Book Design Issues/Terms

Every industry has terms the professionals use, and book publishing is no different. When looking for a book designer, here are some terms you’ll want to be familiar with:

• Folio–The large sheet of paper folded one time in the middle that results in four book pages. A folio is also the page number in a printed book. Folios are printed recto or verso.
• Recto–The right-hand page of a book, which is also the front of the four-page folio mentioned above, is referred to as recto. You can remember this by matching the r’s–recto and right.
• Verso–The back of the first page (the side that’s read second) carries a left-hand folio. You can remember this by equating verso with reverse.
• Spread–When you open a book and you see two pages (the two that face each other when the book is closed), you’re looking at a spread. Thus, a spread is a pair of facing pages.
• Serif vs. sans serif–These terms deal with fonts. Serifs are the little lines you see on some fonts (examples are Times, Century, Palatino, Garamond). Sans comes from the French for “without” and refers to fonts that don’t have (are without) the little lines (examples are Arial, Comic Sans, Franklin Gothic, Trebuchet). Serif fonts are better for reading because the little lines help keep our eyes focused and moving on to the next word.
• Signature–Books are printed in signatures that are multiples of 16, so you want to work with your designer to make sure you don’t have a lot of blank pages at the end of your book. You’re paying for printing and binding those pages, so make sure you use them fully to your advantage. If readers see too many blank pages at the end of the book, they may feel cheated.

Now that you’ve got some basic terms to use, you’ll have other issues to discuss when looking for a book designer.

Beginning with the structure of the page, you’ll want to get your designer’s ideas on these issues;

• size of page,
• size of text box,
• margins,
• choice of folio,
• color of text,
• type of font,
• how the first letter of the first paragraph in each new chapter is handled (enlarged capital, for example),
• possible combinations and compatibility of different fonts,
• how headers and subheaders will look,
• overall consistency in design, and
• readability–is the book easy to read?

Just as you need a professional book editor who follows Chicago Manual of Style, you need a professional book designer who understands the importance of the issues listed above. Don’t risk eroding your good content and expertise by cutting costs in editing and design. Of course, you may find an error or two once your book is printed, but that doesn’t erode your credibility like bad editing and design do. If you do find an error, make note of it and fix it in the next printing. Then be proud of your new “baby.”  There’s nothing like seeing your hard work in finished form.

Happy writing!

 

A Primer on Types of Books

As I was clearing out my personal library, the variety of books I owned became abundantly clear. I thought about how many people are writing books, maybe even publishing their books by themselves or using a service, and decided to give you a primer so you can make good decisions along the way when you work with your book professionals.

• Fiction books are easiest to design because they are straight text.
• Non-fiction books include any of these elements:  different levels of headers, charts, references, photos, illustrations, and quotes. The designer has more work, as does the editor and proofreader, than with fiction.
• Memoir books typically use shorter chapters, lots of photos, and perhaps copies of materials such as letters or clippings. Again, these are more work for your designer than fiction. Your editor may challenge the clarity of the writing, too, since you know the subject matter so well.
• Children’s books involve getting appropriate illustrations, placing the text strategically in relation to the illustrations, and using lots of color. Of course, children’s books are also age sensitive.
• Gift books range from basic to ornate, from inexpensive to expensive, and often use special treatments in publishing that your designer needs to consider when doing the design.
• Art books can be color intensive or black and white, depending on the art. The paper used in printing art books is also critical to creating a beautiful art book.
• Educational books use various types of text, sidebars, exercises, application suggestions, and graphic elements such as tables, figures, etc. Sometimes photos are used to underscore a learning point.
• Scholarly works require several levels of headers, citations within the text, and footnotes or endnotes.

Use this short primer to help you find the right designer for your book if you self-publish. If you work with a publisher, you’ll be better equipped to work with the publisher’s designer. But, beware templates and make sure you’re getting the right design for your book.

Happy writing!

 

Read What You Write

I read mysteries for relaxation. Even though mysteries are generally written to formula, depending on whether it’s a cozy, police procedural, hard-boiled, or whatever, I still like to see if I can figure out whodunnit.

Last week I was reading a mystery about two elderly sisters found dead and on page 2, the author named one sister as the older, but on page 4, the other sister was older. HUH? I re-read and re-read because I couldn’t believe my eyes. Yep, there it was. A simple error that ruined the author’s credibility regarding details (which is rather important in a mystery).

So what’s my point? You are the author of your book and the responsibility for the words (including errors) is yours. Granted, you need an editor because you know what you intended to say and an editor will help you determine if the words actually do. However, your name–not the editor’s–appears on the cover of your book, so your reader holds you–not the editor–accountable for the book’s contents.

Writing books takes weeks, months, or even years. It’s easy to forget details you’ve written over time. But your reader reads your book in hours or days, so everything is fresh in your reader’s mind.

Many successful authors write to a schedule, and the first thing each one does is go back and read what he or she wrote the previous writing session in order to pick up in the right spot and have the right focus.

I’m an advocate of writers groups to help you with your writing too. Writers groups can point out inconsistencies such as the one I found in that mystery.

When we were publishing books, I required all manuscripts be edited by a book editor because a good book editor will challenge the author in areas that aren’t clear or that are inconsistent.

But the ultimate responsibility for the accuracy in your book is you, so read what you write.

Happy writing!

Do You Really Need a Book Designer?

Technology offers opportunity to do things yourself in publishing your book, but some things you still need to leave to the professionals. Just as you wouldn’t go to a dermatologist for brain surgery, you shouldn’t go to an English major for book editing or just any graphic designer for book design. Book editing and book design are specialized fields and require professionals to do the work well.

Here’s what you should expect from a book designer.

• Someone who can analyze the manuscript for length of text, chapter headings, variety of pages required, and the inclusion of charts, photos, etc.
• Someone who will skim the text to get a feel for the author’s style, the content, and the readership (audience).
• Someone who will give you a proposal based on the two bullets above before starting the project.
• Someone who understands book typefaces and will match the typeface to the author’s content.
• Someone who will evaluate the content (including graphics and photos) to determine the correct book size (6×9, 5×7, etc.) and length (books are printed in signatures of 16 or 32 pages, so you want the number of pages divisible by one of those numbers).
• Someone who will provide you with samples of each type of page in your book (chapter header, normal text, page with graphic/chart, etc.).
• Someone who will style the pages (paragraphs, headings, captions, spacing, hyphenation, etc.).
• Someone who will enhance images to assure they will print well, insert graphics/photos/charts into the text, and add captions.
• Someone who will create an inviting book cover (one that invites readers to pick your book up and open it).
• Someone who will provide you a galley (proof) to review for proofreading.
• Someone who will make one set of final revisions after proofreading.
• Someone who will prepare the final proof and electronic file for the printer.
• Someone who will work with the printer, if necessary, if the printer finds something on the file that needs correction before your book is printed.

I trust you will keep and use this list to help you find the book designer you can work with to make your book the best it can be.

Happy writing!

 

Five Things That Turn Readers Off

It’s no secret that successful writers enjoy a plethora of reading fans. Readers buy books. Readers tell others about their favorite authors. Readers are critical if your book is going to succeed in the marketplace.

So, what are some things that turn readers off? Here’s a quick list.

• Cliches. Cliches are worn, tired out phrases that add nothing to the writing. Examples: Better safe than sorry. Dead as a doornail. Familiarity breeds contempt. Use it or lose it. Well, you get the idea.
• Jargon. Everyone uses jargon (especially in the work or special interest areas of life) because it promotes special meaning to a select group and offers shortened definition. But jargon belongs more in the spoken than the written word, and you never know who in the masses will read what you write, so avoid jargon in writing.
• Footnotes. I teach at a Twin Cities’ university and require footnotes  in research papers, but most writing that gets read isn’t academic. Use footnotes to acknowledge sources you haven’t acknowledged in the body of your work or to provide supplementary material that doesn’t fit in well with the text. Otherwise, avoid them when you can.
• Intrusion. One of the biggest mistakes authors make is author intrusion. I’ve found this mostly in the fiction I’ve edited, but it occurs in nonfiction as well. The author creates all the characters and knows which one is thinking what and when, so intrudes by giving one character’s thoughts in one paragraph and another characther’s in the next. Since no one can know what another person is thinking (here’s where understanding point of view is critical), it becomes author intrusion when you get inside a character and you’re not writing from that character’s point of view.
• Gimmicks. Gimmicks are things that take away from content and draw attention to themselves. Examples are ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, overuse of exclamation points !!!!, and uSING letters in an unUSual way to highlight a point such as singing or singing about us or singing about the United States (see how it doesn’t work?).

If you’re a writer, you’re probably a reader as well and may agree these five things are turn-offs. Use this list and your readers will thank you.

Happy writing!

Writing, not Punctuation, Should be Creative

Writers are creative people and often struggle with the structure of punctuation rules. But we have those rules so readers can follow (read and comprehend) our creativity.

One of the most common punctuation errors involves one of the most common punctuation marks–the comma.

There are specific rules regarding comma use, but when I asked one author why she put commas where she did, she replied, “Because that’s where I stop and take a breath.” She meant well and her answer was creative, but her writing wasn’t getting the reader reception she wanted. Why not? The misuse of punctuation implied she didn’t know what she was doing.

Another common punctuation error I see is overuse of quotation marks. Chicago Manual of Style (the book publishing industry standard) calls these quotation marks scare quotes and says they should only be used when a word is used in an unusual manner. Here’s an example of what not to do: Sarah’s “special friend ” showered her with “big bucks” as an “expression” of  his love.

Yes, the example is extreme, but I intend to show how these quotes interrupt reading flow and add nothing to comprehension.

Finally, too many authors don’t understand when to use ellipsis (…) versus dashes (–). Ellipsis show something’s been left out (omitted). Dashes show pause or summary.

Authors tend to use ellipsis to show pause.  One of the things that makes ellipsis use confusing to writers is that ellipsis IS the correct punctuation when you have a pause  in dialogue. Example: George said, “I don’t know what to say…I mean…I thought I knew you, but it’s clear I don’t.” So, use ellipsis to show pause in speech, but use dash to show pause in the story/text/narration.

You have many punctuation marks available to you and you should use them. Just make sure you rely on your writing instead of your punctuation to show your creativity.

Happy writing!

Ten Quick Tips to Improve Your Writing

Most writers experience the struggle of finding the right word, clarifying meaning, or pondering punctuation. That’s just part of writing. One thing that can help get a writer unstuck is to get back to basics. Here are ten quick tips for doing just that–and improving your writing in the process.

1. Follow the rules of grammar. Grammar rules are created to help us communicate. Without them, we would have a hard time understanding each other.
2. Avoid changing verb tenses in the same paragraph. Thus, if you’re writing in present tense , wait for a new paragraph to change tenses  so you don’t confuse your reader.
3. Understand the difference between plural and possessive. Examples: All of the boy’s toys are put away (singular possessive). All of the boys’ toys are put away (plural possessive). All of the boys had toys (plural, no possessive).
4. Watch your pronoun-antecedent agreement. What does that mean? It means plural pronouns require plural antecedents (antecedents are nouns the pronouns refer to). In our effort to be politically correct, we’ve ignored this rule to a fault. Good writers don’t take the easy way out–they figure out how to rewrite the sentence to follow the rule. Here’s an example of the easy way out: A successful person is measured by their material wealth. (Antecedent is person, which is singular, and pronoun is their, which is plural.)  A good writer will rework the sentence to something like this: Material wealth is often a measure of a person’s success.
5. Watch your subject-verb agreement. Plural subjects require plural verbs and singular subjects require singular verbs. Example of doing it wrong: One of Kathy’s favorite movies are Sound of Music. The subject (one) is singular, but the verb (are) is plural. Because movies is plural, writers might use a plural verb if they don’t think about the subject of the sentence. The correct way to write that sentence is: One of Kathy’s favorite movies is Sound of Music.
6. Avoid dangling modifiers. What does that mean? It means make sure your descriptive phrases describe the correct thing. Example of doing it wrong: Searching for the murderer, the suspects all stood in the line-up. (This says the suspects were searching for the murderer.) Rewrite it to say: Searching for the murderer, the police gathered the suspects and stood them in the line-up.
7. Be aware of language changes. English is a living language. New words are added, while others become antiquated. Stay current.
8. Know that sometimes perfect grammar doesn’t make for perfect writing. Huh? Depending on what you’re writing, you may be better off with less precise grammar (examples are characters, dialogue, description, tone, etc.).
9. Make a list of the words that trip you up and keep the list handy. For example, if you’re confused about when to use lay versus lie, make yourself a cheat sheet to help you.
10. Avoid splitting infinitives. Huh? If you place “to” between an adverb and a verb, you have a split infinitive. Example of split infinitive: Dianne wanted to really make it big as an author. Better to write: Dianne really wanted to make it big as an author.

There you have it. Ten quick tips to improve your writing and some samples to show you how to use the tips.

Happy writing!

Using Other People’s Quotations in Your Book

You can hardly pick up a nonfiction book without seeing a quotation from someone other than the author. Sometimes the quotations are thought-provoking, but sometimes they seem to just fill space.

When should you consider using other people’s quotations in your book? Here are some reasons.

When the quote is familiar to your intended readership and complements your point.
When the person being quoted is highly respected or the name recognizable and the quote complements your point.
When you want to demonstrate to the reader that you are not alone in your opinion/idea/point.
When you want to reinforce or enhance your opinion/idea/point with something profound or poetic.
When you want credibility (by association to someone respected) in your field.

CAUTION! Unless you are writing a quotation book, do not overuse quotes. Too many quotes create the impression your ideas are not your own, but rather the offshoot of thoughts of others.

Also, be aware that you may need permission when quoting another person. How do you know when you need permission? I’m not an attorney, and this falls under legal advice of what constitutes fair use of copyright, but, in general, use of the quotation cannot compromise the originator/owner’s right to profit from it. When in doubt, seek permission or legal counsel.

Using other people’s quotes in your book can add a dimension of credibility to your work, if you use them judiciously.

Happy writing!

Back to writing!

With all the changes in the book publishing world, we’ve been changing too. We’ve moved our offices and refocused our business, so I haven’t posted in a while.

We’re now working with authors to publish their books themselves. Technology has made it easier for authors to publish e-books, for example, but technology can’t create good editing, proofreading, cover design, interior design, etc. You still need publishing professionals if you want your book to look professional instead of  “do-it-yourself.”

That’s where we come in. We still guide authors through the publishing process, but the authors work directly with the editor, proofreader, designer, and printer (in the case of printed books) so the author knows what’s going on every step of the process. We have all the contacts, which flattens the learning curve for the author.

That also means I can get back to writing. Thanks for your encouragement and patience during this time while we made the changes.

I expect you’ve been taken away from your writing now and then (as I was), so I want to encourage you to get back to doing something connected to writing every day. Here’s a list of some things to get you going again.

• Read something fun (a chapter in a novel, a magazine article), and think about what the writer did to bring it to you to enjoy so you can do the same for your reader.
• Make a list of topics you’re interested in writing about–then decide if they are articles or book chapters (or both).
• Research your book. Research can be done many ways–experience, observation, reading, interviewing, etc.
• Think about your reader and how you’ll market your book so your reader knows it exists.
• Give your book a working title. When you have one or two working titles, look them up in Amazon.com or Google them to see if they’re already in use. You don’t want people to confuse your book with others.
• Write!

Happy writing!

Everyone has an Agenda

Have you ever noticed how there are two sides to every issue? The decision to royalty publish or pay-to-publish is no different.

You’ll find royalty publishing advocates who assert you aren’t “really” published if you pay to publish. They say you need an outside party to deem your work worthy of purchase (yes, you are selling your intellectual property, so  no longer own your own writing when you royalty publish).

I don’t disagree that you should have some third party (writers group or volunteer readers qualify) honestly tell you about the quality of your writing, but too often the criteria royalty publishers use to determine whether or not someone should be published is how much money the author can make for the publisher rather than the quality of writing. That’s why the two primary questions royalty publishers ask are (1) What will you do to sell this book? and (2) What is your platform (meaning how well known are you)?

If selling your intellectual property and doing the marketing to earn about 7 percent of the net (which is typically 25 to 35 cents per book SOLD) works for you, I’m all for it for you.

Authors who pay to publish (whether that’s self, subsidy, or equity) invest in themselves and, depending on the choices they make, keep all the profits from sales or share some of the profits with the publisher or get minimal “royalties” back when they sell books they’ve already paid to publish.

A book is self-published when the author actually owns the ISBN (International Standard Book Number) since ISBNs are issued to publishers. Expert Publishing owns its ISBNs, thus our authors are not self-published and we don’t represent that they are.

With so many publishing options, books are flooding the marketplace as never before. The biggest challenge an author has today is not getting published–it’s in attracting readers. Authors have to do more than ever to get noticed by readers and sell books. And that goes for all publishing options because, frankly, most readers don’t pay attention to how a book is published as much as how clearly it is written, how professionally it is designed, and how easy it is to get.

As you plow through the publishing options available to you, be mindful that everyone has an agenda. Royalty publishers dislike self-publishing. Pay-to-publish publishers dislike royalty publishers. I think there’s room for both and publishing is a business decision each author must make individually. Just remember to do your own thinking because everyone–even you–has an agenda. Stay mindful of that and you’ll make a better publishing decision.

Happy writing!