Nothing beats the benefit of a good editor to point out plot holes, sagging middles and blurry character development. I wouldn't publish without one. I rely on three electronic tools to help me polish my manuscript, Word proofing options and fabulous websites and the Adobe Acrobat Reader DC Read Out Loud function. Another favourite tool isn't electronic. It's a print copy of … Continue reading One More DIY Editing Tool: Hard Copy
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My #3 Favourite DIY Editing Tool: Acrobat Read Out Loud
Nothing beats the benefit of a good editor to point out plot holes, sagging middles and blurry character development. I wouldn't publish without one. But for spell checking, grammar checking and copy editing, I rely on three electronic tools to help me polish my manuscript. I've already talking about Word proofing options and fabulous websites. My third favourite … Continue reading My #3 Favourite DIY Editing Tool: Acrobat Read Out Loud
Moving from KDP to IngramSpark
Want to get into the library distribution systems with your self-published works? IngramSpark is the place for you. Already locked into the Expanded Distribution on Kindle Direct Publishing with your own ISBN? Expect an error message from IngramSpark to the effect that your ISBN is already in use (because KDP has registered your ISBN with Ingram). … Continue reading Moving from KDP to IngramSpark
Five Giveaways to Amateur Self-Publishing
How can you tell, at a glance, if the print book in your hands has been expertly formatted? Turn to the first page of the first chapter and look at five things: 1) Page Headers On the first page of each chapter, page headers are correct in their absence. That's right, there aren't any; no author or book … Continue reading Five Giveaways to Amateur Self-Publishing
What the Font?
"I'm a self-publisher. I have a great story with a beautiful cover. The content has been professionally edited and is as close to perfect as it's going to get. Is there another way to make my print book stand out?" Yes, absolutely. From what I've observed, big publishers use standard font sets for most of the … Continue reading What the Font?
What Does Your Friendly Formatter Need to Format Your Book?
Nothing to do with books, but... coffee! The must-have items are the manuscript, title page, and copyright page in a Word document and the ebook cover as a jpeg. Sounds pretty simple, doesn't it? Until you look between the covers. Yep, pun intended. 🙂 Grab a book from your shelf and let's go through it … Continue reading What Does Your Friendly Formatter Need to Format Your Book?
How to Preview Your Epub File Before Uploading to Retailers
"Thank you for sending me the ebook files. But, if I can't open the #$%@ things, how do you expect me to approve them?" Lots of writers mutter this under their breath when their formatter sends them their ebook files and asks for their approval. I've said it myself. Lots of writers would cross their fingers and tell the formatter … Continue reading How to Preview Your Epub File Before Uploading to Retailers
How to Preview Your MOBI File Before Uploading to Amazon
As of June 28, 2021, KDP no longer supports the mobi file format for new or updated files. The preferred file format is now epub. To preview your epub file for KDP, follow these instructions.
Pixels and Dots and Why They Matter to Writers
"My printer rejected my file because of poor image quality. But it looks fine on my computer. WTF?" It's a common complaint, most frequently solved by accepting the error and crossing your fingers that the proof copy will be fine. It won't. Your head shot will vary from slightly fuzzy to completely blurry. Why? It's … Continue reading Pixels and Dots and Why They Matter to Writers
Would You Like Caps With That?
Small, dropped, raised... add a little something-extra to your print book. Caps, aka capitals or upper case letters, start a sentence. In print books, caps can be added to highlight the first few words of each chapter or scene. Small Caps Using all caps is the equivalent of SHOUTING AT YOUR READER. Not a wise thing to do. Instead … Continue reading Would You Like Caps With That?
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