Monthly Archives: September 2012

Questions to ask your book printer

We can get into all kinds of other issues about preferred file format, setup and costs, corrections, and shipping options. For now I want to just consider the issues involved in the production of the physical copies.

When you are looking to have your books produced by a book printer there are a number of things to consider. A few, but not all, of the important questions are: 1) What range of copies are they set up for? 2) How it is going to be printed? 3) Interior paper selection? 4) Cover stock selection? 5) What is recommended for a protective coating?

Each is important in how a book is produced to guarantee quality, durability, consistency, and presentation as well as cost. If you have selected POD for your book production, your selection of materials may be limited, and the consistency and quality control are pretty much up to whoever is running the machine that day. Continue reading

Have you tried postcards for promoting your book?

One really effective way we have managed to promote awareness of books is using a simple postcard. While it does not replace the need to use websites, blogs, and social media, it is a very cost-effective way to help promote the book.

As a small regional publisher and book production provider, we have tried a number of methods to engage the public when not in a computer driven social media setting. The two most common things used are bookmarks and business cards. But a while back we started experimenting with postcards and palm cards with great results. Continue reading

My Manuscript Has Been Edited!

When I hear, “My manuscript has been edited!” I usually cringe. Nine out of ten times when I ask who it was that edited the manuscript the response is invariably: “My neighbor who is a retired schoolteacher.” or, “My sister who has an English degree.” and so on. That’s all well and fine, and I’m sure they are good people who have a solid grasp of the English language, but…

Editing is as much of an art as it is a science, and it is hard work. A professional editor does more than fix your commas. Depending on their skills they can proofread, develop, copyedit, and line edit the text into a spectacular masterpiece.

What’s the difference between proofreading and the other forms of editing? Continue reading

Back and blogging again…

It’s been a while since we last had a working blog site. Internet problems, computer problems, life problems and so on.

Little by little we should have most of our past content up and available.

If you have any questions or comments, fire away.