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I have just begun to use memoir and I am already having trouble understanding exactly how to make this work. I will refer to the manual but I would like the experts here to explain to me in simple language exactly how this works. Below is the code of document which I got from Painless Memoir Class Book Template

\usepackage[paperwidth=4.25in, paperheight=6.875in,bindingoffset=.75in]{geometry}



% See the ``Memoir customise'' template for some common customisations
% Don't forget to read the Memoir manual: memman.pdf

%\title{TITLE OF BOOK}
%\author{NAME OF AUTHOR}
%\date{} % Delete this line to display the current date


    {\LARGE\raggedleft \@author\par}%
    {\huge\raggedright \@title\par}%
    \vskip 1cm
%    {\Large \@date\par}%







\textit{NAME OF BOOK}









I do not have trouble understanding things such as adding chapters, subsections etc. But the main problem, I am having is setting the various margins (gutter margin, outside margin) and the exact requirements of createspace. For example, the size of my book is 5in x 8in but I do not understand how to change that in the code above. Furthermore, how can I add the various margins such as the gutter margins and the outside margins? If someone could provide a small example as to how to do this, it would be great.

Thanks a lot for your time!


I have managed to change the paper height and width of the document but now I just need to know how to adjust the margins so it fits with the format of createspace.

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Personally I don't use geometry to set the layout with memoir (as in your example), since memoir has its own set of macros for these kinds of things. You may take a look at this question Pocket book size for novel (10.8 x 17.5 cm) –  Ipsen Mar 1 '13 at 7:45
@Ipsen I have looked at your example, thanks for you response. However, I have one question. Is \setlrmarginsandblock to set the gutter margins and would one go about setting the binding offset in memoir? –  gekkostate Mar 1 '13 at 10:37
It's not clear to me exactly what you want to obtain, could you specify? There is a stocksize (size of physical paper; typical a4 or letterpaper), there is papersize (size of end result; should be less or equal to the stocksize) and finally there is the margins (inner (next to spine) and outer, top and bottom). Should the inner and outer margin be different, or is it something else that you're referring to? –  Ipsen Mar 1 '13 at 12:40
@Ipsen The main thing I want to do is, set up my LaTeX so it correlates with the createspace specifications. On createspace, it says that the document is 5in x 8in and the inside margins have to be .375" and the outside margins have to be at least .25". Now, the problem is that I don't know how to set that up with memoir. –  gekkostate Mar 1 '13 at 21:03
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1 Answer

up vote 2 down vote accepted

Yikes! I guess since I posted that template I can answer. You'll note that these two lines:


are commented out. Remove the % symbol in front of each line. Put the % symbol in front of the line \usepackage[...]{geometry}.

Now your text will compile in accordance with Createspace requirements. If you don't have the package createspace.sty, look for it on Google. In a pinch, put it in the same directory as your .tex file; installation questions are beyond me.

Hope this helps.

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sounds great! So once I do that and install createspace.sty I should be able to have the requirements? And also, how will get the ones that I want? I mean how will LaTeX know that is 5x8 and not something else? –  gekkostate Mar 2 '13 at 21:01
EDIT: (To the previous comment) I have figured it out by looking at the documentation. Thanks a lot! –  gekkostate Mar 2 '13 at 21:10
Nice job! A tip: If you indent lines by 4 spaces or enclose words in backticks `, they'll be marked as code, as can be seen in my edit. You can also highlight the code and click the "code" button (with "{}" on it). –  tohecz Mar 3 '13 at 0:54
@user26732 I have some issues with the package, maybe you can help me out. It seems that the chapter page numbers are outside the margins. Here is the link to the post: tex.stackexchange.com/questions/107302/… –  gekkostate Apr 7 '13 at 15:21
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