* Authoring the manuscript's content
* Preparing the completed publication for printing and sale including preparing the design and all contents, e.g. Table of Contents, end matter, illustrations, covers.
* Building a promotion and marketing plan and putting it into action.
We then checked out the key characteristics of the first step.
Now it's time for us to examine step two, converting your manuscript into a ready-to-print publication.
Your book needs to look 'the business'. It must appear to be professional of its type. If it is a proper 'book' then it must have a layout and contents style that will be familiar to all readers.
Your publication should have a cover, even if the cover of an e-book is never going to be printed. Simple covers will do for many, others need eye catching graphics - but make sure it is in harmony with the thrust of the book. Not a graphic artist? Then it is time to call in some help. If you do not know anyone then visit websites such as guru.com, elance.com and fiverr.com. Draw up a specification and sketch of what you need and it is amazing the talent you can find to help.
Layout your book in chapters. For technical works add sub chapters and sections as well. Add page numbers starting at page 1 with the initial page of chapter one. Do not number the front matter in the same page sequence.
For fiction books you do not need, but may still include if you want, a Table of Contents. When writing factual and technical books a Table of Contents is expected. Your word processor will probably have a tool to do this for you. For factual books of any length you may want to include an Index. This is a useful tool if you expect your reader to use the book for reference in future; they will be grateful. Again, your word processor should be able to assist you with compiling that.
Front matter: These are the pages at the start of your book before you get to the body of the text. You should include these pages as a minimum…
Title page (with publisher - that's you, invent a publishing name you can reuse later)
A book history page which includes date of publication (and prior published revisions if this is a later one), the publisher's details, copyright notice, Copyright holder's details and, if you have one, the ISBN (International Standard Book Number).
Optional pages you can add are…
Author biography (if relevant)
Previous publications listing (with web URLs to get more buyers)
Dedication page - an opportunity to thank those who assisted.
Preface (can be useful to guide a reader around the book)
Introduction (Do you know someone who can write one for you?)
Pick up any properly published book and examine the order in which these pages (and some blanks) lie.
Your publishing company will probably want all the contents in one file for production. As an alternative you could pay for a traditional printing. Here I'm assuming you will seek to use one of the many web publishers who do 'on-demand' production so minimizing your outlay.
One of the best at this is Lulu.com. At the time of writing the only cost you have to bear is the print cost of a completed book so you can ensure it has ended up as you wish it to be. Get an account and log in before you complete your manuscript. Study the way the process operates, the information demanded and the formats available. These will all help to guide you in your final file preparation.
When you do this for the first time it does help if you can ask a friend to come and look over your shoulder checking what's needed step by step. It is easier to sort out problems earlier in the process.
You can find the other two stages in separate articles, look out for them with the same title "The Dynamics Of Self Publishing", Part Two and Part Three.
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