Publishing Business Archives

Your Self-Publishing Questions Answered (#23-24)

Today’s questions: book editing levels and retail price vs. wholesale book pricing and discounts.

Self-Publishing Question #23 of 52: What’s the difference between substantive editing, copyediting, and proofreading?

There are three types of editing: copyediting, substantive editing and proofreading. Copyediting entails a comprehensive edit of your book. The editor will look at spelling, grammar, punctuation, word choice, paragraph structure, flow and style consistency, and will quite often catch outright errors in your manuscript.

A substantive edit entails a copyedit, plus a review of the structure of your book, the logical flow, redundancies and your writing style, and the editor will quite often move whole chunks of your book around, suggest parts be deleted and even rewrite portions of your text. Substantive edits are excellent for authors who are unsure of their writing skills or who sense a problem with their manuscript that they just can’t put their finger on.

We have included proofreading as an editing function here so that we can emphasize the fact that authors should not think that a simple proofreading (which costs less than copyediting because it does not require as much time or effort on the part of the proofreader) is a replacement for a good copyedit.

A proofreader will check for typos and punctuation but will not agonize over your choice of words or sentence structure, or figure out the problem with your manuscript, fix it and piece the book back together again. A copyedit or substantive edit goes well beyond catching typos, adding that extra level of professionalism and readability that make your book stand out from the others.

Self-Publishing Question #24 of 52: What’s the difference between the “retail price” and “wholesale price” price of my book?

The retail price is what retail […]

By Michele|June 17th, 2013|Editing & Proofreading, Publishing Business|0 Comments

Is Your Book Ready for Distribution?

By Amy Collins, owner, New Shelves Distribution

ook Distributors and Fulfillment Service companies have to be selective about the books that they represent. Book Publisher Sales Representation groups will only take the best of the best in their catalogs.

Because of this, here is a checklist that will help you determine if your book is ready for distribution and sales activities. We offer this list as an educational tool.

If you find that your book meets all or most of these criteria, you can expect that your book will have a better than average chance of success. Your book will have a better chance of being picked up by a high-quality distributor rather than be left with the “bottom-feeder” who take on every book and promise the world without delivering.

Feel free to use this checklist on your own or contact us about our publishing and book consulting.

Did you sign your publishing house name up at myidentifiers.com/Bowker and buy your own ISBN’s?
Did you choose a unique publisher name that is not connected in any way with the author’s name or the name of the book being published?
Was your interior professionally designed with proper margins, headers, and pages?
Was your cover designed by someone with book industry experience?
Does your cover and interior look as though it was published by an experienced publisher (Random House, Harper Collins, etc…)?
If you want your book in bookstores, have you priced your book based on what books on the bookstore shelves in your category are retailing for?
If you are not aiming for bookstores, have you done your research and priced/packaged your book for the market you are aiming for?
Does your book have a price-specific EAN barcode?
Is your copyright page set up to industry standards (ISBN […]

By Michele|June 10th, 2013|Publishing Business, Uncategorized|Comments Off

Your Self-Publishing Questions Answered (#21-22)

Every two weeks, we answer two common self-publishing questions. Send us yours!

Self-Publishing Question #21 of 52: Should I use postcards to promote my book?

Mail a postcard, with book cover art on one side, to family members, friends, business associates, etc. The other side will include information on how to order the book and a request for them to share the info with at least five friends. Your book designer can design a postcard and other giveaways, such as bookmarks.

Self-Publishing Question #22 of 52: Is giving away books a good marketing strategy?

Not all marketing strategies need to cost money, but many marketing strategies WILL cost books. Be prepared to give away books in order to spread the word. For example, you can offer your book as a door prize for a conference, or to be included in a gift basket that is given to speakers. Get in the habit of carrying a few copies of your book with you in your car or briefcase. You never know; you might give a stranger a complimentary copy of your book and that person might just become your book’s greatest champion as a result.

By Michele|June 3rd, 2013|Publishing Business, Uncategorized|Comments Off

What to Expect When You’re Expecting . . . to Self-Publish

aving been in the publishing business for longer than I care to admit, I forget how complicated the self-publishing process can be for new authors. What seems second-nature to me is actually a scary endeavor for most people. And that’s why one of the first questions asked of me when calling to discuss self-publishing is: So…what does all this involve anyhow?

Basically, the steps to self-publishing your book are: Cover Design, Editing, Interior Page Design and Typesetting, Proofing, Printing, and Marketing. At 1106 Design, the process from cover to printing takes between six and eight weeks.

The first thing you should know is that it’s helpful to have a completed manuscript before you start. Our professionals will delve into your manuscript to learn about your topic, style and genre before, for example, designing your book cover. Designing your cover is an interactive process between you and your designer. You will discuss and select images and your designer will create some cover concepts from which you choose a final cover design.

At the same time your cover is being designed, your book can be edited. It’s a good idea for the editor to review your manuscript beforehand to give an honest assessment of how much editing will be required to get your manuscript in tip-top shape. A thorough copy edit may suffice, or you may need an editor to do a substantive edit if there are areas of your book that you feel are weak and need the assistance of a professional.

After editing, your book moves to the interior page design stage. Your designer will once again develop some concepts for you; you should have sample page formats from which to choose your final format. When you review […]

By Michele|May 27th, 2013|Publishing Business|Comments Off

Planning to Fail with a Poor Book Cover

I recently participated in a Facebook discussion with an author who had just posted a book cover. Her husband had created it, and the design was typical of book covers assembled by folks without design training or experience.

I thought:

‘Here’s an author who has spent a long time writing a novel. I’m sure she truly cares about her cover, and wants it to work hard to sell her book. I’m sure she understands that competition in the book world is brutal, and buyers will look at a cover for less than seven seconds before deciding which book to buy. Here’s an opportunity to explain the principles of book cover design, offer suggestions, and help someone succeed in the brutal world of publishing.’

This topic is always a great one for discussion online and so many people did jump in, offering their opinions.

Most knowledgeable people in the business agree that professional book cover design, crafted by someone with experience and training, will give you a better cover than doing it yourself. Unfortunately, there are a lot of uninformed people offering self-publishers the opposite advice.

Here are a few pointers to keep in mind when evaluating a book cover:

Make sure the typography complements the content of the book, as well as the the general appearance of other books in the genre.
Make sure that colors are used wisely. Read books about color harmonies and different methods to choose colors from your chosen image so you’ll know when your cover has that “just right” look.
Ensure, for the good of your book, that the overall composition of the cover is organized and the title STANDS OUT to draw potential buyers away from other titles displayed nearby (online or in store).
Study the bestsellers […]

By Michele|March 1st, 2012|Publishing Business|Comments Off

Bad Advice for Good Authors

Ask any new business owner if they want to provide their customers with a quality product or service, and the answer will be a resounding “Yes!”

Why? Because anyone who pours their time, money and reputation into a business understands that success depends on happy customers. Businesses grow when satisfied customers become repeat customers and a steady source of referrals.

So why are very large names in the publishing industry turning a blind eye to these facts and helping self-publishers produce awful books?

Authors are told it’s OK to lay out their own book in Word, design their own cover, and upload text that has not been professionally edited or proofread. This approach may be OK if your book is a memoir to be enjoyed only by friends and family, but if your book is the cornerstone of a new business, it’s the worst possible advice. Those of us who have toiled for decades to produce quality books can only shake our heads in dismay.

For generations, publishers have followed a tried-and-true process to turn rough manuscripts into polished works of art. The need for fact checking, several levels of editing, quality cover design, meticulous interior typesetting, and multiple rounds of proofreading was not questioned.

Today, mix together one part personal computer, one part behemoth bookseller who has abandoned publishing standards in pursuit of the almighty buck, and a horde of gurus who don’t know what they’re talking about, and new self-publishers are served up the perfect recipe for failure.

Every author I know became a writer because they LOVED books. But the wonderful books we all loved in our youth are in danger of extinction. Specialists who know how to produce quality books are buried in search results […]

By Michele|February 23rd, 2012|Book Interior Design, Publishing Business|Comments Off

Respect Your Buyer with Interior Book Design

The following scenario is familiar to every book designer. As happens quite often, I received a call from a prospective client who had just finished writing her book.

“I’m brand new at this,” she admitted. “I’m not even sure what questions to ask, but your site feels very welcoming, and your promise of hand holding is exactly what I need.”

I thanked her for the kind words, assured her that most of our clients were new to publishing, and that we’d be happy to guide her every step of the way. I assured her that we would recommend only services that were needed, and we would never “upsell” services that were not necessary, as many “self-publishing companies” do.

After learning that her manuscript had already been edited by a pro, and that her goal was to sell books on Amazon in a very crowded genre, I recommended book cover design, interior layout, and proofreading. I told her an index probably wasn’t necessary, given that her book was divided into 10 lessons, but in its place a detailed table of contents might be useful to the reader.

So far, so good. Then she uttered the words that send book designers everywhere over the edge: “I layed out my book in Word, 6×9, and it came out to 365 pages. It looks just fine, and I don’t want to spend that much money for you to design and typeset it. Would you look at what I did and let me know what you think?”

“Sure,” I said. I braced myself for the promised email with her “layout.”

When it arrived, I was not surprised to see that every single rule of book design was broken. I couldn’t find even one aesthetically pleasing […]

By Michele|February 16th, 2012|Book Interior Design, Book Printing, Editing & Proofreading, Publishing Business|Comments Off

Mistakes Love to Play “Hide and Seek”

We all make mistakes

Everyone who writes understands the importance of proofreading. Whether you have just finished your first one-sheet or your twentieth 50-page report, you WILL find errors in it, guaranteed.

Book publishing is no exception. It’s truly astonishing how many mistakes come out of hiding every time you read your manuscript, no matter how many times you read it, even after it has been edited by a pro. Authors everywhere scratch their heads and ask, “How could I have written that?” and just as often, “How could I have missed that?” This is why professional proofreading is a must if your goal is to release a quality book.

You can’t outwit the human brain

It’s not enough to read your own work, or ask friends and family to do the same. The human brain is a funny thing. Once we read material more than once, we see what we expect to see. We know what we mean to say, so when we read our own words, the message is perfectly clear. Outside proofreaders, preferably specialists in book publishing, are a stand-in for your eventual reader. In addition to finding errors that almost got away, an experienced proofreader will zero in on text that may not be clear to someone reading it for the first time.

Publishing methods evolved for a reason

This is a message we deliver over and over again to our clients. We almost beg them to edit their manuscript and proofread it, multiple times, before interior design begins. Then we recommend an additional round of proofreading after the book has been layed out. Why? If you think errors hide out in Word, you won’t believe how they’ll pop up in text that has been carefully formatted in […]

By Michele|February 9th, 2012|Book Interior Design, Editing & Proofreading, Publishing Business|Comments Off

Book Design Demystified

I Need a Book Designer?

Seven years ago, when self-publishing was just beginning to take off, I talked with author Jane Kimball, who had recently learned from a book printer that the services of a book designer were required before her book could be printed.

Thus began our nearly year-long association to design her masterwork, Trench Art: An Illustrated History, a 400+ page, full-color book featuring more than 1,000 items from her personal collection of war souvenirs. These artifacts, collectively known as trench art, were meticulously crafted by soldiers from spent shell casings and other materials beginning in World War I.

“I didn’t even know there was such a thing as a book designer!” she quipped.

“That’s alright,” I replied. “I didn’t know there was such a thing as trench art!”

I relate this story because at the time I was taken aback by Jane’s comment. Until then, every customer who came to us already understood what we did. It wasn’t necessary to explain our services. The landscape, I realized, had changed, and it remains so to this day.

In subsequent conversations, Jane taught me that book design and production is a very scary subject to many first-time authors, who worry that hiring experts will cause them to lose control of their “baby.”

What follows is a brief description of a typical book design project that will hopefully put your mind at ease. Far from losing control of your book, you’ll actually collaborate closely with experts every step of the way to make your book the very best it can be.

6 Steps to a Quality Book

Step 1: Cover Design

The first task in preparing a book for publication is Book Cover Design. The designer will ask for a synopsis of your book […]

By Michele|February 3rd, 2012|Book Interior Design, Book Printing, Editing & Proofreading, Publishing Business|Comments Off

How Do I Copyright My Book?

One of the first questions asked by new self-publishers is, “How do I copyright my book?”

Technically, copyright is automatic, by virtue of the fact that you wrote the manuscript. While copywriting your book is not required, following the simple steps to “deposit” and register your work with the US Copyright Office gives you an additional advantage in the event someone plagiarizes your work.

Your book can be copyrighted either before or after publication, either in hard-copy form or electronically. As you might expect, the electronic alternative is faster, easier, and less expensive. This method also offers the ability to monitor the status of your application online.

Basic instructions from the US Copyright office begin here:

http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl109.html

This page contains links to other resources that will help you make the decisions that are best for your situation.

Most authors are surprised to learn that only the content of a book can be copyrighted; individual book titles are not protected by copyright law. A quick trip to Amazon will confirm that many books share identical titles. Milions and millions of books have been published. There simply aren’t enough words in the English language for each of them to have a unique title.

Series titles are another matter. These can be protected under trademark law. Trademarks are granted on a first-come basis, so it’s important to conduct a screening search to make sure your intended series title is not already in use.

A discussion of this topic and other publishing-related legal issues can be found at www.copylaw.com and many other websites.

Copyright and trademark issues are much more complex than they seem. It’s possible, but may not be advisable, to “do-it-yourself.” There’s no substitute for a consultation with your own attorney, who will apply […]

By Michele|January 26th, 2012|Publishing Business, Title Writing & Back Cover Copywriting|Comments Off

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