Manuscript Editing Archives

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

35 Classic Mistakes Publishers Make That Limit Their Sales and Success

Guest post by Alan Korwin, owner of Bloomfield Press
1. Not recognizing you’re going into business, you’re not just writing
2. Being undercapitalized (examine the basic costs, $5-10K)
3. Not knowing the last 10% is 90% of the job; you don’t finish, you declare an ending
4. Failure to write a one liner, one graf and one-page description prior to completion
5. Failure to market early and get advanced orders
6. Forgetting you don’t have to write ’em to sell ’em—and not offering a line of books
7. Using small artsy cover text instead of a large and easily readable title
8. Using a local printer instead of a book manufacturer (insufficient margin, do math)
9. Using POD instead of making inventory, limiting (eliminating?) profitability
10. Not identifying your audience carefully in advance
11. Going after general audiences instead of target-rich ones
12. Designing the cover by yourself instead of working with a pro
13. Working in isolation (as in, without your industry’s groups)
14. Picking the wrong cover price (too much or too little)
15. Keeping acknowledgments short instead of recognizing all supporters
16. Forgetting to overrun the covers for promo use
17. Putting out literature, instead of handing out literature
18. Failure to give away books like mad
19. Failure to get Kremer’s book, 1,001 Ways to Market Your Books
20. Failure to have books and promo with you at all times
21. Failure to put your book out where people can see it everywhere you go
22. Failure to inform any interviewer of your one-liner bio and website
23. Failure to write and issue “White Papers” to establish your expertise
24. Referring to your book without using its title
25. Waving your book or failing to hold it next to your face during video interviews
26. Running out of business cards
27. Not having a ready-to-go bag for […]

By Michele|March 9th, 2011|Publishing Business|Comments Off

Arizona Book Publishing Association Offers Full-Day Conference

“Manuscript to Marketing: Publishing in the 21st Century”
Do you have a book inside you? Are you wondering where to start and how to get published? Come find answers at the Arizona Book Publishing Association introduction-to-publishing conference on Saturday April 16, 2011, from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. at the Fiesta Resort in Tempe.

Called Manuscript to Marketing: Publishing in the 21st Century, the day-long program offers step-by-step advice from experts in editing, cover design, book layout, production and promotion. Join other aspiring authors and prospective publishers who are looking for tools to guide them in the constantly-changing world of books, e-books, apps, and online reading communities.

Eight information-packed sessions will provide an overview of the complete publishing process, drawing on the expertise of the 100+ members of the Arizona Book Publishing Association. Topics will include:

What Is Your Book/Who is Your Audience?
Does your idea need tweaking? How do you get organized?

Writing and Editing Your Manuscript
Do’s and Don’ts of getting your manuscript ready for publication

Cover and Interior Design
Where to splurge, where to save

Brainstorm with Experts (lunch program)
E-mail your questions in advance for the lunchtime session

E-Book Basics
Digesting a big topic by taking small bites

Printing and Distribution
Moving your books to readers

Website Essentials
What you need first, what your future goals should be

Marketing to the Media and Your Audience
Getting the buzz going and keeping it humming

Plenty of time will be available for meeting vendors of publishing services. Bring your idea, draft or manuscript for expert reviews. Space is limited to 60 attendees, so sign up now.

The conference will be held at the Fiesta Resort, 2100 South Priest Drive, Tempe, with sign-in starting at 8:15 on Saturday morning. Cost is $75.00 for members of the ABPA and $95.00 for non-members, until April 4. […]

By Michele|March 2nd, 2011|Events & Announcements, Publishing Business|Comments Off

The Parable of the Pumpernickel Baker

Once upon a time, there lived a talented baker named George. Long before dawn each morning, while most people slept, George arrived at his employer’s successful bakery. The boss was demanding and grumpy, always telling George what to bake and when to bake it. “The customer is always right,” the boss said.

George would just shake his head and get back to the work he loved, crafting the tastiest varieties of bread, rolls, cakes, cookies, pies, and pot pies that the neighbors had come to expect. Each afternoon, when he left for the day, he said to himself, Someday, I’ll open my own bakery, and I’ll bake whatever I want. He saved his money and waited patiently for that day to arrive.

At long last, the perfect building for George’s bakery became available. It was located on a busy street, near a bus stop, a school, a factory, and many homes. This is wonderful, thought George. I’ll have customers all day long, and maybe during the factory’s night shift, too.

For weeks before the grand opening, everyone in the area eagerly anticipated the breads, rolls, cakes, cookies, pies, and pot pies they’d be able to buy. The factory workers and tired commuters looked forward to a savory, ready-to-eat dinner; the schoolchildren waited for a sweet after-school snack; everyone looked forward to their favorite varieties of breads and rolls.

George was more nervous than he expected, so he played it safe. On grand opening day, customers streamed into George’s bakery, but curiously, the only item for sale was pumpernickel bread. Dozens and dozens of loaves of pumpernickel bread. Nothing else. Oh, well, they thought, it’s only the first day. Maybe tomorrow there will be more breads, rolls, cakes, cookies, […]

By Michele|February 13th, 2011|Book Interior Design, Publishing Business|Comments Off

Self-Publishing for Business Owners: The Wrong Way

Today, like never before, it’s possible for entrepreneurs to promote themselves and their companies with a self-published book, and many are taking full advantage of the opportunity. The trouble is, what they’re doing is not truly SELF-publishing. The industry has been hijacked, and the unhappy result is that many well-meaning, smart and ambitious business owners are walking around with books that don’t begin to meet professional standards.

It’s understandable that people would be misled. A Google search for “self-publishing” returns page after page of companies, some small and some very large, who offer “do-it-yourself” publishing solutions.

Major newspapers, including the Wall Street Journal in this recent article, correctly emphasize the benefits of self-publishing, but instead of writing a balanced article that includes the tried-and-true way to turn a manuscript into a quality book, they focus only on the cheesy companies who encourage people to do exactly the opposite.

It should not be a surprise that professional book publishing takes a team of experts. Book editors, book cover designers, book interior designers and others combine their talents to produce a product that makes a terrific first impression, and then keeps that promise with quality information and easy-to-read text inside. What business owner would want any less than that, when a book is being used as a business card or as an introduction to sell consulting services?

Unfortunately, the self-publishing companies encourage clients to design their own book covers, and upload a Word file for the book’s interior. This may seem like perfectly sensible advice to anyone with a computer, until you compare the results to a “real” book.

Here’s an example of a typical self-published book that came to my attention last week. I never met the author of this […]

By Michele|January 19th, 2011|Book Interior Design|Comments Off

You Can Relax About Your Book Cover Design

I’m starting to get the hang of this social media thing…really.

Yesterday, I wrote a blog post about cover design.

This morning, my WordPress dashboard revealed that “Ellie”, an author I never met, found the post useful, and she went on to express her own worries about her upcoming book cover. http://theliteraturediary.wordpress.com/2011/01/17/a-designer-for-my-book-cover/ Here’s an excerpt (emphasis added in red):

I know what I want, well I think I do. I know from experience that when I have set an idea in my mind in terms of design it has turned out to be awful. I think for me I never see the complete picture, it is always a little blurry around the edges.
I have looked at past book covers listed within an archive. I have considered the ones that work for me, the ones that jump off the page. For me personally, it is the most simple designs, with plain texts, and bold colour.
So how do I translate that to a designer? I have been in touch with one, we are very much at the preliminary stage. As in, we are arranging to talk soon.
Tell me also, what covers appeal to you? The more feedback I get, the more I can work out in my mind what I want.

These worries, expressed in one form or another, are very familiar to cover designers. Most authors who sign up for our services understand that a book cover is very important. Since book cover design is usually new to them, they often feel stress about the subject, just like Ellie. They want to do what’s right, and they’re not sure what “right” is. From there, their thoughts naturally turn to what they want.

In this post, I’d like to tell Ellie, and […]

By Michele|January 17th, 2011|Uncategorized|Comments Off

Children’s Book Author Asks: What Am I Leaving Out?

I’ve been corresponding this week with a children’s book author on the SPAN website: http://www.spannet.org (SPAN is an excellent resource for self-publishers.) The discussion started as a comment on my blog post there, “A Book Cover Is Everything” (http://www.spannet.org/profiles/blogs/a-book-cover-is-everything) and it touched on several topics that every self-publisher must address. The conversation has become a prime example of where many self-publishers go horribly wrong. I don’t believe that any author sets out to fail when self-publishing a book, but it happens far too often because the author is working with incorrect or incomplete information, or because the author resists correct information when it is offered.

For the record, even though I haven’t seen the manuscript yet, I think this book could have “legs” in a variety of markets. I truly hope this author heeds reliable advice, whether from me or someone else, because he’s clearly heading in the wrong direction, and my heart already aches for him. Here’s our conversation:

Author: My problem I have is my title — I find it catchy, but it doesn’t convey well what the purpose of my non-fiction book is all about. A dilemma!

Me: Catchy isn’t enough. A title must be specific…a promise to the reader, telling them what your book is about. It’s tough (maybe impossible) for an author to take a step back into the mind of someone who has never seen or heard of the book before. Why not post your title here and test it with me?

Author: Here’s the title: Jack’s Fish Bones. Of course, you can’t figure out from the title that it’s actually a book that teaches children how to read, and write in Chinese. On my mock-up I follow that with ‘A fun […]

By Michele|January 15th, 2011|Book Interior Design, Publishing Business|Comments Off

Chap Stick and the Power of Packaging

If you spend any time reading blogs about self-publishing (including this one), you’ll see the same phrases over and over again: The Cover Sells the Book; Your Book Cover is Your Package; Your Book Cover is Not the Place to Save Money. The problem with all of these messages is that they don’t sound very convincing. They don’t explain WHY.

So, I’m going to tell you my own story about how packaging really does work, and if you observe your own behavior the next time you go shopping, you’ll be able to add a similar story of your own.

Dry winter air being what it is (even in Phoenix), I was shopping for lip balm this weekend. The usual selection of wax-filled stubby tubes was on display. Most were labeled “lip balm”; a few were labeled “lip therapy.” Some packages were pastel-colored to reflect the flavors inside (oddly, tropical fruit flavors, perhaps to distract us from winter). With minor variations, I’d seen all of them before. Z-z-z-z-z-z.

Then I noticed something different: A slender white tube with the words Soft Lips, printed in what was probably a custom handwriting font designed especially for this product. Into the shopping cart it went, even though it cost more. The question is, Why?

Did I know intellectually that this tube contained the same waxy substance as all the others. Yes. But now I knew what I was going to get for my money. And, I was entertained. (Go ahead, add a snarky comment here, if you like.) The ho-hum task of buying lip balm momentarily reminded me that life still holds surprises, that surprises are found in the most unlikely places, and that surprises are worth paying for.

I purchased that brand […]

By Michele|December 13th, 2010|Uncategorized|Comments Off

News You Can Use: Working with a Book Shepherd

Guest Post by Gail Kearns, owner of To Press & Beyond
There are advantages to using a book shepherd (so dubbed by the original self-publishing guru Dan Poynter)—one of which is that it can save you money in the long run. A good book shepherd will help you navigate the publishing process, avoiding the many pitfalls, and increase your chances for publishing success.

Here Are 6 Tips for Working with Your Book Shepherd

1. When you work with a book shepherd you are going into business, and the shepherd is your CEO, overseeing all the different departments of your publishing company. It’s like hiring at least eight different people: editor, researcher, designer, art director, production manager, administrative assistant, business manager, and public relations officer.

2. Keep an open mind as you go into the project, just in case there is a really good idea you have missed. Generally the authors we work with are very good at something else . . . we are very good at getting books ‘to press and beyond.’ For example: If the author is a nephrologist, there is no way she or he would let a book shepherd perform a kidney transplant!

3. Book shepherds know the book business, and if they don’t know something they know where to go for reliable information. Recognize that professionals worth their salt do know their business. This is especially true in the edit and design phases. Content and copyeditors, art directors, and professional book designers simply make you and your book look better.

4. Deadlines are important for a variety of reasons. Be as prepared as you can be and try to keep the deadlines outlined by your book shepherd. Deadlines can involve getting your social media up […]

By Michele|December 3rd, 2010|Guest Posts|Comments Off

Four Wise Words from an “Old” Book

A couple of months ago, a client gave us a small book of quotations to use as a design model for his upcoming title. This handsome book, The Book of Excellence: 236 Habits of Effective Sales People by Byrd Baggett, published in 1990, is the very definition of a traditional book design: black leatherette hard case, gold foil stamping on the front and spine, classic fonts and ornaments, printed on textured ivory stock. We designed the client’s book in a similar style, and everyone was pleased with the outcome.

In today’s business world, where a typical day means processing a long list of emails and juggling tight deadlines, I promptly forgot about the book, until this holiday weekend, when I finally caught up with my “to be filed” pile. Somehow, it didn’t seem right to bury this lovely little book in a filing cabinet, so I decided to read it.

Most of the quotations were classic, quick tips designed to inspire anyone who provides customer service. Some were a revealing look into how much our world has changed in just 20 years. For example: “Use a beeper. That will let the office get in touch with you when a customer needs you in an emergency,” and “Carry a business card file. You never know when you’ll need a phone number.”

One quotation stood out from all the others for me:
Excellence is not optional.
The moment I read this, I realized with some sadness that our world has changed in this way, too. Today, the voices of excellence in book design and typography are drowned out by those who claim that “template” cover and interior design is good enough. That “do-it-yourself” book layout is just fine. That craftsmen in […]

By Michele|November 30th, 2010|Book Interior Design|Comments Off

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