Publishing Cheat Sheet
Managing the publishing process for the first time can be intimidating. A cheat sheet would be great! Below is a quick checklist of items you'll need along the way. It's the same list I use to stay on point.
Business Plan
A business plan creates a realistic budget and project direction. A business plan requires little money to create, but also time. Research multiple printers, illustrators, editors, and distributors to determine a competitive team for your business model.
Professional Editing
A professional editor is essential! Each has his/her own pricing structure and should commit from first edit to press proofing. Editors assist with: page count, layout recommendations, proofing, plagiarism issues, and of course editing. Professional editing services are well worth the investment!
Copyrighting
One of the most common questions is how to obtain a copyright. Contact the copyright offices or fill out the form online. The average cost is around $45, and well worth the investment. Copyrighting can be done in the final stage of publishing to include text and illustrations. The best practice is for an author to submit the copyright.
ISBN, Barcode, LCCN, Metadata
Barcode, International Standard Book Number (ISBN), Metadata, and Library of Congress Control Number (LCCN) are separate from the copyright process. Each version of a book, print (hardback, softback) or digital (EPUB, MOBI, PDF), requires its own ISBN, so be sure to purchase enough for your needs. There are big discounts available on blocks of 10, 100, and 1000 ISBNs—the more you buy the more you save! And remember, ISBNs never expire.
Printing
Printers need several items to quote a project: page count, binding style, paper stock, dimensions, deadlines, packaging requirements, and shipping destination. Printing options range from Print On Demand, “Green”, United States, overseas, award-winning, and eBooks. Production times vary from on-demand to three months, depending on the printer selected.
E-book conversion into e-readers, such as the Amazon Kindle or the Apple iPad is separate from printing expenses. These are sold online through places like iTunes or the iBookstore. A good business plan should include this income stream when projecting sales or negotiating illustration contracts.
Printers
Sprint Print, Inc. printed six MWA, Inc. books.
Ingram Spark and Lightning Source prints books for Karen Spruill and MWA, Inc.
Amica, Inc., Awan Rizwan, Production Manager. Printed Brigitte Benchimol’s series.
Regal Printing Limited, Moon Yang, has printed books for MWA, Inc., author Christa Carpenter, and author Steven Riley.
Trafford Publishing, Trafford is a POD company, who printed author David Garrett's book.
Worzalla Printed author Derek Sabori's book. They do traditional and "Green" printing using recycled products
Illustration
Illustrators require the printer and graphic designer guidelines as well as the final edited story. Artists are liberal with time, however a professional illustrator creates according to timelines and budgets. Require communication throughout the illustration approval process using digital proofing. Digital proofing allows remote viewing for the author, editor, printer, graphic designer, and artist.
Three basic illustration contracts are: Purchase Contract, Copyright Contract, or Royalty Contract. A Royalty Contract usually offers unlimited use of the art. Each contract is based on the number of illustrations, artistic style, scanning, manipulation, and digital clean up.
Graphic Design
A Graphic Designer requires clean artwork along, the printer guidelines, additional book content, and the editor’s final edit. Graphic Designers provide scanning services, logos, professional layouts, and press ready production files. These services can be preformed by some professional illustrators. A fee and talent are required for this service as well. Samples should be provided.
As new resources are added and updated, this cheat sheet will be updated. Bookmark this page for future reference, I have.
