Print on Demand and eBook Publishing

I specialize in Print on Demand (POD) with complementary eBook publishing. If you are going to publish a book electronically, you might as well use POD to offer a print version as well. There are enough people who still prefer the feel of a book in their hands to make this an important approach to publishing your own book.

Here’s the process when you hire me to prepare your book for publication.

Step 1:

I will ask you to submit your book to a manuscript review. The Semi-Personalized Instruction and Intensive Personalization membership levels include the manuscript review in the membership. Otherwise, manuscript reviews cost $195.00. You may learn more about what to expect from a manuscript review here.

Your response to the review determines whether we move forward as a team. If we conclude we are a good fit for each other, then we’ll move through the next steps.

Step 2:

If you need editing, that is a separate service from the publication process. Learn more about editing here.

Step 3:

I send you a copy of my design questionnaire. This helps me choose fonts and styles that you like. Because words are visual as well as message delivering, I like to see the visual taking shape from the beginning. It also also streamlines the book production process.

Step 4:

I format your book first for POD using InDesign. Even text-only books layout inconsistently in MS Word. (Chapter headers can be a nightmare!) This is why, in spite of my advanced expertise in MS Word, I prefer to lay books out in InDesign because InDesign supports conversion to both HTML (Kindle’s preferred submission format) and ePub (Apple and Nook’s preferred submission format). I also find that creating callouts using InDesign is superior to using text boxes in Word (especially since text boxes do not transfer to ePub format).

I’ve learned tricks for importing Word documents into InDesign, which enables me to use all the tools InDesign offers:

  • Indexing tools for non-fiction books and cookbooks
  • Advanced formatting styles so text renders consistently across electronic devices
  • Dependable photo and graphics integration
  • Text-wrapping capabilities

I can work with Word, though there may be additional costs involved for converting text boxes to graphics.

Step 5:

I send you my Author’s Bio questionnaire so I can finalize the interior bio and the information about the book for the book description the POD printer, the ISBN issuer (Bowker), the Copyright office and distributors will ask for.

Step 6:

You may hire me to create your cover or hire someone else to do this. If you choose another graphic artist to design your cover, they will need to share a POD-friendly file (usually PDF or .JPG) with me so I can complete the submission process.

Step 7:

I generate a print-ready interior PDF for submission to the POD printer. CreateSpace is my preference because there are no extra fees involved throughout the proofing process. However, I can work with other POD printers, such as Lightning Source/Spark, Lulu and BookBaby.

  • I work with the POD publisher so your book goes through submission to proof.
  • You review the proof to determine if any changes are needed.

Step 8:

We resolve any issues that appear in the proof. I recommend you bring some beta readers on board at this step. The more eyeballs you train upon your manuscript, the fewer mistakes will make it to the final published edition.

Once all errors are resolved, and we agree that we have a final proof, I move on to preparing the electronic files.

1. If I worked in Word (which I don’t recommend):

  • I remove all the page breaks except those between chapters and make adjustments to the formatting to ensure that all graphics are inline with text.
  • I convert any footnotes into end notes. I remove all headers and footers.
  • I generate a new Table of Contents that depends upon hyperlinks and eliminates page numbers.

2. From either Word or InDesign, I generate an HTML file and create a zip folder for upload to Kindle.

3. I generate an ePub file (which is already zipped for upload to eBook distribution sites such as Bookbaby.com).

4. I’ll work with the eBook distributor you select to upload the books.

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