Blurb FAQs

You can purchase a PDF version of your Blurb book and use it to review your project, share it with friends, or sell it to your readers. It's a display-quality file which will look good on screen but is not meant to be printed.To purchase and download a copy please follow the steps below.

Purchase a PDF version of your book

1. Complete your project using one of our book-making tools and upload it when you're ready to order.

2. On the order screen, select the PDF option underDigital Book Formats. If you don't want to order a printed copy of your book, set the print book quantity to zero.

3. Enter your payment details and complete thecheckout process. Once your order is complete, we will convert your book to PDF format.

Download your PDF

You can download the PDFfrom your Blurbaccount after placing the order. You'll see a link toDownload PDF copybeside your book when the file is ready to download. (It may take a few minutes to convert). We'll also email you a link to download your PDF.

If your book arrives damaged or with a manufacturing defect we will replace it free of charge. Please let us know within 14 days of receiving of your book. You can include photos of the damage or defect in the printed book for a faster resolution.

Our return policy does not cover problems with the content of a book.Blurb is a self-publishing platform and the authorof the book is fully responsible for its content, layout and design. Blurb does not proof, edit, review or change book content in any way. We do not provide returns, replacements, exchanges or refunds due to the quality of a book's content, including text, layout, design, images, appearance or other choices made by the author.

Creating a book? When designing your book be mindful of the following:

Watch out for typos, grammatical mistakes, unfinished text, duplicate words or other text errors. It never hurts to have someone else look things over before you upload and order your book.

Low-resolution images may appear jagged or blurry in print so pay attention to any low resolution warnings you see.

Images that are blurry to begin with may not necessarily trigger a low-resolution warning so be sure to check the quality of your images. (Be wary of dark images in your book, too).

Consider all design issues, including book format, organization, style, color, font size, page numbering, trim guides, headers, footers and page layout.

Order and review a single printed copy before placing a large order or before making your book available for sale.

Want more info? Complete details are in our full Return Policy.

Howdo you getBlurb promo codes?

From time to time, Blurb sends out offers via email or or social media pages.

You can opt in to receive emails from Blurb by changing the email settings under your account info.

Here are links to our social media accounts:

https://twitter.com/blurbbooks

https://www.instagram.com/blurbbooks/

https://www.facebook.com/BlurbBooks

https://www.pinterest.com/blurbbooks/

How to use apromo code

If you have a promo code or gift card, here's how to use it.

Volume discounts

Volume discounts are automatically applied to single orders with 10 or more photo books, trade books or magazines.

You can't combine a volume discount with a promo code.

If you have a promo code that will give you a better deal than the volume discount you can enter your promo code instead. That will remove the volume discount and apply your promo code savings.

If you override the volume discount but then change your mind, empty your cart and start again. The volume discount will reappear.

Volume discounts are applied to Blurb's "base price" only. Volume discounts will not apply to any mark-up added by the author.

Discounts for schools, non-profits, professional photographers, etc.

Blurb doesn't have specificdiscounts for professional photographers, non-profits, or other organizations.

If you'd like to request that Blurb sponsor your event or donate a prize (such as for a charity raffle or school fundraiser) please see our article on sponsorships and donations.

Importing Photos

Before you can start laying out photos on the page, you need to import them into BookWright. There are two ways to do this:

Method 1: Import

Click on the Next > icon in the main tool bar

Click on the icon on the left of the image strip

Navigate to where you keep your photos

Select your photos and click Open.

They should now appear in the image strip.

Method 2: Drag and drop

Wherever your photos are on your computer, you can just click and drag to move them onto a page.

Image Strip

Hint: Sorting photos

You might want to sort your images in BookWrights photo library. You can sort by name or date. The purple check means that the image has been used in the book.

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Yes! You can get a free ISBN from Blurb if you make your book with BookWright orour Blurb Plug-in for Adobe InDesign or if you upload your book via our PDF to Book workflow.

Note that Blurb-supplied ISBNs will be registered under Blurb's name as the publisher of record, although you will be listed as the author and retain all rights to your book content. Blurb-supplied ISBNs cannot be re-registered to individual authors.

Get a free ISBN from Blurb

BookWright

While in BookWright, navigate to Distribution > Assign a Free ISBN.

Plug-in for Adobe InDesign

Using the Blurb Book Creator in InDesign, you can obtain a free ISBN by checking the ISBN box.

PDF to Book

When uploading your PDF, select Blurb's Free ISBNfrom the dropdown menu of the ISBN section.

Starting a new book

BookWright allows you to create an ebook and a print book, all from one file.

Ebooks

Next >

Fixed-layout ebooks

Hint: Fixed-layout ebooks are built seamlessly as you design the book, so no additional steps needed! Simply publish and youre done.

Great for image-rich content and text

Layout design is preserved on device, choose from 53 fonts

Supports hyperlinking

Compatible with iBooks on iPad and Mac OS X Mavericks, with direct distribution to iBookStore

Print books

Hint: There are three print book product linesPhoto Paper Books, Trade Books, and Magazineseach with different distribution options.

Photo Paper Books

These are big beautiful books with several gorgeous photo paper, end sheet, and cover linen options that are perfect for showcasing photography and as portfolios, art books, coffee-table books, cookbooks, and much more. Distribution: Direct Sell and Blurb to Amazon

Trade Books

These are three industry-standard trims sizes come with uncoated paper with an option to choose between a Standard higher print quality option or a lower price Economy option ideal for those wanting to sell books at market-comparable prices. Distribution: Direct Sell and Global Retail Network

Magazines

The standard 8.5x11 Magazine format comes in two optionsPremium printing with 80# paper or an Economy printing version with 60$ paperand is perfect for editorials, graphic novels, and business collateral. Distribution: Direct Sell

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Show or hide the trim guidesYou can show or hide the trim guides in BookWright using CMD+T (Mac),Ctrl+T (Windows), or View > Show Trim Area or by clicking the trim guide icon near the top of the page.

using full bleed images in BookWright

How to use the trim guidesTrim guides are turned on by default in BookWright so that you can view where the expected cut will be made at the printer and make sure your important content won't be trimmed off.

Below is the red dotted trim line and apink shaded area. Keep important content out of this pink area.

Trim guide details

The red dotted trim line represents approximately where your printed page will be trimmed.

There may be slight variances in trimming so the actual cut may be slightly above or below the red dotted line.

The pink shaded areashows the safe area.

Keep important content (such as text or tops of heads) OUTof the pink shaded area.This will prevent it being trimmed off, lost in the binding, or folded over the cover.

If creating a Layflat book, the content in the gutter won't actually be trimmed but there will be a fold line.

When can you ignore trim guides?

Only if using a full bleed image where you have an image or background completely covering the page.In this case, make sure the edge of your image (or background) reaches the edges of the page, past the red dotted trim line.For more information, see our article on .

Don't place important content, such as tops of heads or text, in the pink shaded area.(If you've chosen our Layflat option, content in the gutter of the book won't be trimmed off since we print on one continuous sheet of paper but there will be a crease down the center of the spread).

Detailsof the pink shadedarea

This is a page in BookWright with the trim area turned on. Note the pink shaded area.Keep important content, such as text, page numbers, etc,out of this area.

In the example below, text is safely out of the pink shaded area. This is goodas it won't be cut off.

The text belowis placed in the pink shaded area. This is badas the text may be trimmed off.

What's a proof copy?

A proof copy is simply a single copy of your Blurb book. It's standard practice in the printing world to order and review a proof copy before placing a large order, or before submitting the book foran important client, event or class.

How do I order a proof copy?

A proof copy is just a single copy of your book so place the book in your cart and set the quantity to one. Once you receive and review that printed copy youcan make changes before ordering additional copies.

Why is a proof copy important?

This single copy lets you to see how yourbook looks when printed, bound and trimmed by Blurb. It's your chance to catch anytypos, too-dark images, content you've placed over our trim guides or anything else you might have missed while reviewing your book on screen.

We don'treview or edit your content or design in any way so it's up to you to make sure things look right.You don't want to order 50 copies of your book only to discover you spelled your wife's name wrong, placed someone's photo so close to the edge that their head is cut off, or forgot to include little Johnny in the school yearbook.

Can Blurb print a partial book?

We can't print individual pages or ship unbound books, and we don't offer free proof copies. Take a look at our pricing page for single copy pricing.

Leave enough time

Be sure you allow enough time for production and shipping for both your proof and the final copies. Check our shipping estimates using our shipping calculator.

To contact Blurb'scustomer support team, you've made it to the right place! Please submit your question or request.

For press inquiries:Please email all press-related needs to [email protected]. This is for press inquires only. Other inquiries will not be replied to. If you need customer support, please contact our support team.

For questions about partnerships:Visit our Affiliates Page.

Curious about career opportunities?Our Work at Blurb listings might have what you're looking for.

Making a Blurb book as a holiday gift? Be sure to order before our holiday deadlines. We can't rush orders through production so make sure you place your order before the cutoff.(These dates don't apply to PO boxes. PO box shipments will take longer and are only available for the US and Canada).

You get paid every month that your book sales generate a certain amount of profit. When we pay out your monthly profit, we deduct a small processing fee to cover our costs. We strongly suggest choosing PayPal as your payment method for faster payments with the lowest processing fee.

USD processing fee - $1$5

If you select U.S. dollars as yourpayment currency and choose to be paid by check, we deduct a $5 processing fee to cover our costs.

If you're paid in U.S. dollars via PayPal, we deduct a $1 processing fee.

CAD processing fee - $1

If you select Canadian dollars as yourpayment currency, we deduct a CAD $1 processing fee when we pay you via PayPal.

GBPprocessing fee - 1

If you select British pounds as yourpayment currency, we deduct a 1processing fee when we pay you via PayPal.

EURprocessing fee - 1

If you select euros as yourpayment currency, we deduct a 1processing fee when we pay you via PayPal.

AUD processing fee - $1

If you select Australian dollars as yourpayment currency, we deduct an AUD $1processing fee when we pay you via PayPal.

Now that your masterpiece has been uploaded, you're anxiously awaiting the finished product to be delivered to your doorstep. So how long does it take to print a book, and when will you receive it?

Book production takes 4-5 business days. This doesn't include shipping.

Including shipping, most Blurb books arrive7 to 11 business daysafter you place your order,depending on the delivery methodyou select at checkout and the destination. You'll see estimated delivery dates at checkout.

To get a shipping price and delivery date estimate please visit our shipping page. You'llsee an estimated shipping cost as well as available delivery dates for an order placed today.

We do not offer rush production and there are no delivery options faster than what is quoted on the shipping page above.

The final step in completing this starter template is to create your front and back covers. First you need to determine which book format you want to orderHardcover Dust Jacket, Hardcover ImageWrap, and/or Softcover, and whether you want to order an ebook. Follow these steps to finalize your covers:

Click on the Next > Covers icon in the main toolbar at the top left of the BookWright interface.

Below the icon, the Covers panel will appear, allowing you to edit the covers in the formats of your choice. Click on the format you want to edit.

Click on the Photos icon in the main toolbar at the top of the BookWright interface.

Next, click on the Add Photo icon to navigate to the location of the image file you would like to use on your cover. Select the file you wish to import. The image files will appear to the right of the add photo icon.

Drag the image file thumbnail to replace the placeholder image on the cover. Click on image to trigger the image-editing dialog to zoom or pan your image placement.

Click on the text containers to edit the book title and author name. You can also change the font size and color since all covers print in color. You can also edit the Blurb Flourish ornaments just like any font, experiment with changing the size and color.

When your front cover is complete, click on the back cover and edit the text fields to your satisfaction. Remember this is just a starter layout, you can customize your covers, or any area of your book to your liking using the wealth of BookWrights editing tools.

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You've placed your orderand now are anxiously awaiting your finished product. You can viewtracking information for your shipment by logging in to your Blurb account, going to the My Orders page then clicking the order number.

From there, you can view information about your order including the delivery-by date, destination, and tracking information.

If your order has shipped and there's no link to a tracking number, this means it shipped via a non-trackable method. (Most shipping methodsare trackable, and methodsthat aren't trackable will show non-trackablenext to the available delivery dates at check-out).

Having an issue with delivery?Please let us know. Include your order number in your email so that we can more quickly resolve your issue.

To permanently delete a book from your account:

Log in to your Blurb account and go to the My Projects page.

Find the book you want to delete. Be sure to find the correct version of the book that you want to remove. Information to theright of the book's coverincludesthe date of publication or date of last edit.

Click the word deleteunder the title of the book.

Click OKwhen the warning appears. This cannot be undone so please be sure you really want to delete that version.

Cover design shares the same basic elements as page design: images, text, and background color.

Access the cover by clicking the Next > icon at the top left of the main toolbar

Use the button to work in layout mode (just like when youre working on pages)

Click the button to draw a text container

Type the books title, a subtitle (if there is one), and any authors names. Its important that this information matches everywhere that your book is displayed.

Draw another text container on the spine of the book and enter the title and author information there, as well. Use the rotate button to change the orientation of your text.

Use photo containers and background color to add any other visual design to your cover.

Setting spine width

BookWright is pretty clever; the width of your spine will adjust automatically based on the number of pages in your book and the selected paper type.

When you select your paper weight in BookWright, youre setting up a spine width specific to how thick your book will be, which means your cover design will be accurate in your printed book.

How to select paper weight

Use the drop down menu at the top left to select the paper weight that you plan to use for your book.

A note about dust jacket flaps

Only dust jackets have flaps, so if you want to use them to include an author bio, author headshot, plot synopsis, summary, etc., make sure that you design the Hardcover, Dust Jacket cover type.

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It is not possible to expedite an order through production. It takes 4-5 business days to print and bind your books. Shipping time is in addition to this.

The only way to get your books to you as quickly as possible is to choose the fastest shipping speed available during checkout. Our shipping calculator presents shipping option estimates and when you purchase your book, specific shipping timelines will be presented. We do not have faster shipping methods than the ones you see during checkout.

If you're working on a magazine, we have twodifferent paper types you can choose from. We've simplified your choices to make the selection process easy and straightforward to choose the right paper for your project. Bothof these papers are coated.

Paper Name

Best Use

Finish

Paper Weight

Page Range

Economy

Text and graphics

Gloss; cover printed on HP Indigo, pages on inkjet

70# (104 GSM)

20-240 pages

Premium

Photographs

Matte; cover and pages printed on HP Indigo

80# (115 GSM)

20-240 pages

Economy

This is a glossy finish 70# paper and prints on par with magazines you'd find at your local newsstand. This paper is great for publications with graphics, illustrations, and text. Photos work too, but if your publication is primarily photo-driven, consider using Premium paper. The 65# matte cover hasno UV coating.

Premium

This is a matte finish 80# paper that beautifully renders photographs, drawings, and designs on the velvet-finish paper. This paper is great for fine art magazines, photography journals, fashion, comic books, and more. The 80# matte cover has asatin UV coating.

Pricing

Full pricing information is on our pricing page.

If you're a BookSmart user and upgraded your Mac OS to 10.10 or higher, take note: Applehas replaced iPhoto with a new app called Photos.

How to get images from your Photos into BookSmart:

Create a folder for the images you want to add to BookSmart.

Drag your images from Photos to that folder.

Add those images manually to BookSmart bydragging and dropping them from the folder.

The title and name you enter on the front cover of your book will automatically appear on the spine of your hardcover book. And if you have more than 80 pages in your book, this applies to softcover spines as well.If you would like to change the text on your spine, navigate to your cover layouts and click on the spines text container. Type inside the text containersto update anytext on the spine.If you change the spines text so that it no longer matches the title or author name on your front cover, youll be asked to unlockthetext area of the book spine to make that change.

Modifications to the books spine will not affect the text on the front cover.

Welcome!

Blurbs new bookmaking tool, BookWright, was designed to be as intuitive to use as possiblebut no two minds think alike. And everyone can use a little guidance along the way. Use this guide to get started with BookWright and discover new features.

If you have questions or feedback, please get in touch at www.blurb.com/support

BookWright Anatomy

The diagram below provides a general overview of the tools and features of BookWright's user interface. The following pages of this guide will go more in detail on how to use many of these features step-by-step

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All our book-making programs allow you to preview the front and back covers and interior pages before you upload and order the book. While previewing your book,look for:

Spelling errors

Words that you accidentally typed twice or left out by mistake

Punctuation errors

Cut-off text that is either too large for its container or placed too close to the edge of the page

Important content placed too close to the edge of the page thatmight be cut off. Pay attention to any trim guidelines.

Bleed designs that don't reach all the way to the page edge.

Any other issues related to your text, images, or layout choices that you mayhaveoverlooked

After your first review, take a break. Make some coffee or tea, relax a bit, then come back and give everything another look. You mayalso want to have a friend look things over as wella second set of eyes never hurts.

Don't forget a proof copy: ifyou're planning to order a large number of copies or if the book is for an important event or project, we recommend ordering and reviewing a single Blurb-printed copy first. This allows you to see how yourbook looks in print and catch any issues before placing the final order.

If you have a promo code or a Blurb gift card follow the steps below to apply it to yourorder.

1. Add itemsto your cart and proceed through the checkout steps.

2. When you reach the Payment Options page, copy/paste your code in the box underneath Enter Promo or Gift Code. Codes are case sensitive and should not have spaces before or after them.

3. Click Apply Code.

4. YourOrder Summary on the top right of the page should now reflect your savings amount. Click Continue to continue your purchase.

If you encounter any problems please let us know.

Not working? Try these tips for troubleshooting:

Codes are case sensitive and most discountcodes are in ALL CAPS.

For further details, please be sure to read the terms and conditions of the promotion. If the code specifies you must buy a certain number of books, buya specific type of book, or spend a minimum amount, be sure that your order meets those requirements or else the code will not work.

More information about our discounts and promo codes can be found here.

It's always a good idea to create a backup file of the book project you've been working hard on. You can also use this backup if you want to work on your book on a different computer, or share your book with a co-author.

Create a backup or shareable copy of your BookSmartproject

1. Open the book you wish to backup or share in BookSmart.

2. Go to File >Export > Export Book Project (or Export/Backup Book or Create Book Archive).

3. Name your backup file and choose a locationfor the file(e.g. your Documents folder or desktop), then click Export. Don't include anyspecial characters (like #, $ or !) in the book file name or the export process won't work.

Once you've created yourbackup file, you can transfer the file to a different computer to work on your project or share the file with someone to get feedback and edits.

Fonts in shared book files

If you used any fonts in your book that aren't installed on the second computer, be sure tocopy those font files and transfer them, as well. On PCs, your font files are found under Control Panel > Fonts; on Mac OS, the typefaces can be found in your Font Book application.

Open the backup file

1. If you're transferring the book to a different computer, or sharing it with a co-author, move the book file to the other computer. Save it somewhere easy to find, such as the desktop. (You can also use this method to restore your book on the original computer).

2. In BookSmart, choose Import a Bookfrom the More Options menu at startup. (Or choose File > Import Book Project).

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3. Find the location of your .bookexport file, select it, and click Import.

4. Your book will now import.

If your book fails to import, please restart your computerandtry again.

Be sure that the file you selected in step 3 ends in ".bookexport".

If the import continues to fail, please.

Blurb books can have up to 440 pages with standard paper and up to 240 pages with our heavier papers. (110 pages for Layflat books). We count these pages just like you would with any other book, so if you're a visual learner, grab the nearest book off the shelf and take a look.

The following screenshots are taken from our BookWright software. But pages are counted the same regardless of the program you're using.

Page 1 appears on the right hand side of your book on the first sheet of paper.

page spread

Pages 1 and 2 are printed on the front and back side of the same sheet of paper. Pages 2 and 3 are also the first (two facing pages).

Pages versus sheets

A 40 page book will have 20 sheets of paper with a front and back for a total of 40 page surfaces.

Minimum page counts

Blurb Photo Book formats and magazines have a minimum page count of 20 pages (10 fronts and 10 backs). Trade book formats have a 24 page minimum. We can't manufacture a book with fewer pages than this.

Blurb BookWright's easy-to-use features allow anyone to publish custom photo books, magazines, and novels in either print or ebook format. You can download BookWright here.

Please note that BookWright cannot beinstalled on phones or tablets.

If you previously downloaded and installed BookWright, there's no need todownload it again to get the latest version.BookWright will automatically check for updates each time you open it as long as your computer is connected to the Internet.

Happy book-making!

If BookSmart can't connect toBlurb's servers it won't be able to upload your book. Try these tips if you're having problems uploading:

1. Use the latest version of BookSmartYou will notbe able to upload books using versions of BookSmart older than version 3.5.3.34869. This is a required security update to bring BookSmart up-to-date with the latest security and privacy practices. If you receive the error message below this is probably the issue.

Download the latest version ofBookSmart.Updating BookSmart will not harm your existing projects as they are stored in a separate location on your computer. If you would like to back up your projects before updating, please follow these steps.

Once you update BookSmart try uploading your book again.

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2. Log in to your Blurb accountBookSmart will prompt you to sign in before you can upload. If your sign-in credentials are incorrect you won't be able to upload your book. Sign in using either your email address or Blurb username, and your Blurb password. Note that both of these are case sensitive.

To confirm that you're using the correct log-in credentials go to Blurb's website. If you're already signed inclick the LogOut link in the top right. Then sign in to Blurb's site again to ensure you're using the right username or email and password. You can reset your password if needed.

3 Temporarily disable local security softwareAnti-virus programs or firewall settings may interfere with the upload process. And if you're using BitDefender it can prevent BookSmart from reaching our servers and can't be easily disabled. BitDefender users may be able to successfully upload files by disabling real-time virus protection.4 Adjust your network proxy/firewall, Internet Service Provider proxy/content filtersNetwork or ISP level firewalls, proxies, and filters allow your browser to connect to blurb.com, but won't allow the BookSmart application to do the same thing. Even if you're the network admin, these types of connection issues can be difficult to tackle. Try uploading from another location.Still having issues? Please for further troubleshooting.

Chapter Opening Styling

Click on the spread where your first chapter beginstemplate pages 6/7 in the page spread panel.

The left-hand page (6) contains instructions and formatted elements which you will copy and paste into your chapter text container.

Click on the 6th page text container labeled Formatting Chapters, this will open the text editor panel at the bottom of the BookWright interface. Select the block of copy: Chapter Title - Chapter One -

Click on the text container on the page to the right, where your chapter begins; this will again open the text editor. Position your cursor at the top of the text editor and select paste, this will place the formatted chapter opening into your chapter text container.

While still in the text editor, select the block of copy just pasted, and select the Next > Text Centered icon, to ensure the chapter information is centered, while the rest of the chapter remains full-justified.

To set the chapter title text, select the full Chapter Title text and simply type in the name of your chapter. You can repeat the process with the chapter number; options include Chapter One, One Chapter 1, or 1.

The last step in stylizing the chapter opening is to adjust the top of the text container to approximately 1/3 of the way down on the page, using the top container handle and dragging it down. This is standard book formatting convention which you should follow.

Adding Paragraph Breaks And The Chapter End Ornament

Follow the steps above to copy and paste the paragraph break and chapter end ornament throughout and at the end of the chapter.

Complete All Chapters

To begin a new chapter, drag the next chapter .rtf icon to the next empty right-hand page following your completed chapter. This will prompt you to select from the novel layout icons which will automatically flow your entire .rtf file into as many pages needed.

Repeat the steps to stylize the chapter opening and add paragraph breaks and chapter ends.

Continue to repeat these steps until all chapters have been imported and stylized.

Finally you must delete the instructions container on the 6th page otherwise it will print.

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Did youreceive a pop-up when uploading your book notifying you that one or more of your images contains transparency? This means that you have probablyplaced either a PNG or TIFF file in your project.Note that any transparent parts of the image will be filled with white when rendered.

You can test any affected pages by exporting your book to PDF via the Export Book to PDF option located to the lower left of the Book Module. Review the exported PDF to look for any problems.

To fix an image that has been flattened with white:

Go to the source image.

Flatten and re-save it, or save as a JPG (which will automatically flatten the content).

Re-import any flattened JPG files into Lightroom, then into your book.

To create an ebook from a book you made with any of our tools except BookWright*go to your My Projects page and clickCreate an ebook for the Kindle, iPad or Android devicesnext to the book you want to convert.

The ebook editor will guide you through the steps of reviewing your ebook. Most books will convert in a few minutes, although some can take up to thirty minutes to convert. We'll send you an email when the ebook conversion is complete.

*If using BookWright, open the book in BookWright, create a cover for the ebookand upload the ebook format.

Related Topics Issues and warnings during conversion How to open your ebook on iPad or iPhone

Follow these steps if you encounter the error messages below. You should always preview your book before ordering.

1. Preview your book prior to ordering

After uploading your PDF files, prior to ordering, click the PREVIEW BOOK button. Things to look for:

Is the pagination correct?

Are your page spreads facing each other?

Are all elements in the correct position?

Is there any important content placed close to the dotted trim line? (Keep important content at least 1/4 inch away from that dotted line).

2. Error: fonts not embedded

Microsoft Word

When a font is not embedded into a PDF file, or the permissions of that font do not allow for printing of the font, you will see this error. This error usually occurs from Windows Microsoft Word PDF files where the PDF/A format is not selected.

To resolve:

Open your MS Word file and choose SAVE AS ADOBE PDF or SAVE AS from the FILE Menu.

Make sure settings match the image below.

Click OPTIONS and be sure the PDF/A checkbox is selected

Save your PDF(s).

If this solution doesn't apply or does not work for you, you will need to consult your specific application documentation to see how to embed all fonts when creating a PDF file.

black/rich black

Lucidpress

If you are getting a preflight error when uploading your Lucidpress exported PDF, please be sure to follow the directions below for exporting your PDF.

Select Download from the Menu in the upper-right hand corner.

Match thesettings the in screenshot below.

Choose "Print-friendly PDF".

Download your PDF file and re-upload to your Blurb account.

3. Error: registration color detected

This error is encountered when you have used a color of REGISTRATION or ALL within your file.

These colors should NEVER be used. Just like crop marks, they are not allowed when submitting PDF files to Blurb. So please avoid the use of REGISTRATION or ALL colors for your Blurb projects.

This is a common error when using Adobe InDesign and there is an easy way to resolve this issue: simply upload the book files from within InDesign using the Blurb InDesign Plug-in.

If uploading via the plug-in is not possible, then you will have to manually identify and change all elements of your original design from REGISTRATION or ALL to another color such as .

Instead of reordering pages in the "Arrange Pages" screen, you can swap images on the page with new or unused photos in the tray at the bottom of the Editing Page screen.

To swap images:

Go to the Editing Page screen by tapping any page in the Arrange Pages screen.

Be sure the photo toolis selected.

Drag a photo from the tray onto the page image. If youdon'thave any unused photos in the tray, press the plus "+" button to add more.

You do not need to upload your InDesign files to Blurb to create an ebook. InDesign has the ability to create EPUB files from within the tool.Blurb does not support uploads of InDesign ebooks. The capabilities within InDesign will provide a more accurate representation of your design and improved text handling to minimize any edits that you may need to do after conversion.

If you receive an error message that reads something like this

The application you chose, Adobe InDesign [version XXXX], is not recognized as a copy of Adobe InDesign[version YYYY].

then you may haveclicked onthe wrong installation folder.

Double check the version/year of InDesign installed on your computer (Adobe InDesign CS6, Adobe InDesign CC 2017, etc).

Go back to the Blurb Book Creator CC plug-in installer you downloaded and select the folderfor your version and year.

Note that the plug-in folder InDesign CC(with no year after it) is for an older version named simplyInDesign CC.

The plug-in namedInDesign CC will not work for versions of CC followed by a specific year (CC 2014, CC 2015, CC 2017). Those have their own folders and plug-ins as shown below.

Example: if you've got InDesign CC 2017 on your computer, open and install fromthe InDesign CC 2017plug-in folder as seen below. Don't install fromthe InDesign CC folder as that's a different version.

This article explainsthe payment schedule for profits from photo books sold via our Blurb to Amazon program. If you're selling a trade book on Amazon see our Global Retail Network payment information.

The profit from sales that take place via Amazon show as pendingin your monthly profit reports for up to 60 days from the date of the sale.

This 60 day period accommodates Amazon'sreturn policy.If the book is returned within that time period then the pendingprofit from thatsale will be removed from the pending profit section.

After that 60 day period is over, profit from Amazon sales move from pendingto completed.

Once your profit moves to completeda payment will be processed and sent to you within 1545 days after the close of the month, if you meet the minimum payment threshold. Otherwise, your profits will roll over to the next month.

Congratulations on your book sales!Payments are made monthly if your balance for completed sales meets the minimum thresholds below.

U.S. dollars (USD) $25

If you select U.S. dollars as your payment currency, you can choose to be paid via check or PayPal, and you will receive a payment in U.S. dollars after every month you make $25 or more in book profits. If you earn less than $25, your profits roll over to the following month.

Canadian dollars (CAD) $25

If you select Canadian dollars as your payment currency,you will be paid via PayPal in Canadian dollars after every month you make CAD $25 or more in book profits. If you earn less than CAD $25, your profits roll over to the following month.

British pounds (GBP) 12.5

If you select GBP as your payment currency,you will be paid via PayPal in GBP after every month you make 12.50 or more in book profits. If you earn less than 12.50, your profits roll over to the following month.

Euros (EUR) 17,5

If you select euros as your payment currency,you will be paid via PayPal in euros after every month you make 17,50 or more in book profits. If you earn less than 17,50, your profits roll over to the following month.

Australian dollars (AUD) $30

If you select AUD as your payment currency,you will be paid via PayPal in AUD after every month you make $30 or more in book profits. If you earn less than $30, your profits will roll over to the following month.

Steps to create a notebook

1.To create a notebook, click the Create button on the left when you first open BookWright.

2. Now choose the Notebooks format at the top. Then pick the size of notebook you'd like.

3. After you choose a size select the style of notebook you'd like to create. Blurb offers lines, grids, and a blank notebook option. You can also mix and match notebook styles, or change your style selections, once you've started your notebook.

4. Next, enter the name of your notebook and click the Start a New Book button.

5. Now you can drag and drop notebook layouts on to your pages and start personalizing your notebook.

Watch a video on creating notebooks

Adding text to your page

Adding text is easy. Simply draw a text container and start typing

Click Next > icon in the main toolbar to access your layout tools

Click icon to draw text containers

Click and drag to move your container on the page or to change its size

Click into your container to open a text editing panel below

< Previous

We give you a lot of flexibility in creating the layout of your dreams. Feel free to add text or image containers to a page layout, even layering images and text on top of a background image.

Select the page that you would like to change and click the Edit Layout button at the top left of the BookSmart window.

From the Edit Layout screen, click either the Text Box or Image Box icons.

A new text or image container will appear on your page. You can drag the container to a new location or change the size of the container to fit your design.

Please note that you cannot move a text container flush to the edge of a page. Text containers should be left at least 1/4 inch (.635 cm) away from the page edges. You will not be able to save your custom layout if your text containers are too close to the edge. Additionally, text containers can not overlap one another and must be kept more than 0.03 of an inch away from one another.

Image containers can overlap one another. However, you cannotplace an image container over a text container. If you want text on top of an image, please place a text container on top of your image container.

If you're working on a Trade Book, we have four different paper types you can choose from. We've simplified your choices to make the selection process easy and straightforward to choose the right paper for your project. All of these papers are uncoated.

Trade Books (Uncoated Paper)

Best Use

Paper Weight

Page Range

Economy, Black and White

Text and line art

50# (75 GSM)

24-480 pages

Economy, Color

Graphics, vector art, or little pops of text color

70# (105 GSM)

24-480 pages

Standard, Black and White

Text, illustrations and line art

50# (75 GSM)

24-480 pages

Standard, Color

Any kind of photos, paintings, collage, illustrations, or graphics

70# (105 GSM)

24-480 pages

Economy, Black and White

This paper comes as either white uncoated, 50# (75 GSM) or cream uncoated, 50# (80 GSM). It's perfect for books that contain mostly text. Large areas of black will likely show some banding.

Economy, Color

This is a white uncoated, 70# (105 GSM) paper. We find it works well for books that have graphics, vector art, or little pops of text color, at a low price point. Photography works with this paper as well, but keep your images small and expect a slightly lo-fi look.

Standard, Black and White

This is a white uncoated, 50# (75 GSM) paper. It's great for books thatdon'trequire color but that have lots of illustrations, graphics, or line art.

Standard, Color

This is a white uncoated, 70# (105 GSM) paper whose printing features rich, black ink and deep colors. It's great for page backgrounds and in books with any kind of photos, paintings, collage, illustrations, or graphics.

Pricing

Full pricing information is on our pricing page. In brief, our Trade Standard Color paper is the most expensive of our Trade papers because it's printed on the HP Indigo, and Economy, Black and White is the least expensive.

What is the PDF Proof feature?

BookWright offers a PDF Proof feature under File > Export PDF Proof. This will save a low-resolution, watermarked PDF to your computer, which you can use for proofing purposes.

This PDF Proof is a low-resolution file which is not suitable for printing or for high-quality viewing.

Click File to see the Export PDF Proof option.

Instant PDF

How should you use the PDF Proof?

Share your progress.You can use BookWright's PDFProof file to show other people your progress and get their feedback on your book project. Simply emailit to them as an attachment for review.

Proof your work. You canalso use the PDF Proof file to review your work and proofread your content. This could be useful forproofing large amounts of text. However, we recommend using BookWright's Preview feature as the best way to review your book before ordering.

Print a low-resolution draft copy at home.If you absolutely must havea hard copy of your book you can print this file. But we don't recommend doing so--the result will be low-resolution and can use a significant amount of paper and ink. Also, the colors in your printed PDF Proof will not necessarily representthe colors in your Blurb-printed book.

How should you NOT use the PDF Proof?

Don't print it expecting high-resolution. Do not print the PDF Proof expecting a high-quality print.It is a low-resolution draft file. Your final Blurb-printed book will print in all its full-resolution glory.

Don't sell or distribute it. The PDF Proof file should not be used for digital distribution because it is a low-resolution, watermarked copy. If you want to purchase or sell a PDF version of your book, use our option.

Do not submit itfor printing. You should not use the PDF Proof for printing through Blurb or anywhere else. It is a low-resolution file and will not print well. It will also include Proof Copytext on every page.

Seriously. Don't submitit for printing.The PDF Proof contains text at the bottom of every page which will also appear if the PDF Proof is printed. (Proof Copy: Not optimized for high quality printing or digital distribution).You don't want that in your printed book.

Making a Photo Book in BookWright just got a whole lot easier with Blurb Photo Managerthe easiest way to pull your photos into your book-making workflow. Using Photo Manager, you can import your images directly from the cloud.

Watch a video on importing images from cloud storage with Blurb Photo Manager

Steps to import from Facebook, Flickr, Lightroom CC, Dropbox, or SmugMug

First, from the Photos Tab in BookWright, click on the orange cloud icon.

The Blurb Photo Manager will open in your web browser where you will make your photo selections.

From here, choose the cloud storage service where you have your images saved and log in. You can only import from one service at a time.

Now select all of the images you want to import and click the Import button.

Close Photo Manager and return to the BookWright application. Your images will download directly into your book.

You can filter your images in the BookWright photo tray by choosing the name of your online photo source in the Folder drop-down menu.

Need to cancel or change your order?

You can cancel an order yourselfwithin three hours of placing it by following the steps below.After that three hour window has passed, the order is sent into production and can'tbe cancelled--not by you or customer support .

Customer support is unable to cancel orders for you. You must sign in and cancel the order yourself.

Your book content can't be changed after placing your order. But you can cancel the order within the three hour window, make changes, and order the new version.

How to cancel your order

You must sign in and cancel the order yourself within three hours of placing it. Here's how:

1.Sign in to your Blurb account and click My Orders.

2. Locate the order you want to cancel.

If yousee the word Pending beside your order,continue to step 3.

If it says In Production the cancellation window has passed and it's too late to cancel the order.

3. Click the order number.

4. Click the Cancel Order button then click Cancel this order. This will immediately cancel and refund the order.

If you cancelled because you wanted to make changes, upload and publish the new version then place anew order for the revised version.

Additionaldetails

Only print books can be cancelled and refunded.Digital products cannot be canceled or refunded because they are immediately delivered/downloadable upon purchase.If you cancel an order with both print books and digital items, the digital items will not be refunded.

Cancelled orders are refunded immediately. However, your bank may take 5 business days or more to process the refund.

Only you can cancel the order, and only within the three hour cancellation window. Customer support can't cancel orders for you so be sure to follow the steps above if you wish to cancel.

While ourcreation tools will warn you if image resolution isn't high enough to print well,it's impossiblefor our tools to identify and warn you about issues like grainy or blurry images, jaggies or compression artifacts.

Here are some tips to help you review and adjust your images before going to print, so as to avoid grainy, blurry, or pixelated photos appearing in your book.

Use the 200% test

Images maylook fine from a distance or when viewed on a camera or phone but a close-up view will reveal any flaws. If you have anydoubts about your image, use a photo-viewing program to zoom in onyourimage to200% and see how it looks. (If youre uploading a PDF to Blurb, you can do the same test with the PDF).

This is a useful check for any image, but we recommend that youperform the 200% test on any images you convert from other sources, likea PDF or Word document, orany scanned images.

How to zoom to 200%

Usinga Mac:zoom in with Preview and follow these instructions.

Using Windows: follow the steps below to zoom in on an image.

To change the magnification level gradually, in Filmstrip or Single view, use the Zoom slider

To view a picture at a specific percentage, in Filmstrip or Single view, click the arrow next to the Zoom box on the Standard toolbar, and select the setting you want

If youre previewing a PDF we recommend using Acrobat Reader.

If yourimage looks sharp and not grainy at 200% then it should look greatin print. (See the example images below).

Disclaimer

Although the 200% test is useful, your printed Blurb book isthe ultimate test. (The 200% test won't tell you if your image istoo darkto print well, for example).If you plan to order multiple copies, you should always order a single Blurb-printed proof copy and review first.

What if my images look bad at 200%?

If your original images look grainy, blurry, pixelated, or jagged at 200%, they will look that way (or worse) in print.There is no perfect way to fix poor quality original images.Attempting to fix the images (by sharpening them in Photoshop, for example) can only do so much and may actually make thingsworseif overdone.

The best solution is to ensure that your original images are as sharp and clear as possible.

How to avoid grainy, blurry, or pixelated images

1. Avoid ahigh ISO setting on your camera

When taking photographs, make sure your camera's ISO setting isn't too high. By keeping your ISO setting as low as lighting allows, you will minimize the risk ofgrainy images.

There's no magic setting, andevery camera handles ISO a bit differently, but as a general rule, the higher the ISO, the more likely you'll encounter digital noise and grain in your images.

2. Avoid usinglow resolution images

Whilelow resolution images might look fine on your monitor, depending on how big you stretch them for your printed book, they may not printwell. Our book-making programswill alert you when the image you're trying to use has a low resolution.

If the low-res warning appears, reduce the size of the image on the page until the warning goes away. (Remember, the low-res warning only checks the size of the image. It can't detect blurriness, grain, pixilation, or over dark images).

3. Steady now

One common cause of blurry images is camera shake. You can avoid that issue by stabilizing your camera with a tripod. Additionally, using the timer setting on your camera or a remote-control shutter release can help to eliminate camera shake.

If youre shooting with a phone, you become the tripod! Steady yourself against something if possible.

4. Focus, focus, focus

When taking photos, be sure to focus on your subject.Out-of-focus imageswon'tprint well. If you're shooting portraits, the general consensus is to make sure your subject's eyes are in focus over anything else.

Example images

Here's a screenshot of an image viewed at 100%. It doesn't look so bad at first glance...

...but here's the same image zoomed to 200%. Notice how it's actually blurry ("soft") and nothing is really in focus. It will look just as blurry in print.

Here's another (and sharper) image at 100%.

Here's the same image zoomed in on the hat. Notice it's still relatively sharp, with sharp lines and no strong grain, unlike the other example.

How toupgrade yourBookSmart version

BookSmart does not automatically upgrade itself. If you'd like to upgrade BookSmart manually, go to our BookSmart download page and follow the instructions to reinstall.

Do I need to back up my books before I upgrade BookSmart?

You do not need to back up your books before upgrading but it's *always* a good idea to back up your computer's important data on a regular basis. We cannot supply back-up book files to you if your computer crashes so it's wise to regularly back up your book projects.

Where can I see my version number?

To view your current version of BookSmart, open BookSmart and, in the upper left, go toBookSmart > About Blurb BookSmart.

You'll then see the BookSmart version (and other information) appear.

You certainly can! In a single order, you can order as many books as you want as long as they're in the same product category.Our product categories are: Photo Books, Layflat, Trade Books and Magazines.

Sometimes we'll produce different types of products at different locations. When this happens, our site will restrict you from ordering that combination at the same time and you will see an error message when trying to add these products to your cart.

For example, if you are planning on ordering a Photo Book and a Trade book to the same address, or a Layflat book and a Photo Book, you will need to place separate orders. After you have placed your orders, contact us with both order numbers so we can discount some of the shipping charges.

Swatch kits will also need to be ordered separately, buteconomy shipping is included in its redeemable cost. If you order a swatch kit with a faster ship method, we cannot provide a discount on that shipping charge.

To qualify for a shipping discount, orders must be placed on the same day and must be shipping to the same address. We cannot discount shipping if the orders are shipping to different addresses since this would require a separate checkout regardless of the book formats ordered.

Once you upload a BookSmart project to your Blurb.com account, that uploaded book on Blurb.com can not be edited, except to delete it from your account.

Edit your book in BookSmart and re-upload

If you need to make a change to your book after you've uploaded it, edit your book in BookSmart then upload itagain. Be sure to name the book something distinct from the version that is already uploaded so that you know which version to order once the corrected version is uploaded. Alternatively, delete the outdated version from your Blurb.com account to remove any confusion about which version is the final copy to be ordered.

MissingBookSmart file for the book you want to change?

If you lost access to the BookSmart file for the book you want to edit, there is still hope!Using our new book-making tool, BookWright, you can import a previously-uploaded book made in BookSmart, make edits, then re-upload yourbook.

If you have further questions please contact us.

A common mistake we see is when authors place their content too close to the edge of the page or cover, where it's at risk of being trimmed off during production.

Eachof our book-making toolsoffers trim guidelines to help you see approximately where the trimming will take place. For information specific to your project pleasereview details for whichever tool you are using:

Trim guides in BookWright

Trim guides in Blurb's InDesign Plug-in

Trim guides in Lightroom

Trim guides for Blurb's online book-making tool, Bookify

Trim guides for BookSmart

All you need is a PC running Microsoft Windows 7 or Vista, or an Apple running Mac OS X 10.7 or later. But if you want to get technical about it, here are the detailed system requirements:

Windows - Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 Intel Pentium Dual-Core or AMD Athlon II processor 2GB of RAM 500MB of available hard-disk space Screen Resolution - 1280x800 Internet connection required for publishing

Mac OSX - 10.7+ Intel Core 2 Duo processor 2GB of RAM 500MB of available hard-disk space Screen Resolution - 1280x800 Internet connection required for publishing

Not using a supported operating system?

Dont worry, we have additional options for you to print your book with us.

You can use our online design tool Bookify to build this project in your favorite web browser. Bookify allows you to import images uploaded to your Flickr, SmugMug or Instagram accounts and is great for when you want to choose from a selection of preset layouts and a few simple background options.

If you want more control over your design you can upload a PDF through our PDF to Book workflow. After making sure your PDF follows our specifications, proof your file using Adobe Acrobat and upload to your account here.

If you ordered a digital book from Blurb (whether a PDF or an ebook) follow the steps below to download and view it on your computer or mobile device.

Download the file

You can find a link to download your digital book in the automated email you received immediately after ordering. You can also download your digital purchase from our website as follows:

If you created a Blurb username during checkout then sign in via this page: https://www.blurb.com/my/account/login. If you don't remember your password clickForgot password?to reset it.

If you did not create a username at checkout you must do that first to access your digital purchases. Create a username and password on our Sign Up pagewith the same email address you used when you placed the order:

Once you're signed in, go to your Order History page and click on your order. Then clickDownload File on the order details page.

PDF purchases

PDF files can be downloaded and read on almost all computers and most mobile devices. To view PDFs two pages at a time (like a printed book) see this help center article: How to view your PDF in spreads.

Ebook purchases

How you open your ebook depends on which device you'll use to read it. Choose from one of these options:

Open your ebook on an iPad or iPhone

Open your ebook on an Android phone or Android tablet

Open your ebook on a laptop or desktop computer