Gutter is backwards!

[KarinC]

I just received my proof from KDP and the gutters throughout are backwards from what I submitted. It looks right on the single page PDF I submitted. I have until midnight to make any changes but I don't know what to do. It is heavy on graphics so it looks bad.

Has anyone heard of this?

 

[KarinC]

It must be that KDP is not a great printer. I checked everything reuploaded my changes and everything fits correctly in their template. I don't understand why the end result is backwards.

[walt.farrell]

You'll probably have to give us more information before we'll be able to help. Screenshots of your Publisher file, and of the KDP file to show the issue, for example. Possibly sample documents.

[KarinC]

I was in panic mode yesterday with the clock ticking before the ability to make changes was locked. I didn't understand the timelines. This was my first time.

I had a bleed value set even though I wasn't using a bleed on the interior so set it to zero. I went through the long export only to be told I didn't have permission to overwrite the previous PDF. I started over, with the clock ticking, renaming it this time which worked. That added to the panic.

I designed it with a wide gutter. It shows like it should on the publisher pages, shows like expected on the PDF and when I finally got it uploaded with an hour to spare it looked perfect on the KDP template with a nice wide gutter. I will just have to hope that it is right now that it is set in stone. Maybe they are more sloppy with proofs.

On my proof of the spread, one page has a very wide outer margin and small gutter. That alternates from one page spread to another. It must be related to trimming. perhaps? It is like each spread was moved about a quarter of an inch one way or the other.

I searched and found some other people experiencing the same thing, but with no resolution. I can ask on the KDP forum but they are pretty vicious. I learned my lesson the hard way there.

Uploading your first book to KDP is a harrowing experience.

 

[KarinC]

I wanted to report back on this just in case anyone else experiences this in KDP. Apparently the sloppy gutters are seen only in the proof copy. I received the real copies yesterday and the gutters are fine.