CM Simpson: Writer & Gamer

Once my files have been reviewed, I receive an email letting me know their ready. To get that title out onto the market I take the following steps: I head on over to CreateSpace and log in, select the title whose files are ready and click on it. This takes me to the Project Homepage for that title. Under the Review column, I click on ‘Proof Your Book’, which usually has a note under it telling me ‘Action Required’. This takes me to the ‘Proof Your Book’ page. I usually select the ‘View a Digital Proof’ option. This allows me access to a digital proofer as well as the ability to download a PDF proof, which I can print and go through with a pen, if I wish. I usually just click on ‘Launch Digital Proofer’, although there is also the possibility of ordering a printed proof. After I click on the ‘Launch Digital Proofer’ button, I am taken to a digital proof of the book. By clicking on the ‘Get Started’ button, in the pop-up box that appears after the proof is loaded, I am able to view...

So, in the last two weeks, I have formatted a collection of poetry, a collection of flash fiction and two collections of short stories for print-on-demand release via CreateSpace. It’s not a bad process and there’s a lot to like about it. Firstly, it’s easy and, for the most part, intuitive—especially if you follow the guided instructions. I’ll walk you through what I do, and note where I depart from the guide. Please note that you may want to go about this process differently - and other authors do. I am only sharing what I do and why. I hope it helps. After I have nuked my manuscript (edited and formatted the final draft, added italics markers, and dumped it all into a text document), I make sure I have written a description for the catalogues and saved that in my descriptions file, and that my Author blurb is to hand. Once all that is set up, I start at my CreateSpace dashboard. I click on the ‘Create New’ button in the ‘My Account’ box to the left of the dashboard. I fill ...