Book Formatting, Print on Demand Questions

[Daniel]

I have a cover image and my text formatted in Word. I’m wondering what the next step is to get physical copies of my book. Do I go straight to CreateSpace or Book Baby and give them those items? Or do I find someone who is an expert at formatting and pay him or her? I don’t think there’s much to it, but it’s important to me that my book looks the same as a traditionally published book. I’m also interested in specific recommendations. Thanks.

[J.L.]

There’s more to it than you probably realize.

You should get a cover designer to ensure your cover looks the best it can be and is formatted properly for ebook and paperback. You should also hire an editor to ensure your story is error free.

As for formatting the inside, Word will likely not transfer over perfectly and you will still need to tweak it.

I highly recommend Vellum for formatting your text. It’s pricey but so worth the time (and headache) it saves you in formatting your text. I know. I’ve done it with and without Vellum and I’ll never go back to formatting without it.

(Vellum is made for Mac, but I’ve seen some people say they found a way to use it on a PC.)

Also, I don’t believe Create Space is around anymore. They were bought out by Amazon KDP.

Finally, check out this article that may be helpful to you at this stage of your writing: 3 Self-Inflicted Wounds Made by Most Indie Authors

https://medium.com/@j.l.pattison/3-se...

[Daniel]

Thank you for your post. I have already paid for a book cover. I have the files for a physical book and e-book, and I can go back to them any time I need to. I've paid for an editor, who did manuscript, copy, and line editing. What I wonder about Vellum is, if I'm going to pay $250 to format my text, wouldn't that be about the same rate I'd pay a professional to do it for me? Do you like it better because it gives you control when you initially publish, or because you want to change something after initial publication and don't want to have to pay a professional again? In my case, I'm only thinking about this one book, and I don't know where $250 is compared to getting a professional. And finally, once I get the format correct, is that when I'd go to BookBaby or Amazon KDP and submit it? Thanks.

[J.L.]

With Vellum you can format over and over again. As many times and as many books as you want. If you make any changes or updates to any of your books you can format them again without having to send it to be formatted again.

Formatting more than one book makes the $250 price point a little more palatable, so if you only plan to do one book, you can either use a formatter or buy the cheaper version of Vellum for formatting only one book.

Yes, once all your formatting is done, that’s when you submit it to the publisher of your choice.

Great job on getting a book cover designer and editor. Far too many writers don’t do that and it hurts their sales.

[Daniel]

Thanks again for your input, J.L. Does anybody have experience with paying for this kind of work that they would like to pass on?

[C.S.]

I know it's a little pricey, but I have both my covers and formatting (e-book and paper) done by Mountainview Books, LLC. They are great to work with and do an awesome job. I just posted a cover reveal on my facebook page C. S. Wachter if you want to see the latest cover they did for me.

[Daniel]

Thank you. I think first I'll check with the folks who did my cover and see if they offer that service. Miblart. They did a great job.

[Stan]

C.S. wrote: "I know it's a little pricey, but I have both my covers and formatting (e-book and paper) done by Mountainview Books, LLC. They are great to work with and do an awesome job. I just posted a cover re..."

Great looking cover!