The Dynamics Of Self Publishing - Part Two
If you have read Part One you will know that we examined an overview of the dynamics
of self publishing and broke the process down into three steps
* Authoring the manuscript's content
* Converting the finished manuscript for production and sale including preparing the design and all contents, e.g. Table of Contents, end matter, illustrations, covers.
* Developing a promotion and marketing plan and putting it into action.
We then looked at the main characteristics of the initial step.
This time we examine step two, converting your manuscript into a ready-to-print book.
Your publication needs to look 'the business'. That is it must appear to be professional of its type. Contents lists, layout and external matter can be important is setting the reader's expectation.
Your publication should have a cover, even if it never sits on a bookstore's shelf. Simple covers will do for many, others need eye catching graphics - but make sure it is in harmony with the thrust of the book. If you need graphics designing because you do not have the skill then you can find designers and so on using websites such as guru.com, elance.com and fiverr.com. Draw up a specification and sketch of what you need and it is amazing the talent you can find to help.
All books are organized by chapters, do not disappoint your reader. Where the book is technical or instructional then use sub chapters and special sections as well. Add page numbers beginning at page 1 with the first page of chapter one. Do not number the front matter in the same page sequence.
For novels you do not need, but may still include if you want, a Table of Contents. For technical of factual books a Table of Contents is expected. Your word processing software may have a tool to help you with that. When writing a factual or reference style book then you may wish to prepare an index. Indexes are valuable when you want your reader to refer back to the book in future; they will be grateful. Again, your word processing software should be able to assist you with compiling that.
Front matter: These are the opening pages at the front of your publication before you get to the body of the text. You should include these pages as a minimum
Title page (with publisher - that's you, select a publishing name you can use again later)
A publication history page which includes the publisher's details, date of publication (and prior published revisions if this is a later one), Copyright holder's details, copyright notice and, if you have one, the ISBN (International Standard Book Number).
Optional pages you can insert are
Author description (if relevant)
Prior works listing (with web URLs to get more buyers)
Dedication page - an opportunity to thank those who assisted.
Preface (where an introduction to the book would be useful for setting the reader's expectations)
Introduction (If you can persuade someone to write a piece effectively recommending your book.)
Take a look at any properly published book to see the order in which these pages (and some blanks) sit.
All of this, plus your illustrations, needs to be combined into one file for your publishing company. As an alternative you could pay for a traditional printing. But I'm assuming you will look to use a web publisher who provide 'on-demand' production so minimizing your outlay.
One of the best at this is Lulu.com. There the only cost directly to you is the print cost of a completed book so you can ensure it has ended up as you wish it to look. Create your user account and log in whilst you are preparing your publication. Check out the way the process works, the information required and the formats available. It all helps to make your production run smoothly.
If this is your first publication with this company then take your time and ask a friend to check the process for you, step by step. It is easier to sort out problems earlier in the process.
I've covered the other two stages in separate articles, find them with the same title "The Dynamics Of Self Publishing", Part Two and Part Three.
by: Tony Lord
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