Month: April 2023

Proofreading is the less glamorous part yet an integral part of the writing process. All good writers take proofreading as a serious part of the job as it works as a quality control. For those who see proofreading as a peripheral job and skip the process fall prey to typographical errors and other mistakes in their scholarly texts and undermines the rest of their work. There is no formal ultimate proofreading checklist– however following areas are mandatory for prudent proofreading.

It is to be ensured that the Headlines are catchy enough to drive the readers to go through the copy. The tone of the copy should draw attention of more readers. It is important that the tone to be chosen from among serious, friendly, and neutral- and thereafter it is important that the proof-reader stick on the tone. For that, revise if required. A good copy should be easy to read, hence denouncing long sentences and complexity is advisable for constructions. Coherency is an important attribute for any good copy- the essay should flow at every level: from sentence to sentence; idea to idea; paragraph to paragraph- constituent parts of an essay must bind together in a logical fashion maintaining the flow. Consistency is also to be kept in mind and while proofreading, if one finds connections between ideas are missing, ensure the same is added to the text to make sure the text remains well structured. Grammatical mistakes are common and can happen to anyone. Avoid mistakes in grammar and elimination of unnecessary adjectives and adverbs, ideally one should seek help from Grammarly or similar specially designed resources. It is also to be ensured that the font styles and sizes are consistent as that makes the presentation tidy and presentable.

A person in the publishing profession doesn’t need to read a whole book to gauge whether the book shall attract the readers, whether the writer has expressed himself to the fullest and what are the limitations of the book. Based on this reading, they decide whether publishing the book shall be fruitful. For crossing this unknown road successfully, editing, and proofreading checklist saves from run-over and holds the hand to make the author reach the desired destination.

While doing a self-edit, one should never mix up writing with editing. This is because writing comes superfluously while editing need eyes of perfectionist. There is every chance of disruption in writing flow and compromises if the two are done simultaneously. Once one starts the self- edit, he must ensure the main characters have been introduced early. The readers should understand the goals, strengths, and weaknesses of the characters in the book. The irrelevant parts of the writing which don’t go with the flow of the story are to be discarded- rework on parts which seemed rushed and trim the parts which drag the story. The writing should be in such a way the structure works and there are no gaps and inconsistencies in the story. If necessary, conduct further research to strengthen the plot. Avoid unnecessary elaboration of the introduction of the story or the chapters as that may bore the readers. There is no need to mention every action of the characters in each scene- it a reader is glued; he shall remember the details by himself. Avoid using cliché phrases, over-use of words and passive voice. Instead, focus on making the reader participate in the writing though his imaginations. Do a final run-through to ensure each word is strong to the extent possible. Read your book aloud to spot sentences that are confusing, too long, or poorly constructed. Look for typographical errors, grammatical errors, and inconsistencies. Fix punctuation errors.

If it is not a self-editing but editing someone else’s work, it is important not to incorporate any changes unless you have read the entire manuscript thoroughly. Anticipate how changes in one element or scene or plot thread will change elements and scenes and plot threads later in the story. And if finally you are bringing in changes, make sure changes—both items added in and items taken out—are carried through the story. It is also very important for the editor to be flexible- realizing that one story or one writer’s style may require an approach different from any you’ve undertaken before. Hence never be strict and fix to a checklist which shall be for one and all- as each story has its own needs.

 

Everyone has a story to tell- hence everyone can write a book. However, at the end of the day, it is the objective for writing and the determination to write drives a person to write a book. Setting up a space where you are at your creative best is important to write a book. Another important aspect is setting a time to write- and this time must be carved out from the daily routine jobs only. Once you are set for writing, think of what you shall love to write about and decide what you want to write about, how important it is to write on, who are the potential readers and whether you shall be able to carry out the idea successfully till the end of the book. Start the book with a big, captivating idea, and subsequently break the big idea into manageable pieces. While writing, try to create at least one unforgettable character and emphasis shall be there on conflict and tension in your writing to the extent the story permits.  Keep sharing your writings with someone who can give you honest feedback. Keep writing even if the writing is messy and whilst you write, do not think of editing as that would disrupt the flow. Only when your writing is near completion, start revising the writing. Check for grammar and spelling. Thereafter decide on the publishing route you want to take- the traditional publishing or self-publishing.

Consistency is extremely important in any book as inconsistency confuses the readers. A fear always remains that the writer may lose consistency in the flow of writing-hence it is better to be conscious from the initial start of writing itself. Consistency helps to improve the content, feeding creativity, generating ideas, and building an audience or an author platform. And this can be achieved if there is consistency in characterization which shall help in creating character sketches, consistent in terms of names, places, and terminology and by keeping the fixed rules of the world we live in. Like, sun rises in the east- this cannot change in the book you are writing.

Accuracy is an important aspect of writing, especially when one is writing about factual or based on real-life events. While some degree of artistic license is expected in fiction writing, it’s still important one does his research and subsequently ensure that the details in your book are as accurate as possible. Inaccuracies can be distracting to readers and can take them out of the story. They can also be seen as disrespectful or offensive, particularly when writing about sensitive topics like historical events or cultures that are not your own. Additionally, inaccuracies can harm your credibility as a writer. It is also important to recognize that you may not be able to get everything 100% accurate, especially if you’re writing about something outside of your own personal experience or expertise. In these cases, it’s a good idea to consult with experts, do as much research as possible, and be transparent with your readers about any areas where you may have taken some creative liberties.

Book publishing process is not any rocket science. It is quite a simple process for which the foremost condition is one has to plan a story and write. Once you complete writing the book, edit it yourself and share it with some people who shall actually read it. Take feedback from them and rewrite. Thereafter give it for professional editing where the editing shall cover both line editing and copy editing. Choose the route you want to take in regard to publishing and choose from amongst traditional publishing and self-publishing. Design a marketing plan and launch strategy. Release the book.

For manuscript preparation, you have to write your book first. And to write, one need a thinking time and give your thoughts a structure. Decide what you want to say in your writing, who is the target reader and if you are writing for a journal- which type of journal should you send the writing to, what shall interest the audience in your writing and who can be your cowriter for this writing. Thereafter start the writing. Writing is a complex task where you have to be at your best. A ‘real’ time is to be set aside for writing. You need to identify which is the most conducive environment for you to write.

When you are preparing the final draft for your manuscript, set a margin of 1 inch, align the text to the left, use Times New Roman font with font size of 12, write in black text with white background, and indent each paragraph by ½ inch. Double space the lines with single space between sentences, create a header in the top right corner. Always begin chapters on new pages and end the manuscript with a hash mark on the center. Use italics when necessary but never underline particularly in novel manuscripts.

Editing and proofreading are needed when you have completed writing your manuscript-in fact editing starts before you complete your first draft only as this does a check on the logistics of your writing and grammar, checking each sentence carefully ensuring they are well designed and serving their purpose; surface-level errors are secondary there. These errors are rectified during proofreading which is done only when editing is over as this being the final stage of the writing process, checks on grammatical, punctuation and spelling errors.  The following table explains the role of editing and proofreading and explains the differences also:

PROOFREADING	EDITING
Language formatting for consistency;	Improves the overall quality of the text;
Writing improvement;	Improves any language issues, in accordance with the purpose of the text;
Grammar, spelling and typing mistakes elimination;	Clarification of expressions;
Ensures a document is ready for publication;	Removal of errors and inconsistencies;
Cheaper than editing.	Maximization of the impact of discourse, particularly on objectivity and assertiveness.

 

 

Book layout design, or typesetting is the art of creating a book’s interior. It involves all of the decisions that influence the way readers experience the content of the printed book: fonts, spacing, the styling of chapter headings, margins, etc. It is the book design and layout which provide the ease and comfort to the reader, hence a careful and thorough assessment of content is needed for deciding on book’s style and functionality and to decide on the book design and content. For image-heavy books on cookery, photography, poetry, etc., content-led design is very important. Similarly, for text-only books, one has to be conscious about matter and genre- and accordingly typefaces are used and chapters are divided. Alignment should be done in a professional way ensuring both spacing and grids are flawlessly adjusted to the needs of your book. For alignment to be done in perfect way, the lines in the book need to have consistent vertical spacing, as well as be spaced so they’re all roughly the same length, i.e. justified. Also it is to be ensured that the grid is consistent making sure the text lines up horizontally from page to page. Margin in the pages of the book is also very important as any mistake there would swallow up the text when the pages are bound. Ideally for a standard-sized book, the outer, top, and bottom margins are about 0.5 inches each, and the inner margins are 0.75-0.9 inches. This shall ensure the text is readable when the pages are bound, and all the margins ultimately appear about half an inch wide — just enough space for someone to hold a physical copy of the book open.

Cover design is a type of artwork presented as an illustration or photograph on the outside of a published book. It is the book cover which draw the reader most of the time- hence it is of extreme importance for the author. Hence before one designing the book cover, he should always gather visual inspiration first to help guide your cover’s overall look and feel. A book cover needs to support the themes the book explores and also reflect the mood of the book. Hence, a serious book should have a relatively serious cover, while a fun beach read needs an entirely different kind of aesthetic. Hence it is important that the book’s main themes are outlined and kept top of mind when deciding on the kind of imagery one want to use on the cover. Different genres have different conventions when it comes to covers- like a steamy romance novel shall always have a couple embracing on the cover or a true crime books usually feature dark covers hinting at the crime. Since a lot of book browsing happens online, covers are usually shrunk down to thumbnail size. If the book cover looks cluttered at thumbnail size, the author shall loose potential readers. Hence it is important that once choose one focal element for your cover. This could be part of the image used on the cover, or it could be the title of the book. The font and the palate in the cover is also important for the book cover as they play a pivotal role in attracting the reader along with the layout. .

Book printing is the process of transferring written content from an author or publisher to a publication form. There are four main steps that makes the book printing and production are pre-press, press, post-press, and binding. The pre-press stage ensures that all the pages are in order, including any necessary design changes or corrections. The press stage is essentially creating individual copies of a book on sheets of paper or a web using digital printers and offset printers. The post-press stage is where the printed books are trimmed to make them the size you desire. The outside of each book block (the pages) will be glued together inside to create sections. These sections form individual “signatures” which then get stitched into spines before finally being bound back onto themselves by yet another spine piece – all through various means such as adhesive tape binding or any other form of binding depending on what’s needed. The types of book printing services that are normally availed are Offset printing (the most common format for printed books)- which is the process of transferring a printed image onto a surface, digital printing using a computer to produce a digital image of the text and graphic elements printed. Print-on-demand is a relatively new term in the publishing industry and have been there for the last two decades only and it the way to save money in the publishing process by using digital technologies to print and bind books one at a time as they are ordered.

The large traditional publishing houses does most of the marketing and distribution with their own investment pumped in running campaigns and distributing paperback copies to their listed bookstores- but the author has to depend on the whims of the publishing houses only if they are not putting the extra effort from his side. However, the lesser ones and self-published books require the author’s efforts and resources for marketing the books. Few promotion and marketing ideas that always help the authors are

• Having own blog or website help potential readers finding the author even before he finish writing your book. Updating the site with articles that would surface in the target audience’s organic search results helps a lot in the long run. As he comes close to the launch date, he can create buzz around the book through contests and book giveaways.
• Increase the online presence to spread the word about the book. He can post his articles on popular websites that receive a lot of traffic, or contribute on forums that discuss topics related to the book.
• Leverage the power of social media by using social media like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. helps a lot. Create an exclusive book page in Facebook with details of the book and lots of keywords in the description. Book Pages may also provide ratings, reviews, a purchase tab and few details about the Author. This connects the potential readers more towards the book.
• Following the most popular books of the same genre and study what has helped them to sell.
• Get reviews for your book by approach reviewers of any of your previous books with a free copy and a polite request. In case one is a first time author, he can use his friends to help him with the review. Influential book bloggers, popular authors in your genre, and newspapers for editorial reviews can also be considered for this.
• Start with a pre – commercial launch with a limited number of copies at a rate lesser than that which would be available when launched, serves as one of the powerful tools to attract readers to get the initial traction.
• Run effective seasonal campaigns Short campaigns which maybe seasonal or festive are seen to have more engagement and conversion than those which are run continuously throughout the year.
• Provide three to four free copies, preferably paperback, to the most loyal client or reader who would ensure the author get a review from him/her and also spread the word about the title.

Book Launch is any event wherein the author invites a group of people to celebrate the arrival of an upcoming book. The writer normally reads from the new book and sign books at these events. Invitees include friends and family, fans of the author, or people who frequent the bookstore or venue. A successful book launch help the authors to reach out to masses in case of both traditional as well as self-publishing.  The three most important benefits of a Book Launch are it gives the author opportunity to meet the readers and provide new readers with the opportunity to form a connection with you. A book launch party is an opportunity to increase publicity and point new readers to other promotional pathways. It also provide a sense of completion as once one launch the book, he can sit back and relax knowing your work is complete. Even if the launch party is just the first stop on a wider book tour, take some solace in the fact that, at least for now, hard work of writing is over.

It is pointless to sit and ponder on how to become a writer; anyone who writes is a writer. Now the question is whether one wants to take up writing as a profession, or as a part of life which shall work as a breather in stressful situations. If the answer is yes, one must identify which form of writing he is most comfortable with. Writing can be of various types, viz. copy writer, content writer, technical writer, communication writer, journalists, grant writer, poet, columnist, author, and it is important to identify in which field one is most comfortable. Thereafter set realistic goals and design the movement. If one plans to become a blogger, he needs to select a platform, set up the blog and start publishing. Likewise, if one aspires to become a copywriter, start listening to the lectures and podcasts of eminent copywriters and build a bridge with some of them. Next important thing is setting a routine.

For writing skills development, the foremost requirement is one must identify under which circumstances the writing is at its best. Some may be comfortable with tranquil surroundings while some may like to listen to music while writing. Similarly, some may find it comfortable to write in the morning while some in some other part of the day. Some may be comfortable writing sitting on the bed while some need a chair and table to write. Hence only the person can identify in which format he is at his creative best- and accordingly set up the routine of writing.

It is very important to write regularly as practice and perfection are co-related and hence developing writing habit is of extreme importance for anyone who aspire to become a writer. Ideally one should set a target of minimum numbers of words he shall write daily and accordingly write every day. Once this process is regularized, one shall start enjoying the writing job more interesting than ever- as with the development of expertise the writing shall become more free-flowing with smooth transition of thoughts to words. The next more important thing is reading as the more a person reads on a subject, the more quality he delivers through writing because of his newly acquired knowledge. For a beginner, it would be a better decision to write in simple words and with short sentences without excessive usage of adjectives.

Experiences enrich writing hence one needs to be an explorer looking around for variety and new experiences and keep a stalk of all the new experiences he acquires as in the long run, these would make the writing richer and more compelling. Nature and human behavior- both are amazing sources of experience with the variety and uniqueness in them. Ideally a writer may keep a journal where he would pen down interesting things he hears, interesting things he has met, interesting pictures- even interesting dreams which people forget very fast- all these shall contribute to writing later.

It is also important for a person to commit to himself about finishing the project if he aspires to be a writer. After writing till a certain time, one may tend to get lost and loose track. It is the determination that shall make a difference there and that shall drive one to finish the writing. And while writing, it is important to keep in mind whether the reader shall be interested in the writing. However, to glue the readers, one should not divulge from the area of core competence. One should write on areas where he has good command and not on topics which are difficult for him.

Giving a structure to the story from the time of conceptualization itself always helps an author in writing. Structure is chosen depending on the progression of the story and there are many structures that one can follow (like flashback etc.). However, it is always wiser decision for an aspirant writer to take the linear structure which is simpler with a beginning, a climax, and a resolution.

 

There is no thumb rule for the writer on how to start writing. If one waits for that moment, the waiting shall be futile as the golden moment shall never come. All one must do is to start writing. And what makes writing different is the experiences- not the opinions.

Writing is a process which starts with the invention stage. This helps the author in generating ideas for writing- whichever form he writes in. Questioning is a very good invention strategy which helps in testing a topic. One may use the questions ‘who, what, when, where, why and how’ to determine whether the topic thought of is worth writing about and if so, only then develop ideas on your topic. Next, one should write for ten minutes on the subject whatever comes to his mind- in a free-flowing way. This works as the plinth of the main writing and reading this later helps to add more ideas and content.

Understanding the target audience remains critical for any writer. Attention span varies among audience- a small kid can’t sit still for more than 10 minutes- so if writing for a kid, it has to be kept in mind that the content should be attractive enough to hold back the kid. At the same time, an adult gets bored with children story. J.K. Rowling or George Orwell are one in million who has attracted both set of audience with An Animal Farm or Harry Potter- so it is wise a new author doesn’t aspire to imitate them.  Appropriateness and targeting the right age is also important in order to understand the target audience. A book with lots of sex content cannot be considered for the kids. Again, Mills & Boons type novels are widely read by women- so a fantastic response from the young male folks should not be expected from a book of soft romantic genre. Building a persona helps an author in this regard as that helps him in understanding the need and desire of the audience and based on that, the author finds out their interests and how they spend their time. To develop this persona, one first has to establish the demographic status which shall include the age, gender, location, income, education, family, and interests. Based on that, the author may contemplate developing goals, fears, values and challenges to understand the need of the consumer. And ultimately, this would help in identifying the niche as well.

There are many writing style in literature. Narrative writing is almost a storytelling in written form which capture a journey from start to the end with a proper beginning, interval and ending. Descriptive writing provides each aspect of the event, person, or place in detail giving the reader a feeling as if the reader himself was present when the incident took place. Expository writing is written to teach the reader on some topic and they are not written for entertainment. Persuasive writings are written to convince and persuade the readers on any issue. Though creative writing, an author breaks free from the existing writing structures and surprise the readers by sharing a story in a new way. Objective writing is a formal way of writing with true facts and figures which acts as a support to the writing. Subjective writing is just the opposite of objective writing and does not bother on correctness and accuracy- instead portray the writer’s beliefs, preferences, perspectives, feelings, and opinions on things. Review writing is a style where one review things- which can be anything of reader’s entertainment. In poetic writing, the author uses rhyme, rhythm, and meter to convey a story or idea. Technical writing is a style adopted for writing on a special point that is factual and logical or about a scientific purpose. From all these, choosing a writing style is very important for any writer as it is nearly impossible to absorb all the writing styles that attract the readers. A writer need to identify his comfort lies with which style- in which style his communication is at its best.

 

While writing a book proposal, ideally it should start with a header which is the working title for the project along with the writer’s name and contact details. Thereafter a brief synopsis of the book is to be added on the proposal that describe the content of the book in a compelling way. A long description of the book is to be added which would explain the book more in detail and what makes the author the best person for writing on this topic. A chapter breakdown shall follow with few sentences describing what the author shall cover in that chapter.  Certain details about the author should be there in the proposal in a short biodata format with specific objective of linking it with the book. To clear the cloud in the mind of the publisher, it is wise to mention the target audience as well along with the market of the book.

Editors use Style Sheets as a guide for treatment of specific items in documents- like language preferences, Punctuation and capitalization, formatting and Layout. Nearly all business have a style guide and editing style sheet is something similar to style guide, but limited to writing only. Multinationals use style sheets for their internal as well as external communication materials; editors and writers use them when they work on manuscripts. The benefits of using style sheets is manifold. It helps in providing a consistency in regard to the writing encompassing spelling of certain items, abbreviations etc. style sheet helps in saving time as one doesn’t need to keep looking at things over and over repeatedly. And finally the financial aspect, as the editor can save time with help of style sheet and can use the saved time for another assignment.

Sometimes, the client specify the style using a style guide If a client specifies using a style guide which the editor or writer use as a reckoner when they come across any contentious stylistic issues. Sometimes, the client share provide an in-house style sheet which they operate in office to ensure standards and specifications are met. However, when they are not provided by the client, the editor creates one to ensure inconsistencies are identified easily and stylistic preferences are identified. These style sheet editing become extremely useful while proofreading a very long document where consistency is to be ensured across hundreds of pages. They are helpful while working regularly for one client as well when he want to ensure consistency across documents.

How to create a style sheet for editing

The purpose of a style sheet is ensuring consistency in a document or a set of documents and hence while creating a style sheet for editing, the following things must be covered:

Linguistic preferences: this shall cover the type of dialect (eg. Which type of English is to be used?) , whether the writing style be academic, formal or informal, spelling preferences, preferred terminology and vocabulary, abbreviations, acronyms that are to be used, the numbers are to be written in words or I numerical only, time and date format, etc.

Punctuation: the comma usage, use of hyphens and dashes, use of single and double quote marks, spacing of ellipses.

Formatting and layout: preferred font size and typeface, usage of bold, italics and underlines, heading and subheading styles, the way to begin new chapters or sections, page numbering style, margin orientation, usage of headers and footers, how to present the images and other non-textual things.

In regard to the linguistic preferences, with the writing style, few areas are to be considered as each writing style has separate specifications. Like for academic writing, information on the client’s chosen referencing style, technical terminologies used, labelling of figures, charts and tables are to be considered in the style sheet. Similarly, in case of fiction or non-fiction, character names and key details, geography of the location, timeline of events and major plot points, slangs and non-standard spellings in dialogues and the presentation of the speech and thoughts of the characters are to be considered.

When one knows what are to be included in the style sheet, ideally the sections are to be broken down for easy reference where each section shall have a clear heading and shall cover one aspect of the document’s style. This shall make the style sheet easier for usage of anyone.

Self-publishing is the way of publishing where the author publishes his own book at his own cost and the publisher is not involved in the process. This is not a new development in the publishing world as self-publishing has been happening for more than 200 years. However, in this age of digitalization, the authors have realized that if professionals are not used in this process of publishing a book, the entire effort of publishing would be futile as the product shall not be able to compete in the market. Hence there is a new set of companies (“Assisted Self-publishing Providers” /”Self-publishing Service Providers” and the like) that have emerged in the market whose focus is providing a wide array of services to the author from where he can select the services required for producing a high-quality book.  In self-publishing, the absence of gatekeepers like literary agents and publishers help in diversifying and providing a space to the author. The earning of an author in self-publishing is much more and often more than 5 times than in case of traditional publishing. And the biggest advantage is the fact that there is more control over the publishing process and decisions are taken by the authors only. Moreso, qualitatively there is no difference between self-publishing and traditional publishing.

 

Branding has been defined by American Marketing Association saying brand is a name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s good or service as distinct from those of other sellers- hence one may consider a brand as the idea or image people have in mind when thinking about specific products, services, and activities of a company. A product can be easily copied by other players in a market, but a brand will always be unique.  A typical example is Pepsi and Coca-Cola- both tastes very similar, however for some reason, some people feel more connected to Coca-Cola, others to Pepsi. To build a brand, a marketing team follow a four-fold step.  First, the marketing team must determine the target audience. Here, fist one must determine the prospective buyers. Thereafter sue the available statistics and data of the prospective buyers, check on the strategy the other companies have taken to reach out to them and finally reach out to the prospective buyers to speak to them. Based on the feedback received from the prospective buyers, the product shall be positioned. Defining the company personality is the next step in building a brand and finally a logo or slogan is chosen based on the legworks mentioned earlier.  For a publisher, it is the author who is a brand, and they expect the association of the authors and their types to reflect the mission of the publishing house as a whole and distinguishes it from the competition. However, publishing brands are not on the mind of the readers, and they are only concerned on whether the book is good or a must-have. But most books or eBooks are sold through channel partners such as bookstores and wholesalers who service them and it is the stores that provide access to the consumer. This is where brand loyalty plays a pivotal role as it has a direct impact on profitability.

 

Proofreading is the process of checking a final draft with utmost care and correcting the typographical mistakes, grammatical mistakes and other issues pertaining to writing before finally the book goes for print. This is the last step of writing and is concerned mostly with the mechanical aspects of writing. Proofreading is the process of carefully checking for errors in a text before the author’s book is published or shared. This is the last stage of writing the book and in this stage, minor spelling and punctuation mistakes, typos, formatting issues and inconsistencies are corrected. Proofreading is extremely important for any book that is supposed to be shared with the readers, whether it’s an academic paper, a job application, an online article, or a print flyer. Based on the skills and budget, one chooses to proofread the text yourself or to hire a professional.

The economy of self-publishing fully depend on whom you are hiring and how much you can spend. It depend on your need and whether you are hiring the right persons on the job. In order to self-publish you need to have a team helping you with the cover design, editing, formatting, marketing strategy, and project management. Having a solid team of experts will ensure that you have a successful book launch and book sales. There are also marketing costs like creating and designing a website, promoting your book on social media, and purchasing promotional materials. The most important advantage in self-publishing is that you make 100% of the profit for each book that you sell directly. The price can be adjusted based on the printing cost and how many books you are selling directly to someone or a company.

A survey done in US 10 years back revealed the average self-published author earns $10,000 a year. And even that paltry sum is escalated by the successful writers in self-publishing economy, 10% of the authors in the study made 75% of the money. 75% of authors made under $500.

How much does cost to publish book

There was a study done in Australia in regard to economics of self-publishing book few years back. As a case-study, the cost was calculated on a 200 page non-fiction book with 30,000 word-count. An average rate of 500 words per hour is something which is manageable for writing a non-fiction, and that which would equate to 60 hours. Adding the planning and research time involved for writing, the time was doubled to 120 hours. And thereafter a calculation was made on how much a person can earn by spending 120 hours of real time. Copyediting of a 30,000 word manuscript will cost in the range $150 to $1000. Typesetting of our text-heavy book will cost in the range $250 to $1500. Cover design cost shall range between $400 and $1500. ISBN for the paper book and another one for the e-book version shall be needed for publishing. The cost in Australia is $44 for one. Considering a minimum order of at least 200 copies, and preferably 500 or 1000, and for the purpose of keeping the unit price as reasonable as possible, the cost shall be something less than $7. Adding the handling fee and shipping charges, the cost of one copy shall be around $12.50.

 

Book publishing budget

You should design your book covers so they are clear and readable across numerous devices, whether the book is displayed as a thumbnail, full size, low- or high-resolution, colour or grayscale. The formatting depends on the services used but most services offer tools to help convert books into the correct format.

If you are not confident about doing this process alone, self-publishing service companies are there to help you with the hard work with a cost. They shall offer various services including proofreading, editing and illustrations and also help on the marketing and retail side. They’ll automatically advertise the book on their own websites as well as with affiliates, which are usually large, well-known companies.

For those offering print books as well as e-books, there are two options to consider: print-on-demand (POD) and traditional offset printing. It is advisable you reduce any financial risk with POD technology. This service prints one copy at a time. The book is distributed through book wholesalers as well as online retail outlets. The downside is a higher retail price is charged as the cost of each unit is higher to produce than with traditional offset printing.

In case of offset printing, the cost is lower and higher in quality than POD- though you have to commit a minimum number of published units here.

Book publishing cost 

There has been an explosion of digital books through Amazon and other platforms like iBook, Wattpad and Kobo. First time authors have finally got a chance to showcase their talents. A rough cost of self-publishing may help the aspiring authors in the long run.

For a 250 page book 225/- to 249/- is an ideal price (particularly for new authors), a printing press will take anywhere about 60/- to 120/- per book. In case you are ordering in bulk publishing of 200 book, the cost may be somewhere between 12,000/- and 24,000/-(Average 18,000/-).Amazon costs 13% of MRP for each print book sale and they offer pick and delivery service too which may cost another 10% of MRP. Still if you sold the book online you’ll get a good amount of money for the deal as recent reports suggest 50% of books are purchased online in India. In case if you are calculating everything, you’ll spend about 50% (for printing) another 25% (amazon share and delivery) and another 10% in marketing. Total 50%+25%+10%= 85%-100%=15% is your royalty which is double than that from the traditional publishers. Hence, if your book’s MRP is 249/-, then you will save about 37/- over each book sale. It’ll be better if you spend a bit more and try to give few free copies to other authors of your genre, if they read and review/commend it then it’ll be a great marketing success for you. Also search for few best book distributors and retail chains, fix a meeting with them and give a presentation of your book to them. They may show interest in your book. Try to offer few free test copies to them. Amish Tripathi had self-published his first book “Immortals of Meluha” after getting rejected by 20 publishers. But later when the book succeeded, they all came back to him. If your book succeeds and if a big publisher shows interest in it then you may relaunch it too.

Every print book needs an ISBN no. you can get one online through isbn.gov.in, it’s free. Always confirm with your printing press whether they shall provide barcoding of your ISBN or not. In case they don’t, the press can be asked for options- they being the publishers, have knowledge about it. If you don’t have money, try to raise it through a fundraising campaign. You may offer your donors a print copy of your book if they support you more than the MRP cost of your book. It shall be a great way to promote your book too, and you can use your books or your imprint’s facebook page for that. As far as the digital or e-book is concerned, you can publish it on kindle for free.

 

Depending on the amount of money an author spends on editing, cover design, formatting, and other services, publishing a book may cost them anywhere between 45,000/- to 90,000/- (exclusive of 18% GST) in India. Book formatting cost ranges between 10,000/- and 15,000/-. Book editing cost range between 25,000/- and 28,000/-. Book editing cost range between 25,000/- and 30,000/-. Book editing cost ranges between 40,000/- and 45,000/-. All these costs vary depending on the number of pages, the size of the book, the thickness of the paper, and other factors.

Self-publishing

In self-publishing, authors publish their own book instead of spending time in convincing and coaxing the traditional publishers. In self-publishing, many a times we see the author himself is single-handedly carrying out the whole process. However with the increase of awareness on the benefits of self-publishing, more and more authors are realizing that to compete effectively, they need to produce a high quality product, and they are engaging professionals for specific services as needed (such as editors or cover designers). There are no gatekeepers in self-publishing and no literary agents or publishers standing in your way. This allows for diversity to flourish and for underrepresented voices to finally have a space to share their work. Margins are much higher in this mode. And in this mode, the access to improved technology and distribution mode is as much as in case of traditional publishing. In this mode, the author has the freedom to decide on What type of editing the book deserve, the book type and format, book cover and interior design, Where the book shall be distributed and how the book is promoted.

Publishing industry

Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. The industry that runs the publishing is the publishing industry. This publishing industry involves production and dissemination processes to make information, such as literature, music, software, and travel aids, available. Earlier it was confined to printed works—traditional books, newspapers, and magazines. However, with the advent of digital information, the book industry now publishes in blog, e-book, Web site, and other electronic formats.  The industry employs a diverse workforce to assist in the many stages of publishing.

• Writers, researchers, and editors develop and refine copy;
• Artists and graphic designer position text & images for readability on the page and on  screen;
• Press and production operators produce physical documents;
• Digital designers and developers prepare electronic publications;
• Sales and marketing forces disseminate and distribute the products.

 

 

Marketing and promotion

Book marketing creates awareness for a specific book among booksellers and consumers. The goal of marketing, of course, is to generate book sales.

The best formula for promotion of books as described by the champions of book marketing are as follows:

1. Create an Eye-catching Cover
2. Write a Great Description
3. Take a Great Author Photo
4. Gather Blurbs for Your Book
5. Set up Your Author Website
6. Create an Author Central Page
7. Create a Goodreads Author Page
8. Add the Book to Your Email Footer
9. Contact Media, Bloggers & Influencers
10. Write Guest Posts and Articles
11. Go on Podcasts
12. Gather Book Reviews on Amazon
13. Use Your Email List
14. Use Your Social Media Presence
15. Write LinkedIn Articles
16. Give It to Clients (And Potential Clients!)
17. Start a Blog or Podcast
18. Create an Audiobook
19. Use Book Promotion Sites

Revenue and profits

It’s a fairly common arrangement for the retailer to get about half of a book’s sale price, plus or minus a non-trivial range of variation depending on a number of factors. These days, it’s also common to use a distribution network for warehousing and shipping, and they get a slice of several percent. Assuming the author is being paid on a royalty basis instead of work for hire, they get around 10%, again plus or minus several percent depending on a variety of conditions; back when I was in publishing, I saw as low as 8% and as high as 15% for various authors. The publisher gets what’s left, so it’s not uncommon for a publisher to get anywhere within a range of, say, 30% to 50%.

The percentage of revenue that goes to publishers and authors can vary depending on the book, the publisher, and the specific contract between the author and the publisher. In general, traditional publishers will typically take a higher percentage of the revenue than self-publishing platforms, where authors retain more control over the distribution and pricing of their books. In a typical traditional publishing deal, the publisher will take around 15-25% of the revenue from book sales, with the remainder going to the author. This percentage can be higher or lower depending on the specific terms of the contract. Self-publishing platforms, such as Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing, will typically take a smaller percentage of the revenue, around 30-40%. This allows authors to retain a larger percentage of the revenue from book sales. It’s also worth noting that these percentages can vary depending on the format of the book.

 

Distribution and sales channels

Book distribution channels are all the ways a book is sold and distributed to readers. These channels can include physical bookstores, online bookstores, wholesalers, distributors, and more.

The sales channel of books are

• Direct Sales
• Big Box Stores
• Independent Book Stores
• Libraries
• Online Retail
• Local Stores
• Author Events

Royalties and advances

An advance is a signing bonus that’s negotiated and paid to the author before the book is published. It’s paid against future royalty earnings, which means that for every rupee you receive in an advance, you must earn a rupee from book sales before you start receiving any additional royalty payments. The advance is adjusted with future royalty payments once the book is on sale.

A book royalty is the amount that a publisher pays an author in exchange for the rights to publish their book. Royalties are calculated as a percentage of book sales. For example, an author might earn 7.5% royalties on every paperback sold and 25% on every eBook sold.

Royalties are prevalent and applicable typical in traditional publishing, where authors sell the rights to their book to a publisher. In self- publishing, royalties don’t exist because the author himself sets the prices and decides on the profit margin- he being the monarch of his empire and creation.

 

How to improve your academic writing

A recent survey has revealed that the two mo9st important skills for success in higher education are interrelated skills of writing and reasoning. It was further found out that the skill that most of the students lack is the skill of writing. To improve writing, one should ensure sufficient right evidence. Ideally, one should do thorough research work before starting the writing process with enough new, interesting, and relevant material. Citations indicate the depth of writing and building up the trustworthiness of the author- it is important to credit the sources to avoid plagiarism. The paragraphs and supporting evidence should be ordered in a progression with the right use verbs, transitions, and signal phrases. When writing an academic paper, it is always advisable to avoid using jargon and complex sentence structures as these structures complicate the writing only. Instead, keep in mind a clear sense of the purpose of writing, audience, and genre; this shall help in developing a more effective writing style. There is no substitute for reading to improve writing and reading should not be limited to academic writings only. While academic writing helps in familiarizing oneself with standards and habits of fellow writers, diversified reading shall help in learning new techniques and styles giving an idea on which style works better. Practice makes a man perfect is just not a proverb- the more one practice writing, the better one will shape up as a writer. you will become. Academic paper on any topic can be treated as an assignment for betterment of writing and steadily a style can be developed in this process. One should focus on the overall tone and presenting of ideas instead of focusing on grammar, spelling, and formatting.

 

How to practice academic writing

One should know what he wants to say before he starts writing. And for this, the easiest way is to narrow down the thesis and make a basic outline before writing. The outline shall consist of a sketch on introduction, the body of the essay where one may include separate paragraphs for presenting the supporting points along with examples and the conclusion where one proposes to tie all the loose ends and connects the argument back with the thesis. It is extremely important that one have a solid grip over grammar, punctuation, and style as without these, communicating the ideas effectively shall be extremely difficult. Similarly, using right vocabulary is extremely important and here complex words and phrases are to be avoided as much as possible.  To write a good essay, one should never deviate from the main argument- going tangent would create complexity in the mind of the writer as well as that of the reader. It is important that while writing, one keep asking himself “Does this add value to my thesis?” If the answer is negative, that portion of evidence should be avoided. It is imperative how one start his essay, but one should always strive to capture the reader’s interest immediately. If the opening paragraph catch the eye and engage the brain, the reader shall be glued to the writing in natural process throughout the thesis. All the sentences in the main body of the thesis should explain and support the thesis. While deciding how much evidence to include in an academic thesis, a good guideline is to include at least three main supporting arguments. And one should always remember- most writers stumble in writing the conclusion in the essay. It is the conclusion that tie the research together and builds up the thesis. a strong conclusion briefly outlines the key evidence discussed in the body of the essay and directly ties it to the thesis to show how the evidence proves or disproves the main argument of your research. The final shape of the thesis depends on what kind of format you use, so one should be careful in selecting the format- it is always wise to select one of the conventional formats and not experiment in this regard.  A good academic essay shall always go through multiple drafts till it slowly takes the desired shape- so that when one reach at a final draft, he must ensure that the final draft is as close to perfect as possible. And finally, irrespective of the format used, the reference page must be well organized and easy to read so that the readers can see exactly from where the outside information have been taken. And for producing a properly formatted reference page, the writer must get familiarized to specialized phrases and abbreviations, such as “et al”.

Improve content writing skills

The most important to be effective in content writing is how you start the writing, i.e. how striking the headline is. The readers decide from the headline whether to read it or it is worth a miss.  Hence if the headline doesn’t strike the emotion cord of the reader and kindle his interest, the desired result from content writing won’t be achieved. Thereafter it is important that the writer create a hook that would draw the attention of the reader. It takes few seconds for the reader to dissociate with the impact of the headline. These few seconds are like ‘moments of truth’- and hence the first sentence of the content should be attractive enough to ensure the reader reads the whole writing. And for this, it is important that the writer does extensive research to ensure he has a thorough knowledge about writing. It is also important that the writer focuses on a single subject and attached to the main subject and doesn’t oscillate between multiple subjects. Content writer also should remember they are the voice of the company- hence the language and the tone should be in line with the organization only.

You have three seconds to keep readers hooked after the headline. The first sentence also plays a role in determining whether they read the rest of your content. As a result, it should capture the reader’s attention and smoothly lead them into your first point- at it is extremely important to be align the tone of writing with the target audience. And one should never forget editing the work as many at times it is possible to. In the process, one can polish the rough edges of the writing. Marked improvement shall be noticed in content if editing can be made a continuous and ongoing process for process.

 

Academic writing skills examples

Just possessing writing skills doesn’t make a person a good academic writer. Few skills are nearly mandatory for success as a writer- and even more applicable for becoming a good academic writer. Another important skill the writer needs to develop is research on the subject he shall write about. To make the writing stand out from rest, comprehensive research and thorough understanding of topic helps in building the most convincing arguments. A good academic writer must ensure the information he is using for writing is accurate, clear and has relevance to the topic he is writing about. Developing and justifying an argument is an important skill as that help others in better understanding of the perspectives of the writer. A well developed and planned argument is always concise and persuasive. And hence to make the writing effective, the writing should be supported with logical reasoning and references. Another skill the writer needs to possess is the art of writing without grammatical mistakes, punctuation, and spelling mistakes as occurrence of these dilutes the image of the writer in the minds of the readers.  Another very important skill is communication skills. Regarding writing, audience means any person or group of people who read your content- it can include stakeholders and customers also. Communication can be of different types with different people and within the same organization also, there can be different types of communication which depend on the level of the person the writer is communicating to communication ro. Communicating with others within your organization may require subtle differences depending on whom you’re talking to. Understanding what kind of tone to take can help you build better relationships. Organizing all the information in the paper is most important to develop a compelling, well-written document. Most types of academic papers follow similar formats e.g., dissertations and papers describing studies include an introduction, background information, objective, methodology, results and findings, recommendations, and conclusion. Keeping the paper well-organized in sections while writing helps in ensuring that the writer makes right arguments and doesn’t repeat information.

 

Academic writing

Academic writing is always of the nonfiction genre and produced as part of academic work in line with the standards and disciplines of each academic subject, including reports, fieldworks, research in facilities for natural sciences and social sciences, propose new theories, or develop interpretations from archives, as well as undergraduate versions of all of these.

Academic writings can be classified in four categories, viz.

Descriptive- This is the simplest type of academic writing, and its purpose is to provide facts or information.

Analytical- This includes descriptive writing, but also requires re-organizing the facts and information to describe into categories, groups, parts, types, or relationships.

Persuasive- This has all the features of analytical writing i.e., information plus re-organizing the information), with the addition of your own point of view.

Critical- This has all the features of persuasive writing, with the added feature of at least one other point of view. While persuasive writing requires a single point of view on an issue or topic, critical writing requires you to consider at least two points of view, including one of the writers.

Type of academic texts

Essay	A short, self-contained argument, often using sources from a class in response to a question provided by an instructor.
Research Paper	A more in-depth investigation based on independent research, often in response to a question chosen by the student.
Thesis/ dissertation	The large final research project undertaken at the end of a degree, usually on a dissertation topic of the student’s choice.
Research proposal	An outline of a potential topic and plan for a future dissertation or research project.
Literature review	A critical synthesis of existing research on a topic, usually written to inform the approach of a new piece of research.
Lab Report	A write-up of the aims, methods, results, and conclusions of a lab experiment.
Annotated bibliography	A list of source references with a short description or evaluation of each source.

 

Time management

The purpose of time management is supporting people in getting better quality and higher volume of work in minimum time. It is the science of coordinating tasks and activities to maximize the effectiveness of an individual’s efforts.

Time management is beneficial in many ways. Planning a schedule, preparing a ‘to-do’ list and thereafter following that helps in monitoring the progress and reduces stress. If someone can manage time effectively, he spends minimum time of unimportant work and focuses on the priorities- thereby delivering quality output. Ones who manage time effectively meet the goals and objective in lesser time and thereby gathering getting extra time to spend on hobbies and other areas of personal interest.

The most practical time management skills are.

1. Set smart goals.
2. Prioritize
3. Use the Power Hour
4. Batch similar tasks together
5. Delegate tasks
6. Schedule the To-Do list
7. Set up deadlines.
8. Block out distractions.
9. Stop multitasking.
10. Learn to say NO.
11. Leverage
12. Track the time spent.
13. Take regular breaks.
14. Deal with stress wisely.

 

Avoiding plagiarism

Plagiarism is using someone else’s words or ideas without properly giving the due credit to the original author. Though often it happens accidentally, through carelessness or forgetfulness, sometimes it is done intentionally by stealing the work of someone else.

Plagiarism can be avoided if someone follow the following basic principles:

Don’t delay the research and assignment and get into time-pressure which may lead to poor research and wrong decisions.

If one doesn’t understand the task, take the help of competent people instead of compromising on research and quality.

Be thorough in taking notes. Keep a good record of the sources consulted and ideas taken including illustrations, charts and tables. While writing a thesis, these information are needed for bibliographies and references cited.

Good paraphrasing can avoid plagiarism but that would require genuine understanding of the original source and one has to ensure one is genuinely using his own words and not copying from other sources.

 

For a new writer, there is no dearth of a topic. All you have to do is to make up your mind and write. If you want, you can write essays or short non-fictional pieces where you can share personal experiences offering analysis or opinion on any issue. These are great starting points for a new writer and can be published in various places. The next option is writing a Blog- where the writing can be less formal and more concise. Poetry is a lyrical expression of human thought- many emotionally driven writers start their journey by writing poems. Essays if written in fiction format can give birth to Short Stories- many writers landed up writing one short story and thereafter many more. If someone has a great plot in mind and is confident about weaving all the characters of the plot together, he might try writing a Novel on the first go. The most important thing is to decide on what topic to choose to write about as that is the biggest confusion in the mind of the beginner. However, the beginner must keep in mind a few things when he starts writing. He has to decide whether he would narrate personal experiences or an issue or share just a story.

Beginner’s Guide to Writing a Book

Whatever format the person chooses to write, the most important is the preparation part. It is very important to increase vocabulary as while writing, a person stumbles not finding the right word to use and this happens with any person who lacks vocabulary. And to add vocabulary, one has to read a lot- particularly the ones written by successful authors. If you decide to write, never stop learning about writing and never leave a chance to read. Practice makes a man perfect is just not a proverb but a reality- if a person aspires to write, he should practice writing whenever he gets a chance. Ideally in his initial days of practice, one should write a small piece on a small topic. With time, he can add on the size and weave more topics together to build up the skill. Research work is extremely important as research improves the quality and enhances knowledge. However, one should always give credit to the source of reference and not infringe ideas of others- ethics is a very important word to be kept in mind by any writer. And always remember the writing is complete only after checking the grammar and originality. Do a check on these- online tools are there to help in this regard.

Writing techniques for non-writers

If you want to write, you have to become anti-social. If are confident that you can switch yourself off from the distractions of social media and socializing, only then you can write. This is extremely important as you have to set a deadline for yourself in writing. If you don’t do that, you shall be the owner of many half-done cakes, but not a single one that would be tasty and can be eaten. It is also very important to write with the end in the mind- if the ending is abrupt and not a smooth-sailing, the readers shall not be glued to you- after all, everyone wants to reach a destination after a journey! Hence it is wise to start small and not complicated. Ensure the writing is like talking only- after all it is your pen talking to the paper and others are listening- that is what is good writing. It is important to know what the audience needs- talk in that language and have that content in your writing. It is also important to write what you know and are confident about- do not write about a subject that is not your comfort area as that would strangle the writer within you.  Keep practicing writing and keep on practicing till the time you know you are ready to write. And there is no substitute for reading. Keep reading and enhance your knowledge- the more knowledge you gather, the better you emerge as a writer. And for writing, keep a plan ready- which you shall build up while practicing and reading. Don’t use fluffy words or overused phrases and words while writing. It is also important not to be elitist- your writing is not the platform to exhibit your vocabulary. Be lucid, crisp, and straight.

Creative writing strategies for Novices

It is important to identify the right environment where you are at your creative best. Choose that place to write. Keep writing in a free-flowing way whatever is coming to your mind. It is important to know about the characters you want to write about so that your writing journey is smooth. Draft as many a time it is not perfect- never shy from this thinking it to be a pressure. Keeping a log help in keeping smoothness in the content of the writing. Explore the emotions within yourself to the maximum as that help in writing quality. If you have a good storyline and a main character in mind, start from there itself. A hot topic- on a social or political issue may be a compelling way to start the story. A unique idea sells best- hence try to write something unique and never written before. Write daily and make writing a habit. Don’t try to write perfectly- just keep writing not disturbing the flow of the writing; correction is to be done later. Finally the most important one- be open to criticism. Accept the criticism for the betterment of your writing.

Overcoming writer’s block

Writer’s block is a natural phenomenon for an author and all persons in performing art have undergone this at some point in time. One cannot be equally productive around the year- so it is wise to accept it and overcome the block- ensuring its durability is minimum. For this, the most important thing is to make writing a habit- you have to write every day. Broadening the space helps a lot- find out the spaces where you are most comfortable and use those places for writing.  Don’t sit staring blankly at the sheet or the screen as that would make you more nervous- instead speak to a friend with whom you are comfortable. Write at that time of the day when you are most comfortable and stay away from distractions as much as possible. When you are not writing, keep reading- that would later contribute to your writing in some form or the other. Don’t worry about writing when you are unable to write- instead, keep yourself busy in some other job that would keep your mind away from writing! Failing is a part of life- never take it to heart; that would not add any value but instead shall keep making you feel frustrated and make you lose confidence in yourself.

Tips for writing a book with no experience

Keep taking notes on the subject you want to write about. When the note is adequate, make a simple outline where you would write what you want to write about and about whom you want to write. Also, write on the time you want to capture and the place which you want to keep as background. Keep reading on the subject you want to write on keeping a check on how the other authors have managed the subject. Do not start writing the entire book in one go as that would create confusion in your mind; to start with, write about your own experiences in a creative way. Do not get discouraged as this would kill the writer within you- it is just natural that your first book shall not do well. There is no harm in learning from other writers hence learn as much as possible. It is wise not to experiment with the first novel but instead follow the tested path.

Tips to get started with writing a book

First, you have to identify why you want to write the book and which idea you would love to write. Keep researching the works of other writers. Build up an outline of the story and plan the opening sentence of the novel. Complete the first draft of the writing ignoring whether it is messy or not- it cannot be perfect and you have to accept it. Instead, hire a good editor. Format the book properly and come up with a good title. Build a good cover and build a launch team. Keep getting ongoing positive reviews. Finally, take the help of a mentor for the final push.

 

An eBook or electronic book is a reflowable non-editable book that is converted to a digital format to be displayed and read on any electronic or digital device like computer screens or mobile devices thereby ensuring protection and safety to the author. More people are reading eBooks than ever before. Their lower cost and more portable nature mean that they now account for 30 percent of all book sales in the United States.

But it’s not all good news for consumers. Unlike MP3s, which you can throw onto any music player and expect to work, eBooks are a maze of proprietary and open standard formats. To complicate matters further, not all e-readers support all formats.

eBooks are normally available in specific formats. The most widely accepted formats are.

EPUB (.epub) format

MOBI (.mobi) format

AZW (.azw) and AZW3(.azw3) format

IBA(.iba) format

PDF(.pdf)

Understanding eBook Formats

1. EPUB

The most widely adopted eBook file format is EPUB. This was initially conceptualized by the International Digital Publishing Forum (now part of the World Wide Web Consortium), and this format superseded the old Open eBook format (OEB) in 2007.

Because this format EPUB is free to use, open standard, and vendor-independent, it has grown leaps and bounds and has emerged as the most common eBook format. Though not always used, it can even support color images, SVG graphics, interactive elements, and full videos.

This is the eBook equivalent of the trusty MP3-both positively and negatively. Nearly all computer operating systems and mainstream e-readers support this format; however, publishers can also wrap it in any DRM system of their choosing.

And the downside? Amazon Kindle devices- the most popular eBook platform cannot read it (however, the Kindle Fire tablet can read them). If you have a book in the EPUB format that you want to read on your Kindle, the format needs to be changed to make it readable.

2. MOBI

With EPUB, the MOBI format also grew out of the old OEB format. French company Mobipocket introduced this in 2000 and with time it went on to form the basis of its Mobipocket Reader software.

Amazon bought the company in 2005 and nurtured them to flourish till October 2016, when Amazon finally shut down Mobipocket’s website and servers, but the MOBI format continues to live on.

Of the few key differences between EPUB and MOBI, the most important is it is not an open standard and hence is not publicly available. It also cannot support video or sound.

All major e-readers can read them except the Barnes and Noble Nook.

3. AZW and AZW3

The two proprietary eBook formats of Amazon are the AZW and AZW3 extensions. AZW started its journey alongside the first Kindle back in 2007. AZW3 is the younger one and started its journey in 2011 when the Kindle Fire reader was released.

Whenever anyone buys or downloads an eBook from Amazon, he receives it on his device in one of the two formats. AZW3 is more advanced than AZW as it supports more styles, fonts, and layouts.

Both formats are extremely like the MOBI format. Likely, Amazon bought Mobipocket with the intention that it could use the underlying technology as the basis for its AZW format. Unlike MOBI, the Amazon formats support both sound and video.

AZW is not as widely supported on e-readers as EPUB and MOBI as it is proprietary. Hence all of Amazon’s Kindle products can read the format, but other popular devices such as the Nook and Kobo e-readers cannot.

Android and iOS can both read AWZ, and it’s also readable on popular eBook management apps like Calibre and Alfa.

4. IBA

IBA is another common proprietary eBook format and is used for books that are created in Apple’s iBooks Author app.

This format is quite similar to EPUB from the technical angle- though it mostly relies on custom widget code in the Apple Books app for functioning and hence can’t be universally read on all e-readers.

This format is only used for books written in iBooks Author. If someone buys a few best-selling eBooks from the iTunes store, they shall be delivered in the EPUB format (though they will be DRM-restricted).

The iBook format supports video, sound, images, and interactive elements.

5. PDF

The last and most widely circulated eBook format in circulation is PDF. Because of the format’s wide acceptance about adoption around the web, PDFs are the most popular way of delivering eBooks.

The biggest drawback of this format is the lack of native reflowing. Reflowing is the common terminology to describe when a file can adapt its presentation according to the size of the screen or the settings a user selected.

All the dedicated eBook formats offer reflowing based on the sequence of objects in the content stream. The PDF format can turn the lack of regular reflowing by using tags to define the underlying structure of a document. However, tagged PDFs are still not well supported by eBook readers.

On the positive side, PDF became ISO 32000 back in 2008 and is the second format of the list that’s an open standard.

Difference between eBook formats

eBook Conversion

An eBook conversion is a process when a hard copy of a book or document is made into a digital format such as HTML, Mobi, PDF, etc. the services in eBook conversions include processes like print to a digital copy, documents, articles, magazines, and so on to eBooks. The latest services include interactive and multimedia elements made mostly for this digital version. The process of eBook conversion is very lengthy and requires attention to detail and skills in digital formatting. The entire process of correctly formatting and organizing the relevant information is inclusive of scanning the hard copy or data source and thereafter converting it into the required digital format.

The process of eBook conversion is very lengthy and requires attention to detail and skills in digital formatting. The entire process of correctly formatting and organizing the relevant information is inclusive of scanning the hard copy or data source and thereafter converting it into the required digital format.

Only high-quality scanners and specific programs are used by professional publishers to make this process more comfortable, but it is time-consuming.

How can eBook Conversion Benefit your Book?

Some people hold more value in reading a physical book, but the more the number of people get adapted to either a paperback or a Kindle, the better for all books and the authors who write them.

This argument also neglects the various accessibility aspects that having a digital copy available provides. If you were to consider every potential consumer, you would need to have printed books, audiobooks, and eBooks. But eBooks allow us to make one version for all users instead of having a print edition, a braille edition, a large print edition, and an audiobook. With eBooks, we can include everyone in our audience in just one format.

Authors, can broaden their reach, increase reader engagement, lower costs, and sell more by converting their books into longer-lasting, updateable eBooks.

Choosing the right eBook format

The first and most important issue for an eBook format is it should offer a good reading experience, in whichever format it is in, should have the support of both publishers and hardware vendors, and be guaranteed to work for the foreseeable future period. Unfortunately, there isn’t one.

However, if one wants to choose the eBook format depending on the device’s compatibility, then for Android, Sony Reader, and Nook (of any type), EPUB is the best. For PC, Mac, iPhone, and iPad- it is wise to choose PDF or EPUB format. And if it is Kindle or Kindle Fire devices, MOBI or PDF are the best options.

eBook formatting

eBook formatting is a standard design process that turns eBooks’ text and images into an attractive layout for readers to enjoy. It is quite like designing and formatting printed books, but here it is focused solely on the books in the digital space.

There are essentially 6 steps in formatting an eBook:

1. Import the fully edited manuscript.
2. Format the chapter titles and paragraphs.
3. Add images, page breaks, and endnotes.
4. Upload the book cover in the correct size.
5. Set the table of contents and copyright page.
6. Export the print and eBook files.

 

• Choose a topic that matches your audience’s needs.
• Outline each chapter of your eBook.
• Break down each chapter as you write.
• Design your eBook.
• Use the right colors.
• Incorporate visuals.
• Highlight quotes or stats.
• Place appropriate calls to action within your eBook
• Convert it into a PDF.
• Create a dedicated landing page for your eBook.
• Promote your eBook and track its success.

And while doing so, always keep in mind:

1. Stick to the brand guidelines.
2. Keep the front cover simple, yet eye-catching.
3. Think about your eBook thumbnail.
4. Use different font sizes to guide your readers.
5. Don’t forget the images.
6. Use custom graphics.
7. White space is your best friend.
8. Don’t go too overboard with lots of colors.
9. Make it sharable.
10. Make it unique.