The Dynamics Of Self Publishing - Part Two

If you have read Part One we looked at an overview of the dynamics of self publishing and split it up into three steps…

* Writing the manuscript's content

* Converting the finished publication for production and distribution including preparing the design and all contents, e.g. illustrations, Table of Contents, end matter, covers.

* Proposing a promotion and marketing plan and putting it into action.

We then looked at the key characteristics of the first step.

This time we look at step two, preparing your manuscript into a print ready book.

Your book needs to look 'the business'. That is it must appear to be professional of its type. If it is a proper 'book' then it must have a layout and contents style that will be familiar to all readers.

Your publication should have a cover, even if it never sits on a bookstore's shelf. The cover does not need to be complicated, so long as it is consistent with the style and title of your work. If you need graphics designing because you do not have the skill then you can find designers and so on using websites such as guru.com, elance.com and fiverr.com. Write a simple specification with a sketch and go looking, there are lots willing to help.

All books are organized by chapters, do not disappoint your reader. Where the book is technical or instructional then use sub chapters and special sections as well. Use page numbers starting at page 1 with the initial page of chapter one. Remember, the front matter is not in the main page numbering sequence.

For novels you do not have to include a Table of Contents. For factual and technical books a Table of Contents is expected. Your word processing program will probably have a tool to do this for you. When writing a factual or reference style book then you may wish to prepare an index. Indexes are valuable when you expect your reader to use the book for reference in future; they will be grateful. Again, your word processing program should be able to help with this task.

Front matter: These are the opening pages at the front of your book before you get to the body of the text. You should include these pages as a minimum…

Title page (with the publisher's name - that's you, choose a publishing name you can use again later)

A publication history page which includes the publisher's details, date of publication (and prior published revisions if this is a later one), Copyright holder's details, copyright notice and, if you have one, the ISBN (International Standard Book Number).

Optional pages you can add are…

Author description (if relevant)

Previous publications listing (including web URLs to get more sales)

Dedication page - an opportunity to say thanks to those who assisted.

Preface (where an introduction to the book would be useful for setting the reader's expectations)

Introduction (If you can persuade someone to write a piece effectively recommending your book.)

Pick up any properly published book and examine the order in which these pages (and some blanks) sit.

All of this, plus your illustrations, needs to be combined into one file for your publishing company. You can, of course, use a traditional 'vanity' (they do not like that word) publishing company where they will print your book, but you pay all the costs. But I'm presuming you will seek to use a web publisher who do 'on-demand' production so minimizing your outlay.

I've found Lulu.com to be a good company. At the time of writing the only cost you have to bear is the print cost of a finished sample so you can make sure it has been printed as you wish it to look. Get an account and log in before you complete your manuscript. Check out the way the process works, the information needed and the formats specified. These will all help to guide you in your final file preparation.

When you do this for the first time it does help if you can ask a friend to come and look over your shoulder checking what's needed step by step. It is easier to sort out problems earlier in the process.

I've covered the other two steps in separate articles, look out for them with the same title "The Dynamics Of Self Publishing", Part Two and Part Three.

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