CreateSpace is just one of the many platforms that writers use when self-publishing. Going for the traditional type of publishing takes so much time and most often it ends up in rejection. This is why most of the budding writers would prefer self-publishing and selling their works on their own through publishing platforms like CreateSpace. These platforms allow the user to create eBooks for Kindle and other electronic readers and to print on demand books.

In formatting with CreateSpace, you need to have the complete copy of the book including the acknowledgment, dedication, contents and others. You also need to ensure that you have set the copy in the ideal font, margin, spacing and other formatting elements. You can also use the templates offered to make it easier. If you wish to skip this hassle, you can always opt to use the professional services of The Fast Fingers Book Formatting Service in preparing your files.

The setup comes after this. This has to do with inputting the contents of your book, deciding on the paper color and book size, and uploading all the files. You can use the templates in CreateSpace in formatting the interior of your book. You can also use a cover tool for creating the cover of your book. There are different solutions that are available for your needs just in case you might need help. Choosing the ISBN is also a part of this step. You can get your own ISBN through CreateSpace for a certain amount. But, if you want to publish your book through traditional publishers sooner or later, you can just skip it.

After completing the previous steps, you can now send the book for review. The CreateSpace review team will check very page of your book that might cause problems during printing. They will e-mail you regarding certain elements that may problems during the final printed copy, like the text, the color and others. You can edit the files in and resubmit them. After doing all the necessary edits, you can have order printed copies of your book and start selling them. If you really want to make sure, you can always ask people to read the printed copy and check for errors and problems. Having multiple reviewers will ensure that no errors can be missed.

Once everything is good, you can now hit approve and start distributing your book. You have to setup the distribution information which includes the price, paper type and the book size. You may also want to use the royalty calculator in order to know how much profit you’re getting. You can sell your book through the CreateSpace eStore. You can decide on which plans to get that allows you to sell the books through different outlets.

These are the steps on how formatting in CreateSpace is done. It doesn’t really take a genius to figure out. When you’re at a loss with self-publishing, you can always read reviews from other people who have experience. It’s definitely worth a try when you want to start on your own.

Self-publishing has made the lives of a lot of aspiring writers easier. With self-publishing, authors can publish their own work, gain profit and maintain their copyright without having to go through the traditional process of publishing. Writers are responsible for the entire production of their books and can choose the way they sell it. Authors can make use of their choice of platforms in self-publishing. There are actually different platforms to choose from. One of the known platforms for self-publishing is CreateSpace by Amazon.

One of the things that self-published writers like about CreateSpace is their royalty. With every book that you sell, you gain a profit, royalty. This royalty depends on the size of your book and the price that you set for it. The royalty is of course already deducted with CreateSpace’s share. So you have to know how CreateSpace calculate their own share to know how big your royalties are.

CreateSpace’s shares consist of the sales channel percentage, fixed charge, and per-page charge. The sales channel percentage is the certain percentage from the list price of your book. The percentage will depend on the channel that you used in selling your book. You can choose from three channels: Amazon.com, CreateSpace eStore, and the Expanded Distribution Channel.  Amazon takes away 40% of every book sale from the price list. CreateSpace eStore, on the other hand, takes away 20%, and the Expanded Distribution Channel takes away 60%. Of course, every channel choice has its own advantages and disadvantages.

The fixed charges that CreateSpace gets are the fees for the book’s interior along with the page count. This will depend on the page count of your book and its color. If your book has 24 to 108 pages with black and white interior, you will be charged $3.66 for ever book and if you have 110 to 828 pages, it will cost you $1.50 per book. For full color books, the prices are different. Full color ones with 24 to 40 pages will be charged $6.55 for ever book, and $1.75 per book with 42 to 500 pages. However, when you are in Pro Plan, a yearly subscription in CreateSpace, you will have discounted fixed charges.

Lastly, with per-page charges, you will have to pay higher costs with more pages. This can also depend on the interior of the book. For black and white books, you won’t be paying a single penny for those with only 24 to 108 pages. However, if you have 110 to 828 pages, you’ll be paying $0.02 for every page. For full-color books, there will be no charges for those with 24 to 40 pages, but with 42 to 500 pages, you’ll have to pay $0.12 per page. Just like for fixed charges, when you are in Pro Plan, you’ll be receiving a discount with your per-page charges.

The good thing with CreateSpace is that you can calculate your earnings beforehand. By using their royalty calculator, you can have a close estimate with how much you’re going to earn when you have published your work. You will have to input your list price, the interior type of your book, the number of pages and the trim size. The calculator will directly give you your possible royalties depending on the channel and your subscription with CreateSpace.

CreateSpace offers a number of tools and services that a lot of authors can make use of. These help in making their work easier as self-publishing requires a lot of task to be done. Editing services are just few of the many services that an author can get from CreateSpace. Under the editing services, you can get three types of paid services: copywriting services, editorial advice, and different editing services.

For copywriting, you can avail the promotional text creation.  For $199, you can already attract your readers by having persuasive descriptions of your book. This can also attract reviewers to your book. A professional copywriter will help in creating a marketing copy that can be very useful in a lot of ways. You can use the promotional text in a lot of different ways like for your own site, back cover and even for a book detail page for your eStore or for Amazon. This service package will provide you with a couple texts like for an author autobiography, a back cover text, and a one-sentence description, a short description, and an extended description of the book.

You can also get an editorial evaluation, if you are in need of an editorial advice. This will provide you an assessment from a professional editor who will give you advice on what steps to take and which parts to improve, depending on your genre. You will also be provided with feedback relating to the weaknesses and strengths of your work. This package will cost you $199. When you avail of this, you will have to answer a few questions that can help the editor in evaluating your work. This will have to deal about your work, its genre and who it is written for.

The last services that you can get are those for editing. There are three services that you can get for editing. These services vary depending on the depth of the editorial process. The first one is the basic copywriting which tackles the technical elements of the work like the consistency, grammar, punctuation and spelling. You’ll be paying $120 for a 10,000-word book. However, when it exceeds that amount, you’ll be paying $0.012 per exceeding word. The comprehensive editing will has the same content as the basic one but with added consideration of the stylistic elements like the tone and the concept of the book. This will cost you $160 for 10,000 words with an additional $0.016 for every exceeding word. The last one is the comprehensive copyediting plus which costs $220 for 10,000 words. This package already includes the technical and stylistic elements, and the composition of the book.

If you are an author who wants to take the route of self-publishing, CreateSpace is always recommended. What’s in store for authors like you when signing up with them? A lot of great features like:

Free Membership – It cost you nothing to join with CreateSpace.

Standard Distribution – This makes your book available in Amazon and your own CreateSpace eStore. We all know what is Amazon right? Amazon makes your book available to millions of customers, and the CreateSpace eStore? It is like your own web site or page with a shopping cart feature which can process orders of your book through credit card. What’s nice with Standard Distribution is, it is FREE!

Expanded Distribution – Aside from Amazon and your CreateSpace eStore, do you want to distribute your book to online retailers, bookstores, libraries, academic institutions in the United States? Expanded Distribution feature of CreateSpace is an additional channel for you to be able to sell your book. Membership is only $25 per year.

ISBN – If you can’t afford a $100 ISBN, then CreateSpace can give it to you for FREE!

These are just few of the features that makes CreateSpace the number one choice in the self-publishing industry. There are actually a lot, online reviewer tool, free cover creator, competetive royalties for authors, great customer service and they have the most helpful community section. If you are new to self-publishing and CreateSpace, make sure to introduce yourself in the community section and you will find a lot of great help there.