PUBLISHING ON KINDLE/CREATESPACE FOR PRINT

The formats for ereaders and printed-on-demand print books are different.

The Kindle format is derived from the Mobipocket reader; it is mostly a subset of HTML packaged in a certain way. Most of the other ebook formats are based on EPUB, which is also HTML packaged in a different way. For details see this wikipedia article.

CreateSpace and the other POD publishers mostly use the PDF format.

There are services you can use to turn a Word or other word processor format into the three formats. Some services will turn a PDF book into the .mobi and .epub format, but they are not perfect. Especially if your book has a complicated structure and content.
The following is the method I use. Others in this thread will doubtless use different methods or (more likely) variations of this method.

I use Word to write my books and shorter works. Since I use CreateSpace for my POD versions I set the page setup to the trade paperback size I prefer and format the content exactly the way I want it to look when converted to PDF. This includes headers, footers, page numbering, margins, line spacing, fonts, and so on.

I use Word styles for this. Which means I can change it to the submission format preferred by the editors of most trade publishers of books and magazines and thus by agents (double-spaced, etc.) simply by changing the style. But my gives me a feel for the pacing of my book once printed and the visual appeal of the page.

Then I create a PDF output format using Word and submit that to CS. The very limited typesetting abilities of Word suit my purposes. But if your book has a complex format, images, tables, decorative elements, and so on you probably should hire a professional typesetter to create the PDF. (You can buy the typesetting software and do it yourself but typesetting is both an art and a craft; few of us can do that and not create a blah or error-full mess.)

I also create an HTML output format, again using Word. That goes into a program called Sigil, which creates an .epub format book. This goes to B&N and Apple.

I run the .epub through Calibre to create the .mobi format book. This goes to Amazon. (You can create the Kindle format first and create an .epub from it, but there are technical and practical difficulties with that.)
The first time you do this the method you use (mine or others) the process may seem very complex and difficult. But each time it becomes easier. By the tenth time it may be almost automatic.

Along the way you will learn ways to ease the process. For instance, instead of creating the Word file as one huge file I create one for each chapter and one each for the cover, front matter like title page and disclaimers and dedication, foreword, afterword, and "other books by" list.

You don't need an ISBN for a kindle edition. Amazon will provide its own identifying number, the ASIN. I've never used Createspace but I think you're right that they will provide the ISBN for you if you want.

Which sounds worst to you, the hours of self-inflicted torture involved in using Word for typesetting (which it's not really designed to handle), teaching yourself the basics of InDesign (which is an actual document design/typesetting program, unlike Word) and renting it via Creative Cloud for a month or so, or paying a designer several hundred bucks to do it for you?

I'm a designer and I do typesetting on occasion, and even though it's involved and time-consuming (and therefore expensive), it's awesome (for both me and the author) to turn a Word doc into a print book that's virtually indistinguishable from a trade-pub on the inside. If you can afford it, a professional typesetting (and cover design) job for your print book is totally worth it.

Alice Xavier said:

Which sounds worst to you, the hours of self-inflicted torture involved in using Word for typesetting (which it's not really designed to handle), teaching yourself the basics of InDesign (which is an actual document design/typesetting program, unlike Word) and renting it via Creative Cloud for a month or so, or paying a designer several hundred bucks to do it for you?

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NO hours of self-inflicted torture involved in using Word for typesetting. The process was easy, the results adequate for my purposes.

I've used LaTex, Quark XPress, InDesign, and Serif for complex technical documents at NASA and later Boeing. All take time to learn and are clumsy in different ways to use. The best in my experience so far is Serif, balancing the various needs of learning time, cost, and ease of use.

If you do buy a typesetting program, consider not only dollar cost, but also the documentation you can get on how to use it. A good book can save you hours and days and lots of frustration.

Laer Carroll said:

NO hours of self-inflicted torture involved in using Word for typesetting. The process was easy, the results adequate for my purposes.

I've used LaTex, Quark XPress, InDesign, and Serif for complex technical documents at NASA and later Boeing. All take time to learn and are clumsy in different ways to use. The best in my experience so far is Serif, balancing the various needs of learning time, cost, and ease of use.

If you do buy a typesetting program, consider not only dollar cost, but also the documentation you can get on how to use it. A good book can save you hours and days and lots of frustration.

Click to expand...

I've worked with Word for massive NASA contract proposals and other such complicated documents and it sucked ass, mostly because of Word. I'd take InDesign over Word for any type of heavy-duty document design any day. Granted, I come already knowing InDesign, so for a newb like the OP, the best option (if she wants a decent-looking book in within a reasonable time frame) is to just hire it out or drop her text into the Createspace Word template and try not to break it in the process. It's bland and basic, but perfectly serviceable for text-only fiction content.

I'm going to second Alice's comments. If you can afford it, use a professional designer for the interior layout and design. When people who don't know what they're doing try to use automated programs to format for print, it comes out looking very amateur.

An experienced professional can be expensive, but it's worth it. Especially if you decide to use another printer (besides CS) down the line. Having your work properly formatted can save a headache.

Not saying you can't do it yourself, I'm sure a lot of people do, and do so successfully. But you'll need to learn the professional programs, and use them (i.e. buy them or a subscription to them) and that's not cheap either.