|
|
|
|
 | |||
|
 |
 |
 |
|
Eight steps to success book self publishing provided by self publisher resources- Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Darwin, Canberra, Hobart & Australia-wide!Interested in eight steps to success in self publishing your book? Self-publishing offers great scope and opportunity for many authors/self publishers, and there is any number of legitimate reasons for you to consider it: You have a manuscript for a niche market and can’t get the interest of a mainstream publishing house. Despite rejections, you believe your ms is worth publishing. But be warned: self-publishing is hard work and to take on the mantle of self-publisher is to add to the ‘writer/artist’ role those of project manager, marketing guru and financier. Not an easy task. Here at Love of Books we are dedicatated to ensuring your self publishing and book printing experience is a success. Want to know how to format your manuscript using Word?
simply email us a request for a free template info@loveofbooks.com.au
Checking your work for basic problems It can be very difficult to identify areas of weakness in our own work. This is why it is important to have our work assessed professionally by an outsider who is not affected by what we were trying to do, and can see what we have achieved instead. But for those of us on early drafts, it can be helpful to know some of the things assessors consider when reading manuscripts. See how many of these you can answer with a 'yes.' An occasional 'no' is fine. Just make sure you have reasons for your deviations, and that you have not weakened your work with too many of them.
Set up your manuscript to the correct requirements as specified in the following documents. Download Margins in Word here. YOUR MANUSCRIPT 1 MAIN CHARACTER(S) Is it clear who the story is about?
Is the major character someone the reader can identify with well?
Does the major character have both outstanding character traits and flaws, physical and mental?
Is the major character introduced to the reader very early?
Does the major character show growth in understanding as the tale progresses?
Is the main character active in solving the problems encountered?
Does the main character's weakness contribute to the problems encountered and solved?
Does the main character have moments of despair and hopelessness as well as of confidence?
MINOR CHARACTER(S)
Are there a limited number of essential minor characters, all different?
Are the minor characters as completely thought out as the protagonist?
Does each minor character have more than one use in the development of plot and ideas?
Are the antagonists more than stereotyped figures of evil?
Do the 'good' characters avoid stereotypes?
Are gender stereotypes either used deliberately or avoided?
Do all minor characters come across as individual people?
Does each minor character participate in events in the main plot as well as in minor plot elements?
PLOTTING
Does the main action begin in the first few paragraphs?
Does each chapter contain a significant contribution to the main plot line?
Does the solution of each problem in the main story line lead to a greater problem?
Are there sub-plots?
Do the sub-plots contribute significantly to the themes or ideas of the main plot (e.g. by reinforcing them, or offering alternative points of view)?
Do the subplots connect with and interact with the main plot at various times?
Are the subplots resolved before the main plot climaxes and is resolved?
Is there a twist or surprise at the end?
Is back story avoided in the first few chapters?
SETTINGS
Are the setting clearly pictured (if imaginary) and well known (if real)?
Do the settings offer clear changes in mood, tone, action?
Do the settings complement or contrast with the prevailing mood and action?
Do the settings have universal attributes (understood by any reader)?
Do images and symbolic objects hold their significances across cultural lines? (eg. Are trees and rivers used archetypal or are they invested with personal meaning?)
Are the settings appropriately specific or generic? (e.g. the W. A. Museum's Aboriginal artefacts display vs. a museum)
If the work is set in some time or place other than that of the author, is that time or place thoroughly researched and made familiar?
Have anachronisms been avoided (e.g. King Arthur smoking a pipe; Victorian women holding 20th-century views on gender)?
STYLE
Does the first sentence capture the tone and topic of the story?
Are the characters shown in action, rather than being passively described?
Does the first paragraph introduce the major threads of the story?
Do the middle chapters maintain pace and forward movement?
Are conversations representative of real conversations: elliptical, brief, colloquial?
Do action sequences have short sentences with emphasis on verbs?
Do descriptions focus on specific things rather than general? (e.g. 'black' rather than 'scary')
Are verbs expressed in active forms (e.g. 'she knitted' rather than 'she was knitting)?
Is the author's viewpoint limited to a few, one, or no characters' thoughts and feelings?
Does the author remain invisible or take an active part in telling the story?
TECHNICAL POINTS
If this is a first novel, is it under 80,000 words long?
Is it double-spaced in Times New Roman 12 point or the equivalent?
Does it have wide margins on every side?
Are the first lines of every paragraph, except those that open chapters, indented?
Do paragraphs follow each other without spaces between them?
Are the pages numbered consecutively, along with the author's surname and book title, in 10-point?
Are common spelling and punctuation and grammatical errors checked? (e.g. its/it's; their/there/they're; to John and I; he could of gone; laid/lay)
Are characters' names and nicknames consistent and clear? (e.g. surnames don't all begin with S, aren't all two syllables long, accurately reflect ethnicity; minor characters don't have three different names they are known by)
Are sentences grammatical?
Is punctuation standard?
Is the spelling standard usage?
Manuscript assessment 1
You have a manuscript that your friends and family say is fantastic; it might still be worth getting it assessed by a professional. You can get ms assessment from a private individual or by arranging it through your local Writers’ Centre. Based on a synopsis and three chapters - or the whole manuscript - the assessor will give you feedback and outline your best course forward: re-writing, editing, or straight to print (a rare occurrence).
Editing 2 An outside eye can give your ms the polish that you lose the perspective to give it. When self-publishing, you do not want to see your final product with a typo on the first page.
As well as proofreading for grammar and spelling, an editor can follow up on the manuscript assessment and make sure the plot follows a logical path and that what the author knows is clear to the reader. When dealing with an editor, you need to define what service you want (proofread, copyedit, structural edit), and what you can afford - though prices are often negotiable for a passionate individual. Read more: www.write-better-english.com/professional%20writers.aspx Layout 3 In the design department we have two elements: layout and cover design.
You can do this yourself, however a printer will not accept a word document as a ‘laid out’ file. They will charge you to convert it to a professional publishing package. These packages are available to purchase (though expensive) and there are courses that teach you the basics to do this yourself. Alternatively, you can provide your printer with print-quality pdfs (which are 300 dpi (dots per inch) or higher). If you can afford to hire a graphic designer (as with editors, prices can be negotiable for individuals) they will lay out your word document into an appropriate program and can even liaise with the printer for you (saving you from the step below: printing). Cover design 4 If you’re lucky, you know an artist who will design a cover for you. It doesn’t have to be an illustration, but it needs to look professional so it is competitive with publishing-house books. They do this for a living and will give you a slick and professional cover that is not necessarily expensive. At Love of Books we employ highly skilled graphic designers. Printing 5 When you approach a printer for quotes, there are many choices you need to make that will affect the price. Some of these are colour, paper stock, binding, size of book and print runs. Basically there are two types of print runs: digital and offset.
Love of Books obtains wholesale pricing for printing and is able to offer you a great price along with top notch services. Digital Digital printing goes straight from the computer to print. This means that you can have any size print run at a static price: that is whether you have 10 or 1000 copies; the cost per unit will be some what less if you order more books. Also, the print-house can probably keep your manuscript on file and whip out another batch of copies as you need them.
Offset In offset printing your pages are made into plates, and for this there is an initial set up cost. However, the actual print run is very fast and the cost per unit gets smaller as the print run gets larger. (But if you do a large print run, where will you store the books?)
If you want to publish a large number of units or have images that need quality reproduction this is a good alternative. Printing plates are generally disposed of once a run has finished and this means no reprints without the same initial set up costs. Note: an alternative is combining the two options and getting pages of colour plates and a cover printed in quality offset, and then getting the main body in a digital run. Pricing 6 What price will you put on your book? You need to recoup your outlay and make a small profit. And remember that if you want to distribute through bookshops they will take a large share.
Other-ISBN & CiP 7 You need to register for an ISBN: every book must have one.
You may want a barcode. You must send off complimentary copies to your State and National libraries. For tax purposes, you need to keep comprehensive records of costs and earnings, and pay the taxman as you earn he will want his share of course! Love of Books can take care of all these services for you. Marketing 8
How are you planning to sell your book?
To successfully market it, you need to consider your audience and where they will be: in bookshops, at local markets, listening to local radio … Sending copies to reviewers is a great idea, but call them first and see if they are interested, don’t just send the book. You can try for a celebrity review to print on your final book cover by sending early mock ups to likely candidates. The launch: where will you hold it and who will pay for it? Which well-known local can will officially launch it? Other promotional ideas include flyers, web pages and posters (a blow up of your cover is a fairly cheap option for a poster). Bookshops will often stock your books on consignment, which means they will pay you when and if they sell them. This puts you in a position of having to follow up with bookshops, find out if they have sold any, ask for your money and then see if they want more copies. Here at Love of Books we are here to guide and support you as a new self publisher through this wonderful and rewarding experience to help you on your way to publishing success. Read more:Google Search Yahoo
Read more: Writers Resources
publishing books book printing book publishing book prints publish self publishing digital printing book printer book printers book publishers digital print print books sell book book publisher poetry publishing print your own book publish a book publishing companies self publish children's book publishers free book publishing large print books poetry publisher print book publishing a book art book publisher australian book publishers best book publisher best self publishing book agents book editing book help publish self book printing australia book printing business book printing companies book printing company book printing publishing book printing service book printing services book publish book publisher company book publisher list book publishing companies book publishing company book publishing guide book publishing publisher book publishing service book publishing services book self publishers book self publishing boolarong press business book publisher business book publishers children book publisher children book publishers children book publishing children books printing children's book publisher children's book publishing childrens book printing childrens books printing christian books printing christian publishing comic book publisher comic book publishers comic book publishing comic book self publishing copy booklets craft book publisher digital book printing family book printing family history books printing family tree book printing fast books fiction book printing fiction books printing free self publishing get book published good book publisher guide to self publishing how to publish how to publish a book how to self publish how to self publish a book isbn books major book publisher new book publisher online book publisher paperback book printing paperback books paperback books printing personalised books pod publishing poetry book publishers poetry book publishing poetry publishers print a book printing booklet printing books publishing books book printing book publishing book prints publish self publishing digital printing book printer book printers book publishers digital print print books sell book book publisher poetry publishing print your own book publish a book publishing companies self publish children's book publishers free book publishing large print books poetry publisher print book publishing a book art book publisher australian book publishers best book publisher best self publishing book agents book editing book help publish self book printing australia book printing business book printing companies book printing company book printing publishing book printing service book printing services book publish book publisher company book publisher list book publishing companies book publishing company book publishing guide book publishing publisher book publishing service book publishing services book self publishers book self publishing boolarong press business book publisher business book publishers children book publisher children book publishers children book publishing children books printing children's book publisher children's book publishing childrens book printing childrens books printing christian books printing christian publishing comic book publisher comic book publishers comic book publishing comic book self publishing copy booklets craft book publisher digital book printing family book printing family history books printing family tree book printing fast books fiction book printing fiction books printing free self publishing get book published good book publisher guide to self publishing how to publish how to publish a book how to self publish how to self publish a book isbn books major book publisher new book publisher online book publisher paperback book printing paperback books paperback books printing personalized books pod publishing poetry book publishers poetry book publishing poetry publishers print a book At the end of the day, how can you not realize your dream with all that we have to offer! *Self Publishing Success* Request A Quote
We are represented in all states within Australia: New South Wales (NSW), Victoria (VIC), Australian Capital Territory (ACT), Queensland (QLD), South Australia (SA), Tasmania (TAS), Western Australia (WA), Northern Territory (NT). Major areas covered include: Adelaide, Albany, Alice Springs, Armidale, Balladonia, Brisbane, Carnarvon, Broome, Bundaberg, Byron Bay, Cairns, Canberra, Carnarvon, Coffs Harbour, Cooktown, Darwin, Derby, Geraldton, Georgetown, Gladstone, Gold Coast, Broken Hill, Hobart, Kalgoorlie, Karumba, Katherine, Larrimah, Launceston, Lismore, Mackay, Melbourne, Minilya, Moree, Newcastle, Noosa, Northam, Perth, Port Hedland, Portland, Port Lincoln, Port Macquarie, Rockhampton, Sunshine Coast, Southern Cross, Sydney, Townsville, Wollongong, Tweed Heads - Bendigo, Ballarat, Geelong, Horsham, Moe, Bairnsdale, Orbost, Traralgon, Healsville, Swan Hill, Warrnambool, Portland, Mount Gambier, Echuca, Morwell, Shepparton, Wodonga, Mildura, Wagga Wagga, Bega, Narooma, Moruya, Nowra, Junee, Cootamundra, Batlow, Dubbo, Byron Bay, Tamworth, Moree, Glen Innes, Grafton, Toowoomba, Logan, Hervey Bay, Mount Isa, Julia Creek, Longreach, Cape York, Hamilton Island, Alice Springs, Renmark, Port Augusta, Woomera, Coober Pedy, Ceduna, Murray Bridge, Kangaroo Island, Devonport, Flinders Island, Stradbroke, Maroochydore, Gympie, Broken Hill, Simpson Desert, Tennant Creek, Groote Eylandt, Mt Isa, Ayers Rock, Kakadu, Rabbit Flat, Gove Peninsula, Mount Barker, Bunbury, Rockingham, Margaret River, Mandura, Pilbara, Frankston, Parramatta, Kings Cross, Karratha, Port Hedland, Surfers Paradise, Magnetic Island, Derby, Newman, Meekathrra, Leonora, Esperance, Wilcannia, Bourke, Walgett, Tamworth, Central Coast, Gosford, Roma, Caboolture, Ipswich, Casino, Charleville, Charters Towers, Mission Beach, Cardwell, Atherton, Victor Harbor North South East West. |
