Have you ever dreamed of publishing your own student ministry book? Not only is this possible through Kindle Digital Publishing [
See original Kindle How-to Article HERE], but you can also publish your youth ministry work as a bonafide paperback book on
amazon.com (and other online retailers).
Here’s how…
1. Write a youth ministry book manuscript.
You can use a previously digitally published youth ministry manuscript, original student ministry blog article compilation, or write new youth ministry content all together. You have something to say… wisdom to contribute… advice to give… so, say it!
Createspace is an Amazon-owned Print-on-Demand publisher. This means that when someone orders your book on the Amazon.com website, they immediately print a copy and ship it to them. You never have to handle inventory or pre-purchase books to resell them. They have an incredibly simple registration process.
3. Go through the Createspace step-by-step book publishing process.
This includes either purchasing your own ISBN number (if you want to show your own publishing company) or Createspace will assign you one for free. I simply chose to have them assign me one for free.
4. Format your manuscript per the Createspace guidelines.
Depending on the size of the paperback book that you wish to publish, you can download Word templates for each size. Just copy and paste your manuscript into the Createspace template and… WALLAH! You now have a correctly formatted book.
5. Design a cover.
You can either pay to have a front and back cover designed for you, or you can use their cover creator tool and design your own cover for free. I took the professionally-designed cover I already had for the Kindle version of my book and tweaked it to fit the Createspace guidelines.
6. Upload your formatted manuscript PDF and cover image.
Once uploaded, it takes 12-18 hours for Createspace to approve your manuscript and cover. They will not copy-edit your manuscript, they are simply approving the FORMATTING of the content.
7. Createspace with either approve your formatting, or tell you what changes you need to make.
I only had to update my manuscript once; however, it took me three iterations to get the cover image approved according to their guidelines.
8. Order a proof copy.
Once your formatting is approved, you can either view a digital proof of your work (for free), or pay $2.15 (plus shipping) for them to send a paperback proof to you for your final approval. It is worth doing both. It helps to see the final product and hold it in your hands to ensure that everything looks good. It takes less than a week to get your proof in your hands (or you can pay for expedited shipping).
9. Choose distribution channels.
While you are awaiting the arrival of your paperback proof, you can choose to make your paperback available on:
-The Createspace store (they will automatically create your own store for you)
-Amazon.com
-Other online retailers (like Barnes & Noble bookesellers).
-Libraries and academic institutions
-Certified independent book resellers
10. Make final corrections.
After reviewing your proof (and having someone else review it as well), be sure to make final corrections for typos, grammar and formatting. Upload your updated content.
11. Approve final proof.
Once you are happy with your final manuscript, you can approve your final proof. Doing so will make your paperback book instantly available in the CreateSpace store for purchase. Your book should show up on amazon.com within 48 hours.
After I approved the final proof, Amazon automatically recognized and synced both pages (the existing Kindle page and new Createspace Paperback page) for my book on their website (it took about 4 days for this process to be completed).
MY FINAL COST TO PUBLISH THROUGH CREATESPACE: $2.15 (+ shipping). It would have been free (had I only chosen a digital proof), but I wanted to hold the proof in my hands and physically see the quality of the product they would be producing. It is just as high of quality as going through a traditional publisher.
