How to Make a Book|Easy-Medium-Advanced
by Deborah S. Nelson, Author-Book Coach-Speaker
Three Ways How to Make a Book Online
Digital publishing has brought some new developments. Now. it is easy for an ordinary person to learn how to publish a book. If you are creative and have always wanted to make a book, this article will give you an overview of the options and steps to make that possible. To simplify the process, I have divided different ways into three categories. These include, The Four-Color Gift Book, Print on Demand Paperback, and Short Run Book Publishing. With these options, your creative spirit can soar.
Easy|Color Gift Book
If you want only a one-time book project with no need to market your books, the four-color hard cover book is fun and easy to do. For this option, I feel that the the best company is Blurb.com. I love Blurb! You can learn how to self publish a book with the greatest of ease using Blurb.
The beautiful thing with Blurb is you can create full-color books with a hard cover. If you want to publish a children’s book, a book of art, a photography portfolio, or anything that requires full-color on the inside and outside, Blurb.com is your best choice to learn the beginning basics of how to make a book online. With their proprietary software, BookSmart, you can easily create books without the steep learning curve of professional book publishing software.
Easy User Friendly Book Publishing Software
Blurb software automatically does page numbering, the copyright pages, and the right blank pages, and a few pages of optional front matter. Blurb has no option for marketing your book through online booksellers or the book publishing industry.
This is a great option if you want to create a gift book or legacy book or a book to use for presentations in your business. The books might seem pricey, but the fact that you can print just one book using their print on demand system for under $25-$500 is phenomenal (depending on how many pages).
Stunning Full-Color Gift Books
My daughter created an epoch 400-page book following her friend’s romance which led up to marriage as a wedding gift. Another book she created was a photo-journal of her best friend’s cat, about 250 pages, in memory of “Jet Boy” who had been lovingly euthanized. One of my students collected old Italian recipes from her beloved grandmother and published the recipes in memory of her.
If you prefer creativity and minimal technical frustrations, you can learn how to make your book with the greatest of ease using Blurb’s proprietary book software.
Medium|Print on Demand Books|Sell on Amazon
The next option, especially if you want to sell books, is to print on demand. This option is great if you want to buy books in small quantities to provide for workshops or seminars you may teach. Additionally, The easiest and least expensive print on demand option is to use the paperback format.
The paperback format offers multiple size options, depending on which print on demand company you choose. All of them offer four-color front and back covers with black and white interior, up to as much as 400 pages. Basically, you will need to create two digital files, one for the cover, and one for the interior of the book. Most print on demand companies require the file to be in a print ready (300 dpi) PDF format.
For a professional look, initially the layout is usually done in In Design. Next, the graphic artist will export that file to a print ready PDF, required by the printer. Lastly, upload these files to your print on demand account.
Advanced|Short Run Book Printing|Book Store Sales
Finally, search Google for short run printing companies to print your book. Depending on size, color (or black and white), hard back cover, type of paper, number of copies required, and shape, you will gather different quotes. They will quote you based on “camera- or print-ready art.”
For starters, find a graphic design specialist for the cover, and one for the book interior. Next, in order to sell in book stores, register as a publisher at Bowker Books. Once, registered, purchase an ISBN number, so your book will be listed in BOOKS IN PRINT. Notably, this is the main source from which book stores order their books.
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