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Copyright
ISBN
Editorial
Book Layout
Cover Design
Converting to PDF
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ISBN An ISBN, or
International Standards Book Number, uniquely identifies a book and is mostly used to track sales. A lot of self-publishing
companies and printers will issue you one for free. However, the company that owns the ISBN issued to you will forever be
listed as the publisher of your book. The registration details of an ISBN cannot be changed after purchase. R.R. Bowker is the only agency in the US that has the authority to issue ISBN's.
Therefore, if you want to be listed as the publisher of your work, we recommend
you go directly to them. Recently, R.R. Bowker has began licensing some self-publishing
companies the right to sell a single ISBN with the
author registered as the publisher. These self-publishing companies are very far and few. We mean minimal. If a self-publishing
company claims to be authorized, feel free to confirm it with R.R. Bowker. This is not to be confused with companies
that will give you a free ISBN or sell you one where they will be listed as the publisher. It
is also worth noting that companies usually require you to use their services if they issue or sell you an ISBN, withholding
the ISBN until your book is printed. R.R. Bowker
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Editorial Editorial services can be expensive but are worth the cost if you can afford it and highly recommended.
You usually always have the option of accepting the editor's changes and some will even conduct a fact check on your work. DIY Editing
Not everyone can afford to have someone edit their work. If you're
doing it yourself, we offer the following tips: 1.) Have a friend who you deem partially qualified to read over
your work. They may spot mistakes you didn't. Remember to thank them if
they do! And don't get offended if they offer their advice. 2.) Use Spell and Grammar Check but don't rely on it.
You need to physically read every word, sentence, and paragraph yourself.
3.) Don't do it all in one go.
Try one chapter a night. This is because you know your story better than anyone else, so it's easy to read your manuscript
without really reading it. You need the fresh eyes of a new day to help catch mistakes.
4.)
Watch out for their, they're, there, where, we're,
were, you're, your, it's, its and similar common
mistakes that your Spelling and Grammar check won't pick up.
5.) Make sure you spell a character's name the same throughout the entire manuscript,
especially if you're creating or using a highly unique
name.
6.) After you've read it silently to yourself,
go back and read it aloud. You'll know why when you try it.
7.) Edit it more than once. Even if it takes a month or
two. You've worked so hard on the book, it'd be a shame to hurry through this last, vital step.
8.) Recheck your facts, especially if it's a historical
piece.
9.) Check your use of 'where' or 'when'.
For example the sentence 'It happened on New Years Day, where there was much celebration and mirth.' should actually
read 'It happened on New Yeas Day, when there was much celebration and mirth.'
10.) Your spacing should be congruent for most of the book. If you've decided
to use four spaces to signify a gap in time, check that you haven't used three or two spaces elsewhere. Your best editing tool is the Find feature in Word. If you go to your top navigation bar, click
on Edit, and then Find, you can use the tool to search for indents, spaces, words, and much more. You can even use the Find
and Replace feature. Let's say you want to make sure you've used it's
correctly. You can use Find to search for it's and,
in the Replace bar, you can type its so that every time you've found where it's
was used incorrectly, you can change it at the click of a button. Editorial
Service Providers
If you
want to have your manuscript professionally edited, and your self-publishing company doesn't offer the service or you've
chosen to look elsewhere, here are a few companies that offer affordable editorial services:
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Book Layout You're book layout refers to the interior pages inside the cover. Many self-publishing companies have services
to design this for you or offer templates for you to copy and paste your work into. However, many of the templates don't
do certain functions, like removing a page number from your title and copyright page, or removing a header from a page where
a chapter begins. Some people use Quark or InDesign to help them with this, but if you're using Word, you can easily format
your layout yourself. It just takes a bit of research. Don't be afraid to ask your self-publishing company or printer
for guidelines and tips. Fonts
It is best to used
a serif based font (also known as Roman) for your primary text as it flows from letter to letter, making it the easiest to
read. Such fonts include Garamond, Veljovic-Book, Baskerville, and Palatino. Times New Roman is a serif based font as well
but some publishers deem it too narrow to use. Tips for Formating Word
To get an accurate page size and margin width for your interior pages, use a template from
your self-publishing company or consult them for guidelines. This is vital as trim sizes a company offers may only be an estimate.
For example, it may be advertised that a company offers a trim size of 5 x 8 inches, but the exact print size is 5.15 x 8.15
inches. These tips should only be used after you've formated your page size and margin widths and are for guideline purposes
only.Very important! Please save a copy of your work under a different file name before experimenting
with formatting so that you also have a copy of your original work. Page Setup Layout
Go to the Files tab of your navigation bar. Click on Page Setup then on the Layout tab.
Header and Footer - Check 'Different first page.' Whether or not 'Different
odd and even' is check depends on the template you used. Normally, it would be checked. If you're unsure, consult
your self-publishing company or printer. Apply
the above changes to the whole document. Click ok.
Removing Page Numbers and Headers
from Title, Copyright, and Acknowledgement Pages
Make
sure 'Different first page' has been checked in the Layout tab of your Page Setup. 1.) Separate your Copyright and Acknowledgement pages with a section break. You do
not need to use a section break for the first page of your book i.e. the Title page. To create a section break, place your
cursor where you want a particular page to start. Go to the Insert tab of your navigation bar. Click on Break. Check 'Page
break.' Click Ok. 2.) Go to the View tab of your navigation
bar. Click Header and Footer. Delete all text in the header and footer areas. If the template contains a line in the header
or footer area that you cannot delete, go to the Format tab of your navigation bar. Click on Borders and Shading. If a style
is selected, you can delete it by selecting None. Beginning Page Number on the First
Chapter of Prologue
You've deleted page numbers and headers from your Title, Copyright,
and Acknowledgement pages but want to start the page numbers on the first chapter or prologue. 1.) Go to the page
where you would like page numbers to begin. Make sure this page is separated from the Acknowledgement page with a section
break. To insert a section break, go to the Insert tab of your navigation bar. Click on Break and check the type of section
break you would like. Most publishers prefer putting the first page of every chapter on an Odd page. To do this, when you're
selecting the type of section break you would like, check 'Odd page.' Click Ok. 2.) Go to the View tab of your navigation
bar. Click Header and Footer. Move your cursor where you would like your page numbers to appear. A Header and Footer toolbar
should appear. 3.)
On the Header and Footer toolbar, click on 'Insert page number'. Highlight
the page number. 4.) On the Header and Footer toolbar, click on 'Format page
number.' Click on 'Start at' and type in 1. Click Ok. Close the Header
and Footer toolbar.
5.) Go to the second page of your chapter. Go to the View tab of your navigation bar. Click Header
and Footer. A Header and Footer toolbar should appear. Make sure the 'Same as Previous' button is checked. 6.) Repeat step five for the third page of
your chapter if necessary. 7.) You should not have to repeat step five for any other pages after this, however, if you notice
that your page numbers are incorrect further in your manuscript, the most likely problem is that the 'Same as Previous'
button is not checked in your Header and Footer toolbar. Removing Headers from the First
Page of a Chapter
Make sure 'Different first page' has been
checked in the Layout tab of your Page Setup. 1.) Make sure all chapters are separated by a section
break. A section break should begin on the first page of every chapter. To insert a section break, go to the Insert tab of
your navigation bar. Click on Break and check the type of section break you would like. Most publishers prefer putting the
first page of every chapter on an Odd page. To do this, when you're selecting the type of section break you would like,
check 'Odd page.' Click Ok. Warning: Be careful
here that, when you're inserting a section break, you don't create an unnecessary blank page. However, if you choose
to begin your chapter on an odd page, and there is no text on the previous even page, there will naturally be a blank page
or no page shown for that even page. If you ever need to delete a section break, it is easiest to do so in Normal view. You
can go to Normal view by going to the View tab of your navigation bar and clicking on Normal. 2.) For
the first page of each chapter, go to the View tab of your navigation bar. Click Header and Footer. Delete all text in the
header area. If the template contains a line in the header area that you cannot delete, go to the Format tab of your navigation
bar. Click on Borders and Shading. If a style is selected, you can delete it by selecting None. 3.) If you're lucky, once you've completed this step
for the first chapter, Word will automatically delete the header on the first page of all subsequent chapters. If not, you
will have to do it yourself for every chapter.
Some self-publishing companies
have some useful tips when it comes to your book layout. Explore the sites of different self-publishing companies, especially
their Design sections. But please remember, tips are for informational purposes only. The Author's Bookstore cannot be
held responsible for your use of tips on our pages or any other. Always consult your self-publishing company if you have any
questions or uncertainties.
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Cover Design Many self-publishing companies and printers
have services to custom design your book cover or offer templates for you to use. Should you choose to design your cover yourself
or hire an outside professional, it is absolutely vital you consult your self-publishing company or printer for formating
guidelines. Your book cover is determined by a number of factors including the weight of the paper being used for your interior
pages and the actual page size the printer uses to print your cover. DIY Book Design
Here are some things you'll need
to remember to put onto your cover:
Front Cover - Title and Author Name
Spine - Title and Author Name are required. Your publishing name or logo is recommended.
Back Cover - ISBN, Barcode, and Synopsis. Some authors like to include a small photo of themselves
and a suggested retail price. Images
There are many companies out there that allow
you to buy images for your book cover. We suggest you use an image that is Royalty Free. This means, you only have to pay
a one time fee to use the image. If you decide to purchase an image, please read the Terms and Conditions of the company who
licenses it to you. Big Stock Photo iStock Photo Jupiter Images Fonts
There are many sites where you can get free or affordable fonts for
your book cover. Try: 1001 Free Fonts Urban Fonts Fonts.Com Font Freak Book
Design Services
Here are a few companies that offer book design services or software. However, as always, consult
your self-publishing company or printer for format guidelines. Book Cover Pro Budget Book Design Book Design Wizard BookDesign.Com
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Converting to PDF You will most likely have to convert your interior (layout) and cover into a PDF file (Portable
Document Format.) Your interior and cover should be converted into two separate files, not together. The most commonly used
PDF converter is Adobe. We suggest using Adobe or your self-publishing company or printer's PDF conversion services. There
are a lot of free PDF converters on the web, but your printer will have specific formating requirements, such as image quality
and embedding, that you will need to follow. With Adobe, you cannot simply convert your file. You will first need to turn it into a post script
file (.prn or .ps) for a successful conversion. For example, if you upload your manuscript from Word straight to Adobe without
first turning it into a post script file, instead of maintaining its 6 x 9 inch page size, it will convert to Letter page
size. Adobe
has software you can download to successfully convert your files. You will have to download both the Acrobat Distiller Printer
AND Acrobat Distiller PPD File. This is very important. You must download both. Please use the following links to help you convert your
files to PDF with Adobe. If you have any questions or uncertainties, contact your self-publishing company or printer. Adobe Download Instructions for Windows Download Instructions for Macintosh
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