‘Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life, and is the main obstacle between you and a shitty first draft.’
— Anne Lamott, in Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
At some stage your collection of words – some genius, some scruffy – must pass through the ether into the hands of the experts who will then chip away quietly, trimming, shaping, polishing, dreaming and designing, until this tangible, creative thing appears in a box one day at your door.
Pretty exciting stuff! Here are the creative steps involved after you push ‘send’ on the email containing your manuscript headed to your editor.
PURCHASE YOUR ISBN & BARCODE
Go to myidentifiers.com.au where you can purchase your ISBN on the spot. Paperback, hardcover and e-books require separate numbers, so buy a bundle of 10 because it is the most economical option. You also purchase barcodes for print books on this site.
COVER DESIGN
Begin thinking about your book cover design and book title now by browsing in bookstores (and taking sneaky photos), looking at online bookstores, searching on Pinterest, googling ‘best book covers ever’, looking at publishing companies’ websites and more. Create your own folder or Pinterest board and build a collection.
Work with a good designer while you are writing your book, or during the editing phase at the very latest. The other essential part of a good book cover is the back cover sales copy. It should say to the potential buyer, ‘You need me!’, so you might like to hire a copywriter to assist with that, as well as other marketing material like your book’s webpage, and even your author bio.
Allow about four weeks to work with a designer on your cover.
EDITING
The major types of editing include:
• Full edit (sometimes called substantive, comprehensive, or developmental editing): This involves heavy work and detailed editing to the overall book structure.
• Copy edit/line edit: This type of editing drills into your book by looking closely at every line to be sure each sentence flows smoothly, and the content is cohesive.
• Proofreading: This is not an edit. It is a check and fix of grammar, punctuation, spelling, layout and more.
You’re still the author and you steer the ship. If you have a good editor, he or she will be your guide and won’t commandeer the entire project. It should be a partnership that has one goal: to make your book the absolute best it can be. Allow four to six weeks for this.
PAGE DESIGN AND LAYOUT
When the editor is finished, it is time to move on to the layout of your book, where the graphic designer of your choice turns your manuscript into a professionally finished product that will look at home in a quality bookstore. The first layout can happen quite quickly – a matter of days – but it is critical that there is then time for thoughtful review, further proofreading, and the inevitable changes – which then must be proofed again. Three weeks is a good time frame for this.
PROOFREADING
Once the book pages are fully designed, allow another week or two for a professional and thorough proofread. It is critical that a trained eye does this because they know what inconsistencies, errors and layout glitches to look out for.
FILE PREPARATION
Eventually it is time to finalise your book cover and page layout and store the files in one location. They remain separate files, and each one must be saved properly in the formats required by your printer; Amazon Kindle; your online print-on-demand company of choice; and companies requiring .epub files. Your designer knows what to do. If they don’t, they should not be working on your book.
PRINTING
You no longer have to source money for high up-front costs of large print-runs of your book, if you do not want to go that way. Small manageable print runs and ongoing online print-on-demand are now worthy options.
Companies specialising in print books now use large heavy-duty digital book printers and binders, and deliver a stock of high quality books to your door in weeks. A very exciting day in the life of an author!
You also have the option of arranging less costly print services offshore, and it is best to do that through a reputable print broker in Australia. This will add up to eight weeks to your schedule.
This is also the appropriate time to mention print on demand (POD) with IngramSpark, which also provides print and e-book distribution. You can set up an account online and take control of your own publishing business when your print and e-book files are lodged with them. You can also log in to your account and order stock for yourself at wholesale prices. See more at www.ingramspark.com.
ONLINE DISTRIBUTION
E-books are more of a level playing field between self-publishers and commercial operators. They can be distributed online via your own site or using a distribution channel such as Amazon Kindle or IngramSpark for iTunes/iBooks. your own site. The most common e-book formats are .epub, .mobi and pdf, which your book designer will supply after the book is fully designed.
BOOKSTORES
Book distribution companies deliver books to bookstores and self-publishers can certainly approach them on their own behalf. Distribution companies base their decision to handle self-published authors’ books on sales potential; professional presentation of your book; and the author’s own profile and potential to push sales. Take a look at the Australian Society of Authors and their affiliation with John Reed Books.
You can also approach bookstores yourself, armed with a copy of your book and your book business plan to show them how they might profit from your product as well.
COST OF SERVICES
Here are some estimates for a 35,000 word business book, with colour cover, black and white pages, and a few diagrams and tables. These are just estimates, keep in mind, as prices differ from one supplier to another, and every book is unique.
As a self-publisher you can chase all of these quotes and costs individually – and trust that you find good people – or you might consider the option of a one-stop publishing service. They charge one fee and include all services as well as a project manager who is your one point of contact and who coordinates and quality controls everything for you. You retain full ownership of all files and all proceeds of sales – it is not an ongoing relationship with ongoing fees.
Review: $1000–$2000 (this is feedback on a book under construction – optional)
Full edit: $2000–$4000
Manuscript proofread only: $1000–$2000
Book cover design: $500–$2000
Page layout: $800–$2000 (more for full-colour visual treats, like recipe books etc)
Pre-print proofread: $800–$1500
Printing: 200 copies with black & white pages – unit price between $5 and $10 (more for full colour and/or hardcover)
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This is the twelfth of a series of articles taken from the book, ‘Smart Women Publish – Write the book that expands your world’ by Bev Ryan. Each article in this series will present the key ideas in its 15 chapters, from what a book can do for you, through planning, writing, publishing and leveraging your published book.
Bev is a certified non-fiction book coach (including memoir with a message) and book production manager, working with accomplished and interesting people as they write and self-publish their best non-fiction books.
Are you ready to produce your book, or procrastinating and stuck in the planning or writing stages? Contact Bev to find out how she can help you with your book, and your publishing choices.