Step one - Proofing

So, assuming you have completed you manuscript, what happens next? Before going any further, you need to get it read by somebody else and checked for spelling, punctuation and grammar. Do not assume that others will pick up even the most glaring mistake. It is your responsibility as an author to provide proof read copy. If your work gets printed with mistakes in it, it will be a costly process to correct them, after going to press. Take whatever time it takes, but, get it right before letting it go. In my experience, my eye sees what it is expecting to see when it reads copy I have written. I am the worse at proof reading my own work. Pay someone to do it for you if you have to, but get it right at all costs.

The next step in the process is typesetting. This involves laying out the text in the exact way it will appear on the page.

It is not a complicated process, and there is nothing to stop you doing it yourself, but be aware that most common word processing programmes are not sophisticated enough to provide kerning and other typographical adjustments to make the text look the way our eye expects it to be in a professionally produced book.

If your finished book looks as if you have just printed it off from your PC, it will look cheap and detract from your writing.

Many authors believe that, the way their text looks on the page is just as much a part of their book as the words they have written. You may well feel the same way. So take ownership of the process. Learn it, you have to. But make sure the end result is one you can be proud of.

You might choose to get a designer to do the typesetting on your behalf. Make sure you get a quotation first. Make sure in your business plan that this necessary expenditure is in proportion to your expected return. Remember you have to make a profit. Ask to see examples of their work on similar jobs. Laying out a book is not the same as designing a flier.

Layout Tips

There are some layout conventions that are common to all books.

Allow for a blank flyleaf front and back.

As far as the layout is concerned, this is page one and page two (backing it) at the front of the book. Page three then becomes a right hand page which should be your title page.

Continued....