Creating Puzzle Books with the New Book Bolt Studio

In this video I’ll walk you through all of the upgrades that Book Bolt has made to their book publishing software, as well as show you how to create professional looking puzzle books that you can publish with KDP and sell on Amazon.
Join me as I give you a tour of the brand new Book Bolt Studio.
0:00 - The brand new Book Bolt Studio is now online!
0:58 - Animated intro.
1:10 - What to expect from this video.
2:05 - How to set up new projects in the new Book Bolt Studio.
2:29 - See all of the new upgrades to the Book Bolt publishing software.
5:53 - What it was like using the old Book Bolt Designer.
6:18 - Why the new Book Bolt Studio interior creator is better than ever.
7:22 - How to set up your puzzle book.
8:59 - How to create unique puzzles in the new Book Bolt Studio.
22:18 - How to create a professional looking puzzle book cover for KDP.
32:21 - How to render out your low content book.
34:04 - Closing thoughts.
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#kdp #bookbolttutorial #activitybooks

[@vickierumbers4324]

This was just the information I needed as a newbie to Book Bolt and KDP! Thank you for a clear, thorough and helpful tutorial! Subscribed!

[@CraigBabin]

I'm glad it was helpful Vickie!

[@mrc7593]

Thanks Craig!

[@CraigBabin]

You're welcome.

[@shaunaoc]

Thanks Craig! I could watch you make covers all day. Please more videos of that. ❤

[@CraigBabin]

Thank you! I will.

[@jasminet4601]

this tutorial was sooo amazing. so informative and details and it hit the targeted obstacles I ran into. Thanks a ton.

[@CraigBabin]

I'm glad you liked it Jasmine.

[@klstepney]

Wow! I really love this! Exactly what I was looking for. You’re amazing! Thank you!

[@CraigBabin]

Glad it was helpful!

[@amodestmessengerchalonanto5150]

This video is golden! Thank you. I was struggling with using the new Book Bolt Studio features. But you really clarified a lot of details which resolved my confusion problems. Thank you!

[@CraigBabin]

I'm glad I could help.

[@soundmindmotivation]

I'm hooked! You're my new tutor! Absolutely loved this... ❤ thank you so much!

[@CraigBabin]

I'm glad you find it helpful.

[@bluetek9]

Always a pleasure to learn from someone who actually knows what they are talking about, as is evident when watching your design skills.

[@CraigBabin]

I'm just glad I'm able to help people Basil.

[@spk311]

WOW ~ Brilliant, Thanks Craig. 👍👍👍❤

[@CraigBabin]

You're welcome Stephanie.

[@carmenduranmartin9084]

Excellent! Thanks a lot, Craig!

[@CraigBabin]

My pleasure!

[@agreewme]

Fantastic tutorial! Thank you so much!

[@CraigBabin]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@stephentremp327]

Thanks for the tutorial I'll get started on my puzzle books today!

[@CraigBabin]

Best of luck!

[@acrawdaddy88]

This was absolutely fantastic! Genuinely enjoyed this video. I feel more comfortable with having a general idea of using the software and some of its tools. It is still a learning curve, but I look forward to purchasing the software and using outside sources for photos and fonts to help create my covers if need be. Thank you so much for all that you do.

[@CraigBabin]

I'm glad you found the video useful Alex.

[@crumpetsbuttered]

What a great video, thank you for all your time and effort.

[@CraigBabin]

My pleasure!

[@DeeDauphineeWriter]

After watching many tutorials, your video was the only one that was truly helpful. Subscribed! Thanks. I tried to make my first wordsearch puzzle book and things were going well until I realized (AFTER designing all the interior pages) that I hadn't chosen an appropriate page count, and when Bookbolt generated my thirty specialized puzzles it only had room for twenty of the answer keys! Live and learn-- I'll start over again.

[@CraigBabin]

Yeah, planning out your book ahead of time is definitely a must with Book Bolt.

[@racquelmarshall2928]

JUST SUBSCRIBED because of your warm personality and AMAZING CONTENT....Thanks much and great job Craig 😃

[@CraigBabin]

You're too kind Racquel! Thanks for the sub.

[@mikecreed1959]

Super useful!! You do a great job of explaining how to really get the most out of this software. Thanks a million!!

[@CraigBabin]

You're very welcome Mike!

[@sandeebartsch9063]

What a great video. You are a great teacher. It was so interesting to see how to create a puzzle book.

[@CraigBabin]

Thank you for the kind words Sandee. I'm glad you found it interesting.

[@YiskahLeAnn]

This video is AMAZING and so incredibly helpful. I just started using Book Bolt a couple days ago and I definitely needed some help 😅 I’ll be watching your playlist next. Thanks!!

[@CraigBabin]

You're quite welcome Jessica.

[@chelseadoi4459]

BEST tutorial

[@CraigBabin]

Thanks Chelsea. I'm glad you liked it.

[@carolratteray7216]

I love your cover, beautiful.

[@CraigBabin]

Thanks Carol.

[@eplayandcashin]

Great tutorial 👌 thank you

[@CraigBabin]

I'm glad you liked it.

[@livindalife08]

Awesome! Very helpful...thanks!

[@CraigBabin]

You're welcome!

[@LaLa-TheExplorer]

Thanks, Craig! this is very helpful. God Bless you 🙂

[@CraigBabin]

You're welcome.

[@kristiaanverberne8419]

Thank you so much, Craig, for sharing your experience and knowledge. I bought Book Bolt Pro yesterday, and I was utterly lost. I use Affinity Designer for creating (drawing) puzzles and mazes. But this process is a lot of work. I stumbled upon Book Bolt, and was very sceptic at first but just bought it without thinking about "how it works"! Before I came across your tutorial, I was lost because the Book Bolt tutorials didn't work for me. I needed something more "all-in". I found exactly what I needed in your tutorial. When I see your tutorial, I see a "master" at work. Your way of explaining is very easy to follow for a newbie like myself. So thank you again for your great tutorial and truly save my day and investment. I really do hope to see more of your work! Kind Regards, Chris

[@CraigBabin]

Thank you for the kind words Chris, I'm glad you found my video useful.

[@mystrokejourney3396]

Thank very much for the video !

[@CraigBabin]

You're welcome.

[@alexarobinson2850]

You’re the best, thank you!!

[@CraigBabin]

You're welcome Alexa.

[@iaskedmygran5495]

Best video on this subject you solved my problems straight away

[@CraigBabin]

I'm glad I could help.

[@jcomp7962]

best tutorial I have ever seen

[@CraigBabin]

You're too kind!

[@DesignCutters]

This was a really great tutorial - thank you!

[@CraigBabin]

It's set to automatically download into the "downloads" folder on your computer. You should find and be able to open the file from there.

[@gayledixon3245]

This is an awesome tutorial! You answered questions I didn't even know I had! I appreciate how you share your expertise.

[@CraigBabin]

That's very nice of you to say, I'm glad you liked the video.

[@snobby_lobster]

THANK YOU!! Your video answered a pressing critical question for me: how to move around in the artboard!! Nowhere in the tutorials or FAQs does it say how to move around in the artboard. I tried using the scrollwheel, and pairing that with the Ctrl, Shift, Alt, Windows key... did not think to use the SPACEBAR! THANKS A MILLION!

[@CraigBabin]

Hahaha, trust me, I tried all of those combinations as well the first few times I used the software. I think anyone who has ever worked in any type of professional photo editing software, is going to stumble on that. Glad I could help!

[@kerib2535]

This was great thank you

[@CraigBabin]

You're welcome Keri.

[@Peshiolini]

Wow great information super.... Your one of the best I have seen on this topic

[@CraigBabin]

That's very kind of you to say!

[@pureinspiration123]

The automatic puzzle generator is just amazing!

[@CraigBabin]

It does make things easier!

[@jacobdavid]

Good and informative video. Thank you for sharing.

[@CraigBabin]

Thanks for watching!

[@diyday21]

Thanks!

[@CraigBabin]

No problem!

[@brandygrandon6222]

thank you so much for this video.I was trying to figure out whether to purchase book bolt as an investment for the long haul.I'm for sure buying it now

[@CraigBabin]

I'm glad I could help Brandy.

[@Inspirationland-et8yy]

Amazing did not know this existed

[@CraigBabin]

I'm glad you found it informative.

[@chillstudio545]

Its amazing

[@CraigBabin]

It has improved quite a bit.

[@footybants543]

Easy to follow and with a pleasant sounding voice 😊 That makes a change to some other KZbin demonstrators. I will definitely purchase the software on the basis of watching this video, and will click your affiliate link as my way of thanking you. Keep on the great work 🙌🏼 It’d be great if you could make a similar video for crossword puzzles ❤

[@CraigBabin]

Thank you I appreciate that. There will be a crossword video in the near future.

[@mslj4062]

This was wonderful! I am still thinking about Bookbolt..? 🤔🙂 Thank you so much for creating this tutorial. It makes it a more viable decision. 🙌🏼☕🤓💯🙏🏼👏🏼

[@CraigBabin]

Here's a little piece of advice that may help you make your decision. There's a good chance that Book Bolt will have a Black Friday special this November. Book Bolt notifies me ahead of time to let me know if they do. I'll post in my community section to let my subscribers know the sale is coming. So if you're subscribed to my channel and you have the bell notification turned on for all notifications, you'll get the notification that I've posted something in my community section. Then, if you use my affiliate link in the description section of this video, you'll save 20%. And if the sale is the same as last year, you'll also get an additional 40% off. Which will give you 60% off of a 1 year subscription. That's how it worked last year anyway.

[@mslj4062]

@@CraigBabin If Book Bolt sale repeats for this year then I will definitely sign up through your affiliate link. Now to look at some more of your videos. Thank you for the heads up. Have a great weekend. ☕🙌🏼💯😁

[@user-mn2md1ve5g]

you're awesome

[@Treehead726]

Great video & very informative! I'm having some issues with the number of pages left over from grouping the solutions puzzles together. If I create the number of pages I need & it doesn't load all of the solution puzzles. But if I create enough pages for all of the solution puzzles to load, after I condense them to fit 6 on a page, I have blank pages left over that I can't delete.

[@CraigBabin]

You can delete pages. Just right click on the page you want to delete in the left hand column and chose delete.

[@anicoleratliff2681]

Update: I believe you addressed my concern in your video and BTW, that was fabulous!🤗 I can never get my template to fill the center of the page like yours. It's always off to the side and when I enlarge it the template becomes too big for the screen and still off to the side. Definitely hinders my design time when trying to enlarge it so I can see the details better. During a Book Bolt Live session someone else was experiencing the same issue. I tried the suggestion that was given to her but it did not help. 😕

[@CraigBabin]

If I understand you correctly, you're talking about the art board itself. Use the scroll wheel on your mouse to zoom in and out, and hold down either the scroll wheel or the left mouse button, as well as the space bar on your keyboard, to reposition the art board to where you want it.

[@anicoleratliff2681]

@@CraigBabin You are correct and thank you. I will definitely try that.

[@recoverycareerservices7540]

Great video, Craig! Thank you so much. I'm a total newbie to Book Bolt and your tutorial is easy to follow and understand. Do you already have or could you please make a video about using Book Bolt to make crossword puzzles as well?

[@CraigBabin]

I don't have a video dealing with crosswords yet, but I plan to make one in the near future.

[@recoverycareerservices7540]

Thanks so much!

[@judyderby5432]

This is the second video I've watched that completely skims over how to group the solutions on the same page. I finished one activity book and just ended up doing one per page because for the life of me, I couldn't figure out how to combine several pages onto one. Yes, I know how to shrink the size of the solution, but that doesn't tell me how to put more than one on the same page.

[@CraigBabin]

You right click on them and then copy and paste them on to the new page, I show you how to do that here in the video: 19:11

[@gotcomps]

Craig, this tutorial is EXACTLY what I have scouring the YT world for!! Thank You Good Sir!!! I have a question - I want to make my covers using Affinity. Is it possible to import already-made cover files into Book Bolt?? Thanks!

[@CraigBabin]

As long as they're in a JPEG or PNG format, yes. I do that in this video here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n4K8koyHbrKkgJI

[@jeffstevens829]

Thanks for this in depth tutorial! Quick question is what you did here only available in the Pro Version?

[@CraigBabin]

Yeah, the puzzle generator only comes with the pro version.

[@jeffstevens829]

@@CraigBabin Thought that might be the case. Thank you!!!

[@ZimCrusher]

Just a quick easy question: Even pages are on the left, and Odd pages are on the right, correct? So if I want the words on the left, and the grid for the word search on the right, I would need to have 2&3, 4&5, 6&7 correct?

[@CraigBabin]

Correct. Page 1 is on the right hand side because the inside of the cover is on the left hand side. So each future page spread would be 2&3, 4&5, 6&7, etc.

[@kimgeiger7940]

Thank you so much for this excellent video! Have an additional question. Do you know if you can add pages to the puzzle book created outside of Book Bolt, or if it is possible to export this book bolt file in to another publishing software to add additional pages?

[@CraigBabin]

I don't think so. I'm pretty sure Book Bolt only exports projects in PDF format and that it's using it's own native file format when the project is being worked on. But you can bring pages from an outside book, into Book Bolt as either PDF's or PNG files, and then copy and paste them on to blank pages inside of the Book Bolt Studio. But ultimately, you have to create the entire book inside of the studio.

[@Mslee987]

I’m new to kdp and this was great. My question is when uploading to kdp how do you upload the interior and cover separate since in bookbolt it is saved together in 1 when doing the cover and interior together.

[@CraigBabin]

The project is saved out of Book Bolt in one ZIP folder, but once you get inside the folder, both the cover and the interior are two separate PDF files.

[@kitokamilimusic6378]

Thanks so much for this! Was able to successfully follow along with your video to create my 1st word search. The only issue that came up is right clicking to edit the content. Nothing happens when I right click. Any other way you know of to access the feature to edit the content?

[@CraigBabin]

1. Make sure that the layer you want to edit is unlocked. 2. Make sure that you have selected the content you want to edit (in other words, there is a green bounding box around it). 3. Make sure you're right clicking "inside" of the green bounding box. If none of that works, submit a help ticket to Book Bolt, you have a glitch.

[@kitokamilimusic6378]

@@CraigBabin received & very much appreciated💯

[@NiazMohammad]

Thank you so much for such a great tutorial on word search. However, Is it possible to make a crossword puzzle book in bookbolt? if so, would you kindly make a video on it please?

[@CraigBabin]

It is and I will some day soon.

[@user-bh5dl4bl1r]

hi thanks for the tutorial. how are you able to move the clues individually and arrange them in order with equal spacing and well lined up. i was not able to do this. i tried using the grid in the book bolt studio but was unable to achieve this. the words were not well arranged and the spacings were off.

[@CraigBabin]

Just place your cursor after the first clue and then hit your space bar a few times. Then repeat on the second clue, third clue and so on. You can also select a number of the words and then cut and paste them on to their own layer and then just line them up underneath one another. If you have 16 words, do this 4 times and you'll be left with 4 columns that are left justified.

[@user-bh5dl4bl1r]

Ok thanks!@@CraigBabin

[@TerryJerry]

Hi I finally finish and was able to upload to CSV. However, after the last page, the soluton page does not come up after the last page. Does it matter whether you use a mac laptop? I even created a ticket twice and no avail.

[@CraigBabin]

When you upload the CSV, there must be enough blank pages in your book so that each solution can be placed on it's own page. Did you account for that? You can place the solutions 6 to a page after they are created and then just delete the extra blank pages. So if you are creating 50 puzzles, you need to make sure that you have at least 100 blank pages. Also, on the puzzle generator page, make sure you have checked the box to add the solutions.

[@mahmoudmatar1196]

Thanks for your outstanding effort. After choosing the punches that I will use in the book, I want to change all letters from lowercase letters to uppercase letters, but I am afraid of changing the meanings of words. Can you help because English is not the mother tongue?

[@CraigBabin]

Changing letters from lowercase to uppercase doesn't change the meaning in English. Just select all of your letters and use the "aA" tool in the text menu to change them to uppercase.

[@williamozdal7442]

This video was super great at helping me understand the tools available through Book Bolt. Quick question though, if I may. @15:03 you are showing how to break the big group apart and create a new group with the puzzle itself, followed by creating a border. You then go to the words themselves and begin spacing them. I am unable to edit my words once they are grouped together. I noticed you didn't group them together in the video but at the 15:03 mark you can see in the top right corner that they do become a text group, if that is the correct term. How are you able to group the words together in a way that allows you to edit/space them? If I group them the same way I did the puzzle, I can only move them around together or edit their size, color, etc, but not space the words. Please help =]

[@CraigBabin]

After generating the puzzle, I selected it on the page, right clicked and chose edit contents. That separated all of the pieces. Each letter of the puzzle itself become individual, but the words below the puzzle became one long sentence. I regrouped the letters in the puzzle so that I didn't accidentally move them, but I never regrouped the words; they remained one long sentence. To edit that sentence, just click on the spot where you want to start editing, then proceed to edit just as you would in any word editing software (space bar to add spaces, enter key to move text to another line, etc. If you want to be able to move the words around individually, you'll have to type them out individually using your text tool.

[@williamozdal7442]

@@CraigBabin oh I see, when I generated my puzzle my words became individual words that I then grouped together like the puzzle itself. It’s supposed to be one text box, that makes so much sense. Thank you!!!!

[@MrTipperooo]

Great video, really informative. I'd be interested to know what information you included on the copyright page. Do you have to credit Book Bold in any way?

[@CraigBabin]

No you don't have to credit Book Bolt, they're just the software you used to layout your book. If you want to see what one of my copyright pages look like, just use the "Look Inside" feature to see the first few pages of one of my books. You can find one here: amzn.to/3wpYCfS

[@shaunaoc]

Question: Do you know if RGB/CMYK rendering (32:44) works the same in Canva? Thanks for great videos!

[@CraigBabin]

If I was using Canva, I'd probably just render out as RGB as well. The only time rendering out in CMYK is advantageous to you, is when you have access to Pantone swatches. I've never used Canva before, but I highly doubt that you have access to Pantone swatches. KDP printers can get pretty good results with RGB, so unless you're using a software program like Adobe, I'd just stick to RGB.

[@shaunaoc]

Awesome. Thank you!

[@sclmb]

How do you zoom into one section? I am trying to work on the heading of a page but I can't seem to get there. When I zoom in, it just zooms into one part of the page. There are no scroll bars to navigate around the page.

[@CraigBabin]

Hold down your "space bar" and either your "scroll wheel" or "left mouse button" at the same time. You'll be able to move the art board around.

[@csheff2464]

Does Bookbolt studio allow you to add extra pages to a project while your creating the pages? Does it automatically adjust the cover spine also?

[@CraigBabin]

No, and it's for the very reason you just mentioned. Because it's creating the cover at the same time, it needs to make all of the calculations ahead of time. But it's the same with KDP; once you've uploaded your cover, you can't change the number of pages in your interior, without redoing your cover. That's why you need to plan out your book ahead of time. If you're not sure how many pages your book is going to be, then create your interior first by itself (which you can do in Book Bolt). Then once you have that finalized, create your cover separately.

[@MidnightxCrow]

Thanks a lot for all your videos, I'm learning a lot from you. I just have one question though about the interior making process. I made the interior of a wide lined journal and then it brought me to an options window where you could set the margins (not the page ones obviously), the space between line and stroke thickness...I got all that but then at the bottom there is something called the "Bleed Mode" where it gives me a choice between "Work Area (consider KDP margins)" and "Paper"...I don't get this part, which bleed are they talking about exactly? since I know I already set the format to "no bleed" and I doubt they are reffering to that to begin with. It would be super helpful if you could guide me through this part in case you have some knowledge about it. Thank you so much again!

[@CraigBabin]

If you choose "Work Area", your lines will stop at the green KDP margins. If you choose "Paper", then you're lines will bleed right off of the edge of the page.

[@MidnightxCrow]

@@CraigBabin but I already set the template to no bleed. So if I select "paper" will the setting then change to bleed or am I understanding it wrong?

[@CraigBabin]

If you don't want bleed then just choose "Work Area".

[@MidnightxCrow]

@@CraigBabin ok thank you so much!

[@kosmosubliminal4949]

Hello Craig, do you have any suggestions for generating random words for word puzzles?

[@CraigBabin]

Try this site here: wordcounter.net/random-word-generator

[@marieb9447]

I'm new to this, you gave a lot of great information, but I will need to watch it again it seemed you moved about so quick I could hardly keep up. 👍

[@CraigBabin]

Once you get the hang of it, it'll be second nature to you. I move fast because in the age of short videos like TikTok, people seem to have the attention span of a goldfish and long form videos don't do very well any more.

[@sidehustle2478]

@@CraigBabin I get it but in this case IMO this is not just a regular video I agree with @marie b videos where your are demonstrating something or teaching others on a specific topic are the exception. I have this one on repeat. 😆

[@BadPhD777]

You can always set the playback speed to less than normal!

[@mystrokejourney3396]

can I control the numbers of columns? Can I put less? Tks

[@CraigBabin]

If you're referring to the number of columns in the puzzle itself ... no. But if you're referring to the columns of words, then yes. Watch this video here to see how to do it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a6C5eoaBh8p2eM0

[@LWO579]

Any ideas why my cover layers keep changing order even after saving, when I leave the page to work on the puzzle pages? Also, what do do when it DOESN'T load the solutions pages but fills the entire thing with just puzzles? I figured out where I went wrong on both occasions. :P

[@CraigBabin]

Nothing should change after you save the page out. I've never heard of layers moving by themselves. You may want to submit a ticket to Book Bolt for that one. As for only getting puzzles and no solutions, double check to make sure that you have the solution option turned on in the generator, and make sure you have enough blank pages in your book, for the number of puzzles, as well as the number of solutions you want to create. (ie 50 puzzles + 50 solutions = 100 blank pages needed).

[@LWO579]

@@CraigBabin In order for it to not move around, I finally had to group them all, lock it then save and go to my next page. At least it works. :)

[@truthseeker9416]

Thanks for this detailed video. I am getting an error msg 'not enough words' when I try to load my csv file. How can I fix it? When we input the Max words per page as 10, can we still have some pages with less than 10 words or does it have to be exactly 10 ?

[@CraigBabin]

It's best to have more words in your CSV file than you need in your book. Not all words will work together in all puzzles, so the generator may not be able to deliver what you're asking for. To answer your second question, if you generate the puzzles separately, you can have whatever number of words you want in each puzzle. But if you generate them all at once, then they will all have the same amount of words in them.

[@truthseeker9416]

@@CraigBabin I am trying to do a knowledge based wordsearch on a subject matter. So answers are precise and cannot add extra words. I am trying to load a few pages at a time separately and still getting the error message.

[@CraigBabin]

@@truthseeker9416 The only reason that you should be getting that error message, is if you stipulated that you wanted 10 words to a puzzle and for whatever reason, the generator couldn't make those 10 words fit in the same puzzle. Since it is unable to deliver what you're asking of it, it gives you an error. The only thing I would suggest is try requesting fewer words in each puzzle. If that doesn't work, submit a help ticket with Book Bolt to see if they can figure it out.

[@truthseeker9416]

@@CraigBabin thank you. I will try reducing the number to see if that works.

[@sidehustle2478]

Ok I have a question initially when you set up the pages of the book you keyed in 74 so since you are now doing more then initially set up end with 84 pages now do you have to go back and update the pages to 84 instead of 74, I watched video twice but did not see you do that or hear any mention of having to do this. OR will the software update according ty

[@CraigBabin]

No, just go to the left hand column of the studio where all of your pages are and you'll see little blue buttons under each page that say "Add Page". Just click that button to add a blank page in the spot that you want it. You're book cover's spine will be adjusted automatically.

[@sidehustle2478]

@@CraigBabin @Craig Babin ok got it thank you so much for answering this is really a great video I was trying to figure out how to do exactly what you did at the part where you copy and paste what was done so not to have to do it for each page. I definitely need to re-watch again so much info I personally would have loved a longer video I get it still the best so far I have found on using book bolt. Thanks

[@CraigBabin]

Just select the items on the page that you want to copy, right click on one of them and choose "copy". Then go to your blank page and right click on it and choose "paste".

[@rickymolina7390]

Hi Craig! Thanks so much for your videos. I have a question about saving project files and pages in BB: In a previous video, you said that we had to render/export our projects within a few days because BB erases files in its cache (or wherever). Is that still the case? The reason I ask is that I have a feeling that completing my first few books will take more than a few days. I'd like to be able to resume work on a project that I started more than a week or two in the past. Why would BB put such stressful time limits on creators anyway? (unless I misunderstood your previous video). I'm hoping that the new BB would do away with this time constraint. Thank you.

[@CraigBabin]

No, that's no longer the case. If your project is untouched for more than 30 days, Book Bolt archives it. All that does is removes it from the cache and saves it to a back up server. You can still access it when you open the BB Studio, it's just going to take a few seconds longer to open. Your projects will be saved for as long as you have a subscription.

[@rickymolina7390]

@@CraigBabin Whew! That's good to hear. Thank you so much.

[@dave30irish]

Just starting out in kdp and I would like to start with puzzle books. Would you reccomend any particular type of puzzle Book to start with eg. Crosswords, suduko, word search etc. And what software would you use. Thanks

[@CraigBabin]

If you want to start with puzzle books, Book Bolt has a great puzzle generator as well as desk top publishing software and research tools. And you can save 20% by using my promo code and link that's in the description section of the video you just watched. As for which type of puzzle book to start with, word search are good, and if you're a little patient, I'll have a brand new video dropping later this week that walks you step by step through the process of creating a Sudoku puzzle book.

[@justkasee]

Great video Craig.I did get the software but it seems I have different interface for input of the settings for the Puzzles.The solutions has grey over the answers.Not sure what I am doing wrong and support does not seem helpful.

[@CraigBabin]

Book Bolt got rid of the square boxes because they all ran into one another and it was hard to see where one word began and another word ended. So now you have two options, you can either have grey ellipses or a straight line through the word to highlight it. Compared to the old way, the ellipses are way less confusing and I don't mind them. In the puzzle set up, under the row where you add your CSV file, you now have 3 new options, Diagonal Words, Reverse Words, and Solution Highlighter (which are the grey ellipses or the line strike out through the word).

[@justkasee]

@@CraigBabin Thanks for the response.That explains loads.Could you also confirm why my words lists always come out as small letters even when they are upper letters in my files.Thanks in advance

[@CraigBabin]

@@justkasee I don't think you can control that right out of the puzzle, but you can always change the letters to all caps manually by rewriting them on the puzzle page itself.

[@rostik924]

Can an INDD file be opened in Book Bolt? Thank you

[@CraigBabin]

I don't think so, you're going to have to export it out as a PDF.

[@estherolawuyi4204]

I'm cackling at "but wait! there's more"

[@CraigBabin]

Yeah, that's left over from my years of working as a bartender, coming home at 2am and then watching infomercials until I passed out.

[@adnaneamzil105]

How to automate this ? for example designing the layout that I want and upload my csv . is every time should I change the Name for example " Puzzle 1, Puzzle 2, puzzle 3...."

[@CraigBabin]

You could always hire someone to do it for you!

[@lavelclaytorsProjectswPurpose]

Great video, do you know how many letters in a word can be used? And if you have two words that go together in the word search how would you make that happen? I’m thinking you will put a dash between the two words.

[@CraigBabin]

As far as how many letters can be used, if it's a word search puzzle, I would imagine that as long as the word is no longer than the number of letters appearing either horizontally or vertically in the puzzle, you should be fine. You can't use dashes in a word search puzzle. As for crossword puzzles, I'm really not sure about how multiple words are handled, or even the length of words allowed. I haven't created a crossword puzzle yet. Your best bet would be to contact Book Bolt.

[@kristenstrother4587]

You may have already figured this out, but I have found that if I just have a space between two words (like a person's full name) in my csv document, Book Bolt automatically changes it into one word in the word search (which I think is pretty typical for word searches).

[@lavelclaytorsProjectswPurpose]

@@kristenstrother4587 thank you so much

[@shoppersdream]

Quick Question for you, please? Do we have any option to remove the background of an image on the Book bolt? If we bring an image from outside to the book bolt then changing color becomes a little difficult. Sometimes it is difficult to find a Png image. Thanks

[@CraigBabin]

No, you can't remove a background in Book Bolt. But you can always remove it in Photoshop or Photopea.com , before you bring it into Book Bolt. Just make sure to export it out as a PNG.

[@shoppersdream]

@@CraigBabinWow! That is sad that Book Bolt is missing such a major necessity. That is what I am doing. I am removing BG in Photoshop and then bringing it to Book Bolt. How can they lack such a big functionality? Thanks

[@CraigBabin]

@@shoppersdream You can't compare Book Bolt to Photoshop, it's not meant to be a replacement for it. It's a book publishing software. It's meant to be a hybrid of Photoshop and InDesign. Can Photoshop generate puzzles? No! Does InDesign provide you with market research for your competition? No! Can you do graphic design in InDesign? No! Can you lay out a book in Photoshop? No! And a subscription to both of those software apps costs way more than a subscription to Book Bolt! Book Bolt is designed purely for book publishing, and if you look at all of the features it gives you, you'll find that there is nothing else on the market that even comes close to it for that price! I wish my big screen TV doubled as a toaster oven, so that I wouldn't have to get off of the couch to make something to eat ... but you can't have everything.

[@shoppersdream]

@@CraigBabinThey Used to have the Remove Background Feature but they removed it in Studio. Thanks

[@shoppersdream]

Thanks! Where did you find these Valentine's day's words from? Any Specific Website. I can find words but not specific to what I want.

[@CraigBabin]

No specific website. Just Google words pertaining to love, romance, relationships, heartbreak, etc.

[@mahmoudmatar1196]

How to enlarge the letters and font size to fit the books for the elderly

[@CraigBabin]

Select your text, go to the text tool bar above your art board and click on the text size icon, it looks like this "aA". Or you can adjust the size when you are generating puzzles. You'll be given the option to do so in the "options" pop up menu that appears after you choose which pages you want your puzzles on. Watch here: 9:33

[@mmr3160]

How do I increase the search boxes?

[@CraigBabin]

What search boxes?

[@onlineguy55]

Great video, but why didn't you explain about the Auto Save instead of clicking save all the time?

[@CraigBabin]

Because I like having control of when my project is saved. That way if I make big changes to my project and realize that what I'm doing isn't working, I can always just shut the project down and reopen it right back at where I last saved it. But if I have auto save on, it may have saved out my project 3 or 4 times while I was making changes, which means that I can't go back to the last time I saved it. It's just a personal preference.

[@onlineguy55]

@@CraigBabin ok but I like the auto save cause I've lost a lot of work by forgetting to click save all the time.

[@CraigBabin]

@@onlineguy55 Yeah, I've done that myself from time to time.

[@kimberlywons5581]

Hello! I purchased your bundle, but I'm unable to open the file! What do I need to do?

[@CraigBabin]

The RAR file is a zip file that the bundle comes packed in, if you can't open it, you can download free RAR extraction software here: bit.ly/3DzYugp All of the documents are PDF format in the bundle. If your computer is trying to open them with notepad, it's because you don't have the Adobe Acrobat software on your computer. You can download it for free here: get.adobe.com/reader/

[@NyanMudkip]

In a book with 60 puzzles and 16 words per puzzle would you recommend using 960 unique words or reusing words in puzzles? Thanks for the video.

[@CraigBabin]

I would try to use as many unique words as possible. Too much repetition may make customers feel like they've been cheated, which equals bad reviews.

[@NyanMudkip]

@@CraigBabin Thank you

[@louisd95714]

Thank you for the clearly laid out video. I am also thinking of joining Book Bolt. My question to you is how is, is it working out for you? In your opinion is it worth your time and effort? I know each person is different, has different goals, and the mileage may vary. I just want to know if you think it's worth the time and effort to make money off of this. Also, this question is open ended to all that want to reply, and not limited to Craig Babin.

[@CraigBabin]

I personally layout my book interiors, as well as create my book covers in Adobe Software (InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop). I use Book Bolt for the research tools as well as the puzzle generator. And I feel that the subscription price is worth it, just for those two tools alone. But for those people who don't have access to Adobe software, and who only want to self publish books, I think the Book Bolt Studio is the perfect solution. In fact, I often use the Book Bolt Studio to mock up my books, simply because it's quicker than mocking the interior and cover up separately in Adobe software. Book Bolt Studio is purely for book publishing, and I use Adobe software for many things outside of that, which is why I still use it. But Book Bolt is continually upgrading and improving their software, and it won't be long until it reaches a point where it begins to match Adobe as far as book creating is concerned. And when it does, because it's sole purpose is for creating books, it will actually be laid out in a far more intuitive way than Adobe software is. It wouldn't surprise me if I began using the Book Bolt Studio to create my books in the near future, even though I have access to the Adobe suite. But that's just my opinion Louis, ultimately, it's your decision.

[@louisd95714]

@@CraigBabin Thank you for your reply. I might very well be starting this out, and will surely use your link to sign up. It also seems like a fun interface. I guess there's no option for spiral bound books, correct? They appear to be selling a bit better than standard puzzle books.

[@CraigBabin]

@@louisd95714 As of right now, KDP doesn't have an option for spiral bound books. But if you really want to create one, you can always use Lulu Publishing. They do create POD spiral bound books and they also supply Amazon.

[@louisd95714]

@@CraigBabin Good to know, many thanks!

[@angelastrickland2472]

Hi Craig. I am creating my book in batches of 10 puzzles. I have 61 pages loaded for the puzzles and solutions. How do I add the next batch of puzzles to the current book?

[@CraigBabin]

The same way you added the first batch. Select the page you want the puzzles to start on and click the "page templates" icon in the tool bar. Then just select the puzzle template you want to use and go through the same steps you did for the first batch.

[@christinazacarias6533]

Is it only a desktop or can I use it by phone or tablet as well?

[@CraigBabin]

I've only used it on a desktop so I can't say for sure. You may be able to use it on a tablet.

[@louisd95714]

I think the main issues I am having is lining up the words after they are generated. For example, if I am asking for 20 words each, instead of it neatly stacking four columns, it is providing three columns, the first two being seven words, and the last column laying out six words. It's sort of frustrating, but I might be too anal to let it go also. The two books I purchased has them neatly lined up the way I want it, so not sure if there is an easy way of doing this

[@CraigBabin]

There is an easier way. Just use the grid generator with 4 or 5 vertical rows (which ever you prefer). Make sure your snap tool is turned on at the bottom of the page. Then just type out each word individually and then snap them up against each respective vertical line on your grid ... until you have 4 or 5 columns of words. The first letter of every word should be perfectly left justified in each column. If you're not sure how to use the grid generator, watch my video on how to create connect the dot books in Book Bolt. I go over using the grid in that video.

[@louisd95714]

@@CraigBabin OK, thank you, I will try this out!

[@jjstuartonwriting8150]

Can you add a blank page? Say you thought you would need 57 pages but actually needed 60. Can you add the extra pages?

[@CraigBabin]

Yeah, just click the little blue add page button that sits under each page in the left hand column.

[@user-rk8hg9ic3d]

thank uu, i have a question should we put all the words in USPTO TO check if there is a trademark orr it not dangerous because it is small and not in the title?

[@CraigBabin]

No, just try an stay away from themes that are based on other peoples intellectual property ... like a Disney Word Search book.

[@user-rk8hg9ic3d]

@@CraigBabin THANks for your response, i didn't mean the niche but the words search inside the book ?

[@CraigBabin]

@@user-rk8hg9ic3d If you're just using normal words, you'll be fine. You just can't use trademarked words in your books title, or in your book, if you're using them in a derogatory or demeaning way toward the company you're mentioning. And since you're book is only a word search book, then you're not doing that. There's no need to search out all of the words in USTPO.

[@user-rk8hg9ic3d]

@@CraigBabin thank u so much

[@shoppersdream]

How old is this one? I don't even see the Layers Icon. I just started and What I am seeing on Book Bolt is so much different. Do you have any videos with the New Book Bolt Software? Thanks

[@CraigBabin]

Watch the entire video. The beginning of the video is showing the old Book Bolt Designer.

[@inversiones841]

I'm trying to create word searches in Spanish, but it doesn't show me the letters with accents or Ñ, do you know if they can be placed?

[@CraigBabin]

No I don't sorry.

[@louisd95714]

Craig, FYI, there might be a bug with the puzzle generator. When I am attempting to use the Word Search generator, even though my CSV file is using all capital letters, the word list clues are all being converted to lower case. I have sent a ticket over to them, and am awaiting for their reply, but if you have any suggestions, or can try this out form your end I would like to hear about it also.

[@CraigBabin]

Once you've loaded your puzzle on to your page, select it, right lick on it and choose edit contents. Then group select all of the words in lower case, then go to up to the text tool menu, above your art board and use the "Capitalize Letters" tool to change all of the letters to upper case. It's the icon with the small "a" that has an arrow pointing to a capital "A".

[@louisd95714]

@@CraigBabin You are a genius Craig! Thank you so much, it worked like a charm.

[@user-zs5fq8rb2l]

Hi Craig. I have a bit of a problem. I am trying to set up my alphabet soup. I get a board with 16 columns x 16 rows, is there any way to change that configuration? Thanks in advance for your help. I learn a lot from your videos.

[@CraigBabin]

The configuration should default at 17 X 17 and I don't think there's a way to change that. You can change the dimensions of the puzzle letter board by adding in wider margins in the margin setting at the top of the puzzle generator menu, but that's pretty much it. You're stuck with 17 X 17, unless you change the length of your words. Really long words will probably result in more columns and rows.

[@unexpertodegoogleteayuda1465]

Thank you very much for your help, Craig. I wasted a lot of time looking for where I could change that setting. Thank you, Sofia Wang

[@CraigBabin]

@@unexpertodegoogleteayuda1465 I'm glad I could help Sofia.

[@thetwogoldenlampstandsmini8576]

Do you upload the cover and interior at the same time with the studio? Are the interior and the cover separate PDF files that is uploaded to KDP separately just like we do with regular bookbolt?

[@CraigBabin]

Yes, if you create your book cover and interior at the same time in Book Bolt Studio, when you render it out, the finished documents will come in a ZIP file and both the interior and cover will be separate PDF files ready to upload to KDP.

[@thetwogoldenlampstandsmini8576]

@@CraigBabin Thank you so very much! We were really confused! You have a great channel and excellent tips! Have a blessed day!

[@CraigBabin]

@@thetwogoldenlampstandsmini8576 I'm glad I could clear that up for you.

[@thetwogoldenlampstandsmini8576]

@@CraigBabin Thank you very much!

[@lavelclaytorsProjectswPurpose]

Also once you put together your book is it possible to Re-organize or move the pages

[@CraigBabin]

You can't move the pages themselves, but you can copy the content on the page and paste it to another page.

[@kristenstrother4587]

Yes, like Craig said. I contacted Book Bolt today and they said the same thing. They said you right click on the created interior and then select "clone this page to others" (so essentially copying it). It would be great if they add functionality to move the pages!

[@CraigBabin]

@@kristenstrother4587 Yeah, it would be nice if you could just drag and drop pages into a different order. I'm sure they'll enable that some day soon.

[@sidehustle2478]

I am sorry but I have another question in the video you go back to the puzzle generator and chose 2 more pages, I get you are just showing us how or what can be done, but if you choose your pages at the start you can't just go back in the generator pages as shown here is this correct. Or can you just do a few pages at a time as in this example in video. Ty

[@CraigBabin]

You can go back to the puzzle generator as many times as you want, just as long as you have a blank page to put a puzzle on.

[@sidehustle2478]

@@CraigBabin ok so one more quick question do you recommend that being done example ...doing a couple of pages at a time as per your direction above instead of setting all pages up front. Ok just noticed something else if this is able to be done as described above you can upload you word csv file as you go as well and it only will be added to the selected pages only; am I understanding that correct. Thanks again, its morning now and really have more questions or should I say inquiries on what I see each time I review the video over. 😀

[@CraigBabin]

Yes, do it in small batches and each CSV will only be used for the pages selected.

[@specialk8927]

This was a lot I think I need detail tutoring on what snap is,how to use the squares and make a border,how to make a inside cover page,etc,etc,etc😢

[@CraigBabin]

If you watch my other design videos, I cover most of what you're talking about. The best way to learn a software program is just to play with it.

[@louisd95714]

Hi Craig, can you please advise why you break the CSV file with spaces?

[@CraigBabin]

To be honest, it's just the way the sample CSV file was set up, so I continued doing it. It may not make a difference at all. Try omitting the space and see if it makes a difference. It probably won't, the space is probably more of a counting system, so that you can easily identify how many puzzles you have in that CSV file. I just assumed that the generator would try to break the puzzles up the same way you had them laid out in the CSV, but I could be wrong.

[@louisd95714]

@@CraigBabin OK, thank you. Very strange, one csv file had spaces after every 20 entries, and the second had no spaces. The one with the spaces could not generate more than 50 pages with 20 words each. The one without the spaces ran with no issues. Of course, I might have done something wrong also because I’m new at this.

[@CraigBabin]

@@louisd95714 Yeah, so what's probably happening is that the generator is trying to create puzzles using the exact words you've specified for each block. And when it can't make those words fit, it doesn't create the puzzle. But when you leave the spaces out, it just grabs whatever words that fit from the entire CSV file and that's why it doesn't get hung up. Good to know.

[@louisd95714]

@@CraigBabin Believe it or not, there is another video by another poster that said the exact same thing, to include spaces. Ether she was told to do it from BookBolt, or she saw you video first. LOL. I ordered two word search books to get an idea on how they display the inner pages. If you have a book on Amazon that was made with BookBolt, please steer me to it so I can purchase yours also. I promise not to plagiarize. :)

[@CraigBabin]

@@louisd95714 I currently don't have any books on Amazon that were laid out in Book Bolt. All of my books were created in Adobe InDesign and Illustrator; I figure I'm paying 100's of dollars per year for the software, I may as well use it. The Book Bolt interior guides are set up based on KDP templates, so they're going to print just fine. All of the exterior and gutter margins are set to the appropriate dimensions, and the cover creator is using the exact same template as KDP's ... so you shouldn't have any problems with your books.

[@Tania689]

Hi Craig do you know if they still have the Group Options together button? I don't see it.

[@CraigBabin]

It's not a button Tania, simply select all of the things on your page (at one time) that you want to group together, and then right click on that group and a pop up window will appear. The first option in that window will be to group objects.

[@Tania689]

@@CraigBabin sorry for all the questions and thanks for responding so quickly, how do I select more than one option? When I try to it just moves the thing I'm trying to select

[@CraigBabin]

@@Tania689 Place your cursor outside of the art board (the white area), then hold down your left mouse button and drag your cursor over all of the things that you want to select. You can also use the layer menu on the right hand side of the art board to do this as well. Just hold down your "Shift" key on your keyboard, and then click the little circle icon "O" on the layer that you want to select. When it turns blue, you have selected it. If you're holding down your "Shift" key, you will be able to select multiple layers at once.

[@Tania689]

You're awesome thank you so much I'll try that. I've been learning so much from your channel and I love your doodle podcast. Maybe you can do a tutorial on doodling.

[@CraigBabin]

@@Tania689 I have a new playlist coming called "Doodle With Me" that will contain just that type of content.

[@estherolawuyi4204]

So, my laptop has stopped working. Can I do this on a phone until I can afford to get a new laptop?

[@CraigBabin]

I don't think so, but you can try.