Self-Publishing On a Budget by Gloria Hander Lyons

Self-Publishing On a Budget: A Do-It-All-Yourself Guide by Gloria Hander Lyons

2010-09-03T15:25:00.002-05:00

Do you long to be a published author but think it’s an impossible dream? Learn how to turn that dream into reality with the information in this step-by-step self-publishing guide. It offers helpful advice on:

• Finding Your Target Market

• Writing and Editing Your Manuscript

• Book Layouts and Text Fonts

• Designing a Book Cover

• Choosing a Binding Style

• Finding an Affordable Printer

• Promoting and Selling Your Book

Don’t pass up the chance to see your work in print. Self-publishing is easy, affordable and fun. You can do it and this book will show you how! Book Size: 5.5” X 8.5”, 60 pages, paperpack. ISBN: 978-0-9790618-5-1 Price: $6.95

Order this book from Blue Sage Press, CreateSpace.com, and Amazon.com.

Reader Comments

“At last, someone has written a straight forward, all encompassing, how-to book on self publishing. Gloria has the ability to take a complex subject and simplify the steps so that even a beginner has hope of publishing. You will soon be an author because your fears of both writing and publishing will be completely removed once you've read this book. I highly recommend Self Publishing On a Budget.” Dawn S., Seabrook, TX

Introduction to Self-Publishing On a Budget: A Do-It-All-Yourself Guide

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Whether you want to preserve a collection of cherished recipes for family members, publish a memoir, or write a marketable how-to manual, Self-Publishing On a Budget: A Do-It-All-Yourself Guide will show you how to gather the information and put it together into a properly formatted book.

Anyone can accomplish this task, and on a reasonable budget. Self-publishing can encompass a wide range of literature, from a 24-page booklet that you print on your own computer to a 300-page hardback novel that’s typeset by a professional printer. It’s whatever your vision and budget will allow.

All you need to do is pick a subject and starting writing. What information have you acquired during your lifetime that you can share with others? Write about what you know—your life experiences, hobbies, travels or career expertise. Perhaps you enjoy writing short stories, poetry or full-length novels. The publishing process is the same for both non-fiction and fiction books.

Self-publishing is fun, affordable and rewarding. Even if your goal is simply a cookbook for family members or an information booklet for business clients. The satisfaction of holding that finished book in your hands is well worth the effort.

Use the easy, step-by-step self-publishing tips in this book to share the knowledge you have accumulated with others. Don’t pass up the opportunity to see your work in print.

Get free self-publishing tips from Self-Publishing On a Budget on this blog. See the list of topics at right.

Order this book from Blue Sage Press, CreateSpace.com, and Amazon.com.

Book Layout Tips From: Self-Publishing On a Budget

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Book Trim Size

Before publishing your book you will need to choose a trim size, the actual dimensions of the book. The most popular and economical book trim size is 5.5” X 8.5”. There are other alternatives, which are sometimes more expensive, depending on the book printing company, that include 6” X 9”and 8” X 8”, which is considered a gift-size book. If you use a book printer like CreateSpace.com, all the book trim sizes are the same price. The cost of the book varies only by the number of pages in the book and whether the interior is black and white or includes color photographs.

Not all printers offer all trim sizes, so shop around to find the one who offers the book size you want at an affordable price.

Book Layout Tips

In order to lay out the body text pages for your book, you will need to be familiar with a word processing program, like Microsoft^® Word.

As you write your text on your computer, having the page size set to the actual trim size of your book will give you a better feel for how the finished layout will look, complete with the total number of pages.

Most book printers require a minimum half-inch margin around the text on each page. If your book will be perfect bound (like a paperback book) instead of bound with a spiral wire or plastic comb, it’s best to use mirror margins.

“Mirror margins” means the inside margins (the ones at the center of the book) are wider than the outside margins, to accommodate the space required to bind the pages together.

In order to create mirror margins when using Microsoft^® Word, click on the “Page Layout” tab, then choose “Page Setup”. Under the “Margin” tab, you will see an area called “Pages” and under that, “Multiple Pages”. Click on the drop-down arrow and choose “Mirror Margins”.

Then you will be able to set the inside margins to at least three-fourths of an inch wide and the outside margins at one-half of an inch wide. If you don’t want to use mirror margins, simply set both the right and left margins for three-fourths of an inch (.75”). You can also set the top and bottom margins the same size if you like. Follow the directions from the book printing company you choose.

Many book printing companies, like InstantPublisher.com, offer downloadable templates with preset margins for several trim sizes. This service makes creating your book file much simpler.

Be sure to insert page numbers in the body text. These can be centered in the footer (the space at the bottom of the page), or in the header (the space at the top of the page) or placed in the outside corners of the header or footer.

Body Text and Artwork

For a neater appearance in your body text, justify your margins so the right margin is lined up evenly, the same as the left margin.

Start each chapter on a right-facing page (the recto page). If a previous chapter ends on the right-facing page, either reduce the content or expand it so the chapter will end on the left- facing (verso) page. Try to avoid leaving blank pages in your book.

Page numbering should begin on the first page of your introduction, or first chapter if you don’t have an introduction. Consequently, all odd page numbers will be on the right facing pages.

Include any diagrams, charts or graphs that might be helpful to your readers and make sure they are clearly labeled and easy to understand.

You can also add illustrations to enhance the appearance or clarity of the book, such as photos, clip art or line drawings. But do not use copyrighted artwork unless you have received permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Most book printers require that all photographs and artwork are at least 300 dpi (dots per inch). Beware when using Microsoft^® Word 2007 for preparing your book files that include photographs. This software automatically down-samples photographs to 150dpi. Microsoft^® Word 2003 does not have this feature, so it is still acceptable for creating book files with photographs.

Font Styles and Sizes

Your main goal in choosing a font style for your book is to make sure that it is easy to read. Most publishing guides recommend serif fonts for the body text (like the text you are reading, which has decorative lines extending from the ends of the letters). Examples of these are: “Times New Roman” or “Garamond”.

San serif fonts (ones without the decorative lines on the ends of the letters) are recommended for headings and subheadings. Examples of these are: “Arial” or “Tahoma”.

A 12 point font size is commonly used for the body text because it is easy for most people to read. For large print books, use a 14 point font size.

Try to avoid using more than three different font styles in your body text and keep all the headings consistent. Chapter headings should all use the same font style and point size throughout your book, as well as all sub-headings.

Get more self-publishing tips from Self-Publishing On a Budget on this blog. See the list of topics at right.

Order this book from Blue Sage Press, CreateSpace.com, and Amazon.com.

Front & Back Matter Page Tips From: Self-Publishing On a Budget: A Do-It-All-Yourself Guide

2010-09-03T15:12:00.006-05:00

In addition to the body text, your self-published book will also contain other pages, called the front and back matter. These pages typically do not have page numbers, or they are numbered using Roman numerals. Start the regular page numbering with your introduction or first chapter and end the numbering before your back matter pages.

Front matter includes: a title page, copyright page and a table of contents, and possibly a dedication page, an acknowledgement page, a foreword and a preface, if you want to insert these, as well.

Back matter can include some or all of the following: an index, appendix, glossary of terms, resource guide, bibliography, author information and order form.

Four of the most commonly used front matter pages are described below:

Title Page

The first page your reader will see after opening the cover of your book is the title page. See the example at right. This “right-facing” page features:

• The title of the book
• The name of the author
• The name of the publishing company
• An illustration (optional)

The copyright page is the second page of your book (also called the verso page because it is located on the left-facing or verso page). This page is reserved for the copyright information.

The book’s title is at the top of the page, followed by the word, “Copyright” and/or ©, the year the book was written and the name of the copyright owner (you).

It must also include the statement, “All Rights Reserved” to protect all rights to the book. See the example above or view the copyright page shown on the "Look Inside" feature of Self-Publishing on a Budget at Amazon.com.

Other information that should appear on the copyright page:

• Contact information for ordering additional copies of the book or other inquiries (this is usually the publisher’s name, address and website)
• Optional: Printing references (i.e. First printing, the number of copies in the run and the date printed)
• If you have them, list the book’s ISBN (International Standard Book Number) and Library of Congress Control Number. These numbers will be discussed later.
• Optional: A disclaimer paragraph about the information in the book (an example is shown on the copyright page of this book)
• Where the book was printed (Printed in the U.S.A.)

Foreword

A foreword is written by a person other than the author. It is usually about one page long and includes positive comments about the author and the book, plus the name of the person who wrote the foreword. If you want to include a foreword in your book, consider asking for comments from a well-known person in the field relating to your book’s topic. You might also query someone famous whose endorsement could boost your book’s sales. It never hurts to ask. If you do manage to land a “big name” person to write your foreword, be sure to include this fact on your cover.

Preface

The preface is very similar to an introduction, but is a bit more personal and chatty. It is written by the author and might include the story of how he or she came to write the book and somtimes ends with a printed copy of the author’s signature. The preface gives an overview of the book’s content, information about the author’s background or credentials and might also point out special features the book offers and how to use them.

Get more information about how to create a properly formatted book from: Self-Publishing On a Budget: A Do-It-All-Yourself Guide.

Order from Blue Sage Press, CreateSpace.com, and Amazon.com.

Choosing a Book Printer

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The first decision you’ll need to make as a self-publisher is: What is your purpose for publishing your book?

Do you merely want to record your family history or preserve a collection of favorite recipes to share with family members?

Are you a business professional who wants to produce a booklet to give to your clients to help clarify terms that are specific to your industry?

Do you envision writing a book to sell to the general public and generate a source of income?

The answer to this question will determine most of the choices you make regarding your book, from the number of copies you’ll print, to the cover style and production cost per copy.

When you’re ready to choose a book printer, plan to spend a lot of time researching the services and prices of many companies to find one that is right for your budget and overall vision. There are hundreds of choices available.

First of all, make sure the printer you choose offers the binding style and trim size that you want.

If you plan to make a profit from selling your books, you’ll need to consider the cost of production per copy, especially if you want to sell them at wholesale prices to bookstores or other retailers.

Book Printer Options

Vanity/Subsidy or POD (Print on Demand) Publishers: These are publishing companies that charge a fee that can range from $500 to $15,000 (or more) to put your book together, depending on which services they provide, including layout, editing, typesetting, cover design, printing and marketing.

These companies offer fulfillment services. They ship books after receiving orders, then pay the author a royalty on the price they receive (wholesale or retail).

Vanity publishers also assign one of their company’s ISBN’s to your book, which means that they will be listed as the publisher of record (not you).

Rarely do authors recoup even a small fraction of what they pay to a POD publisher. Vanity publishers make money from selling services to authors—not from selling books. But if you can afford their services and don’t have the skills or resources to produce your book yourself, then carefully investigate and compare prices of any companies you are considering. "Google" the company's name and read all comments, both good and bad. Also, check the "Writer Beware" column on the Science Fiction Writers of American website: www.sfwa.org.

Examples of Vanity or POD Publishers are: Author House, Infinity Publishing, and Trafford Publishing

Digital Printers: These companies will print your book in quantities of 25 to several thousand copies using heavy-duty laser printers, which are similar to home computer laser printers. The cost is quite affordable, but prices do vary, as well as services. The more books you order at one time, the lower the cost per book.

Most book printers, whether digital or offset printers, require that you provide a PDF (Portable Document File) of your book text for printing. This means you need to own software, such as Adobe® Acrobat, which is fairly expensive. Adobe® also offers a monthly online service for about $10.00 per month for creating PDF files. Check out these services at: http://createpdf.adobe.com/

You can also find a few free PDF software versions online, and some word processing packages (i.e. Microsoft^® Office) now come with PDF creators. Make sure any program you use can create “High Quality Printing” PDF’s, which maintains a 300dpi (dots per inch) level for photographs if you have inserted photos into your book. “Standard” level (150 dpi) is too low.

Some book printers will create these files free of charge if you use their printing services. You upload your word processing file (i.e. Microsoft® Word) to their computer, it creates the PDF file, then you place your print order.

The digital book printing company that I have used and highly recommend is InstantPublisher.com. They can usually fill your order in 7-10 working days and will print as few as 25 copies. Their free software will create the necessary PDF files from your word processing document. Use their instant pricing calculator to estimate the cost of publishing your book. The more books you buy per order the lower the cost of each book. They also offer a variety of binding styles and provide affordable book cover design assistance. There is a small charge for full color book covers, bindings other than perfect (paperback) and for creating a bar code from your ISBN number to place on the back cover.

POD (Print On Demand) Printers: These companies can print one book at a time or several hundred books to ship directly to your buyers. Some POD printing companies sell only to wholesale accounts (Lightning Source); others to individual customers (LuLu.com and Create Space.com).

The binding styles are sometimes limited to perfect (paperback) or case bound (hardback). The royalty you receive is normally the sale price minus the cost of printing the book plus a commission fee (usually about 20% - 40% of the retail price).

If you don’t want to fill book orders yourself, a POD printer can be a good option. Another advantage is that you don’t need to invest money in a large quantity of books and store them until they are sold.

Prices and services vary widely, so compare those offered by several different POD printers to find the one that best meets your needs and budget considerations.

The one I have used and highly recommend is createspace.com. If you can create your own PDF files for your book's body text and cover, then you can upload them to Create Space (owned by Amazon.com). They can print and bind just one book at a time to fill orders. Your only financial obligation is to purchase one proof copy of your book. They also offer a free "Book Cover Creator" program if you don't have the skills or resources to create your own. The only binding style they offer is paperback (Perfect Binding).

Create Space will post your book for sale on Amazon.com and offers "Expanded Distribution" to sell to other retail stores. As the author, you can purchase books for your own use for a very reasonable fee. Production cost per book is the same no matter how many books you buy per order. The price is also the same for all book trim sizes. If you don't want to purchase your own ISBN, they will give you one free of charge and create the bar code for the back of your book cover for free. They will also provide a free webpage (e-store) for your book. There is no additional charge for a full color cover. Their commission is 40% of book retail price if sold on Amazon.com or 20% of book retail price if sold from your Create Space e-store, plus the cost of printing the book.

Get more information about publishing your book from: Self-Publishing On a Budget: A Do-It-All-Yourself Guide.

Order from Blue Sage Press, CreateSpace.com, and Amazon.com.

Marketing Tip From: Self-Publishing On a Budget: A Do-It-All-Yourself-Guide

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The most important promotion tool for any author is a website or blog. Make sure your website address is printed on everything you hand out or mail out, such as press releases, stationery, business cards, fliers and post cards. You want to drive traffic toward your website because it is your main information source for potential buyers, as well as newspaper and magazine editors.

Your website should include:

A photo of your book cover, as well as yourself.

The sales pitch for your book (taken from your “back copy”) to entice your website visitors to buy.

Your author bio: a few short paragraphs about your background and credentials for writing the book.

Reviews or reader comments about your book.

A schedule of up-coming events, such as speaking engagements, book signings or workshops and classes.

Ordering information: how readers can buy online and/or order-by-mail.

A monthly newsletter or weekly tips that make readers want to return to your site.

Get more promotion and marketing ideas from Self-Publishing On a Budget: A Do-It-All-Yourself Guide.

Order from Blue Sage Press, CreateSpace.com, and Amazon.com.

Do You Need an ISBN For Your Book?

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If your purpose for self-publishing is to distribute your book to family members or friends, or to sell it in local stores or gift shops, then you won’t need an ISBN (International Standard Book Number). But if you plan to sell your book through major retail chains, bookstores and distributors, then you will need to get an ISBN. In order to do this, you must submit an application to R. R. Bowker Company to apply for a publisher prefix number (the first eleven numbers that make up a 13-digit ISBN). Their website is listed below.

This 13-digit number identifies the publisher, the book title and the author. It is important that you obtain your own ISBN rather than using one issued by your printing company or subsidy publisher, because these numbers are assigned to publishers. In other words, for as long as your book is in print, the “publisher of record” and their contact information is determined by the ISBN that is printed on the copyright page of the book.

Anytime someone wants information about your book or wants to discuss a business deal regarding it, they will contact R. R. Bowker (Books in Print) to get the official publisher’s name, address and phone number. You are not officially a self-publisher unless you are using your own ISBN’s and are listed as the “publisher of record” for your book.

ISBN’s are purchased in blocks of ten numbers for about $275.00 (at the time of this printing). You can also purchase just one ISBN. Learn more about ISBN’s and how to purchase them online at: www.isbn.org.

Learn more about how to publish your book from Self-Publishing On a Budget: A Do-It-All-Yourself Guide.

Order from Blue Sage Press, CreateSpace.com, and Amazon.com.

Book & Blog Design Services Offered by Gloria Hander Lyons

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My book, Self-Publishing On a Budget: A Do-It-All-Yourself Guide can show you how to gather your information and put it together into a properly formatted book. But if you feel you need more assistance with cover design or page layout, or you need a blog website to promote your book, contact me about my publishing and design services listed below.

You can choose any of the following services for help in publishing your book or designing a blog website:

Book Publishing Services

You can choose any of the following services for help in publishing your book:

· Editing for grammar, spelling, punctuation and content for short stories and book manuscripts

· Book Cover Design, including “back copy” text (browse my Books pages and Amazon.com pages for samples of my work)

· Book Text Layout, including proper page formatting and numbering, title page, copyright page, table of contents, index and ordering information page if needed

· PDF file creation

· Book printing and binding contacts and recommendations

Design Services for Blogs

· Design services for creating a blog website for you on blogger.com (check out my list of blogs at right)

· Services for updating your blog as needed

· Services for teaching you how to add posts to your blog

Design Services for Printed or E-Mailed Material

· Design services for newsletters, invitations, announcements, forms, ads, sales or promotional flyers and a variety of other copywriting services for e-mailing or printing

Fees for Services: $25.00 per hour (Free estimates)

For more information, e-mail Gloria Lyons: gloria@bluesagepress.com

Order the book from Blue Sage Press, CreateSpace.com, and Amazon.com.