The frustrations of book setup . . .

If any of you are thinking of publishing a book in print format, be aware that instructions from companies like CreateSpace aren't always what they seem, and you may need to read between the lines to understand them.

Oleg's done a great job of producing a print cover for my first novel.  Last night Miss D. and I sat with him as he fitted it into CreateSpace's cover template, and made sure that everything was working as required.  Unfortunately, when I uploaded the cover, CreateSpace e-mailed back to say that it wasn't correct.  They want text and important images to be inside a 0.5" margin from the edge;  but we'd used a 0.5" margin from the outside edge of the paper, including the 'bleed zone' where trimming might take place.  They wanted a 0.5" margin inside the bleed zone, to allow for any over-trimming and make sure that everything remained readable.  That wasn't clear from their instructions.

I've just had to ask Oleg to put in even more work to modify the cover image, which really scrolls my nurkle.  He's worked hard on this at the expense of his own projects, and I hate to put him to any extra trouble.  Fortunately, he's a great guy to work with, and agreed to fix things at once - thanks, Oleg!

So, if any of you are planning a book project like this, bear in mind that there'll be a learning curve involved, and some of the instructions may be less clear than they seem . . .





Peter