Bookpublishing101

Book layout: what order do things go?

Bookpublishing101 — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 21:09:00 GMT

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If you look at some of the books on your shelf, you’ll see some consistency as to how the internal layout is ordered. The Chicago Manual of Style also helps you step-by-step through this process and describes, in much detail, as to what each element is, such as a Foreword, Appendix, etc. Not every book will have a review page, appendixes, glossary, or even bibliography. Every book should have a title page, copyright page, and table of contents.

Here is a template for the order of sections in a typical book.

Title page: might include just the title and author; can include edition and publisher
Copyright page: publishing information, ISBN, CIP, copyright holder, year…
Reviews: may or may not be included in a book; this is where you commonly see them
Dedication
Table of contents
Foreword
Introduction
Other front matter: might include map (such as in military planning), list of abbreviations, etc.
Chapters
Conclusion, Afterword, Epilogue
Appendixes: explanations and/or elaborations of chapter material
Chronology
Endnotes
Glossary
Bibliography or references
List of contributors
Index

If a book is hardcover, then it is common to have the author information on the cover wrap. Otherwise, if a book is softcover, the author information might be on the back cover or inside, after the conclusion.

The Copyright Page

Bookpublishing101 — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 22:05:00 GMT

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What are the issues that I should consider as to whether I copyright my book under my name or under my business name? What do you write on the copyright page?

Who is the publisher? Me or my business?

If you are self publishing, you choose what you want the publisher name to be. Think of your branding, if you plan on doing more than one book.

ISBN number?

You always include the ISBN number.

EAN versus UPC bar code?

The barcode goes on the back cover of the book.

"Printed in Canada" -- what does it mean?)

You must have "Printed in Canada, U.S., China..." in the copyright page and the back cover, mainly if you intend to move books in or out of the country.

Format and layout of the page

The format and layout of the page is somewhat standard. The best thing to do is pick a book off your shelf that has the layout that resonates with you and copy that format.

CIP data (Which comes first? Copyright, ISBN, bar codes, CIP data)

First comes the publisher number (Canada: http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/isn/041011-1030-e.html;
U.S.: http://www.isbn.org/standards/home/isbn/us/secureapp.asp), then the ISBN. You can't apply for a cataloguing in print number without the ISBN and you can't generate a barcode without the ISBN.

The copyright page is always on the left-hand side.

The copyright of the written manuscript belongs to the author, however, if a publisher (other than the author) publishes the book, you lend the rights to publish to that firm for a period of time (usually two years -- but make sure the contract says the rights revert back to you, or you may not get back the rights to publish your own book).

You are not alone

Bookpublishing101 — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 22:03:00 GMT

Psychological blocks that prevent manuscripts from being finished

Here are some ways you might address this:

a. Write from a distance: write something and sleep on it before reviewing

b. The block to finish the last pages can mean – now that it’s done, what do you do with it? Being a good writer doesn’t mean you are a good marketer and visa versa. Find people to play to your weaknesses: hire a marketer or a ghostwriter.

c. The fear factor – being afraid of success or failure – what’s the worst that can happen? Manuscripts are highly personal. There can be anxiety about finally releasing it.

d. Projects take a part of your life. It’s important. You can’t give it up because if you do, there may be nothing to take its place. Maybe start a new manuscript or research another project to fill that void.

What NOT to do when soliciting a publisher

Bookpublishing101 — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 22:00:00 GMT

If you don't edit and proofread your correspondence, check out what a publisher actually publishes, check out their websites and submission guidelines, what do you think your chances are? Here are just two examples of real emails that say more than I could preach.

(Group email listing every email in the Association of Canadian Publishers' directory in the "TO" box.)

Friday, October 27,200612:23 PM

Looking_for _a _publ isher.pdf

Looking for a publicher

Estimable Sir

I wrote two books in informatics. I think that these are good and I send to you the cover, the contents

- and a paragraph from everyone. If you are interested, please answer to me for sending the entire fist form for every book. Everyone has a CD with the application programs, whose design was performed in the books. I trust in you, for helping me. See attachments. No viruses.

the authOr.

Thursday, October
16, 2008 3:22 AM

Subject:Good Book

Attachment: The Master's Stick.doc (908 KB)

Dear Literary Agent, Dear Publisher,

(His picture was inserted here)

My name is ___, and I am an Italian writer. It is an honour for me to send you a piece of my work entitled: "The Master's Stick". It consists of a collection of short stories and aphorisms, based on the zen style, and it has already been published in Italy, obtaining a good number of sales.

If you are interested in my work, as I hope you are, you might like to know that a second volume of such work is already available and has not been published in Italy yet. It would be a pleasure for me to collaborate with you for our mutual economic and moral satisfaction.

Yours faithfully,

Submitting to a publisher

Bookpublishing101 — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 04:37:00 GMT

This message can never be said enough.

If you're thinking of submitting to a publisher, research publishers online to find out which are the best fit for your project. (See www.publishers.ca for Canadian publishers.) They will also have submission guidelines on each Website.

Most publishers will not accept email proposals, unless you have already developed a relationship. In order to get noticed and stand above the 6,000 to 8,000 pitches the larger publishers receive every year, just doing the due diligence as to researching and taking the time to pen a good proposal will set you on the upper rungs of the slush pile ladder. Never send a manuscript until asked.

You also need some serious editing, using the Chicago Manual of Style.

Publishers don't care you wrote a book. They want to know why they should invest their hard-earned dollars to produce it and if you are going to take ownership -- meaning help sell the project. Include a marketing plan in your proposal and make all the words sing off the page. You'll need to "sell" the story as to why the reader should read it and the publisher should publish it.

The other option is to self-publish. But again, it's still about marketing and it starts with a well-edited product and a professional looking design.

This is never what many people want to hear, but it's the facts of publishing. Compare it to walking onto an MGM movie set and convincing Steven Spielberg you should be in his next movie when you haven't acted before or read his script. It's all about presentation and doing the homework. Or maybe you prefer auditioning for a position of replacement guitarist to back up Eddie Van Halen and you’ve never held a pick in your hand, let alone a Peavey or a Gibson. What do you think your chances will be? It will be the same with publishing.

www.freelancepublishing.net

How the traditional bookselling process works

Bookpublishing101 — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 04:33:00 GMT

First, the publisher produces the book that the author has written. The publisher ships these books (at its own expense) to bookstores or to a distributor (the middle party between the publisher and bookstore). If the books are sent to a distributor, he or she sells them to bookstores (many times on consignment), usually through a catalogue or a sales call, and ships them to the bookstore at the distributor’s expense.

When the bookstore sells a book, it pays the distributor or publisher. However, each party in the sales chain takes a percentage of the retail revenue from the book’s sale before the remainder, the royalty, trickles down to the author. Generally, the bookseller will get 40, 45 to 55 percent of the sale, the distributor 20 percent, the author 10 percent, sometimes five percent, and the publisher the balance. (As a self-publisher, you would get the author and publisher share.)

Also keep in mind that booksellers send back returns (books that don’t sell) to the publisher at the publisher’s expense. Authors receive no income from these books.

Advances

An advance (or, more correctly, an advance against royalties) is a sum of money a publisher pays an author before a book is published. The schedule can vary, but often, it is paid in two or more installments — one when the author signs the contract, another when the manuscript is delivered to the publisher, and additional installments at different steps of the process.

In order to understand how a publishing advance works, you need to understand how the bookselling process works.

The advance you may or may not receive from a publisher is an advance on royalties, the author’s share in the pot. If your book retails for $20 and you’ve received an advance of $5,000, that means the publisher needs to sell 2,500 books (2,500 x $2) before it makes back the money it paid in the advance and before you will receive any more royalties. If the publisher doesn’t sell enough copies of a book to recoup the advance, that will be the only money you will ever see. One benefit is that the author doesn’t have to pay back the advance if book sales go in the hole.

It only goes to show you, don’t spend your money before you have it.