[authorme] PUBLISHING EMERGING WRITERS, MAY 2010
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- Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2010 18:34:34 -0700 (PDT)
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In this issue...
FOURTEEN STEPS TO PUBLISH A BOOK, by Jenn Johns (USA)
INTERPRETATIONS OF MARK TWAIN'S THOUGHTS ON WRITING, by Lisa Griffiths
===========================================================
FOURTEEN
STEPS TO PUBLISH A BOOK
by Jenn Johns (USA)
Step One
Decide what your goal is. Some writers need to print out just about enough
copies of their cherished project for co-workers and buddies; others think they
have got a book that will sell to a bigger audience.
Step Two
Inspect competing titles to make certain you are not covering the same ground.
Discover what sales of those books have been to work out if it's actually worth
your while to take on an analogous subject.
Call book distributor Ingram at (615) 213-6803 and punch in the International
Standard Book Number of the book you would like to check and get an auto
message containing the amount of copies sold in the year.
Step Three
Work out what format you would like to publish in: hardcover or soft cover.
Step Four
Check out print-on-demand publishers. If all you need to do is get a book
published, these presses will do the job for a certain cost. Some vanity houses
will print just one or two copies for a couple of hundred bucks.
Print-on-demand is excellent for short runs (twenty-five to 500 copies). Rather
than printing on traditional, ink-based offset printing kit, pages are
reproduced employing a high-end copier. A digital file from a page layout
program links right to a fast copier and then is machine-bound. Some shops
offer perfect binding so it looks like a published book. Look at sources like
Trafford.com, Xlibris.com and Iuniverse.com.
Step Five
Test print your book on a laser printer. Printing out all the pages of your
book on your home laser printer, is a great way to do a first proof and let you
catch many preliminary errors before your book even goes for a first proofing
at the print shop.
Step Six
Shop assertively if you actually desire your book to sell. If you have been a
writer considering self-publishing for a longtime, shop round. You may either
decide to have a print-on-demand company, for example those discussed above,
handle all the layout, printing and production activities, or go to a local
offset printer and oversee each of those steps in the midst personally.
Step Seven
Ask potential providers to send you examples of their newly printed books. The
quality will differ considerably with respect to paper quality, cover design,
and layout between printers.
Step Eight
View rivals' books to figure out what size and format you'd like to publish
your book as. Learn if there are standard sizes you must stay with to trim
costs, or whether a different format will help your book stand proud. Print
sizes can affect which print-on-demand publisher you can work with.
Step Nine
Familiarize yourself with printing costs. These will vary greatly depending on
the amount of books you order. The more book you order, the better the deal.
You will also be charged extra for layout of the pages and design of the book
cover. Copy editing and proof reading will also cost extra.
Step Ten
Make sure to hire a designer with book experience. This will be someone that
has done both typesetting, and cover design before. This step is important for
a quality end product.
Step Eleven
Total up your costs, including printing, design, design, photography, copy
modifying and other expenses. A normal publishing house that buys your book
would usually absorb these costs, but then again, you lose control.
Step Twelve
Request an International Standard Book Number (ISBN), which is the standard
code for identifying your book, at isbn.org.
Step Thirteen
Discover how and by whom your book will be distributed. Some print-on-demand
firms handle it in-house. If you do it, you must have the books distributed to
you, to contact book chains about stocking your book, possibly visit each
bookstore individually, and handle any mail orders on your own.
Step Fourteen
Be ready to sell yourself. Any real promoting of the book will need to come
from you. Self-publishing also suggests self-promotion, or hiring a publicist
to do it for you. This is the most important step when you publish a book.
- Jenn Johns Used with permission from ….bookmarkselfpublishing.com
==============
INTERPRETATIONS OF MARK TWAIN'S THOUGHTS ON WRITING
by Lisa
Griffiths
With the ultimate command of the written word and a strong belief that
expression itself being more important than the words expressed, Mark Twain had
profound views on writing style. He was never quiet in his opinions of others
who claimed mastery in this art.
Twain's instance of dissecting of James Cooper's work The Deerslayer reveals
his heralding thoughts on writing. Concerning a romantic fiction, Twain remarks
that Cooper's writing should have accomplished something, but it did not.
In Mark Twain's Notebook, he speaks of the best time to start writing is after
you have written to complete satisfaction. Only then can you truly understand
what you are really trying to say and begin writing.
Giving advice in a letter to one Emeline Beach in 1868, Twain explains that
just having ideas and expressing them correctly are not necessarily congruent.
One must be able to elegantly put idea to paper without exaggerated length.
His thoughts on good grammar are exceptional and most writers would be lacking
if not heeding the advice. Twain believes by utilizing clarity of words and
statements, along with allowing the words to flow as sweet music to the ear,
will alleviate any need to follow grammatical rules.
And when measuring what makes a great writing, during a speech given in 1887 he
exclaimed that style and subject matter overrule fancy words hidden in the
premise of good grammar.
One particular thought of Twain's that exposed his impatience for fluff in
writing is his view of dumbing-down the reader. It is never appropriate to use
foreign words or phrases in attempt to awe the reader into believing you're
skilled with full knowledge of said language.
Most importantly, though, Twain is adamant about the use of adjectives and
difficult to understand sentences. With most readers maintaining a reading
level of 7th grade schooling, it is wise to minimize fluff and long-windedness.
Simply adding words or unnecessary details in order to appear to have more to
say is what Twain calls "crass stupidities."
Twain's thoughts that writing should be reader friendly spill over into his
views of the English alphabet. He liked to call it drunk for it complexity.
There should be no reason why it could not be reformed and was a firm supporter
of Andrew Carnegie's efforts to this end.
But since the alphabet remains unchanged as given, it must be the task of the
writer to use clear words to define ideas.
Mark Twain and his thoughts on writing would assist any aspiring writer to
become better at his or her art. Using the rights words, but not omitting
details and always using a simple, uncomplicated style will prove to find
success.
==========
Lisa Griffiths is a freelance writer hosting several blogs and promotes human
compassion. Visit http://www.clarkcoleman.com NOW to view a blog for her
brother, imprisoned for life, as he seek to improve his well-being through
writing!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lisa_Griffiths
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Publishing Emerging Writers
May, 2010 (No. 1105)
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