How can I make it better the next time? This is the plaintive question I get every time after I have set up, formatted, and uploaded a book for a new author. It is also one of the most common questions I see while socially networking. There are three basic underlying concepts 1. Producing a print version of your book 2. Dealing with the size of your production budget 3. Producing a manuscript which can be easily formatted Let’s take the first concept: Many new self-publishing authors believe that they do not need a print version. Most eventually want a printed copy to give to friends, an excellent reviewer, or in giveaway promotions. Let’s get it out in the open: Preparing a print version of your book in Word or any other word processor is virtually impossible! There are some good resources. But, you do not want the help of a Word user, untrained in graphic design, formatting your book. They may get it working, but the professionalism needed to earn reader trust will not be there. The best way [if you must use Word] is to buy a Word template from a book designer you trust. How much do you want to spend on ebook production? This is important to consider. Many writers will tell you about the thousands of dollars needed to publish a book. Guy Kawasaki in APE talks about four to five thousand dollars, and he is doing all the production himself. Many of us do not have nearly those resources. Without money, it will take time. Publishing a book is an immensely complex project. The skillsets needed are large, and require practice and experience. My contention is that, with study and practice, you can publish your books for free. Your only costs will be a small monthly fee for your software plus online access. In addition, you will need to learn a lot about an industry which is relatively unknown to the general public: publishing. Some of the skill sets needed 1. Writing 2. Editing & proofing 3. Typography 4. Cover design 5. Print requirements: high quality, high resolution 6. Proper formatting for uploading 7. Book marketing: content, genre, & niche 8. Online social networking One of them is an area you can learn by yourself—easily. That is typography. I'm getting ready to release a small book to help you learn the basics of typography, plus covering some of what can be done with Word. You will quickly discover that many of the core typographic issues cannot be accomplished in Word or any other word processor. Professional book design requires InDesign InDesign [and QuarkXPress] are really the only software applications which are developed for professional designers. These applications are designed to do skill sets two through six in the list above. Because they are designed to produce this work, they do it better, faster, and much more efficiently. For book design, nothing is better than InDesign. It handles skill sets one through seven [because it includes a built-in word processor]. The key skill, virtually unknown outside of graphic design, is how to present the words so they can be read effortlessly and easily understood. There is a basic level of competency which must be reached. For professional book production, you need to understand the core of professional book design: typography. That is the purpose of this book. It will teach you the basics you need to be able to use in a professional Word template, to give your manuscript to a trained book designer, or to produce it yourself. I’ve written other, far more detailed books which cover the entire process. My goal is to save you money and time You can pay an copyeditor to clean up the writing for you, but that can easily cost $300 to a couple thousand dollars. It still will not help solve the typographic requirements which enable you to give your readers an enjoyable reading experience. At present, I publish several books a year. My only expenses are what I pay for online access. You can learn how to do that also.
