Support for Indie Authors discussion

Hey guys! My designer is finally ready to help me get my book cover for print. She's been on maternity leave but now she only has this month to work on my projects or I'll be waiting till late July. I'm trying to give her flawless instructions so we don't waste time (and my money). How can I get the specs on cover requirements for Createspace? I'm on their website and I see the cover creator tool, but I already have an established e-book cover I'm trying to mimic, only now fused with a full wrap. Is that possible with the CS CreatorTool? My font and all?

I need my novel to be a 6x9 tradebook (451 pages) and I was going to get samples from Createspace & Bookbaby. I'd like to go with Createspace if they do a good job and my book is high quality and durable at that fat page count.

Anyone have the link to those specs? I'm assuming it would be a pdf, correct? RGB or other requirements?

Also...has anyone here ever gotten a CS book that fat before? Any problems you foresee for me?

Anywhere I can save money on my design costs I can put toward promotion. My piggy bank is getting lean, LOL.

Thank you for considering helping me! ;)

They have a cover template you can download and provide.

Here's the link to the cover template builder: https://www.createspace.com/Help/Book...

Yes, I've got one that big. No problem. Your designer can just use the template that CS provides, as J. Daniel has linked to. CS was having some problems with the template generator not giving the right bleeds on the spine; I don't know if they've fixed that issue yet or not. If so, then use the Bookow template generator instead.

https://www.bookow.com/resources.php#...

P.D. Workman (Pamela) wrote: " was having some problems with the template generator not giving the right bleeds on the spine; I don't know if they've fixed that issue yet or not."

They haven't as of last week, but there's an easy work around. When you (or the designer) creates the work file, set the dimensions manually using the following data:
300 dpi
Width is the book trim size twice plus spine size (which will show on the template) plus one half inch.
Height is the book trim size height plus one half inch.
Use this as the base, import the template PNG as a new layer and center it. Use all of the guidelines in the layer and you should have plenty of leeway for bleed.

For example, my last book was 6x9 with a .56" spine, so I created a work file with the dimensions of 13.06" by 9.5" and it worked out well.

Excellent advice everyone.

J. Daniel wrote: "Here's the link to the cover template builder: https://www.createspace.com/Help/Book..."

Wow, everyone! Thank you!!! I was at work all day but great to come back and see you guys got me on the right track.

I looked at the Bookow link and will definitely use that for generating the barcode when I get the ISBN :)

Question P.D. and Christina, if we are trying to do the full wrap is it best to use the Bookow template or go with the manual bleed settings Christina suggested?

If I go Christina's route, will my designer, Leah, being downloading the template on that CS link and manually resetting the size in that? OR simply following the guidelines link on that page? Sorry...I am soooo new to this!

Honestly, I know nothing about Bookwow and mine is all trial and error. Usually a designer can create their own template based on the book dimensions (on that page Dan linked, it says how much spine to give per so many pages and what bleed to use. I'm usually a bit conservative with my spines because my first book I ever designed myself had them going over the edge on some printings.

Hi Amie. Have you called CreateSpace? They should be able to assist you as well over the phone.

If you use CS, there's no need to create the barcode. They'll do that for you. The template will show you where it will go so you can make sure it doesn't cover up anything important.

What I do: create and download the template from the page I linked, make everything fit it, then print a proof copy and adjust accordingly. You can mess around on the screen with it all day, but nothing tells you what it's going to look like better than that proof copy.

I prefer the bookow link (posted by a previous poster) since you can also download a PNG of the barcode for free and put it into your template. If you wish, you can even obtain a free bar code with the price component included. Just visit the site, enter the dimensions and page count, paste in your ISBN and download the goodies.

I download the template and open it in GIMP. This way, the template serves as my base and I add layers on top of that to create the cover. Just remember to flatten the image when you export it so you don't get the warning from CreateSpace that your cover "contains transparency layers". They will flatten it for you, but it's annoying.

Also, make sure you adjust the final product's colors for print or your cover might come out too dark. Photoshop Elements is great for that (and is far, far cheaper than Photoshop and is often bundled into camera software anyways so you might get it for free).

I love, love, love GIMP. Awesome tool. You can achieve anything with it.

Thanks guys, this is all very helpful stuff.
I've been debating about whether or not I should create a paperback for my new release. Mostly, I am miserable with technology so have been afraid. I'll check out the links you guys posted.

Thanks everyone! I love the amazing support here.

J. Saman - Good luck on your project too! :)

Amie wrote: "Thanks everyone! I love the amazing support here.

J. Saman - Good luck on your project too! :)"

Thanks Amie! Totally agree with you!!!

I've done it. A couple of words of advice.

1) Use the templates and insert your contents.
2) have two separate word processor files for kindle and createspace editions, the formatting has to be subtly different.

R. wrote: "I've done it. A couple of words of advice.

1) Use the templates and insert your contents.
2) have two separate word processor files for kindle and createspace editions, the formatting has to be su..."

Good to know!! I feel so lost with this stuff sometimes. Thanks!