Goodreads Authors/Readers discussion

For those who have used CreateSpace, how did it workout? I’m trying to go through the book setup steps, and keep getting alerts for my cover specs. They seem to require all your graphics fit their cover design requirements. I’ve emailed them and told them it would be fine to leave off part of my DNA molecule on the right side. Somehow their criteria won’t allow for this request. See cover for “The True Virus” below:
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/28555643...

I've been using Createspace for a while, and it's been a very good experience. The setup is easy (and it's hard to beat the price). The mechanism for getting one's books available on amazon in both print and kindle is very nice and their whole process has been incredibly user-friendly.

That being said.

The biggest difficulty we've had with any of the books I've published through them (going on #3 now), has been the cover. We design and create the covers ourselves, and have had issues with "transparencies" and "bleed area" on almost every cover.

So far, it hasn't been that big of a deal (thankfully, I have very talented artists/graphic designers/web-understanding people in my family... I'd be totally lost without them). But, it is a headache when you're in the midst of it (we are, with cover #3 right now, so I can completely empathize with your frustration).

Their system is almost completely automated, which is why you have to make sure that your cover is the correct size when you submit it. You should be able to find this simply by typing "cover template" into the "search" bar up in the top right hand corner of their site after logging into your dashboard. You can enter your book's specifications, and they will provide you with an instant-tailored-to-your-book template for the dimensions your image should be.

Question: are you using their "cover creator" or are you simply trying to upload a .pdf? I've never used their cover creator... but the upload for the .pdf has been fairly frustration-free in the past, as long as the image is sized correctly.

Not sure if that answers your question... at all. LOL :-/

That happened with one of my covers and I ended up putting a black border around the whole picture. They took that and the border didn't show. I now let Patti Roberts of Paradox Cover Designs do all of my covers. they all fit perfectly. She is very reasonable.

Createspace has been fantastic for me. The printing costs are the best that I have found and for bulk orders, I can ship directly to the book store.

Charles, they're probably rejecting your cover because your name at the bottom is too close to the sides and bottom. I've had the same trouble, too. You can do like Peggy and just add to the border to push the letters from the edges, or you can move the font on the cover. I've had many headaches with that, and for book 3 I hired an experienced cover artist for 60 bucks. She had saved the pic in layers so she could change it more easily. Even with her I made sure the cover uploaded properly before paying, because I've had too much trouble with that.

I agree, it took me a whole day of tweaking to get my book cover approved...the templates that they provide are very helpful for Photoshop.

I had a little trouble with my first cover, but after a few runs at it, I had no trouble. It's all in how you prepare the cover; designing it with Createspace's limitations in mind.

I used CreateSpace's templates from the beginning and have yet to have a cover rejected.

I had a few issues with covers, but I've got a fair amount of experience with advertising artwork and the like, and my sister-in-law designs book covers for a living, so it was fairly straightforward.

I'm pretty chuffed with Createspace so far, I'll certainly use them again for future projects!

Update:
I used CreateSpace cover creator. I picked “The Palm 6X9” template. Since I had both my front and back covers as “jpg” files, I was able to download them into this blank template. The problem I kept having was with my graphics crossing into the bleed area. I had to put a 0.5’ border around my covers so they would be accepted. I also reduced the font size for my name. I now have my new thriller novel, “The True Virus” accepted by their reviewers. I’m now waiting for my proofs to arrive so I can approve them and have my book available on Amazon.

Jenelle wrote: "had issues with "transparencies" and "bleed area" on almost every cover."

I had that same problem, even though I used their template and made sure in Photoshop that the specs were *exact.* I was certain it would be fine, but they still said transparencies (which were impossible with flattened layers, I would think) and bleed, but, at least they said that they had adjusted these things and/or they did not affect significant areas.

Does anyone know an easy to use resource that explains how to bypass this problem, and maybe how to adjust the colors so that Amazon doesn't make them way darker than the submitted image?

The preview of the Kindle version clearly shows a guy holding a gun on the cover. It's a bit darker on the preview of the paperback, but the actually paperback is so dark, you can't even tell it's a gun. There's a suggestion that he's holding something.

Should I just submit the image so that it looks too light, knowing their going to darken it, or am I using RGB when I should be using CMYK, or something like that?

Aside from the cover issue, and confusing myself with page numbers, my experience with CS has been great.