Self Publishing Preparation
How to Prepare Your Book for Publication
The
preparation step of the self-publishing process
includes
everything you need to do to your book manuscript before you
deliver it to the book printer. This includes deciding your
publishing goals. Like is your book a personal family history
book that you plan to sell to a few friends and family or
do you plan to mass market your book to the world. After deciding
your market then you prepare your book using the important
steps below:
Write
a Business Plan
This is where it begins. Remember, you don't have to start
with a 30 page document. But do draft an outline of all the
costs that you will have in the self publishing process.
Include
costs before publication and after publication--everything
from start up costs to the price of mailing a book. This is
the point you decide whether you should print a small quantity
of books for friends and family or establish a small press
publishing company by purchasing a block of ISBN’s.
Get ISBN Numbers.
Remember this is what identifies you as a book publisher.
It is the only way you can be considered a self-publisher
in the publishing industry. Nobody else can give, assign or
sell you ISBN’s, and have them be yours, except RR Bowker,
the U.S. ISBN agency.
Invest in Book Editing.
Invest in your book; get it professionally edited. Copy or
line editing will bring your manuscript up to professional
standards. Don’t settle for having your journalist or
teacher sister take a look at your manuscript.
Hire a Book Designer for Book Layout.
The book layout is what structures the content of your book
and makes it look like a book. Again invest in your book project,
this is not the time to settle for any thing less than a professional
look. If your book looks sloppy, it will limit its success
in the market.
Looking for Do-It-Yourself Layout Options?
If your budget is a shoestring or you are a die hard do-it-yourselfer,
you might consider purchasing Book Design Wizard listed in
the resource list on the resource page of this web site. You
simply input your text, images, book specs and the software
will generate a professional layout for submission to your
printer.
Consider
investing in Pagemaker or InDesign for your book layout projects.
You may encounter a learning curve but there are good templates
that will shorten it for you. Either way, you decide make
your book the best it can be. Your readers will love you for
it and refer your book to all their friends.
Consider Bound Galleys for Reviews.
Bound Galleys are limited run book proofs, often unedited,
generally used to get book reviews before the publication
date of your book. Additionally, bound galleys do not have
a laminated full color cover.
Get Your Book Proof Read.
Some are tempted to skip this step in preparing their book
for publication. My advice is don't skip this step. A book
full of errors can cost you in sales later on--including loss
of respect for your work.
Proof
reading is not the same as editing; it is done after the book
designer formats or lays out your book into pages. The proofreader
looks particularly at word breaks and sentence layout. Some
minor corrections missed in the first line edit may also be
made.
Invest in Cover Design.
We're taught to not judge a book by its cover in life. Yet,
we all do it. So realisticly, a book is judged by its cover
in the publishing world. If you want your book to have the
best chance of success in a professional market, don't penny
pinch here. Get your book cover professionally designed.
[ Home ]
| 
