Technology and Self-publishing on CreateSpace

Technology amazes me!

My recent encounters with technology made me think of the "Jetsons", an animated science fiction sitcom. When I was a kid, I really thought that at my 40's, my world will that be of the Jetsons'. I'm almost at my golden years, and even though we're not quite at the Space Age or what I call the "Jetsons era", technology had already changed the way we interact with people and how we live our lives.

Who would have thought that you would be communicating with someone  using your smart phones, or have information available 24/7? Who knows, someday there will be a portable scanning machine that will let you know instantaneously what ailments bother your tinker toys.

I just got my iPhone. I resisted getting a smartphone for years, but when my "not-so-smart" phone stopped working, my husband insisted that I get an iPhone -- and I can say that it's the best investment so far! (Although initially, I was so hooked on it that I wasted a lot of time playing with Pinterest, lol!)

iPhone allows me to take pictures, check email, connect with my families in the Philippines through Yahoo Instant Messenger, check the weather, get NYC train routes and view my calendar -- all in this little tiny device.

In the past few months, I also realized that there are plenty of things you can accomplish. The resources are readily available. At first, I was scared at the fact that I didn't know  what was available to me and what I can accomplish on my own. But I was determined and with the help of the internet and a lot of research, I found out that all I needed to do was try.


As Michael Jordan said, 

“Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.”

So two months ago, I gave myself a deadline. I had a dream, and for it to become a reality, I needed to take some action. I was still procrastinating until my husband gave me a definite, non-negotiable deadline. He said, "You have until Thursday. Let's invite a few friends to celebrate the initial publication. You're ready. Just hit that publish button."

Needless to say, the first thing I did was re-format my manuscript for the Kindle eBook publication. Lesson learned: Never manually format your manuscript. If you're using WORD, format your manuscript using the software's formatting tools for paragraphs, page breaks, table of contents and page layout. (NOTE: For eBook publication, Kindle accepts page break and section break. However, Nook only accepts section break)

I researched different ways on publishing the book in paperback, and Amazon.com's createspace caught my attention. Their "human" customer service is so accessible. (You hit "Call me" and sure enough you're phone rings!)

(Here's the link. https://www.createspace.com/Products/Book/ )

So if you have thought of publishing your book, here are a few guidelines.

1) Copyright. Submit your manuscript for copyright. Electronic submission costs $35. It might take 3 months so I suggest you register as soon as you can. Here's the link: http://www.copyright.gov/

2) Decide what publishing name to use. You will need to provide tax information, too.

3) Book Cover. I uploaded a .jpeg format. Read the required dimensions. I was frustrated in figuring out the required dimensions for the placeholder image so I asked the help of my friend, Felicia Kramer of Another Bright Idea. To read more about the requirements, go to this link : https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help?topicId=A2J0TRG6OPX0VM)

4) ISBN (International Standard Book Number). It took a few days for me to decide if I needed to purchase my own ISBN. My answer: I didn't need to purchase one. Amazon and Barnes and Noble provide their own ID# for the eBook versions. And when you publish through CreateSpace, you get their free ISBN. And if you decide to use a different publisher (for later editions), you can then purchase another ISBN.

5) Preview your uploaded manuscript and book cover. eBooks can be previewed before you hit that publish or submit button. Take your time. Check and review all links such as table of contents, "Go-to" links, and page numbers. If there are some issues, you can re-upload the manuscript or the book cover, until you're satisfied.

6) For paperback, you can preview what the book looks like onscreen. (I was so amazed the first time I did it. I would love to learn the design and analysis that went into programming the user-interface!) 

    Once you approved the manuscript, you have to order the proof copies. It takes about a week or two.

    The giddy feeling of getting the first hard copy of the book - priceless! It's like getting your first Christmas or Hanukkah present! Publishing your first book is just the beginning. Marketing is another journey.

The Cranford Public Library is sponsoring a book signing and discussion on Thursday, May 3rd at 7:30 pm.

Here's the link to the event: http://www.nj.com/cranford/index.ssf/2012/04/out_of_status_book_signing_and.html

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. 

Continue to dream BIG and keep smiling!