You have a complete manuscript; you’ve written all that you could write. Now what?
As a first-time author – or as someone who’s had their fair share of a not-so-great experience in getting their book ready for publication – it may be a little overwhelming to decide what the next step should be. There are many things that go into publishing a book: from editing, book cover designing, typesetting, printing preparation, to finally releasing and marketing your book.
The first best step once you’ve completed your manuscript is having the knowledge of everything that is needed to get your book published effectively and according to the publishing standards. This will help make informed decisions, and to help you decide on which services your book needs.
Let’s zoom into the different stages of book publishing:
Editing
This stage is undermined the most. That is because editing is not merely fixing errors and grammar as many assume. There are different levels of editing, each of which have their own purpose, and not many are aware of that. Have a look at the previous blogpost for an in-depth explanation of each.
With this knowledge, you will be able to see and decide for yourself which level/(s) of editing your book needs. Writers vary: you may have written well enough to not need substantive editing but may need stylistic editing; another may just not find it easy to write sentences correctly and thus need copy-editing.
Whichever level/(s) of editing you need, it’s important to first evaluate your manuscript to confirm the need for each level of editing. Not only will you make an informed decision but you may also avoid paying more than you should. Here at Mpilo Publishing, we can also evaluate your manuscript to determine which levels of editing are needed.
Book cover designing
This stage in the publishing process is just as important as editing. Why? The book cover is the first thing people see before they read the book blurb or reviews on the book. This is the second thing, after the book title, that grabs your reader’s attention.
Now, with book covers, you also have to be careful about the design, in that there is a set standard of how a book cover should be for each genre. For example: a memoir, biography and / or autobiography would ideally have a picture of the author or at least the main character in the book, or a real picture as it is non-fiction. A self-help book would generally only have words and no pictures on its cover.
As much as you have the freedom to choose how you want your book cover to be when choosing the self-publishing route, you also don’t want to miss your target audience whom you know needs your book. If it’s a biography, a children’s book, a self-help book, a cook book, a how-to guide, let the book cover speak for itself without misguiding or confusing your potential reader.
Typesetting
This is the second most important stage because it deals with the layout and design of the interior of your book: from the appropriate font type and size, to the margins and indentations, the heading styles and any creativity you want to add such as quotes for emphasis. The purpose of this stage is to help you make the book look presentable, pleasurable to read, and most importantly readable to your intended reader. It’s important for the content in your book to be structured and have a consistent layout.
ISBN and barcode
An ISBN, short for International Standard Book Number, is a unique number by which a book is identified. It is also used to track purchases and sales.
As a self-published author, you can apply for the ISBN freely from the National Library of South Africa, which would be limited to South Africa. If you want your book to reach persons outside South Africa, you’ll need to apply for an international ISBN.
It is also important to note that you need a different ISBN for every different format and version of your book, more especially when you make significant changes to the original book.
Printing preparation
You may find it surprising, but there is quite a number of things to prepare for printing, and it actually happens prior or during the book cover design and typesetting stages. Things to consider for printing preparation are:
- book/ trim size – there are set sizes for each book genre. There is more than 1 size for each genre. It’s a matter of choosing one that is best for your book, which is mainly affected by the amount of pages your final book will have.
- bleed – this relates to the additional space outside the trim size of your book – the space that will be trimmed off. The purpose of this is to make room for any errors in printing, avoiding cutting off part of the book cover, and making sure that the final book is in its predetermined trim size.
- book cover size – during the book cover design stage, it’s important for the designer to know the trim size of the book. It determines how big or small the design/illustration needs to be. A book cover designed using a 6” x 9” size for a bigger 9”x 11” size book may distort the printing quality. You also need to have a printer-ready book cover, including the spine which must match the thickness of your book.
- book cover type – there are different types of book covers to choose from: gloss or matt, paperback or hard cover. It’s a matter of preference; but when it comes to gloss and matt, you need to make sure that it accommodates the book cover design – the design shouldn’t be compromised, especially in colour.
Marketing
One thing that needs to be understood about marketing is its purpose, which in this case is to make it known that your book exists and to help your target audience understand why they need your book – how they will benefit from it, what makes it worth buying. Here at Mpilo Publishing, we have a variety of marketing options to choose from: targeted social media marketing with posters and content creation, book review on our website, Q&A video where we interview you with the videographer (the video will be uploaded on our YouTube channel and shared on social media), and book launch. Other opportunities include appearing on radio stations, relevant television channels, and platforms such as the Open Book Festival .
Your budget may guide you in terms of which marketing option to use, but rest assured that the more you invest in marketing your book – not just financially but with your time – the more audience is reached.
In a nutshell, those are the steps within the publishing process. With this knowledge, you’re more likely to make informed and planned decisions without unexpected surprises along the way.
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