After many requests from readers interested in Eyes of a Pedophile  but not Kindle-savvy or interested in the free app for PC, I decided to look into publishing the book using CreateSpace. This is a POD publisher at Amazon. If you are an author with a book on Kindle and have considered looking for a publisher, check this out. If you already have your book polished and available at Kindle, the step to POD is an easy process. If you aren’t on Kindle, that is okay, too. You can go direct to POD via CreateSpace from a Microsoft Word document.

Once you are happy with the content and all of the nuances of punctuation, indentations, formatting and photos, you must follow their easy step by step process. From a Word document you format it to the page size you have chosen and dual-justify the manuscript. Follow the guide for inserting headers on each page, for example: the book name at the top on the right hand page, and the author name on the left. Insert page numbers likewise, centered on the bottom. The pagination must follow exactly how you want it to look, starting with the title pages on the right. Example: Chapter I, page one, is a right hand page and therefore the formatting tool extends the margin of that page wider on the left side for proper binding and appearance.

If you have photos to insert, they must be at least 300 DPI or they will be fuzzy on the printed page. High resolution digital JPG files are best and will need some adjustment to their format.

An important additional step is conversion of your single front book cover to: front, spine, and back. If you did your own cover, this step will be easy. If you need a consult, return to your designer. I used BlueHeronLoft.com and was very happy with the design, speed, product and cost.

The instructions give you the details on calculating spine size based on exact page count based on the type of paper you choose. Cover design is much easier for printing when you avoid sharp contrasting lines of color at the cutting line.

As you know from the design of your Kindle cover, if that is your starting point, your book should sport a highly readable font with important images and words readable at the 10% -thumbnail size used for display at the Amazon website. This is your time to hone the cover to perfection. It needs to attract attention and at a glance, tell the reader what is inside.

The entire process from a Word file to submission with cover took under 20 hours of time. From the submission point, it was less than 24 hours to hear back from CreateSpace that it had passed file review and was ready to print. I ordered a proof which was printed and shipped within two hours. It arrived three days later.

I am totally pleased with the CreateSpace product, format ease and support. They are available by telephone 24/7 and email questions are quickly answered. The paper quality, binding, color and cover appearance are perfect.

There is no upfront cost. Purchases are handled like any Amazon sale. Royalties are calculated based on the purchase point: Amazon, your website or a distributor (a single $25 fee opens a wider market). You can purchase any number of POD books for your personal use and sales at a markedly reduced cost. However, to gain income from your hard work, the price you choose for the hard cover book will have to be set higher than the Kindle price by about double.

I am currently completing the corrections from the proof and will let you know when the book is available POD.  Soon, very soon.