Oh Happy Day!

As a writer, I think our happiest day is that when we first see our book in print. Oh, joy to see our name on the cover—our picture on the back—months, sometimes years of working towards this fulfilling goal. Today is that day for me. Even though this isn’t my first “happy day,” my emotions overflow and I am inspired.

It’s easy to begin a new writing project; we’re filled with hope and excitement as we sit down at the keyboard and begin our new and wondrous journey. Then it happens again, somewhere dead in the mist of it, we abandon it and tuck it away only to be found years later as we mutter the same old remarks under our breath, “why didn’t I finish this, it would have made a great book?”

Is it only human nature that we don’t finish what we begin? Are we stuck in a rut of incomplete projects? It’s easy to do. When the hope and excitement evolves into a “working” project, we lose interest. But if we can simply keep on pushing forward we will eventually see the end of the tunnel and become inspired once again.

I personally found that inspiration and “did” finish my book and I can tell you now, it’s worth the push! I’m proud to say; my new book is “A Book Inside, How to Write, Publish, and Sell Your Story” and today is my happy day!

Be inspired, keep your hope alive, and sit down and write something!

Vol. 13 / How to Develop a Customer Base with a Website

With so many writers and new authors in need of a personal Website to promote their book, I thought it a good idea to post these valuable tips on Website development.

If you haven’t yet built a Website, there are several easy-to-use and FREE site builders available. Check out my favorites at http://www.FreeWebs.com and http://www.Weebly.com

I have just started a new Website through FreeWebs and it's really easy! See my new site at http://www.freewebs.com/authorsbox and let me know what you think of it. It only took me 1 hour to build!

* Create a site with valuable content, products or services. I
know this seems obvious but I can't stress the importance of good
content. If you don't have good content now then keep adding to
your site.

* Place primary and secondary keywords within the first 25 words
in your page content and spread them evenly throughout the document.
Try and have it read like it would if you were talking with a friend.

* Research and use the right keywords/phrases to attract your target
customers. If you know what's important to your customers then you
would focus on those keywords.

* Use your keywords in the right fields and references within your Web
Page, like Title, META tags, Headers, etc. You can read more about
META data on my site (www.eSiteSecrets.com )

* Keep your site design simple so that your customers can navigate
easily between Web pages, find what they want, and buy products and
services. My point is that your pages should not lead to a dead-end.
Pages should have links to other pages.

* Submit your Web pages, i.e. every Web page and not just the home
page, to the most popular search engines and directory services. Hire
someone to do so, if required. Be sure this is a manual submission. Do
not engage an automated submission service.

* Keep track of changes in search engine algorithms and processes and
accordingly modify your Web pages so your search engine ranking
remains high. See the tools page for tools to automate this process.

* Monitor your competitors and the top ranked Websites to see what
they are doing right in the way of design, navigation, content,
keywords, etc. It is easier to copy then to try and figure it out on
your own.

* Use reports and logs from your Web hosting company to see where your
traffic is coming from. Analyze your visitor location and their
incoming sources whether search engines or links from other sites and
the keywords they used to find you.

* Demonstrate your industry and product or service expertise by
writing and submitting articles for your Website or for article banks
so you are perceived as an expert in your field. Plus, these will
lead to back links to your site!

* When not sure, hire professionals. Though it may seem costly, but it
is a lot less expensive than spending your money on a Website which no
one visits. I could tell you story after story about how the right
person cost me a little but made me a lot.

* Don't look at your Website as a static brochure. Treat it as a
dynamic, ever-changing sales tool and location, just like your real
store to which your customers with the same seriousness.


~ Wesley
www.eSiteSecrets.com

Vol. 12 / What's Killing Your Publishing Career?

With the large increase of books being published by self-publishers, and the up-rise of
print on demand, there is still a lot of death taking place in the publishing industry.
In the United States, over 291,920 books were published in 2006, per Bowker.

Are you a part of this population? There are many aspects that make up these individuals.
However, let us target just three that are undeniable to anyone reading this article.

As in anything we do, a large portion of it is about taking risks. Are you a risk taker?
You’ve completed your manuscript or just published your novel; it is time to open the
entrepreneur portion of your brain.

Risk takers do not mind the possible end result because the thought of success in pure
motivation. Many writers and authors remain reclusive within the safe haven of their
creativity. What makes this ideology costly? It is the slow return on their investment.

Are you wondering if you fit into this population of authors? Sure you have published
your work for the whole world to read, even critique. But that is just the beginning of
this venture. What makes you any different than the other hundreds of thousands of
writers and authors?

Sure you can play it safe and hope your extraordinary opportunity hits you over your
head. Why not become a risk taker and take it by authority?

Becoming a risk taker you must be:

· persistent

· creative

· passionate

Another obvious bludgeon death is the lack of knowledge.

Yes it is lovely to remain in your creative world and just produce book after book. Can
you imagine leaving all the other hoopla for others to sort out?

No one whose a true business person would dare allow themselves to walk blind in their
business. Prime examples are Oprah, Donald Trump and Bill Gates. However, many writers
and authors are just that, blind.

In order to be successful, you need to be savvy on all levels in the literary industry.
If you are not, just like buying a car, you are going to get taken every time. Do your
homework, rather than relying on third party hearsay. Why would you find knowing
unimportant? For example, POD (print on demand) writers. Many have shouted foul play. The
pitch is knowing the short and long term of POD. Before signing any contract, may it be
for a car, house, student loan, or what have you, the rule of thumb is to know what it
says. If you do not know, you will swing at a curve ball because the only pitch you
anticipated was the fastball.

To become knowledgeable:

· ask questions

· take the time to research

· make sure you understand

Lastly, the beast of all beasts, is marketing. It is amazing how many authors who are not
marketing exhaustively.

This reverts back to the second point: lack of knowledge. Too many authors belief that a
publisher will sign them and they will promote and market their book. Happy to inform
you, that is not always the case.

This is your business and these publishers have invested enough in you, such as, advance,
printing, and a brief promotion run. After this, it is the author’s job to build a
website, create news releases, get interviews and so on.

There are many authors and writers out there with published works who are at a lost. Many
assume self-published authors must deal with marketing and promoting. If no one has
informed you, allow me: that is not true. All published authors, in any realm must market
themselves.

How else will your book or novel sell without getting out to the masses? Your readers?

To market, you must:

· think-outside-the-box

· market everyday on some level

· address all angles of your novel or book

· have a user friendly website

Take a look at where you are and where you desire to be in this literary world. Determine
if you are killing your publishing career.

This is going to be a challenge, but you have to have enough energy, passion, and juice
to make it past the trying moments.

As a writer or author, make sure you are multi-dimensional. You are becoming an
entrepreneur, so know where your hats are and when to wear them.

C.F. Jackson has been interviewed on The Sumter Television Show, The Louie Jones Show,
Millionaire Monday Series by John DiLemme and Atlanta’s WVEE (V-103 FM), to name a few.
Download your free Website Makeover 101 at http://www.websitemakeoverworkshop.com/ - Learn the two things a website must do.

Vol. 11 / What Are Publishers Looking For?

IDEA MEETINGS: By Rick Frishman

Writers understand that publishing is a business, but novice writers seem to think that the business begins when their book goes to print. Not so. The business begins with an idea meeting.

Idea meetings are usually attended by a combination of a publisher's editorial and marketing people, and the attendance may vary by who is available on any given day.

Although they may be scheduled for the same day and time each week, these meetings are basically informal and unstructured, more like group discussions. They usually don't have a written schedule or agenda; everyone sits around a table and the atmosphere is collegial, relaxed, and frank.

Editors inform the group about book proposals to generate discussions in which everyone chimes in. The group asks questions, gives opinions, and volunteers information about similar or competitive books.

Idea meetings are essentially exploratory. Their purpose is to challenge proposals by closely examining them and chipping away to see if the proposed project would make a good book for the house to publish. They discuss whether they think the firm should commit further time and resources to each book discussed.

At idea meetings, proposals can be rejected, but they cannot be given final approval.
At these meetings, the group wants want to see if the book has a strong hook and how it is positioned. The proposal must clearly answer the following questions:

What is the book about?

Is there an audience for the book?

If so, who is that audience?

Where will it be shelved? Books that don't have clearly identifiable places on bookstore shelves get lost. Booksellers don't know where to place them, and potential buyers don't know where to find them.

Can the book be produced so that it provides value for readers? For example, if all the books on a subject are priced in the $30 range, can the publisher deliver this book with a higher word count or information not in competing books and sell it for $12.95?

"A book has to be clearly identifiable as something new in the marketplace," according to Gary Krebs, the Publishing Director at Globe Pequot Press. "New in the marketplace means that it can be on the same topic as something that already exists, but there has to be a new spin, a new direction, which sometimes can be just a format change. Or, you could spin an existing topic for a new demographic such as businesswomen when all the other books were primarily aimed at men."

All decisions are market driven; the group must believe that the book proposed can make the company money. Editors as well as marketing representatives usually won't support a proposal unless they believe that the book can be commercially viable.

If the proposal survives the idea meeting, the editor who championed it usually prepares a presentation report or packet for another committee; one that has the authority to acquire the property. The report or packet includes research on sales figures, competing books, comparable history of the publisher's other books, recent publishing trends, and whether this proposal fits in with its overall vision of what they did in the past and want to do in the future.

At many houses, the champion prepares a profit-and-loss statement (P&L) for each proposed book. If the company decides to make an offer to buy the book, the P&L statement forms the basis for the price the company will be willing to pay for book.

Get my Million Dollar Rolodex at: http://www.author101.com

Rick Frishman, the founder of Planned Television Arts, has been one of the leading book publicists in America for over 30 years.

Working with many of the top book editors, literary agents and publishers in America, including Simon and Schuster, Random House, Wiley, Harper Collins, Pocket Books, Penguin Putnam, and Hyperion Books, he has worked with best-selling authors including Mitch Albom, Caroline Kennedy, Howard Stern, President Jimmy Carter, Mark Victor Hansen, Nelson DeMille, John Grisham, Hugh Downs, Henry Kissinger, Jack Canfield, Alan Deshowitz, Arnold Palmer, and Harvey Mackay.

In addition to his work at "PTA" Rick has now taken on the new role as Publisher at Morgan James Publishing in New York. David Hancock founded Morgan James in 2003 and in 2007 "MJ" published over 130 books. Morgan James only publishes non fiction books and looks for authors with a platform who believe in giving back. Morgan James gives a portion of every book sold to Habitat for Humanity. ( http://www.morganjamespublishing.com) http://www.rickfrishman.com for the million $ rolodex

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rick_Frishman http://EzineArticles.com/?What-Are-Publishers-Looking-For?&id=1094611

Vol. 10 / Testimonials from Experts

How important are testimonials? Testimonials sell books! For nonfiction books, you should have testimonials from professionals (those who have knowledge in your book’s subject) who are willing to endorse your book included on the back cover. If you have written a medical journal, your testimonials should be written by medical professionals. If the subject matter is golf, your book should include testimonials from golf professionals, and so on.

Send out requests for testimonials as soon as your manuscript is completed and edited. Don’t count on just one or two people for testimonials requests—people are busy and may not respond at all. Send out several requests and make responding as easy as possible. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope along with the manuscript for easy reply. Some people go as far as to send pre-written testimonials where the professional can chose the one they like best. They may suggest the person only need to scroll through the manuscript to obtain an opinion. Anyway you go about getting positive testimonials is fine, just ask politely and get them because they unquestionably matter.

Resources:
PMA article, How to get great testimonials for your book. http://www.pma-online.org/articles/shownews.aspx?id=2169

E-zine Author: Carol Denbow
Visit Carol’s new website at http://www.booksbydenbow.weebly.com/

Click here to receive this e-zine every month!

Interested in contributing to our monthly e-zine? Please send your comments, stories, requests, and questions to cdenbow@plainandsimplebooks.com
Copyright © May 2008 by Plain & Simple Books, LLC
All rights reserved. The text of this publication, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher.
We are always happy to share the information provided in our e-zine as long as credits are included. For reprint permission please e-mail cdenbow@plainandsimplebooks.com

A Quick Guide to ISBNs for Self-Publishers

By Jennifer Tribe

ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number. It is a code assigned to every published book that uniquely identifies it in the marketplace. ISBNs make it easier and more efficient for libraries, booksellers and others in the publishing industry to order, distribute and catalog books.

When To Use an ISBN:

You need to assign an ISBN to any content you intend to distribute through outside channels such as bookstores, catalogues or libraries. ISBNs should be placed on

-- print books

-- electronic books

-- videos

-- audio cassettes and CDs

-- CD-ROMs, and

-- other items as detailed by the International ISBN Agency.

You need to issue a separate ISBN for each edition of your book and for every format. For example, if you issued the same book as a print book, e-book, audio book and Braille book, you would require a separate identifier for each. If one year later, you updated the manuscript and re-issued the book, you would assign new ISBNs to this second edition in each of its different formats.

Deciphering the Numbering System

All ISBNs are currently 10 digits. (The industry will slowly be transitioning to a 13-digit system starting in 2005. See ISBN for more information on the change.)

The digits identify:

-- the group (country, area or language area of the publisher)

-- the publisher, and

-- the title of the item.

The last digit is a check digit.

The group number is comprised of one to three digits. Zero is the number for the English language group that includes the United States, English-speaking Canada, the U.K., Australia and other countries.

The publisher number is comprised of two to seven digits. The more ISBNs a publisher uses, the small their publisher number.

Publishers that use more than 100,000 ISBNs are given a publisher number of only two digits. If you apply for 10 or fewer ISBNs, you will be assigned a publisher number with seven digits. Everyone else falls somewhere in the middle.

Thus anyone in the book trade can look at an ISBN and know roughly how big you are as a publisher by the number of ISBNs you have applied to use. This is why self-publishing gurus like Dan Poynter recommend acquiring your ISBNs in blocks of 100 to avoid being labeled “small potatoes.”

Poynter further recommends that you use an ISBN from the middle of your list of 100 for your first book, since a 0 or 1 as your title number will reveal you as a first-timer.

The check digits range from one to 10. Since there is space for only one check digit, the number 10 is represented by an X.

How To Acquire ISBNs

ISBNs in the United States are administered by R.R. Bowker. Bowker charges a fee to process your application. Ten ISBNs cost $225; 100 ISBNs cost $800. Visit www.bowker.com for more information, or to complete an application.

ISBNs in Canada are administered by the National Public Library as a free service. Visit http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/isbn/index-e.html for more information or to apply on-line.

For more information on the ISBN system and how it works, visit www.isbn.org.

About The Author

Juiced Consulting helps business owners package what they know into information products –- such as books, audiotapes and teleclasses –- that they can sell to generate new business revenue. For a free newsletter and other resources, visit http://www.juicedconsulting.com/.

jtribe@juicedconsulting.com

Article Source: Ezine Articles

Vol. 8 / The Importance of a Great Book Cover Design

The Front Cover

In the old days, books were sold without a cover and buyers would bind them according to their own desires or needs. Now, the books cover has become one of the most important selling components to a book. Over half of booksellers feel the cover design is the most important component.

If you are accepted by a traditional publishing house, they will design a book cover for your book. If you use a POD (print on demand) publisher, you can hire them to design a cover, or you can submit your own design. When you self-publish you either hire a freelance cover designer or design your own.

The average person spends 8 seconds looking at the front cover and 15 seconds on the back. It is a fact, that the front cover of a book is what draws the initial attention from the buyer, if he doesn’t like the cover, he won’t look any closer at the book.

There are specific points to a cover which seem to attract the most attention. The title, size and clarity of the text, the colors, and the size of the book are amongst the top four. Make sure your title not only represents the books contents, but is clear and comprehendible to the potential buyer. The color red seems to attract the most attention to book covers. But since red is also the color most commonly associated with danger, depending on your title and subject matter, red may not be an appropriate color for your book. The size of the book is not so relevant as long as the colors are good and the title is the appropriate size for the books cover. Children’s books may be the exception to “size matters.” Children prefer larger books with many colors on the cover.

Take a trip to the library and pick out several books of different sizes and colors. If you lay them all out together and stand back six or eight feet, you will notice which sizes and colors attract your attention best. To get more feedback for you own book, pick only books similar to your subject matter. Your books title should be easily readable from at least six feet away.

An average of 13 hours is spent designing a book cover. The cost of a professionally designed cover can be as low as $500 and as much as $3,500. It could cost less if you already have artwork picked out, or if you have a good idea of what you want the cover to look like.

The back cover

Since 15 seconds are spent by the average person looking at the back cover of your book, you need to be sure it will sell the book. The buyer is looking at the back cover for a reason to buy the book. He will want to know what the book is about, who’s endorsing it, and why. He also wants to know how the book will solve his issue, whatever that may be; or how the book will entertain him. If all his questions are answered effectively, he will then briefly scroll through the book; now he may buy.

For non-fiction books, your back cover description should start by asking a question about the book subject, or address the problem that the book was written to resolve. For instance, a book about stress-relief might start with “Do you often feel stressed?” Follow that by explaining briefly how your book will solve that problem, or what the potential buyer will learn by reading your book. In other words, how will your book benefit the reader? Most likely, there are other books similar to yours, look at their back covers to see how they have formatted them and what information might attract the reader, then improve on that. Give the reader a reason to choose YOUR book instead of another.

For a fiction book, your back cover should lure the reader into wanting more. An intriguing lead into what lies ahead, but only to those who buy your book.

Testimonials sell books. You should have testimonials from professionals willing to endorse your book included on the back cover. Testimonials for your book should be done by professionals related to the book’s subject matter. If you have written a medical journal, you’re testimonials should be written by medical professionals. If the subject matter is golf, your book should include testimonials from golf professionals, and so on.

Include your bio on the back cover or inside the jacket cover. People like to see a photo of the author as well. They want to be able to relate to you and what you are saying in the book; it makes their reading experience more personal. In your bio, tell them why you are qualified to write this book and why you wrote it.

Make a professional looking picture of your books front and back cover for all promoting and advertizing. JPG is the most popular and most requested format to use when adding an image to online ads and promotion sites.

Take your time to present a well formatted and attractive book cover and you will see positive results when your book is released.

Resources:
Covers Sell Books

E-zine Author: Carol Denbow
Visit Carol’s new website at www.BooksByDenbow.Weebly.com

To receive this e-zine in your inbox every month, send an e-mail request to caroldenbow@gmail.com

Interested in contributing to our monthly e-zine? Please send your comments, stories, requests, and questions to cdenbow@plainandsimplebooks.com

Copyright © May 2008 by Plain & Simple Books, LLC
All rights reserved. The text of this publication, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher.

We are always happy to share the information provided in our e-zine as long as credits are included. For reprint permission please e-mail cdenbow@plainandsimplebooks.com

Vol. 7 / Should I Copyright My Work?

One of the most commonly asked questions of new authors is “Should I copyright my work?” Authors are concerned their work might be stolen by some smuck (sorry, couldn’t think of a better descriptive word) who reprints their work and claims authorship for it. Well, the truth is, it could be. But whether filing a legal copyright will make a difference; that’s uncertain.

Since the 1976 Copyright Act, the need to file a legal copyright has changed. The new copyright act states, “Copyright protection now subsists from the time the work is created in fixed form. The copyright in the work of authorship immediately becomes the property of the author who created the work. Only the author or those deriving their rights through the author can rightfully claim copyright.”

If you find that someone has reprinted your work under their name, the process of claiming copyright follows about the same path whether you have legally or assumedly copyrighted your work. The first step to take is to contact the U.S Copyright office and report the infringement. Also contact Writer Beware (listed below).
For legitimate authors, a rule of thumb is never copy more than three words in sequence of another persons work. If you want to use someone else’s work word-for-word as part of your book, such as a quote or research document, you will need written permission from that person (See Vol. 6).

If you loose sleep worrying that someone will steal your work, by all means, file a legal copyright. The journey to becoming a published author can be stressful enough without this additional concern.

If you’re concerned about the total protection of your work, or feel better with the guarantee of register copyright, visit the U.S. Copyright office online to learn more about the copyright process (see resources).

Copyright symbol © - wrapping the letter “c” will automatically create a copyright symbol on your word processor. Include the month and year, i.e., Copyright © April 2008 by “your name”.

U.S. Copyright Office, “Copyright Office Basics,” Who Can Claim Copyright, www.copyright.gov, Washington, DC, 2006

Resources:
U.S. Copyright, www.copyright.gov
Writer Beware, http://www.sfwa.org/beware/

E-zine Author: Carol Denbow
Visit Carol’s new website at http://www.BooksByDenbow.Weebly.com

Click here to receive this e-zine every month!

Interested in contributing to our monthly e-zine? Please send your comments, stories, requests, and questions to cdenbow@plainandsimplebooks.com
Copyright © April 2008 by Plain & Simple Books, LLC
All rights reserved. The text of this publication, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher.

We are always happy to share the information provided in our e-zine as long as credits are included. For reprint permission please e-mail cdenbow@plainandsimplebooks.com

Vol. 6 / Research & Permission

Non-fiction is written through research, and we are a fortunate generation to have the internet available to do our research. Using the search engines like Google and Yahoo, nearly every existing topic entered will return several resources. The library is a good source for research as well. For each fact you accumulate for your book, keep notes on where you found the information and who provided it to the location you found it, i.e., what website, book, newspaper, journal, article, etc. You will need to source all your information in your book including the date when the information was printed.

You can post free requests for information on your subject at the Para Publishing website. These may include the personal stories or experiences of others. See “Para Publishing” below.

A rule of thumb is never copy more than three words in sequence of another persons work (copyright infringement). If you want to use someone else’s work word-for-word as part of your book, such as a quote or research document, you will need written permission from that person.

Your written request should include the original authors name, the title and copyright date of the work, a page number or reference site of the work, and exactly what part in total you are requesting to use. You can condense this information into a letter form, but be very specific on all details of their work. Include your name, contact information, and what you plan to use their work in conjunction with, i.e., your book title. Offer to give them credit in the book and source their name and work on the page where the work will be included. Include the following:

• Your name, address, and all contact information
• Addressed to?
• Date
• A letter similar to this:

I am writing a book tentatively titled, “John Writes a Book.” I would like your permission to include the excerpts as described below in any and all editions of the book for worldwide distribution, and in all promoting and free and paid advertizing.

In exchange for your permission, you will be listed in my Acknowledgments, names and titles index (if included in your book), and sources on the page the excerpts appear. I will also send you a copy of the finished book.

I hope you will agree to give your quality work greater exposure.

For your convenience, enclosed are a self-addressed stamped envelope and a copy of this letter for your records.

• Signature
• Include on a new page:

Material to be reprinted: Excerpts from the book “The Way is to Write.” Page 222, section begins with “Only you can write a book.” Ends with, “Are you a good writer.” Total 17 lines. Copyright date: 2001

• A line for them to sign if they grant permission, “Permission granted,” as well as a line underneath denying permission, “Permission denied.” Include a place for them to date the document along with their signature.

The internet has made an easier job of locating people. Start immediately seeking out your needed permissions for it can take a long time to receive a response. Use the search engines to locate writers and professionals for permission. If that fails, contact the publisher of the work. If you can’t obtain permission, don’t use it.

Resources:
Para Publishing marketplace newsletter archives: http://www.parapublishing.com/sites/para/resources/newsletter.cfm

E-zine author; Carol Denbow
Author of: Are You Ready to Be Your Own Boss? (2006 Plain & Simple Books, LLC)
Stress Relief for the Working Stiff (summer 2008 Publish America)
A Book Inside, Writing, publishing, and selling your story
(Summer 2008 Plain & Simple Books, LLC))

Visit Carol’s Website at http://www.BooksByDenbow.Weebly.com

Vol. 5 / Book length – Where do I go from here?

Some writers plan ahead as to how many pages their complete book will be. Others simply start writing and end when they feel their work is completed. Either way, before publishing, the number of pages will need to be decided.

Most commonly, the length of your manuscript determines what type of publication you have.

• Short story – under 15,000 words
• Novella – 15,000 to 29,999 words
• Short novel – 30,000 to 44,999 words
• Novel – 45,000 to 69,999 words
• Plus or super novel – over 70,000 words

There are some exceptions to these numbers. If you are writing a children’s book, you may have as little as 500 words, but many more illustrations, which might add to the total number of pages in the finished work. If your manuscript is less than 8 pages, it may not be worthwhile to publish as a book. In most cases, a minimum of 32 pages is needed for a hard cover book to have a solid “backbone.”

If you self publish and have your book printed, your layout and printing costs may vary depending on the books length. Many printers prefer a book to be set up with a particular amount of pages. Most books are printed on large sheets of paper which are folded into sections containing 8, 16, or 32 pages. Since printers generally set up the pages in segments of 8 at a time, keeping your book at an even number devisable by 8 can save you some money on printing costs. For instance, if your book is 144 pages in length, the printer may use 18 sheets to copy it (144 divided by 8 = 18). Printers may vary on the number of pages per sheet so it is important to discuss this with your specific printer.

When calculating the total number of pages in your finished book, don’t forget to add up the extra pages needed for components such as, your table of contents, introduction, index, etc. And by all means, don’t forget that book pages are two-sided.

Suggested Reading;

Modern Matriarch, The Ideal Length for Your Book
McGraw-Hill, Book Length

E-zine author; Carol Denbow
Author of; Are You Ready to Be Your Own Boss? (2006 Plain & Simple Books, LLC)
Stress Relief for the Working Stiff (summer 2008, Publish America)
A Book Inside, Writing, publishing, and selling your story
(Summer 2008 Plain & Simple Books, LLC))

Visit Carol’s new website at http://www.BooksByDenbow.Weebly.com

Click here to receive this e-zine every month!

Copyright © March 2008 by Plain & Simple Books, LLC
All rights reserved. The text of this publication, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher.
We are always happy to share the information provided in our e-zine as long as credits are included. For reprint permission please e-mail The Editor