Category: Kelly Speaks

Book Design, Kelly Speaks, Uncategorized

The Book Beautiful: Formatting the Masterpiece

As you finish your manuscript and move toward the stage of publishing, the layout of the inside of your book (such as formatting, font choice, etc.) must come into serious consideration. The formatting of your book transforms your word document into a book, it brings your manuscript to life.

Now while many readers won’t spend much time musing over the careful ruminations that went into the formatting of a book, they will notice if that care hasn’t gone into your formatting. The formatting style you choose should not only reflect, but also enhance the overall feel and mood of your story. Even if the careful decisions you spend hours vacillating over are never consciously acknowledged by your reader, those decisions absolutely affect the reader’s subconscious perceptions and preconceptions of your book. For example, merely picking up a book and scanning through the pages will immediately tell a reader whether or not your book is professional, before they’ve even read a sentence. Among readers there is a certain unspoken, but expected standard for how a book should appear, thus, when a book falls short of that expectation it acts as a giant red flag that your title might not be worth purchasing. You want your book to ‘fit in’ with the other books on the shelf, you want it to look polished, legitimate, and professional.

open book formatting

Once you’ve caught the reader’s eye with a sleek, professional cover and they’ve started thumbing through the pages, something they will take subconscious note of is the font you’ve selected. Note that every time someone opens a word processor that Times New Roman is probably the pre-set font, meaning that if your book is in TNR, it won’t seem special or really pop before the reader’s eyes. There are thousands of appropriate fonts that will help your book stand out, so don’t be afraid to try something new; that being said, avoid over-the-top or childish looking fonts as well.

Further typography considerations to make are the number of characters per line, lines per page, spacing between words, etc. Think of those books you’ve read that have too many characters per line, the kind where you feel like the page or chapter is never ending. The satisfaction of turning pages and progressing to the next chapter is a thing a lot of readers enjoy–not to say you should have

HUGE FONT WITH HUGE SPACING …

… but tiny font with small spacing

isn’t great either. Find a happy middle ground. A further consideration, when there is little spacing between lines, the reader’s eye will often skip a line and they will then have to readjust and thus lose their engagement with your story. It’s a small detail, but it affects the reader’s experience which means that it’s not a trivial detail.

open book formatting

Another thing to consider: how far your text goes in toward the spine of the book. Paperback book readers know how frustrating it is when the text of the book they’re reading goes nearly all the way to the spine so they nearly have to crack it to see what you’ve written–don’t make your readers ruin your beautiful book!

The moral of the story is: don’t just settle for the bare minimum requirements of your publishing company. Treat the formatting process of the interior of your book with the same kind of tender love and care that you treated the writing and editing process with–your readers will notice, and you can rest confidently knowing that you’ve produced a well-thought out, professional book.

Thank you for reading!  If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or contributions, please use the comment field below or drop us a line at selfpublishingadvice@gmail.com.  And remember to check back each Wednesday for your weekly dose of marketing musings from one indie, hybrid, and self-published author to another. ♠

Kelly

ABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT: Kelly Schuknecht is the Executive Vice President of Outskirts Press. In addition to her contributions to the Outskirts Press blog at blog.outskirtspress.com, Kelly and a group of talented marketing experts offer book marketing services, support, and products to not only published Outskirts Press authors, but to all authors and professionals who are interested in marketing their books and/or careers. Learn more about Kelly on her blog, kellyschuknecht.com
Kelly Speaks, news from the self publishing world, self publishing news, Uncategorized

Self-Publishing News: 8.22.2016

And now for the news!

This week in the world of self-publishing:

You know that saying about great minds, right?  Well, it turns out that the people over at New Zealand’s Herald and the folks over at Crave were exchanging some synergy this week, both releasing articles on the 20th or 21st linking self-publishing to something more than just profit and loss–that is, linking it to happiness.  The first article, by Michael Donaldson of New Zealand, opens with the declaration that “Modern self-publishing – a far cry from vanity publishing – is usually about pursuing a passion a major publishing com­pany wouldn’t dare take a risk on.” He cites author David Appleby’s work in bringing to light the story of New Zealand’s Olympic-gold-winning hockey team in 1976.  Said Appleby, “I never intended [Striking Gold] to be a ­profit-making exercise. We got good sales to a small target market – but you wouldn’t want to do it for a living. The numbers don’t stack up – but I’m really happy we’ve ­created a legacy document.”  Donaldson goes on to cite the experiences of several other self-publishing New Zealanders whose work has achieved varying degrees of what you might call ‘market success,’ and comes to the conclusion the money isn’t even the greatest attraction to the process of going indie.

Similarly, Miss Rosen of Crave espouses the notion that profit does not equal happiness, but self-publishing might actually have a very firm connection to mental health and well-being in this review of Bruno Ceschel’s “Self Publish, Be Happy: A DIY Photobook Manual and Manifesto,” put out by Aperture.  Ceschel, whose background includes a startup self-publishing business and curating a gallery exhibit of self-published books for London’s The Photographer’s Gallery, is a firm believer in this link:

“Digital has caused a renaissance of printed matter. Self-publishing is not a way to make money. That is a burden. Self-publishing requires you to spend money which paradoxically free you from being concerned about profits. That is the restriction of the traditional publishing house. The people who do it today are very young. They are born into the digital generation. They are used to the computer and the online world. Self-publishing is their response to it. They are finding a complement to it in book form; they now have a physical object in reality and can share it with people. Books give them a different way to communicate.”

All in all, the two articles make for a great conversation–with each other, and with us, the self-publishing community.  Read more of Rosen’s Crave review here, and Donaldson’s article for the Herald here.

The folks over at Publishers Weekly have a history of doing good work, and this week is no different.  In this August 17th article by John Maher, the magazine covers the release by Sisters in Crime (“an organization supporting female crime writers”) of its “‘Report for Change,’ a study about diversity, equity, and inclusion in the mystery community.”  This is not your average report, writes Maher, because during the process of comparing Sisters in Crime membership data to U.S. census data, “the report found that white, non-hispanic people make up 93% of the Sisters in Crime membership, compared to 62% of the U.S. population. The report, which surveyed 1,100 of the group’s members, found that only 3% identify as African American, with another 1.5% identifying as Native American, 1.5% Asian, and 1% Hispanic or Latino.”  This is not representative, the organization quickly points out, and Sisters in Crime President Leslie Budewitz noted that there’s a long road ahead before it is.  The report, says Maher, also found an interesting connection between “the rise of e-books and self-publishing,” with writers of color “flocking in that direction to avoid gatekeepers in the publishing industry proper.”  This all comes back to the numbers, he explains: “While only 21% of Sisters in Crime members who completed the survey reported having self-published their last book, 63% of writers of color in the organization went with that option. 50% of LGBTQ authors surveyed also reported self-publishing, compared to the 10% that reported publishing through one of the Big Five.”  What does all of this mean?  Exactly what it sounds like: if you’re looking for diverse authors, you’re more likely to find them under the inclusive umbrella of self-publishing, where their voices are welcome.  That’s good news for us … but not necessarily for the traditional Big Five.  For the rest of Maher’s article, follow the link!.

spa-news

As a self-publishing author, you may find it helpful to stay up-to-date on the trends and news related to the self-publishing industry. This will help you make informed decisions before, during and after the self-publishing process, which will lead to a greater self-publishing experience. To help you stay current on self-publishing topics, simply visit our blog every Monday to find out the hottest news. If you have other big news to share, please comment below.

Kelly

ABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT: Kelly Schuknecht is the Executive Vice President of Outskirts Press. In addition to her contributions to the Outskirts Press blog at blog.outskirtspress.com, Kelly and a group of talented marketing experts offer book marketing services, support, and products to not only published Outskirts Press authors, but to all authors and professionals who are interested in marketing their books and/or careers. Learn more about Kelly on her blog, kellyschuknecht.com

 

Book Design, Book Marketing, Cover Design, Kelly Speaks, Marketing Your Self-Published Book, Uncategorized

The Book Beautiful: Hard vs. Soft Cover

When self-publishing, one of the aesthetic decisions you’ll have to make is whether or not to publish your book as a hard or soft cover. The decision is one that will mainly affect your readers, so when exploring the pros and cons of this decision, we will be considering the experience and opinions of your potential readers.

books on display India

First let’s consider what the pros are to publishing a hardcover title?

  1. Hardcovers are just plain nice to look at. They are sleek.
  2. You don’t have to worry about the pages getting ‘flappy’ or folded at the edges.
  3. They absolutely last longer–I can’t tell you how many paperback books I have with torn off or taped on covers.
  4. No need for a bookmark, just use the handy-dandy book jacket!
  5. Look great as additions to a bookshelf or coffee table.

And the cons to publishing a hardcover title?

  1. They are heavy as can be; i.e. not ideal for travel.
  2. They are undoubtedly more expensive which will deter a lot of potential readers. This also means a higher publishing expense which is important to those of us self-publishing authors.
  3. A lot of readers find book jackets annoying and simply remove them, which means all that time you spent designing a cover may go to waste.
  4. It can certainly be more awkward to handle and read a hardcover; they are bulky and not easily wielded with one hand.
  5. Readers tend to only buy hardcover books of authors they are already die-hard fans of, so if you don’t already have a fan base, it may be more difficult to create one if your book is only available in hardcover.

Now to consider to pros of publishing a softcover title:

  1. Relatively speaking, softcover books are cheaper, both to print and to purchase.
  2. Softcovers are easier to travel with, they are also easier to read on the go.
  3. They are more widely purchased, so you have a better chance of people buying your book, especially first time readers of yours.

And then cons of publishing a softcover title?

  1. They are semi-easy to tear; the cover may fall off.
  2. Not long lasting, especially if you travel with them.
  3. Depending on printing costs, they may not have as high of a profit margin.

With those things in mind, the decision is now yours! (I won’t further complicate things by discussing the pros and cons of adding an ebook to your publication artillery. 🙂 )

Thank you for reading!  If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or contributions, please use the comment field below or drop us a line at selfpublishingadvice@gmail.com.  And remember to check back each Wednesday for your weekly dose of marketing musings from one indie, hybrid, and self-published author to another. ♠

Kelly

ABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT: Kelly Schuknecht is the Executive Vice President of Outskirts Press. In addition to her contributions to the Outskirts Press blog at blog.outskirtspress.com, Kelly and a group of talented marketing experts offer book marketing services, support, and products to not only published Outskirts Press authors, but to all authors and professionals who are interested in marketing their books and/or careers. Learn more about Kelly on her blog, kellyschuknecht.com
from the archives, Jodee Speaks, Kelly Speaks, Uncategorized

From the Archives: “Self Publishing Authors Beware: Cheaper isn’t Always Better”

Welcome back to our Tuesday segment, where we’ll be revisiting some of our most popular posts from the last few years.  What’s stayed the same?  And what’s changed?  We’ll be updating you on the facts, and taking a new (and hopefully refreshing) angle on a few timeless classics of Self Publishing Advisor.

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[ Originally posted: February 25th, 2015 ]

I recently saw a commercial with the message “cheaper isn’t always better.” The advertisement illustrates that cheap is good and sushi is good, but cheap gas station sushi isn’t good (or something like that, I’m sure you’ve seen it).  This analogy immediately made me think of self publishing. For authors considering self publishing, it is important to remember that cheaper isn’t always better. When choosing a self publishing company, consider these two questions.

1. What are the upfront costs, the per book cost and royalties?

You may find a company that has incredibly low per book author costs, but don’t let that govern your decision.  Just because a company promotes a low per book cost doesn’t mean they are the best bargain — they may have high upfront costs and low royalties.  And just because a company offers low upfront costs doesn’t mean they are the best bargain — they may have high per book costs, low royalties and even requirements for you to purchase hundreds of books yourself.  You must find a good balance of upfront costs, per book cost and royalties.  Consider all of this when self publishing.

2. What services are available?

In many cases, the cliché “you get what you pay for” is true, and self publishing is often one of those cases. Not all self publishing companies are created equal, and you need to consider your professional goals and needs when choosing a company. A cheaper company often does not offer all the services and support needed to create a quality book, and if you want to be respected as an author and sell books, you need to offer your readers a quality product.

Ultimately, the self publishing company you choose depends on your goals and needs as an author. Some people can go with the cheapest option and be completely satisfied, but many serious authors find that spending a little more is worth the extra expense.  You want to find a company that will produce a top-quality product, offer you plenty of options such as professional editing and custom covers, and a variety of options for marketing and promoting your book.  As you research self publishing companies, be sure to consider all the costs as well as the value of the services offered. You may just find that “cheaper isn’t always better.”

– by Jodee Thayer

You know all about hidden fees and the small print, don’t you?  At some point or another, we’ve all fallen victim to it: in paying off student loans, in signing a work contract, in paying for that one trip to the emergency room six years back, in getting called up for jury duty–and of course, in selecting a company to self-publish your book.  Back in the early age of the internet, when everything was wild and self-publishing was as yet an unformed and unregulated process, lots of people were straight-up swindled out of their money by scam websites advertising cheap publication, no problem, no questions asked.

These days, you’re a lot less likely to run across a mustache-twirling self-aware villain than you are to be taken advantage of by a legitimate, if soulless and heartless, company.  These companies offer–you guessed it–real and legitimate services, but they do so in a way that deliberately obscures the real costs beneath layers and layers of fine print.  The only way to really know what you’re getting when it comes to a self-publishing company is to read every line of the original agreement as well as every line of every product bundle–and to verify with past customers that they got exactly what they paid for in addition to quality customer service, and that they were never strong-armed into paying for services they didn’t want or need, used-car-salesmanlike.

sale

The first step to a successful (and enjoyable) self-publishing experience is to shop wisely, and only go into business with a company you trust.  Can you trust Amazon to put your needs–one customer in a billion–first?  Probably not.  How about a smaller family-run company or passion project?  You’re probably on the right track there.  The second step is not to equate cost with quality–to recognize that hidden fees are reprehensible, yes, but that there are also delayed costs in publishing.  A cheaper cover design option now might cost less now, but the cost is simply delayed–a few months down the road, it becomes clear that a cheap and unattractive book cover is, yes, costing you.  Costing you customers!  The same goes for poor interior design, and poor marketing.  You might have savvy in some of these areas, but it’s rare for an author to have a deft hand with both Photoshop and listserv blasts.  The key is in knowing your strengths and taking advantage of them, and knowing the strengths of your publishing platform–and being willing to pay for the ones you need.

Because, ultimately, the truth of the matter is that pretty much every product on the planet, including your self-published book, is inevitably shaped by one simple formula, and it’s not “lower cost = better service.”  Rather, the formula that shapes your book’s destiny is instead:

quality of service × expense of production = quality of product

And the thing about a formula like this is that if you reduce either of the terms, service or cost, the quality of the product can only go down.  Now, every company starts at a different point; some self-publishing and hybrid service really do offer better offerings for the same price as others.  That has to be researched, and can only truly be verified by checking in with the experts and with past customers of all of the different companies you have an eye on.  (Research is never a bad idea.)  As long as you are looking for balance in all things–between costs now and later, between time and energy and skill set and the challenges before you, I’m confident you’ll make the best choice in what services you pay for!

better service lower cost balance

 

Thanks for reading.  If you have any other ideas, I’d love to hear them.  Drop me a line in the comments section below and I’ll respond as quickly as I can.  ♠

Kelly

ABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT: Kelly Schuknecht is the Executive Vice President of Outskirts Press. In addition to her contributions to the Outskirts Press blog at blog.outskirtspress.com, Kelly and a group of talented marketing experts offer book marketing services, support, and products to not only published Outskirts Press authors, but to all authors and professionals who are interested in marketing their books and/or careers. Learn more about Kelly on her blog, kellyschuknecht.com
Kelly Speaks, news from the self publishing world, self publishing news, Uncategorized

Self-Publishing News: 8.16.2016

And now for the news!

This week in the world of self-publishing:

Big changes are coming to America’s last big brick-and-mortar bookstore, says Alex Meyer for The Columbus Dispatch on August 13th.  The changes in question involve––you guessed it––self-publishing, albeit in about as staid and straightforward a manner as you might expect from a retail giant struggling to keep up with a rapidly evolving marketplace: Barnes & Noble will be introducing self-published books to its bookshelves as a matter of course.  And this isn’t the only nod to indie authors and publishers; says Meyer, “It recently modified its Nook Press self-publishing platform to include in-store print copies — a notable nod to the burgeoning field.”  The changes comes as Barnes & Noble seeks to compete effectively with CreateSpace, Amazon’s self-publishing platform, along with IngramSpark, Lulu, and Outskirts Press, who just so happens to have rolled out a brand-new web presence as well as new offerings at the beginning of this month.  But how does an author get involved in the new Barnes & Noble program?  “The Nook process does include a caveat: To sell books in stores, an author must have had e-book sales of at least 1,000 units in the past year,” writes Meyer.  “Someone with e-book sales of at least 500, meanwhile, qualifies for publicity through in-store events, such as book signings and discussions.”  The stipulations have been put in place to protect the time and quality of programming store staff dedicate to such projects, but they feel rather like more of the same when it comes to the traditional publishing industry’s long legacy of “gatekeeping.” As Meyer says, part of the point of Nook Press is to “draw interest from a traditional publisher.”  That might be an attractive outlook for some authors, but there’s a growing sense among indie authors that self-publishing is more than just a stepping-stone to something better––and that such antiquated ideas have their roots in an undeserved stigma.  But you’ll have to judge yourself!  Catch the rest of Meyer’s article at the link.

“Stephen Miles is no stranger to the world of make believe,” writes Deanna Kirk for The Daily Sun on August 12th: “As an only child of older parents, his companions were often the books he lost himself in, such as tales about Sherlock Holmes, and works by J.R.R. Tolkien, and Louis L’Amour. But when he found himself as an adult in a job where he could allow his mind to wander, he thought, ‘Why not let this imagination go to work for me?'”  As it turns out, this was a question worth asking, and Miles took advantage of a mostly solitary but imagination-feeding job to pen a book he later titled The Texas Rangers of Scotland Yard.  While he’s up-front about the book being a work of fiction, Kirk notes in her article, Miles went the extra mile when it came to researching the actual world in which he places his fictional account.  Inspired by the BBC Sherlock Holmes miniseries, watched in increments on YouTube, Miles was struck by one episode where a Pinkerton agent travels to Britain to assist in a case.  “That started my wheels turning,” said Miles.  According to Kirk, “Miles began to ask himself questions such as ‘What if Sherlock Holmes had met a Texas Ranger?'” and the rest of the story fell into place.  In my personal favorite anecdote of the week, Miles tracked down the author of a childhood favorite series, Hank the Cowdog––John R. Erickson––for advice before publishing through Amazon’s CreateSpace platform.  For the rest of Miles’ story in today’s featured interview, follow the link!

We’ve highlighted the resurgence of zines on this blog before, but it looks like there’s more to come in respect to the opportunities this peculiar little publishing platform offers for self-publishing authors.  “Print, despite what you may have read online recently, is not completely dead yet,” writes Matthew Moyer for The Orlando Weekly on August 10th.  “In particular, the DIY zine format is becoming a standard-bearer for print’s vibrancy, enjoying an unprecedented third (fourth? fifth?) act.”  Zines, Moyer points out, “have a long and proud history” in the self-publishing world, representing thousands of self-published pamphlets and magazines that “reflect the individual viewpoints or obsessions” of their creators and publishers.  “Because there are no publishers to be beholden to,” writes Moyer, “zines go a long way in representing and disseminating voices that might otherwise be overlooked or go unheard in the mainstream.”   If this sounds a little familiar, it should––the last five years have seen the public discourse, both on the big screen and the small screen as well as throughout the myriad corners of the internet, run rampant with controversial discussions about diversity in representation and specifically, in representation within traditional publishing, which has a rather terrible track-record in terms of upholding diversity and the niche voice.  “There are zines on every possible subject: music, comics, arts, politics, feminism, literature, cooking, film, how-to guides, bikes, crafts,” says Moyer.  “And a majority of the newer creators are young, new entrants to the field, bringing fresh perspectives and voices.”  Having recently attended the Orlando Zine Fest, Moyer collects interviews with ten of the zine-creators there in his article, which you can find here.

spa-news

As a self-publishing author, you may find it helpful to stay up-to-date on the trends and news related to the self-publishing industry. This will help you make informed decisions before, during and after the self-publishing process, which will lead to a greater self-publishing experience. To help you stay current on self-publishing topics, simply visit our blog every Monday to find out the hottest news. If you have other big news to share, please comment below.

Kelly

ABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT: Kelly Schuknecht is the Executive Vice President of Outskirts Press. In addition to her contributions to the Outskirts Press blog at blog.outskirtspress.com, Kelly and a group of talented marketing experts offer book marketing services, support, and products to not only published Outskirts Press authors, but to all authors and professionals who are interested in marketing their books and/or careers. Learn more about Kelly on her blog, kellyschuknecht.com

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