My first proof is on it's way of my first novel.  After I uploaded the formatted text at least ten times using Word 2016, I have vowed NEVER AGAIN!  I will find a program that actually works and stays with what is it styled to do!  OH YES BEFORE I FORGET, YES, THERE IS A WAY TO GET A PRINT PROOF OF PDF USING WORD IN 2016. IT IS NOTHING LIKE  all the previous Word programs and it sucks!

And by the way, if you save as a PDF make sure you go under file into SAVE and click EMBED FONT....you also need to go into POTIONS, ADVANCED and make sure you click High Fidelity or it will revert you images to a lower DPI which CreateSpace will reject.  As it is, if you save as PDF it may reject it while if you go into PRINT, THEN BELOW THE PRINT BUTTON open what printer, but instead select from the drop down menu PRINT TO PDF and it will ask you to save.  Now it may not matter with Word, however in some software it is really important to make sure there are no spaces between the words you title you file and no funny symbols!  Keep it simple.

AND BE AWARE, EVERY TIME YOU OPEN WORD, THERE IS NO GUARANTEE YOUR style settings and the other above boxes you need to check, will still be checked!  WHEN YOU OPEN WORD, CHECK EVERYTHING!

It isn't that createspace it overly fussy, and it isn't that they have a really complex set up for creating your book, it is just that you will need margins and you will need page numbers, etc.  You can download one of their basic or blank templates, however it won't be fancy.  But that is up to you.

One thing that is very disconcerting with the reviewer you have with CreateSpace, is there is lines around the pages you put in  the interior.  I looked everywhere to ask if these are bleed lines or just suggested Margins lines to make sure photos or images don't go beyond this point.  NO ONE REALLY SEEMS TO KNOW!  THE ONLY WAY TO SEE WHAT YOUR BOOK WILL LOOK LIKE IS TO JUST ORDER A PROOF COPY. IT ISN'T LIKE YOU NEED TO UPLOAD IT IMMEDIATELY!!!  I would not trust the reviewer.  And there can be mistakes so go through and check every page!
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I would suggest you take your time and make sure the finished product is what you want before you go all hog wild and put it out there.  I expect I will get maybe three proof copies before I am satisfied with the formatting.  Sad part is, I took screen shots of all my settings in Word because next time I open it, it will likely be different!  Hard to revise a book when your starting from scratch.

A few things to check for after you convert to PDF if you use this is:
-  Did the PDF end up making your book fewer pages?  If so, make sure every page has text on it since if it was at the end of a chapter, there may have been only a few lines. You don't want blank pages!
- Make sure all your Headers and Footers have the same in book....you will have to put in page breaks so that you have a new chapter and if you want the page number on beginning of chapters in a different place, you will have to check boxes, make sure those boxes were checked....look at page numbers in your PDF!
-  Make sure margins are consistent through-out
- Try to stay away from Tabs, in word, go into Paragraph when you modify style and set indent from there.  I did around 4 for mine, some do more or less.  About 1/2 inch.
- Remember any time you change even the tiniest thing in a formatted book, it will change everything so you have to check end of chapters every time.
- And be prepared for whatever you get when you upload.  Very few folks ever get the interior right the first time.

There are free word processing programs out there that are not too bad...you need to just surf around and find what works for you.  And be aware, many of these places where they offer to give you a package deal to get your book out there, are crooks!  Do it yourself and save yourself the cash.

Also be aware, if you use a ISBN number from createspace, it is like saying the work is from Createspace.  In Canada, you can order your own really easily and it is free!  This way, when it is scanned, it is saying it is yours!  You can get free programs that will also convert your number and provide a bar code.  Just so you know.

It is a difficult process the first time.  I think I made every mistake you can make, however the next one will be much easier!
Next blog will be on making your own cover and what I discovered there!

It has been awhile since I have written.  A few new learning hurtles to get over...and realizations to make!  
Recently everyone has been going on about how great self publishing is.  And don't get me wrong, it is an option, and a good one, however like in my recent experience of young people getting their training to teach English over seas, the thing is, it isn't about just the travel, YOU ACTUALLY HAVE TO TEACH.  If you don't like children or the school system or having to mark papers or manage children, well, it may be a great way to get there, but it is still part of the package.

The same can be true of self publishing.  I spent DAYS working with Word 2016 and I tell you, IT WAS NO EASY PROCESS!  I looked at You tube videos, however most were older versions of word and in the new Word it may be more sleek looking, but the price you pay for this, is buttons moved (or removed!), steps replaced with more non-intuitive ones and just generally a pain in the ass program if you want it for the nitty gritty, After in the word self publish, there is the word SELF!

The biggest thing I learned about formatting a book, is TO START WITH THE BIGGER PICTURE.  Get the pages you want, and the order they need to be in, FIRST before you start editing.  (look at books!). Then deal with the page breaks..( section breaks are NOT the same as page breaks!) and remember there is a button to LINK page numbers or NOT to link page numbers!  When you start dealing with page numbers and author or title names in the headers and footers, being able to unlink to pages that you don't want these on, as well as section breaks is important!  Just like section breaks are important if you don't want anything on the first page of each chapter!  The basic template in Createspace has page numbers at the bottom...but many books have the page number next to the author (even pages) and title (odd pages) which is what I wanted, and the first page of each chapter , have the number at the bottom.  I got it but it took a while to figure out!   Look for the three little boxes and make sure you check or uncheck them as needed...what boxes?  Even and odd and also the one different first page.  The bottom one is on linked or not.  Oh yes, there is a page break button in one place however to do section breaks I believe it is layout you need to go to. Top of a list of three in the middle of the bar list.

And always use the edit buttons!  If your working with styles, and you want it set up for the next book, do everything the same way and edit with the edit buttons in pages or headers for instance, even inserting a picture...this way, when you go to make a PDF, it will not go nuts on you!  

So once again, I learned a few things the hard way.  For instance, did you know that if you create a style in word, rather than modify an existing style, often it will revert back to the original if you copy and paste the file.  Or that it may just randomly do it anyhow?  Or that you have to be VERY careful with the difference between page breaks and section page breaks.  And whatever you do, make sure if you replace a page break with a SECTION page break, you are sure to take the old one out!

I learned these things after days of things moving around, reverting, and just generally following no predictable pattern at all. After doing more research, it wasn't just me, Word is very glitchy and doesn't stay consistent for long if there is even one error in how you use it!  

I also learned, after watching a ton of videos, that there is a million different ideas out there on what size a margin should be and a header from the top of the page, even the size; is it 6.25 or is it 6 in and 6 x 9 book?  Word doesn't allow for bleeds however now, Createspace has a size of a little above 6 x 9 to accommodate this rumour which is likely correct. Oh yes, everyone on You Tube shows your as if they are an expert!  Make up your own decisions and don't assume anything on You Tube is accurate!

Then there is the whole legal issues of Fonts...what is free and what is REALLY free.  Free for personal use is NOT the same as free for Commercial use!  Good to know. I suspect most fonts on Createspace are purchased for use, so I MAY BE WRONG, but if it is on Createspace's templates, it likely is legally safe to use it.  There is also a good chance if you have Word and Photoshop than you legally have use of their fonts, but again, for commercial use, not so sure.  I hunted around, did the research and found a few places where you can BUY fonts or get free ones good for commercial use...I hope.  Did my best, and the odds of anyone being picky are small, but who knows?  Better safe than sorry.  These days ignorance is NOT bliss!

Lastly fonts...what is the correct font to use? So first, what is serif mean and what does sans-serif mean?  Well think of old and fancy...with more added but the name is smaller!  Here is an image...

Serf is what is considered the best for text on paper, while sans serif is considered the best on screen.


Common and old stand by fonts for text in a book is Garamond, and Times New Roman.  The new font that is considered modified and good for both on screen and off is Georgia.  Of course there are zillion of other fonts out there. Look at books, and decide for yourself.  As a self publisher you get to decide how your book looks. That is one of the perks!  I put my dedication at the END of my book and my disclaimer on the FIRST PAGE!  My choice.
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So what about using real names of locations or a food chain, how does that work?  Tricky!
And of course, everyone will tell you different things, SO GO TO A PROFESSIONAL.  Don't believe everything you hear! If you are not saying anything BAD about the place, then fine, otherwise, be careful.  Don't forget the disclaimer anyhow no matter what.

I also realized when I made a copy of what I did, many of my modified styles started to revert however if you click on modify, and see it is what you set it to, and close again, it will probably re-apply...otherwise do the modify again.  I am taking screen shots of all my modifies to make sure I have them for the next book!

The other thing is if you are old school, and type and leave two spaces.  Now it is only one.  So just use the search and replace .  type into the find by hitting the space bar twice and in the replace, hit the space bar once and then hit, replace .... make sure it works before doing the rest!

And getting rid of paragraphs...oh la la! What a pain in the ass that was!  Found it though. I googled in every way, shape and form, finally while just playing around with it, I found it.  Use FIND AND REPLACE.  In the find space you need to put in a paragraph mark (go to advanced or whatever it is in the find and place sectional box...click til you find the drop down for special marks I think it is called)...select the paragraph mark THEN HIT THE SPACE BAR and add another paragraph mark...>...one of these is in it...anyhow, in the replace, just put in the paragraph mark again.  If you don't hit the space bar in the find section, you will loose your indent and everything will run together.  I did a style modification before hand to get the indent.

I learned all sorts of little things like this.  It was really not easy.  So much has been removed from Word, as I said, nothing user friendly about it.  I was reading it is said folks only use a little of Word, and no wonder why.  So not intuitive at all. It was obviously modified by folks who already knew how to use it so loosing a command here or there, wasn't a big deal, but they made a real boo boo with so many folks going into writing their own books and self publishing them.

Oh yes, if you use the latest version of you pdf to edit, make sure you put the highlights right on the pdf and not make notes on a piece of paper like I did...I had what page and paragraph BUT THE PARAGRAPHS AND PAGES MOVE when you make edits.

Also, if you have the choice between a PC and a Mac to use Word for formatting, use the PC.  There is just too much missing on the Word for Mac.

Lastly, you can use a word document to upload to Createspace, however, A PDF is fixed and much safer.  Word does not stay put as I mentioned.  And Word Publisher is terrible for formatting.

You can use free online software to formate you book. but I had Word so that is what I used.

Good luck and hang in there.
PS  I have included a few helpful links...BUTTONS BELOW.

My manuscript has to be written once, the reading and editing have gone on over and over.  So, what is the best approach to editing?

I have been hearing other writers processes for editing.  Some seem to do it many times and some seem to do it only a few times.  Some writers have an editor and some don't.

To date I have had three people edit my book...mainly for typos but the first also did many over-all transitions and plot line comments.  The second did mainly proofing and the really nitty gritty of style and the third did more about anything in the plot line that seems wishy washy or not real enough.  

I took all into account and of course, made changes based on their suggestions.  A few times if it didn't seem relevant or where I wanted to go, then I didn't use that suggestion.  Simple.  My manuscript and I have the final say which is very nice.  I believe quite different than if an outside editor does in when you have a contract with a publishing house.

I shall be going to hear two authors debate about which is better, online publishing or self publishing.
As someone who has approached with children's books and come very close to being published, I am well aware of the expense of going this route.  The simple truth is I simply cannot afford an agent or the expense of approaching authors so I am very happy and grateful to have publishing on demand and on line publishing.  And it isn't like the old vanity press, it is much easier and far cheaper but you still can get a book out there.  And Amazon is the biggest bookstore/search engine for books out there I believe.  So what the hell.  I may not make much money, but at least I can say and hold a book I wrote.  That is the great thing about it.  It gives anyone the opportunity to get something out there even if they aren't rich or have contacts.

As for the editing, I am going to settle with one editor now that I know more about the whole writing process and what there is to look for in a story since before I was just fumbling around in the dark.  I think now, instead of three read throughs, I will do one in the beginning and then an editor, then another read through, print off and review.  As it stands now I shall have had three different edits, I have read through twice and will have to go over again and proof my hard copy proof so oh joy oh bliss!  This is not a mistake I shall make again.  My latest run through has been to make style choices on internal verses external dialogue and whether I will italics or put anything in quotation marks, indeed what I will put in quotation marks and if anything will be in large print or italics.  This all may sound easy, however there is a lot of nitty gritty things like a titbit or a tidbit.  The first is British and the second Canadian and American.  Who knew?  Canadians spell some words with a "z" while others spell it with an "s".  And so on.  Decisions, decisions.  Questions like which words get hyphens and which words don't and which words are compound.  Of course, those decisions are usually made by the editor of a publishing house, however if you are just folks learning and doing, it means coming up with steadfast and consistent rules.  Now that I have made up my mind on style, it is much easier to be consistent and do research on the style when you need it.  My problem is, I didn't know enough about the different styles to know which one to choose so my main editor couldn't be consistent.  Now we both have learned things.  That is the fun part of working with an editor who is also growing.  She may not be professional anymore, but she is still getting current and good.  Which means she is also flexible.  It makes me feel like I have some say in the editing process.  Now though, since we both have discovered what is required to be consistent, next book will go much faster and I am determined to have fewer run throughs.  Choosing Canadian may seem the logical choice but who said anything about logic when your a writer?

Getting there but now time to pull it all together.  As an visual artist I learned a long time ago, having an idea is great, getting it on the canvas and blocked in is wonderful, but the real work comes with pulling it all together, and it is, as I am finding, no different when writing a book.  This can be a stage that many writers can fall down with...so they write a book and spend 25 years editing it!  I have heard this!  So keep on, Yes it takes time, but it is just part of the process and one every writer has to deal with.