Many Complex Self-Publishing Services Required to Publish a Book
Gear-up Knowledge to Hire Self Publishing Services
By Deborah S. Nelson, Author-Book Coach-Speaker
If you are considering (or have decided) to self-publish your own book, a key issue is the self-publishing services you select. Not only is it important how you select self-publishing services but how you manage them. In this article, Below is a list of basic self-publishing services needed to publish your own book. Becoming your own book publisher is similar to building your own home. It is a large time-consuming project with many pieces that need to be coordinated in chronological order.
What Self-Publishing Services Are Available to Publish Your Book Professionally?
To start, this article will help you plan which services you will use to publish your book. Like being your own general contractor to build your home, some jobs you may choose to do. Decide before you start which services to hire and what you will do yourself. Below, I have listed three areas of self-published services needed for a professionally self-published book.
Design Self-Publishing Services
1. Book Cover
Do you judge a book by its cover? I certainly do. If there were one service I would hire above all, it would be the book cover design. You will want your cover very graphic and simple as possible, to include a compelling graphic, title, subtitle, and author name on the front cover. On the back cover include an author biography and a sales pitch synopsis of the book. An ordinary graphic artist will not necessarily know how to create a great book cover. Look for someone who specializes in book covers or who designs book covers for their career.
2. Interior Images
If you are publishing a children’s book or a photography book, or simply want images, illustrations, or drawings, you’ll most likely want to hire an artist to create these. Be sure, most of all they create them in a 300 dpi resolution and deliver them in a digital file compatible with the interior design software. Most likely if they deliver these images in a jpg file, that will suffice for the interior designer to place the images into your book document. You will need to specify exactly to your interior designer where to place any images, illustrations. or photos.
3. Interior Design
Unless you want to learn to book interior design as well as purchase expensive art software, you best hire a specialist to create your interior design. Laying out a book interior is highly detailed and complex. Header design, front matter, back matter, page numbers, table of contents–these are all very complex. If they have never designed a book cover, this is very time-consuming for them to learn. Not only are multiple components involved, but the digital file must be made to printer specifications. This is tricky with someone who is unfamiliar with these technical nuances.
Editorial Self-Publishing Services
1. Content Editing
Learning the differences between proofreading, editing, copy editing, is key to making an accurately written book. Most new writers get this mixed up. These passes must be orchestrated in the right order. Content editing is first; proofreading follows copy editing. Multiple changes are made prior to proofreading, so why work on that which will no longer exist?
Content editing deals with chronology, accuracy, consistency, meaning, and flow. If you write about something in the first chapter and bring it up later, is that clear? Does it require reordering or redefinition? Are chapters in proper sequence? Content editors work with the big picture–content, organization, and meaning. Consider, who are you writing to? What is the age and educational level? In rough spots, the content editor realigns the copy and makes it readable, and understandable. They delete superfluous words, order sentences properly, and reorder paragraphs, pages, or chapters. They also clear up confusing areas. For example, a sharp content editor will clarify issues such as whether a city name is Greenwich, New York, or Greenwich Connecticut.
2. Copy-Editing
This task focuses on punctuation, formatting, headings consistency with bold, caps, and italics. Many novice writers do not understand the concept that there is no “right” way on many punctuation questions. Most editors, copy editors, and proofreaders use a style guide to solve this. That English teacher who corrected your papers with red ink–exactly what style guide did she use? Indeed, these punctuation rules are not as “black and white,” as we were taught. Judgment calls are made–the most common call is for style consistency. Decide what style guide you’ll use, and ask your proofreader to use that guide when they copy edit for you. A long-standing guide is the Chicago Manual of Style.
3. Proofreading
This is the last pass to fix errors in the “editorial process.” Proofreading is focused on spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Run spell check while writing your manuscript, to keep errors in check and this part will go faster. A good proofreader finds issues of duplicate words; when “your” should be “you’.” missing words, wrong tenses; and awkwardness. Some proofreaders are also copyeditors and may do both. Yet, expect to pay for both services, as they are two distinct passes. For best results, try a specialist in each area. Finally, instruct all to use the same style guide, or the book will be an inconsistent mess.
Promotional Self-Publishing Services
1. Headshot
You will need a photo for the back of your book cover, and honestly, a normal snapshot is not professional. Look for a portrait photographer who knows how to take headshots, with good lighting. A full-length photo is too small and includes too much distracting background to use for the back of the book cover. In addition, you will also need a shot for the interior of the book for the page entitled “About the Author.”
2. Author Branding
Develop a basic branding image or icon for your author name. Upload to Facebook and Twitter. Goodreads is the Facebook for book lovers–so start an account with them, too. Create a tagline with a consistent look and feel on social media when promoting your book.
3. Marketing Tool
You may, or may not become a “best-selling” author, due to multiple variables. Regardless, leverage your book as a marketing tool by creating a full-page ad at the end of your book. Similarly, use this to promote your other books and services to interested readers. Consequently, your book becomes a powerful strategic marketing tool to market your other services.
Hiring the right self-publishing services can make the difference in how professional and attractive your published book is. Naturally, when you hire these services, get a quote! Although most charge by the hour, you will need an estimate of how many hours the job will take. Unfortunately, if you do not ask for that, you are basically writing a blank check to the contractor.
Next post, I share ways to find self-publishing services for hire; and how to manage those people. If you prepare and manage them correctly, you can cut costs for these services by up to 50%. Finally, I know you’ll be in good hands with Dream to Publish Self-Publishing Services. Also, I’ll give you a quote, and you’ll know what to expect.
RELATED ARTICLE: How to Design a Book Cover
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