DOC file. I'm sure there are other books that teach using newer version, but not in any I have, prompted me to raise the question Thank you very much for letting me know.
Ian's answer has prompted me to ask another question. We have MS Word 2007 at home. I used 2010 at my last job. If you upload a .DOC file to Amazon, is there any reason to upgrade MS Word above 2007, or are there helpful features that can be used in the newer versions? Thank you.
In every manual I've read about publishing on KDP and CS, and I've read several, they reference using MS Word 2007.
What versions do you use? Is there something specific about version 2007?
I read from Annie and Jane they made book covers from Word? How?
Thank you all!