Showing posts with label book formatting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book formatting. Show all posts

To Traditionally Publish or Self-Publish



Whether to publish traditionally or self-publish is the question I get most from my ghosting clients. Most new to the writing arena don’t understand what’s involved with either path. This article will helpfully shed some light on the topic.

Traditional Publishing

With traditional publishing, you submit your EDITED manuscript to publishing houses and/or literary agents.

To submit to publishers means finding ones that accept submissions in your genre. To do this, you’ll need to write a query letter. It’s the query letter that you first submit. And, until you find a publisher who’s interested in your manuscript, you have to keep submitting.

It’s the same process for both publishers and literary agents.

There’s no way to determine how long it can take to find a publisher or agent who will offer you a contract. It could happen quickly (not the norm) or it can take a year, two years, or more. There are no guarantees it will happen.

As an example, it took Chicken Soup for the Soul 144 rejections before finally getting a publishing contract. They put a lot of time and effort into their publishing quest.

The traditional process takes perseverance and commitment. You need to research publishers and agents. For this process, I recommend getting “Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s Marketing [current year].” It has hundreds of listings.

If you’re not a children’s author, you can use “Writer’s Market [current year].”

Assuming you do get a contract, it usually takes about two years before your book will actually be available for sale.

Again, there are no guarantees with the traditional publishing route.

But, with all that said, there is still a level of 'status' and credibility with books that are traditionally published. And, you never know if you'll get a contract quicker than expected. An added bonus if you’re writing a children’s picture book, you won't have to find an illustrator or pay for illustrations and a book cover.

Self-Publishing

With self-publishing you’re in control.

You write your story or hire a ghostwriter to write it for you. Just make sure the story is edited and proofed before moving onto the next step.

Once that’s done, you’re off to find an illustrator – this is if you’re creating a picture book or even a chapter book / middle grade that will include some illustrations.

You can find children’s book illustrators at:

http://fiverr.com

http://upwork.com

http://www.childrensillustrators.com

http://blueberryillustrations.com/childrens-book-illustrations/

You can also do an online search.

While you can find some ‘cheap’ illustrators out there, be sure of their skills. Be sure they understand what you’re looking for. And, be sure they proof their own work. You MUST also check the illustrations to the text – make sure the illustrations are relevant to the content on that page. You’ll also need to check for accuracy and consistency within the illustrations.

I’ve coordinated illustrations to text for clients and have found a number of errors from missing parts of feet to inconsistent furnishings from scene to scene.

After you have a fully edited and proofed manuscript and if it's a children's book, the illustrations and text combined, you will need to prepare your book (have it formatted) and upload it for distribution (for sale). For this, you can use services like Amazon KDP (for ebooks and print books).

If you want a wider distribution of your book, you might consider aggregators, like IngramSpark, Smashwords, or Lulu. (Be advised that Smashwords does not distribute books to Amazon.)

An aggregator distributes your book, making it available for sale at a number of retailers.


NOTE: Before you upload your book to an aggregator or a retailer (like Amazon or Barnes & Noble), the book needs to be formatted into print-ready files. You can use services like FormattedBooks.com for this process.

If the thought of having to find someone to format your book and then upload your work is still too intimidating, you can simply use a service like Lulu.com, Smashwords.com (https://www.smashwords.com/about/how_to_publish_on_smashwords), or BookBaby.com for help in this area.

Note: While Smashwords has a large distribution network, it does not distribute to Amazon. 

Warning: Services you pay to format and upload your book for publishing will probably offer lots of other services: cover design, editing, illustrations, and so on. They can be expensive and I’m not sure of the quality of, say their editing services. So, have the book already to go. All you should need them for is actual publishing and distribution.

Summing it Up

Whether to self-publish or go the traditional route depends on your time frame, finances, and commitment to submitting your work. And, if you choose the traditional path, you’ll need to have patience and perseverance.

Reference:
Self-Publish Your Book

For an in depth 3-part series on what to do when your book is fully edited and ready for formatting, check out:

Self-Publishing a Book (1) - Formatting


Self-Publishing a Book (2) – The ISBN, the Barcode, and the LCCN


Self-Publishing a Book (3) – You're at the Finish Line

Karen Cioffi is an award-winning children’s author and successful children’s ghostwriter/rewriter. She is also the founder and editor-in-chief of Writers on the Move and as well as an author online platform instructor with WOW! Women on Writing.

If you’d like more writing tips or help with your children’s story, check out: Writing for Children with Karen Cioffi.

And, you can follow Karen at:
LinkedIn  http://www.linkedin.com/in/karencioffiventrice
Twitter  http://twitter.com/KarenCV


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Two Ways to Format your Manuscript

Properly formatting my MG mystery book loomed in the background during editing. The reckoning day arrived. Thanks to children's author Margot Finke I knew who to call upon: the formatting service at Golden Box Books Publishing Services. Margot sang the praises of Golden Box author Erika M. Szabo, who did the formatting for her young teen fantasy, Daisy and Bartholomew Q. She said, "I couldn't be happier with the results. [Erika] also educated me in the ways of correct formatting." Among Erika's many talents: a multi-genre author, Publishing Coach and illustrator.


I fully intended to contact Erika to help me with my formatting needs but decided to Google the subject: "How to format a fiction book," to see what would happen. I clicked on a tutorial by Jill Williamson, an author for adults, teens, kids, and some for the whole family, which she uploaded onto YouTube. I decided to try it.


By splitting my screen with Jill's tutorial and my ms, I went through the steps she explained by pausing, executing, pausing. It took several views to fully understand how to do it all. The biggest
glitch was doing the page numbering right, which Jill warned is tricky. At the end of the video, she invited viewers to visit her website for a more in-depth description. I found the information under, "for writers: jill's writing and publishing tutorials," and after some trial and error, solved the problem. I am proud of how my ms looks now and feel confident it is correct.


It's been an inspiration to discover both of these terrific authors and their websites, chock full of helpful information for writers.
  • Golden Box Books offers help in every aspect of self-publishing. Check it out!
  • Check out Jill Williamson's video, "How to Format a Fiction Manuscript," on YouTube, and  Jill's website. You'll be glad you did.
I will call on both of these resources again. The information offered is far-reaching and relevant in today's market. You will find many areas of expertise. My challenge to you? Go for it!
Illustration: https://openclipart.org/detail/121249/puzzle



Linda Wilson, a former elementary teacher and ICL graduate, has published over 100 articles for adults and children, and six short stories for children. Recently, she completed Joyce Sweeney's online fiction courses, picture book course and mystery and suspense course. She has currently finished her first book, a mystery/ghost story for 7-11 year-olds, and is in the process of publishing it and moving on to new writing projects. Follow Linda on Facebook.







 




 



Midwest Review: "Highly Recommended" Book for Writers


Title: The Frugal Editor: From Your Query Letter to Final Manuscript to the Marketing of Your New Bestseller
Carolyn Howard-Johnson
First Edition Published by Red Engine Press, Branson, MO 2007
A multi award-winning book including USA Book News best professional book
Second Edition Published by HowToDoItFrugally, 2015
ISBN, Second Edition: 978-1505713117

Available The e-book, available from Kindle, was given a nod by Dan Poynter’s Global E-Book Award.
Also available as a paperback, published spring of 2015

 

Reviewed by Christy Tillery French for Christy’s Bookshelf at Midwest Book Review and featured in Jim Cox’s Midwest Newsletter

As the literary market continues to tighten its proverbial belt, today's writer must assume more of the responsibilities surrounding book publishing than ever before. No longer can a writer depend on a publisher or agent to accept a manuscript in need of editing, and submitting a manuscript that isn't as near perfect as possible will, in all probability, result in rejection. To the rescue comes acclaimed author Carolyn Howard-Johnson with The Frugal Editor, the latest in her How to Do It Frugally series.


This little gem is a must-have for any writer, published or not, bestselling or unknown. Filled with valuable tips, The Frugal Editor touches on all aspects of self-editing, such as how to spot common grammatical errors, from superfluous adverbs to confusing dangling participles, as well as how to organize the workspace, format the manuscript, and use Word's tools to the fullest. Also included are sample query and cover letters, and pointers on correcting intrusive taglines, when to use an ellipsis, and correct spacing, to name a few. The book takes the reader step-by-step through the editing process, from rough draft to galley. No questions are left unanswered, no topics left uncovered. This generous writer goes so far as to recommend resources through other books and websites, with plenty of advice from agents and editors.

The Frugal Editor is one of those reference books every writer should have by their computer for constant use and study. Highly recommended.

Christy Tillery French
Reviewer


MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Carolyn Howard-Johnson’s brings her experience as a publicist, journalist, marketer, and retailer to the advice she gives in her HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers and the classes she has taught for UCLA Extension’s world-renown Writers’ Program.

The first edition of The Frugal Book Promoter was named USA Book News’ “Best Professional Book” and won the coveted Irwin Award. Now in its second edition, it’s also a USA Book News award winner and received a nod from Dan Poynter’s Global Ebook Awards. Her The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success was also honored by USA Book News and won Readers’ Views Literary Award. Her marketing campaign for that book won the marketing award from New Generation Indie Book Awards. The second edition e-book was honored by Next Generation Indie Awards in the e-book category and by Dan Poynter's Global Ebook Awards. The second edition paperback will be released in spring of 2015.  


 

Are There Advantages to Traditional Publishing?

  Contributed by Karen Cioffi, Children's Writer While almost everyone is hitting the self-publishing road, including most of my clients...