CreateSpace works! So crazy!

20 Comments 17 November 2011

Last week I wrote a post about how I uploaded The 11 Secrets of Getting Published to CreateSpace, Amazon’s physical book printing arm.. I also uploaded Live Uncaged.

Well, they’re quick, folks! Yesterday I received a box with both my proofs inside. How exciting! Both of these books have only existed in cyberworld, so to hold them in my hands felt truly sweet and amazing!

What surprised me:

Apparently my PDF files of the inner words worked because they both look great.
The 11 Secrets Cover looks amazing in real life. A huge thanks to Tekeme Studios for another great design.
The Live Uncaged cover is a bit pixilated, but that’s because the cover was originally intended for e print only. Still, it looked really good.
How quickly Amazon was able to turn around the copies.
How amazing it felt to hold those books!

Curious? Here’s how they look:

Both covers side by side.

11 Secrets in the flesh.

The back of 11 Secrets (never seen before!). I’m thankful for George’s drawing of me! How fun!

The interior of 11 Secrets.

The back of Live Uncaged.

The innards of Live Uncaged.

The next step in the process is proof these, make changes, then publish them. I think I’ll be creating Live Uncaged in a smaller format, and I realized I forgot page numbers. Other than that, this has been a much easier process than I anticipated.

So my question to you is what is holding you back? What would it hurt to try CreateSpace if anything just to receive a proof and hold your book! There is virtually no risk other than paying about $6 for the proof. Click the link below to get started right now!

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http://twitter.com/RobinBryce RobinBryce

If you don’t mind my asking, about how much did it cost to hold that book in your hand?

http://www.marydemuth.com Mary DeMuth

About $6.

(But keep in mind, I did pay someone to do the cover.)

http://twitter.com/thegospelwriter Wanza Leftwich, TGW

Mary!!

CreateSpace.com is definitely the way to do. I used them as well for a client. Easy, fast and so professional. The proofs are AMAZING. My client’s cover can be found here – http://www.tinagates.blogspot.com. I will be using CreateSpace for my Faith & Fertility ebook as well as my other books! The books look great! Let me know when they’re ready – I’d love to order the hard copies!

http://www.marydemuth.com Mary DeMuth

Thanks Wanza!

Anonymous

Thank you so much for letting us in on your experience Mary! Very exciting option!!

http://www.marydemuth.com Mary DeMuth

I so agree!

http://successbeginstoday.org/wordpress John Richardson

I published with them in 2009. They had very few instructions on the website at the time and very little customer service. I had to order three proofs to get the formatting right, but the finished product has been great. They have added a lot of hand holding features now which should make it easier for the first time author. Overall, they are a great resource.

http://www.marydemuth.com Mary DeMuth

Yeah, things have changed a lot. It’s very user friendly with lots of tutorials. What I like is that I didn’t have to use a tutorial. It was pretty instinctual.

http://www.inamirrordimly.com Ed_Cyzewski

I had a similar experience for my self-published book A Path to Publishing. When I ordered a case of 25 books, I did notice that the colored spine was off a little on some copies and the glue job on the cover left a ridge on a few copies, but otherwise, the books look great and the interior was perfect.

I try to avoid spending all of my money at Amazon. I own a Nook to keep one company from controlling all of publishing, but when it comes to self-publishing, I have no qualms with using CreateSpace.

http://www.marydemuth.com Mary DeMuth

Thanks for sharing your experience, Ed. I’m glad your books came out well.

http://www.facebook.com/cegesmith Cege Smith

When I first decided to go down the indie publishing path, I thought that my journey was going to be all digital/ebook based because of the expense of POD. But then I heard about the Createspace option, and I have been willdly thrilled! It was obscenely fast, and the cost to have a small inventory on hand really is minimal. (Now I can I sell autographed copies for Christmas gifts!) This is a fantastic option, and the formatting part wasn’t that painful at all. Congrats on your books!!

http://www.marydemuth.com Mary DeMuth

I echo what you say, Cege. I’m very happy with the process. And I’m surprised.

Patricia W Hunter

Mary, those are beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing your writing journey with the rest of us.

http://www.marydemuth.com Mary DeMuth

Thanks Patricia!

Kathy

Beautiful! I’m excited for you and thrilled to know that CreateSpace works so well. I recently got a kindle and am reading your E-Books and I love it, but there’s nothing better than the “real” thing. Awesome work!

http://www.marydemuth.com Mary DeMuth

Thanks Kathy! It’s been a really fun journey.

http://www.LeslieWilson.com Leslie Porter Wilson

Amazing job, Mary! The books look great; I can’t wait to see them in person today. You’re a great example to us all of using the talents God’s given you. Thanks for never, never, never burying them! So excited for this new product.

http://www.marydemuth.com Mary DeMuth

Thanks Leslie! Great to see you today!

http://puttinggodfirstplace.com/ Ashley Wells

I was also very pleased with how quickly CreateSpace sent my proof as well! A few months ago I turned my ebook into print through them. That feeling of holding it the first time, was wonderful!!! And, really, the whole process was so simple!