8. Design
You are on your road to being a published author, and the best way of processing your ‘to do’ list from this point on is to think like a publisher. Determine in advance how you wish your book to present in the market place. Is it just an eBook on Amazon? Is it printed locally or overseas? Is it hard cover or paperback? It is going to be everything – including being an app and available on iTunes. The technology is there, right there in front of you. The determinant is your budget. How much money is allocated to the production of the book? Like everything in life, if you do the work and research and product development yourself, you spend your time and not so much money. If you outsource the whole process, you pay someone else to use their time on your project. Economics 101!
Spend time looking at other books. I can guarantee the book you are holding in your hand right now has had numerous printing quotes prepared for it; it has been weighed and the distribution costs associated with a carton weight / container weight has been factored in; the cost for the purchaser to send the book as a gift has been recognized (does the book fit a large envelope therefore attract the lowest postage fee?)
Did you want this same book to be an eBook? Was it a simple conversion? Do you have to outsource this process or are you prepared to spend the time understanding programs like Kindle Book Creator and the Amazon way? Did you want the book to become a truly enhanced experience, therefore a different product borne of your printed book?
And once you have determined all of this, can you translate it for the graphic designer – or are you setting up the book using Adobe InDesign or equivalent program?
Yes, this all takes time – but you want the best product to go to market don’t you? If you want it in the bookshelves in a bricks and mortar bookstore – it has to look as though it belongs there!
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Have fun!
