Ooof, in between an extremely busy life (me and wife both come from those sprawling working class fans where there is always, always, a lot going on), I'm trying to finish up a campus novel. Will I make it this year? Without precognition of what crises and events are going to sweep us up next, I cannot say. 😂 https://open.substack.com/pub/carolineosella/p/recent-reading.
Thanks for posting this, Michelle. It's pretty helpful, especially the section about file names. In the digital era, it's way too easy to create multiple files from the same base document and to lose track of the most current version. Dating the file in its name solves this. The screenshot at the top is also very helpful. Our project is currently a set of chapters in Google Docs, with the plan to export .docx files for editing and layout in Word. Knowing what to name the Styles used in the book is a godsend.
I'm currently working on a non-fiction guide with a friend. It's been a challenge due to the circumstances, but eventually the book should be a helpful resource. It's the first time we've published anything, so we're leaning towards using Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). Other options, like Draft2Digital, seem reasonable, but we're still new to this.
As a graphic designer, I believe that having someone who understands layout design for your book will always yield better results. That said, it's not too difficult to grasp the basics. Ever since we started using Word (or Pages), we have learned how to arrange text on a page. If you're interested in the details of book design, I came across this last night via a Reddit post on r/selfpublish: A Few Notes on Book Design. [https://texdoc.org/serve/memdesign/0] Chapter two discusses front matter (title, half-title, copyright, etc.), and chapter three is all about page layout.
I was a technical writer for many years. I was intimately familiar with using Word and persuading it to compromise and do things my way. (Or compromise and do things Word's way. Fine.) I have an anthology written by an online friend who self-published, very professional looking, and hey! Same type of book as "Intersections"! (I also got books from my collection of sf writers, so I could emulate how the real pros did anthologies.) But I started with my friend who did her own book to get a feel for how to format an anthology.
My mind reads differently when I'm in editor/designer mode. Bet it's not just me.
I found goofs in her headers. Page number formatting. Odd/even formatting. Ouch!
When you do your own stuff, have someone else review it too! I sure did!
I did my book "Intersections" in Pages on my Mac. Since Pages fully supports EPUB export, I just exported the print version into EPUB, imported it into Kindle and Apple Books, and boom! Done! 😊
No. ☹️
Things you do in the print version: blank pages so that sections start on the right-side page. Starting section titles a few lines down. Other little touches that make your printed book proudly announce, This has been professionally done!
Or, make your electronic version confusing and inelegant. 😫
Next edition, the e-version gets redone after the export. Different format, different rules.
Blessings on you for doing this work! So helpful.
Thank you for your support! I truly appreciate it.
Are you working on a project? Share details!
Ooof, in between an extremely busy life (me and wife both come from those sprawling working class fans where there is always, always, a lot going on), I'm trying to finish up a campus novel. Will I make it this year? Without precognition of what crises and events are going to sweep us up next, I cannot say. 😂 https://open.substack.com/pub/carolineosella/p/recent-reading.
Thanks for posting this, Michelle. It's pretty helpful, especially the section about file names. In the digital era, it's way too easy to create multiple files from the same base document and to lose track of the most current version. Dating the file in its name solves this. The screenshot at the top is also very helpful. Our project is currently a set of chapters in Google Docs, with the plan to export .docx files for editing and layout in Word. Knowing what to name the Styles used in the book is a godsend.
I'm currently working on a non-fiction guide with a friend. It's been a challenge due to the circumstances, but eventually the book should be a helpful resource. It's the first time we've published anything, so we're leaning towards using Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). Other options, like Draft2Digital, seem reasonable, but we're still new to this.
As a graphic designer, I believe that having someone who understands layout design for your book will always yield better results. That said, it's not too difficult to grasp the basics. Ever since we started using Word (or Pages), we have learned how to arrange text on a page. If you're interested in the details of book design, I came across this last night via a Reddit post on r/selfpublish: A Few Notes on Book Design. [https://texdoc.org/serve/memdesign/0] Chapter two discusses front matter (title, half-title, copyright, etc.), and chapter three is all about page layout.
This is great to read.
I was a technical writer for many years. I was intimately familiar with using Word and persuading it to compromise and do things my way. (Or compromise and do things Word's way. Fine.) I have an anthology written by an online friend who self-published, very professional looking, and hey! Same type of book as "Intersections"! (I also got books from my collection of sf writers, so I could emulate how the real pros did anthologies.) But I started with my friend who did her own book to get a feel for how to format an anthology.
My mind reads differently when I'm in editor/designer mode. Bet it's not just me.
I found goofs in her headers. Page number formatting. Odd/even formatting. Ouch!
When you do your own stuff, have someone else review it too! I sure did!
I did my book "Intersections" in Pages on my Mac. Since Pages fully supports EPUB export, I just exported the print version into EPUB, imported it into Kindle and Apple Books, and boom! Done! 😊
No. ☹️
Things you do in the print version: blank pages so that sections start on the right-side page. Starting section titles a few lines down. Other little touches that make your printed book proudly announce, This has been professionally done!
Or, make your electronic version confusing and inelegant. 😫
Next edition, the e-version gets redone after the export. Different format, different rules.
How do you format spacing on Substack? It condenses after you post , I’ve resorted to using invisible jpegs but they show on dark mode …
Good advice about Microsoft word.
Incredibly useful info!