April 14, 2010
by Bill Cherry
If you have succeeded writing a book the next scary thing is getting it ready to publish it. You will need to know a variety of things that may be out of your league. Things like preparing the electronic manuscript files for printing.
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One of the first things is to determine the layout of the text pages. Many authors don’t give the design and layout of the text pages any thought. Go to a large book store and thumb through a numbers of books. Look at the text pages of a number of books and see the different styles. Pick one you like and emulate it. There is no copyright problem.
Next determine the font you want to use. Use a simple commonly used font not a fancy one like script. Remember the object is to communicate with the reader not to impress them. Will you use indented paragraphs, left justified or center justified. How much margin will you have at the top, bottom and each side? Use one or one and a half line spacing.
The next issue is the cover design and the title. Many authors I have worked with picked a title for their book. Their titles are usually poor titles for marketing and selling their book. They need to pay attention to the titles on other similar books. Titles should be short, interesting, and portray the book as different in some way. Go to amazon.com and do a search for books in your book’s topics. Study the various book titles to get some ideas.
The graphic design of the cover is also critical. Don’t try to design the cover yourself. Get a graphic designer to design the cover. Get one in your area, or go on line to a website www.elance.com. There you can get graphic design done cheaply.
Once these things are done you must get the text and cover electronic files ready for the printer. Copy your book text and cover to a CD and give to the printer. He will review them and tell you if everything is the way they need it.
Give the electronic files to the printer in a regular 8.5’ x 11’ standard Word format. Don’t try to size the text pages to the book’s size. The printer will do that. Keep your master copy in that Word format and make all changes in sizes from that. Most books are a close 6’ x 9’ or 5.5’ x 8.5’. The sizes may vary depending on the size of printing press it will be printed on.
Make sure the printer gives you a printed out proof in the actual size it will be printed. Take several days to review the proof. Have several other people review it if possible. Make sure the color cover proof has all the correct information. Make sure you have endorsements on the back cover. These procedures will help you avoid many mistakes getting your book ready to print.
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