Congratulations on finishing your book. Here
are some tips to help you prepare for an edit and guide you through the
self-publishing minefield.
PLEASE DON’T RUSH – I know you’re excited and
want to see your baby out there, but remember, your goal as an author is not to
get published, but to be read. This is a business and you want to share your
product with the world. Make the product something that your target audience
needs, wants, desires, looks forward to. First impressions count. If you put
out a product that is less than stellar, people are not going to come back and
buy more, they will let everyone else they know that your product did not meet
expectations and you will sink into a hole that will be hard to get out of.
Take the time to put out a GREAT book, and make sure you have your PROMOTIONS
plan in place, well in advance of your targeted release date. Most large
publishers take more than a year to put out a book, and have many teams in
place to make that book sell. They have layers of editing, test marketing,
advertising campaigns and scads of reviewers ready to publicize that book the
moment that book is available for purchase. That takes a lot of preparation
ahead of time. Set reasonable goals.
DO NOT EXPECT AN EDITOR TO RUSH YOUR PROJECT –
I’m good, but I’m not perfect. I have a goodly-sized client list, which
honestly works in your favor because that means people trust me and know I do
pretty good work. That also means you might have to wait a bit until I can get
to you. The process of editing will take some time as well, a week or more for
an initial edit once I get to you, the time it takes for you to make revisions
and return it to me, a few days for me to look through your book and return it.
We might need to do this a few times until you’re satisfied. You will also want
to have someone else lined up as a final proofreader after we’re done. The more
I read your work, the more familiar I become and I might miss some words or
character names or punctuation. A person who likes to read, and who will
eventually help promote your books is a great ally to have as a proofreader.
It’s like free advertising. Big publishers do this multiple times.
COPYRIGHT - Your material is your own the moment you create it. Things that cannot be copyrighted are ideas, concepts, titles. Using the symbol (c) is enough. However, should you wish to register your copyright with the US Copyright office and pay the fee, feel free to do so. Information can be found here.
COPYRIGHT - Your material is your own the moment you create it. Things that cannot be copyrighted are ideas, concepts, titles. Using the symbol (c) is enough. However, should you wish to register your copyright with the US Copyright office and pay the fee, feel free to do so. Information can be found here.
COVER – I know you’re excited to “see” what
your book, either/both e-book or print book will look like, but your cover
template for print is going to be based on the number of pages in the book. You
won’t know that until you’ve completed the edit. Sure, go ahead and find a
cover artist or develop some concepts, but please WAIT until the edit is
complete before spending money on a cover that may have to be redone because
the word count changed substantially, so your spine size and trim size are not finalized. If you’re interested in only producing an
e-book, I still encourage you to wait because the concept might change after
you’ve had an edit. Your back cover will include a paragraph teaser about your
book which is meant to draw your readers to read the book. Make it a good one.
See the font editing page for recommended cover artists.
PUBLISHING PLATFORMS
How do I choose a
printer/e-book program/distributor?
Begin by asking yourself who you want to sell
your book to.
Who is going to buy it?
Do you want it available in libraries?
Physical book stores? Only online?
What’s my budget?
Am I going to make a lot
of physical copies available to promoters and reviewers?
PRINT ON DEMAND is different from
a VANITY or BOUTIQUE PRESS in which you pay a company a fee to produce your book. They may
offer you some copies of your book, or require to pay for a certain amount of
copies in order to offset their fees to produce your book. They may offer
editing and cover design as part of the package or as an add-on you can
purchase. KNOW what you’re
getting into before you purchase a vanity press publishing contract. All of these, as far as I know, must be tied
to a bank account so the printers can deposit your royalties directly to you.
Be prepared for that.
A publisher or printer is different from a distributor. The printer makes copies, but your books just sit there unless you tell someone about it. There are different levels of publicizing your book. A printer may put information on a website, and hopefully you will, too, but again, no one knows about your book unless you tell them. Some ways to do this are through various forms of marketing, such as paid advertising, word of mouth, tours, book reviews, and paying a marketer to talk up your book through a publisher's catalog. If you can make alliances with your local booksellers, they may "hand sell" your book to their customers.
SMALL PRINT RUN printers may be an option for you if you only want a small quantity of printed copies of your book. These printers won't distribute your book or make it available to online or brick and mortar stores or libraries. Check with Loralee Olson-Arcand of Word Services Unlimited for more information on this type of option. I can help you too.
SMALL PRINT RUN printers may be an option for you if you only want a small quantity of printed copies of your book. These printers won't distribute your book or make it available to online or brick and mortar stores or libraries. Check with Loralee Olson-Arcand of Word Services Unlimited for more information on this type of option. I can help you too.
GENRE – if you do not know what shelf your book
belongs on in a library, check out the overwhelming BISAC list from the Book Industry Study Group. Another helpful resource is the AmericanBooksellers Association and the Society of Childrens Book Writers and Illustrators organization. You will need to be able to identify your book when
you register your ISBN and when you upload to your publishing platform.
ISBN (International Standard Book Number) uniquely identifies your work. Then come in sequences of ten numbers (most widely used in Europe) and sequences of 13 beginning with 978 or 979, used in the States. Book buyers/stores, etc. use this number to find and order your book. You should purchase from Bowker (must purchase in packs of ten for $295). Do not purchase ISBNs from any other place. You must register the ISBN when you use it. You must use separate ISBNs for each version of your book-paperback, hardcover, large print, ebook, audio, foreign language. Currently, many publishers will offer you an ISBN when you publish. This makes that publisher the publisher of record. Although you own your copyright, if you choose to withdraw and republish elsewhere, you will need a new ISBN if you do not own your own.
Don't forget to register the ISBN if you own your own, once you publish. Registration is somewhat tedious and done online, but PLEASE REGISTER THEM AFTER YOU USE THEM.
THIS IS THE THING AUTHORS SCREW UP THE MOST:
PLEASE NOTE: YOU MUST CHOOSE YOUR PUBLISHING PLATFORM. IF CHOOSING TO USE A FREE ISBN FROM YOUR PRINTER-PUBLISHER, THAT ISBN IS REGISTERED TO THE PRINTER-PUBLISHER, NOT TO YOU. If you want to upload your book on multiple platforms all by yourself, buy your own ISBNs. BUT, SERIOUSLY, WHY WOULDN'T YOU WANT SOMEONE ELSE TO DO THAT FOR YOU?????? As noted below, Amazon and other online print publishers besides Ingram/Lightning Source, ONLY PUBLISH TO THEIR OWN PLATFORMS. They are NOT DISTRIBUTERS and WON'T MAKE YOUR BOOK AVAILABLE ON OTHER PRINT RETAIL SITES. Ingram and Lightning Source are the premier distribution platforms that publishers use to DISTRIBUTE books to every online retailer and place where bookstores place their orders. They also can act as publisher/printers and Ingram will offer free ISBNs, but you cannot use them other places. Pretty much the only reason you'd want your own ISBN is if you want to allow Amazon to take your book hostage for three months in their Kindle Unlimited program. And why would you want to keep giving them half of your profits?
YOU CANNOT USE A FREE ISBN TO ATTEMPT TO PUBLISH ON MULTIPLE PLATFORMS
A PRINT ON DEMAND printer is one that takes
your manuscript and prints it for you, one copy at a time, per your order. They
charge you a fee for each book they print, and usually offer discounts the
higher number you order. Unless the Printer has an established partnership with
a DISTRIBUTOR, they do nothing to promote your book--even if they do list your book in a catalog, they still do nothing to tell others about your book. You do not receive
“royalties” on the purchases you make from the printer—your turn-around profit is based on what price
you set for the product. You may pay a small, reasonable fee one time or
annually to the POD company to initially print your book and annually to make
the book title available in its online distribution catalog available to
retailers and libraries.
PRICE: Say a POD charges $4.71 to print and ship your
book. You sell it for $9.95—your profit is the difference, less the middle-man distributor fee. Keep in mind when
you set your final prices that Distributors will want their cut as well—40% minimum and as high
as 60% at Amazon or Barnes and Noble, though you are in charge of what you want
to pay them. You will need to decide the type of cover and the size of the
final product based on their available trim sizes. All of them will help you
through the process and have customer support available. If you choose to
upload to Amazon's Kindle Direct, for example, or Barnes and Noble's NOOK Press, you must also upload your
book to the other distributors—they will not cross-publish or distribute. You will also need to decide to make your book RETURNABLE or not—that means a bookstore might order 100 copies and three months later "return" 75 of them, which you will be responsible for covering the cost. You may have the option of "destroy" or send to you and you will usually have to cover the cost. Keep in mind these copies might not be in pristine condition. Most brick and mortar sellers don't like to order non-returnable books. Connect with your local bookseller to make a deal on your own.
POD printers do not edit, expect a cover
already finished to their speculations, and need an ISBN if you are making your book for sale. A DISTRIBUTOR is the
middleman who makes your books available to the public. If you choose to publish through KDP, or AMAZON, know that Amazon does not PROMOTE your book for you. Amazon offers a hostage-type deal of promoting your book exclusively for 90 days as Kindle Unlimited, where are are no allowed to sell your book during that time on other retail sites. You can also purchase book design and marketing packages.
No matter who you choose to publish, you
still have to tell people about your book. No one will know it’s there if you
don’t tell them.
PRINT ON DEMAND publishers I recommend:
INGRAM-SPARK – as of mid 2023 has no upload fees
Ingram-Spark provides publication and distribution service for both
print and e-book and posts it on multiple platforms and makes it available in
their distribution catalogs. They require a high-end PDF to upload for PRINT and a vetted epub file for electronic (they offer to convert your files for a per-page fee), so you want
to make sure you have the right equipment or hire someone who can help you with
a program that meets their standard. Check to learn if there is a fee to upload
revisions of the work. They offer a cover template for your design.
They also offer ISBNs. You may choose to use one of theirs or purchase your own.
Free – KINDLE DIRECT PUBLISHING (Amazon assigns ASIN to all
of their products – it’s the Amazon Standard Inventory Number and is meant for
their company records, it is not the same as an International Standard Book
Number)
Amazon melded its former print platform (Create Space) with its Electronic Book Division in 2018. It is now under one name, Kindle Direct Publishing. It is Print on Demand publishing. They do not charge you to upload and make your book available to
sell, but they take their cut when the book sells. You can set this price and
their percentage to a certain extent. You can also change the price. You can
also upload for no fee multiple versions of the book if there are editorial
changes you wish to make, or a new cover design. You can purchase an ISBN from
them (see ISBN below), or allow them to assign one for you and then they become
your publisher of record. You can upload in multiple formats, from Word or
other processor product, which is easy for non-technologically minded authors;
however, they will vet your product and let you know error messages with the
process, which you will have to deal with. Proof copies are available for
purchase before you order large quantities of copies or make them available.
This is a good way to double check for errors.
LIGHTNING SOURCE – $70 for each Print and
Electronic Version first time upload ($35 cover and $35 interior) This platform is geared for people who know what they are doing. It has multiple publishing platforms including variations of Ingram, CoreSource, iBooks, and Lightning Source.
Lightning Source is the premier POD publisher
of choice for most indie publishers. It is not terribly expensive but the fee
for uploading revisions is (MONETARY VALUES SUBJECT TO CHANGE) $40 for any part – interior or cover. They put out a
high quality product and their wholesale prices are competitive. You need to
have a print-to PDF to upload, and one of their free cover templates to use and
upload, and an ISBN. I believe for the first time you upload for print you are
also required to purchase a $30 proof copy to double check for errors before
you order multiple print copies. Electronic versions are also uploadable and
distributed to multiple distributors for the same production fees.
You may also
choose some advertising, such as a $60 one-time fee to be in their distribution
program (it’s the Ingram, Baker and Taylor premier distribution program) which
makes your product available for order, and/or a $12 annual fee to make your
book available in their online retail catalog.
Free – Barnes and Noble Press Nook Press I have not used the POD service,
so I cannot comment on quality. They require a PDF for uploading. I do not know
if they have a partnership with any Distributor other than Barnes and Noble,
but as long as their bricks and mortar stores are doing business, I imagine
your book will be available for order in those stores.
OTHER INFORMATION
LOC (Library of Congress Catalog Number) – It's a nice addition to your book. Your book has to be over 40 pages, have a registered ISBN and you
think it will be received by a wide audience. These numbers are free and do not
take very long to get. But plan ahead of time if you want one and be prepared
to tell your book designer about it so the proper information can be added to
your copyright page.
Standard Library Catalog information - you will often see in books published by larger publishers information on the copyright page that refers to subject matter, and may include Author information, Thema/subjects. In the past this information was set up by a Library researcher and a fee. You can look up and add this matter or go to your local librarian and ask where it goes in the library, but you don't have to, and shouldn't add anything but the basic genre and edition if you're not sure what this means.
FRONT MATTER – this is material that will be
part of your book, and will include a copyright page. Look at traditionally
published books for an idea of the information you will include here.
Other
Front matter may or may not include a Foreword (for non-fiction—this is written
by someone other than the author who is an authority on the subject matter), an
introduction, a dedication, acknowledgements, a Table of Contents, a list of
previous publications by the author, a list of characters or definitions if
there are many and unfamiliar, maps, endorsements by other authors of this book
or previous work, a teaser or quote from the book meant to entice the reader –
it is not the back of the book “blurb” or teaser.
In the Electronic version of your book, you
will want to put the regular “back cover blurb” or teaser on the page after
your title.
BACK MATTER – this is material after the normal
ending of your book. It may include acknowledgements instead of placing these
in the front matter, advertisements, teasers or sample chapters of upcoming books,
an author biography, Index, list of author’s work instead of in the front
matter, Notes of material from the text, References, Appendixes, Further reading suggestions, Call to Action, Contact
information for referenced organizations, Discussion Guide, Interviews with the
author
PUBLISHING TERMS
trim size - the final size of your physical book; typically 5x8 inches, 5.5x8.5, 6x9 inches are all standard
gutter - the wider inside margin of the final layout so the text doesn't get lost on the inside margins when bound or glued
verso/recto - the facing page is recto and has odd page numbers; the even, or back side is verso and has even numbered pages
half title page - the opening page should simply have the title, centered
full title page - this page should have full title including any subtitle, the author's name (no "by"), and publisher's imprint if any
endorsements - gather these from other authors who write in a similar genre or have expertise or experience in your subject matter. Often these will open your print book, or share a few of them on the back cover. Keep them short and simple. They are positive commentary on the nature of the work.
NOTE: reviews and endorsements are two different things - encourage readers to leave written reviews, a commentary on what they thought of your book, on online retail or review sites. You may put some of these on your website, but they will not go in your book. These should encourage readers to buy your book.
