I'm also surprised how this video got few views, and the number of subscribers too ; you're a great artist, drawing without any sketch. Lot of good information in this video, thank you Craig
Thanks for saying that Malika, I appreciate that. Videos get views based on how often TH-cam recommends them to people. And the TH-cam algorithm bases it's decision to recommend a video on how long people are watching the video for, as well as how many people are liking it. The more watch hours and likes a video gets, the more TH-cam recommends it. And the more people that see your videos, the more subscribers you get. So it's all interconnected. So if people aren't watching the video for very long, or aren't liking it after watching it, TH-cam stops recommending it. Therefore no views and no subscribers. My channels growth is entirely in the hands of people like you, so I'm glad you watched the video Malika. Now if you'd like to help my channel get discovered by more people, then simply "like" and "comment" on all of the videos that you've watched and enjoyed. Doing that alone will have a huge impact on the growth of my channel.
I’m surprised this video doesn’t have more views. It is very fast paced, maybe too much so, but there is also a wealth of information. Your artwork is really beautiful. I myself would like to try designing journals and/or notebooks, this video has both inspired and scared me. Thank you .
I'm glad it inspires you and don't be scared. Once you've gone through the process one time, it will become like second nature to you. I'm sure you'll make beautiful journals.
Thank you for this. I work with these programs. And I would like to step into KDP. But most everything I’ve found in canva or book bolt, etc related. This helps me understand what to expect via these programs again thank you 🙏🏼
By the way You are the only one that mention that KDP is not accepting your PDF bleed. Do you think is better to upload .Doc ? I use very rudimentary tools like google docs, I don't pay for microsoft lol I rather pay any other software! I make low content journals in canva but I still don't find the best place to resize my written books, I prefer in 6 x 9 but I can only download 8.5 by 11 Letter. Do you have any suggestion? Thanks :) and great channel! I really appreciate you efforts and detailed explanations.
First you definitely do not want to up load a .doc, stick with the PDF. If you haven't watched my video on margins and bleeds, watch it, it may help you out. You can find it here: th-cam.com/video/_hMj7PkXRXc/w-d-xo.html As for alternative software, I don't use Microsoft either, I'm an Adobe guy and prefer InDesign for creating books. A cheaper alternative to Adobe InDesign is Affinity. It's about $75 (one time fee): affinity.serif.com/en-gb/ If you're looking for FREE software, try Scribus: www.scribus.net/
Thanks for the video! Some good info here. A MUCH easier way to apply your content to all of your pages in Indesign is to simply create a master page and apply it to all of the pages that you want to match/be the same. Not necessary to copy and paste-in-place.
I know. I actually did a few things in this video that I could have done much easier. But when you're recording a tutorial, your mind is focused purely on the things you want to get across, and you sometimes forget about the short cuts you use day to day. But I'm getting better. In my earlier videos I would use hot keys without even knowing it and then after watching the video realize that the audience wouldn't have any idea of what I was doing to make the function happen. At least I've stopped doing that.
Thank you so much! Super informational video. I have a quick question. Indesign has a bunch of fonts, do we have download free fonts from those websites you mentioned, or is it ok to use Indesign fonts to print in KDP?
Awesome video. I've been paying for Adobe cc for years and hardly use it but definitely need to learn and use it more. Great tutorial. Just subscribed.
You definitely need to watch more tutorials, there is so much you can do with that Adobe subscription. I'll be doing tutorials for other Adobe software in the future as well.
@@CraigBabin yeah I agree. My problem is I'm lazy and use easier but definitely not as good options just because it's quicker than me learning. I have every intention to learn and thats why I continue to pay it.... I need to learn.
@@CreateWithJay Once you start to regularly use the Adobe pipeline (all of their products together), the creation process will become faster, than the ways you use to think were quicker. Just keep at it.
This is fabulous. Thank you. I have spent hours searching and I am grateful I found your very informative videos. This is very clear and all you have to do is press pause! Just a question. If I am setting up a 200 page journal with bleed. Do I still do the internal file with margins with.5 inch and .75 for the gutter?
For a 200 page journal .5" in the gutter and at least .375" for the outside margins is fine. Here are KDP's recommendations: Page Count Inside (gutter) Margins Outside Margins (no bleed) Outside Margins (with bleed) 24 to 150 pages 0.375" at least 0.25" at least 0.375" 151 to 300 Pages 0.5" at least 0.25" at least 0.375" 301 to 500 Pages 0.625" at least 0.25" at least 0.375" 501 to 700 Pages 0.75" at least 0.25" at least 0.375" 701 to 828 Pages 0.875" at least 0.25" at least 0.375" If you're still unsure about how to use margins and bleeds, then try watching my video on the topic: th-cam.com/video/_hMj7PkXRXc/w-d-xo.html
@@CraigBabin Thank you so much. Just clarifying... My bleed manuscript is set up as 6.125 in x 9.25 in. 200 Pages with outside bleed of .375 inches and gutter size is .5 inch. Is this correct? If I want to do a 5x8 or a 8.15 square manuscript, I simply create the document with the bleed dimensions (as suggested in amazon), margin gutter size of .25 inches and .375 outside for a book under 150 pages? If I want more pages I only change the gutter size
@@morethancharms .375" is your margin not your bleed. Bleeds and margins are not the same thing. Watch the video that I recommended in my previous comment.
@@CraigBabin thanks Craig. I have watched the video and set up a bleed sized document of my 6.125 X 9.25. I have a 200 page document with outside margin of .375 And an inside gutter of .5 in. Is this correct. I am just checking as we use c/m in Australia. Greatly appreciated.
@@CraigBabin I’ve searching tutorials on TH-cam for two weeks but nobody hit the nail on the head as you did sir. I’m following your video step by step as I’m writing to you this comment.
Hi Craig! Great video :)) i´m just confused about the bleed, shouldn't we use it? To avoid white borders for example in the cover, or a full image page?
Hey Joana. If you're setting up a .5in margin (or any width margin) around your interior pages and you are keep all of your content within those margins, then there is no need to use bleed. The only time you need to use bleed is if your content is going to run right to the edge of the page; like if you were creating a notebook and you wanted the lines to go to the very edge of the page, then you would use bleed.
Hi Craig, I'm having issues with placing elements (PNG, PDF etc) into ID from iLL, the vertical and horizontal lines are ok but the curved or diagonal are a mess, they open in other UI so it's not my PC, they open in Canva ok, any ideas PS. you prefer Book Bolt to Canva? Thx
By mess do you mean pixelated? If so, it's just ID's way of conserving RAM, especially when you're creating a book with a lot of images. It's good to leave ID set to this so that your computer doesn't lag. But if you want to see what the final render is going to look like, just right click on the image, and then from the popup menu go down to "Display Performance". From the sub menu choose "High Quality Display". As for your second question, yes I prefer Book Bolt to Canva. Although Canva can create a lot of different products, BB is dedicated to book publishing and KDP. Plus, it has the research tools which Canva doesn't.
Great video! I also use InDesign and was wondering what thickness of lines would be good for just a ruled journal? I don't have a printer to run a sample but I didn't want the lines to be too thick or too dark. I was thinking maybe .5 thickness and 80% black? Not sure. Would .25 thickness be too thin?
It really depends. If you're creating wide ruled lined paper (which is normally used by kids), .75 pt thickness is reasonable. Even as an adult that's the line weight I prefer, but then my eyes aren't the greatest. For college ruled paper, I think .5 pt thickness would be optimal. As for tone, I normally use 70% black.
@@sue3819 If you're not in a rush, I'll be uploading a new low content book video on Thursday, and I'll also be releasing a low content book bundle which includes both college ruled and wide ruled lined interiors, with and without margins, in multiple sizes and page quantities. As well as custom book cover labels for journals and notebooks. The bundle will be selling for $3, if your interested.
@@CraigBabin Not possible, I write the book myself, but I find the error -.- 2 errors I was making in fact! 1. I upload Bleed and the extra 0.125 was not added. I have a very hard time resizing the document T-T 2. My paper was having a background color.
Check out my video on how and when to use margins and bleeds, I've made it really easy to understand what KDP wants: th-cam.com/video/_hMj7PkXRXc/w-d-xo.html
I've just been studying other artists for years. My favorite book is actually an animation book by Preston Blair, here's the link to it: amzn.to/3A4Ahfk Or any books by Christopher Hart: amzn.to/2VsD56W I hope this helps.
Try Bookbolt: bookbolt.io/free-kdp-interiors-for-low-content-book-publishing-how-to-use-them-in-your-business/ If you're just looking for FREE software that's similar to InDesign, then try Scribus: www.scribus.net/
If you purchased a commercial license for the font then you're fine. If you just downloaded the font from a website like DaFont, go back and see if it is listed as "Public Domain" or "100% Free", if it is then you should be fine. If it states that it is "Free for Personal Use" then you can't use it commercially. The best thing to do is just Google the font name and see who makes it. If the maker has a website where they sell the font, then don't use it unless you've purchased a commercial license for it first.
When I'm creating the video, I'm just trying to get all of the information in and I'm not worrying too much about the pace. It's rare to keep a viewer's attention for more than 10 minutes on TH-cam, so the shorter the video the better. I would agree with you entirely if I was teaching this live, but with a video, viewers can always pause the video and go back if they're unsure of something. In the future I may start doing shorter tutorials at a slower pace.
I'm also surprised how this video got few views, and the number of subscribers too ; you're a great artist, drawing without any sketch.
Lot of good information in this video, thank you Craig
Thanks for saying that Malika, I appreciate that. Videos get views based on how often TH-cam recommends them to people. And the TH-cam algorithm bases it's decision to recommend a video on how long people are watching the video for, as well as how many people are liking it. The more watch hours and likes a video gets, the more TH-cam recommends it. And the more people that see your videos, the more subscribers you get.
So it's all interconnected. So if people aren't watching the video for very long, or aren't liking it after watching it, TH-cam stops recommending it. Therefore no views and no subscribers. My channels growth is entirely in the hands of people like you, so I'm glad you watched the video Malika. Now if you'd like to help my channel get discovered by more people, then simply "like" and "comment" on all of the videos that you've watched and enjoyed. Doing that alone will have a huge impact on the growth of my channel.
Hands-down the best KDP low content book tutorials ever!
Thanks, I appreciate that.
I’m surprised this video doesn’t have more views. It is very fast paced, maybe too much so, but there is also a wealth of information. Your artwork is really beautiful. I myself would like to try designing journals and/or notebooks, this video has both inspired and scared me. Thank you .
I'm glad it inspires you and don't be scared. Once you've gone through the process one time, it will become like second nature to you. I'm sure you'll make beautiful journals.
Such a helpful video, so loaded with great tips and links! Thank you for all the work on this!
I'm glad you find it useful.
Thank you for this. I work with these programs. And I would like to step into KDP. But most everything I’ve found in canva or book bolt, etc related. This helps me understand what to expect via these programs again thank you 🙏🏼
You're quite welcome!
Hey Craig, thank you very much for this helpful tutorial on how to create low content books to sell on amazon. Thumbs up!
I'm glad you liked it.
Fantastic... thank you! Very concise and to the point!
I'm glad you liked it.
By the way You are the only one that mention that KDP is not accepting your PDF bleed. Do you think is better to upload .Doc ? I use very rudimentary tools like google docs, I don't pay for microsoft lol I rather pay any other software!
I make low content journals in canva but I still don't find the best place to resize my written books, I prefer in 6 x 9 but I can only download 8.5 by 11 Letter.
Do you have any suggestion?
Thanks :) and great channel! I really appreciate you efforts and detailed explanations.
First you definitely do not want to up load a .doc, stick with the PDF. If you haven't watched my video on margins and bleeds, watch it, it may help you out. You can find it here: th-cam.com/video/_hMj7PkXRXc/w-d-xo.html
As for alternative software, I don't use Microsoft either, I'm an Adobe guy and prefer InDesign for creating books. A cheaper alternative to Adobe InDesign is Affinity. It's about $75 (one time fee): affinity.serif.com/en-gb/
If you're looking for FREE software, try Scribus: www.scribus.net/
@@CraigBabin Thank you so much!!! Really appreciate :)
You produce great content. Thanks a lot.👍
My pleasure!
amazing , I am really impressed , thanks
You're welcome Mostafa.
Beautiful!
I'm glad you liked it.
Thanks for the video! Some good info here. A MUCH easier way to apply your content to all of your pages in Indesign is to simply create a master page and apply it to all of the pages that you want to match/be the same. Not necessary to copy and paste-in-place.
I know. I actually did a few things in this video that I could have done much easier. But when you're recording a tutorial, your mind is focused purely on the things you want to get across, and you sometimes forget about the short cuts you use day to day.
But I'm getting better. In my earlier videos I would use hot keys without even knowing it and then after watching the video realize that the audience wouldn't have any idea of what I was doing to make the function happen. At least I've stopped doing that.
Great content and explanation, thank you so much!
You're very welcome!
Your graphics design skill are awesome 👍👍👍
Thanks Ray. I appreciate that.
Wow! Very nice information. Thanks!
You're welcome.
I just discovered your video on Google and I’m glad I found cos it’s so useful. I would recommend this to my facebook friends!
I'm glad you found the video helpful Ebiere.
This is such a great channel. Thank you!
Thanks Elizabeth, I'm glad you like it.
Thank you so much! Super informational video. I have a quick question. Indesign has a bunch of fonts, do we have download free fonts from those websites you mentioned, or is it ok to use Indesign fonts to print in KDP?
You can use any fonts that come standard with InDesign for your KDP books.
This video was super helpful to me! thank you :)
I'm glad you found it useful.
Simple, effective and inspirational thank you
You're quite welcome.
Awesome video. I've been paying for Adobe cc for years and hardly use it but definitely need to learn and use it more. Great tutorial. Just subscribed.
You definitely need to watch more tutorials, there is so much you can do with that Adobe subscription. I'll be doing tutorials for other Adobe software in the future as well.
@@CraigBabin yeah I agree. My problem is I'm lazy and use easier but definitely not as good options just because it's quicker than me learning. I have every intention to learn and thats why I continue to pay it.... I need to learn.
@@CreateWithJay Once you start to regularly use the Adobe pipeline (all of their products together), the creation process will become faster, than the ways you use to think were quicker. Just keep at it.
@@CraigBabin Yeah I like the idea of them all working together to do so much more. Thanks. Appreciate the replies.
Grateful.👍
very nice video and easy to follow. thank you!! :)
You're welcome.
I am new to this, I really enjoyed this video
Thank you Denise, I'm glad you liked it.
This is fabulous. Thank you. I have spent hours searching and I am grateful I found your very informative videos. This is very clear and all you have to do is press pause! Just a question. If I am setting up a 200 page journal with bleed. Do I still do the internal file with margins with.5 inch and .75 for the gutter?
For a 200 page journal .5" in the gutter and at least .375" for the outside margins is fine. Here are KDP's recommendations:
Page Count Inside (gutter) Margins Outside Margins (no bleed) Outside Margins (with bleed)
24 to 150 pages 0.375" at least 0.25" at least 0.375"
151 to 300 Pages 0.5" at least 0.25" at least 0.375"
301 to 500 Pages 0.625" at least 0.25" at least 0.375"
501 to 700 Pages 0.75" at least 0.25" at least 0.375"
701 to 828 Pages 0.875" at least 0.25" at least 0.375"
If you're still unsure about how to use margins and bleeds, then try watching my video on the topic: th-cam.com/video/_hMj7PkXRXc/w-d-xo.html
@@CraigBabin Thank you so much. Just clarifying... My bleed manuscript is set up as 6.125 in x 9.25 in. 200 Pages with outside bleed of .375 inches and gutter size is .5 inch. Is this correct?
If I want to do a 5x8 or a 8.15 square manuscript, I simply create the document with the bleed dimensions (as suggested in amazon), margin gutter size of .25 inches and .375 outside for a book under 150 pages? If I want more pages I only change the gutter size
@@morethancharms .375" is your margin not your bleed. Bleeds and margins are not the same thing. Watch the video that I recommended in my previous comment.
@@CraigBabin thanks Craig. I have watched the video and set up a bleed sized document of my 6.125 X 9.25. I have a 200 page document with outside margin of .375
And an inside gutter of .5 in. Is this correct. I am just checking as we use c/m in Australia. Greatly appreciated.
@@natalieclarke4875 That's correct.
This is a great video, thank you!
You're welcome.
you sir, are my hero.
You sir, obviously have a low bench mark for hero's. But thanks.
@@CraigBabin I’ve searching tutorials on TH-cam for two weeks but nobody hit the nail on the head as you did sir. I’m following your video step by step as I’m writing to you this comment.
That's awesome Saad, I'm glad you're finding it helpful.
Hi Craig! Great video :)) i´m just confused about the bleed, shouldn't we use it? To avoid white borders for example in the cover, or a full image page?
Hey Joana. If you're setting up a .5in margin (or any width margin) around your interior pages and you are keep all of your content within those margins, then there is no need to use bleed. The only time you need to use bleed is if your content is going to run right to the edge of the page; like if you were creating a notebook and you wanted the lines to go to the very edge of the page, then you would use bleed.
thanks for the ideas
You're welcome.
Hi Craig, I'm having issues with placing elements (PNG, PDF etc) into ID from iLL, the vertical and horizontal lines are ok but the curved or diagonal are a mess, they open in other UI so it's not my PC, they open in Canva ok, any ideas
PS. you prefer Book Bolt to Canva? Thx
By mess do you mean pixelated? If so, it's just ID's way of conserving RAM, especially when you're creating a book with a lot of images. It's good to leave ID set to this so that your computer doesn't lag. But if you want to see what the final render is going to look like, just right click on the image, and then from the popup menu go down to "Display Performance". From the sub menu choose "High Quality Display".
As for your second question, yes I prefer Book Bolt to Canva. Although Canva can create a lot of different products, BB is dedicated to book publishing and KDP. Plus, it has the research tools which Canva doesn't.
Great video! I also use InDesign and was wondering what thickness of lines would be good for just a ruled journal? I don't have a printer to run a sample but I didn't want the lines to be too thick or too dark. I was thinking maybe .5 thickness and 80% black? Not sure. Would .25 thickness be too thin?
It really depends. If you're creating wide ruled lined paper (which is normally used by kids), .75 pt thickness is reasonable. Even as an adult that's the line weight I prefer, but then my eyes aren't the greatest. For college ruled paper, I think .5 pt thickness would be optimal. As for tone, I normally use 70% black.
@@CraigBabin That's very helpful, thanks for such a quick reply.
@@sue3819 If you're not in a rush, I'll be uploading a new low content book video on Thursday, and I'll also be releasing a low content book bundle which includes both college ruled and wide ruled lined interiors, with and without margins, in multiple sizes and page quantities. As well as custom book cover labels for journals and notebooks. The bundle will be selling for $3, if your interested.
Yeah I have that, Amazon is rejecting my manuscript even though there's no error in the preview. It's so frustrating -.-
If the preview is good, then it may be a copyright issue with the contents of your book.
@@CraigBabin Not possible, I write the book myself, but I find the error -.- 2 errors I was making in fact!
1. I upload Bleed and the extra 0.125 was not added.
I have a very hard time resizing the document T-T
2. My paper was having a background color.
Check out my video on how and when to use margins and bleeds, I've made it really easy to understand what KDP wants: th-cam.com/video/_hMj7PkXRXc/w-d-xo.html
wooow you are amazing man
I don't know about amazing, but thanks!
New subscriber. Please do more indesign kdp content
I will be doing more InDesign (KDP) videos down the road, once I start creating my children's books.
Nice tut. What is the minimum pages for a colouring book?
Paperback is 24, hardcover 74.
24 is a bit mean I'd better double that
@@stevesculptor1 lol. Yeah 24 is more like a brochure than a book.
Thank you😊
My pleasure.
Wow! Where did you learn to draw so well? Did you teach yourself how to do it? If so, can you recommend books for beginners who can't draw yet?
I've just been studying other artists for years. My favorite book is actually an animation book by Preston Blair, here's the link to it: amzn.to/3A4Ahfk
Or any books by Christopher Hart: amzn.to/2VsD56W
I hope this helps.
@@CraigBabin Thanks, that helps me a lot :-)
Thank you !
You're Welcome.
Great video
I'm glad you liked it.
Thanks alot....!
How can I make like your great children book with free software?Can I?
Try Bookbolt: bookbolt.io/free-kdp-interiors-for-low-content-book-publishing-how-to-use-them-in-your-business/
If you're just looking for FREE software that's similar to InDesign, then try Scribus: www.scribus.net/
@@CraigBabin Thanks...
How can I check if the fonts I used are allowed to be used for commercial purposes?
If you purchased a commercial license for the font then you're fine. If you just downloaded the font from a website like DaFont, go back and see if it is listed as "Public Domain" or "100% Free", if it is then you should be fine. If it states that it is "Free for Personal Use" then you can't use it commercially.
The best thing to do is just Google the font name and see who makes it. If the maker has a website where they sell the font, then don't use it unless you've purchased a commercial license for it first.
@@CraigBabin I use the standard fonts Adobe gives in their softwares
@@ariela_ Any fonts that come stock with Adobe or Microsoft can be used commercially.
You could have decresed your pace and went about it slowly for the smooth absorption of all the concepts and steps.
When I'm creating the video, I'm just trying to get all of the information in and I'm not worrying too much about the pace. It's rare to keep a viewer's attention for more than 10 minutes on TH-cam, so the shorter the video the better. I would agree with you entirely if I was teaching this live, but with a video, viewers can always pause the video and go back if they're unsure of something.
In the future I may start doing shorter tutorials at a slower pace.
@@CraigBabinthanks keep it up