Preparing Yourself to Publish

Your book is done and you really want to get it published.  Because it takes a long time to submit it to a traditional publisher, and wait for them to decide if they want to publish it or not, you have decided to self publish.  RMK can help!

There are a number of steps and decisions which need to be made prior to publication via either Ingram Spark or KDP Amazon or any other service you with to use.  Here is a checklist of items to consider.

Manuscript

Have a FINISHED manuscript.  Before you go to publish the manuscript should be completely done – the content should be complete and the editing/proofreading finished.  Normally this is done in MSWord.

The smallest paperback book possible is 28 pages – this will not have a spine.  To have a spine the book must be more than 80 pages.

Hardback books require at least 78 pages to be printed.  To have a spine they should be 120 pages.

Standard size books are between 50,000 and 100,000 words – though many are shorter (chapbooks) or longer.

Although the author will have a chance to look over and make corrections to a proof copy of the book prior to public release, the manuscript sent to RMK publications cannot be added to or changed once initially uploaded.

Size and type

The most popular sizes for paperbooks these days are 6×9, 5.5×8.5, 5×8, and 8×10.  Amazon and Ingram have other options as well, but using one of the standard sizes they recommend means printing them is less expensive.

Children’s books are usually larger and frequently square.  The typeface is larger and they have a lot of colorful artwork.

In general, hardbacks are more expensive than paperbacks.  Color interiors are much more expensive than black and white.

Pictures and Book Cover

The final size of a book cover depends on the number of pages in the book and whether it will be a paperback or a hardback.  RMK can work with you to insert photographs or artwork into your manuscript,  and to create an attractive cover.

eBooks

The fastest growing segment of the publishing industry are eBooks.  These are basically enhanced documents meant to only be read electronically.  The formatting of an eBook is different from printed book formatting.  There are no page numbers, instead the chapter headers are listed in the Table of Contents as electronic links.    Pictures and photos can be used, but how the pages are formatted is different then the formatting needed to create a printed version.

Categories  and Keywords

Both KDP Amazon and Ingram Spark will do some marketing of the book through their websites and emails.  Customers purchasing books use keywords and categories to find what they want.  Generally write down a description of your book, and write a “hook” paragraph to intrigue the readers.

Copyrights

Only submit a book for publication that you own the rights to.  Formal copyrighting by the Library of Congress is fairly simple and costs about $75, but not always necessary.  If you wrote it, you own the copyright – and once published you have proof it is yours.  Formal copyrighting is done most often by those who publish non-fiction and reference works, or by fiction writers of renown whose work might be plagiarized.

ISBN

An ISBN number identifies a book to booksellers and other marketing avenues. Each country throughout the world designates only one company to generate, sell and regulate the ISBN number.  Publishing houses or individuals purchase the unique numbers which are then forever associated with a specific book.

You can choose to purchase an ISBN number from RMK, Ingram, or KDP Amazon.  KDP and Ingram also offer the option of a free ISBN number if the author agrees to only market their book through those particular companies.

Both Ingram and KDP have options to market the book nationally and internationally.  Both of them are not full service traditional publishers, they are printer/marketers.

Account Access

RMK does not act as a filter between your royalties and whichever publishing entity you choose.  We will help authors create accounts with  Ingram,  KDP Amazon, or 48Hr.  The author may either do all the uploading and modifications themselves, or authorize RMK to take control of the account until the book is published.  Once the project is complete, RMK will relinquish any account access and encourage the author to change passwords.

What RMK Will Publish

RMK supports authors over a very broad spectrum: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Philosophy, Poetry, Self-Help, Children’s, in almost every genre.   We do not support books containing excessive violence or pornography.  As is customary, we reserve the right to refuse service.

You are the Boss!

RMK publications believes that the author is the final authority.  We do not judge content or any other type of editing.  If you wish to go with non-standard spellings, punctuation, etc…that is the author’s choice.  What we do is take your manuscript and set it into the size and dimensions required for publication.

GO!

You’ve always wanted to see your work published – let us help you make that dream a reality.  Contact us via email at rose@rmkpublications.com

Making your manuscript sing means it must look and read as professionally as possible.  Some types of editing tighten up and enhance the storyline.  Others deal with the nuts and bolts of language and punctuation.  Here are the various types of editing an author should consider before self-publishing.

COPYEDITING

Copyediting is a light form of editing that applies a professional polish to a book. The editor reviews your work, fixing any mechanical errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Copyediting is the least-expensive version of editing.

LINE EDITING

Refers to a unique edit that falls between copyediting and developmental editing in intensity. In line editing, the editor looks at your book line by line and analyzes each sentence. The editor considers word choice and the power and meaning of a sentence. The editor considers syntax and whether a sentence needs to be trimmed or tightened.

MECHANICAL EDITING

Mechanical editing refers to the application of a particular style, such as The Chicago Manual of Style or Associated Press (AP) Style. The editor looks at punctuation, capitalization, spelling, abbreviations, and any other style rules. Mechanical editing is sometimes included in copyediting.

SUBSTANTIVE EDITING

Substantive editing considers a work’s organization and presentation. It involves tightening and clarifying at a chapter, scene, paragraph, and sentence level. Unlike developmental editing, which covers the big-picture issues and deep-level restructuring, substantive editing deals with the actual prose.

DEVELOPMENTAL EDITING

The developmental editor looks deeply at the organization and strength of a book. Think big picture. It includes everything from pacing to characters, point of view, tense, plot, subplots, and dialogue. Weak links are exposed and questioned. The editor scrutinizes order, flow, and consistency. Are the chapters and paragraphs in the right order? Does the pacing lag anywhere? Is anything missing? Are the characters likable? Developmental editing considers all the aspects of a manuscript that make the book readable and enjoyable. Because of the extensive nature of this form of editing, it is more time intensive and costly. However, it is worth the investment if you are serious about succeeding as an author.

Critique (Critical Analysis)

The purpose for writing a critique is to evaluate somebody’s work in order to increase the reader’s understanding of it. Shorter and less detailed than developmental editing, a critical analysis is subjective writing because it expresses the evaluator’s opinion of a text.  Writing a critique on a work helps us to develop knowledge of the work’s subject area. It looks at the work’s purpose, intended audience, development of argument, structure of evidence or creative style. A recognition of the strengths and weaknesses of the work.

 Proofreading

The process of reviewing the final draft of a piece of writing to ensure consistency and accuracy in grammar, spelling, punctuation, and formatting.

RMK Publications does copy editing and proofreading as well as book formatting.  For editors of other types we recommend you check out the SouthWest Writers Professionals Directory at this website:    www.southwestwriters.com

In the past you only had two options, hope to be published by a big publishing house, or do everything yourself and take it to the local printshop.  Today you have choices that fall in between those two extremes.   A concierge publisher performs those actions you need help with, but does not do everything a traditional publishing company would.  Because Indie publishing has become very popular, some companies even use the word Concierge as part of their name.

A concierge is a personal assistant.  Concierge publishers offer you the whole world of services from editing, formatting, marketing, cover designs and more…at a price.  A traditional publisher will handle everything and in return take 60% or more of the royalties received from sales of the book.  Concierge publishers vary wildly in their pricing structures.  Many of them will offer to do everything for fee paid in advance as well as a smaller continuing payment taken from royalties.

RMK Publications offers specific services for a one time fee.  Authors who work with us have determined what they need, they just need a little help in a couple areas.   We are their personal assistant for getting their work published.  We can help you with books, ebooks, picture books, or chapbooks.  Our personnel have experience in many genres from memoir and self-help to romance, science fiction, mystery and more.

We are at your service!