Publishing School 301: Formatting your book
Tools every self-publisher needs
Griffith Publishing offers
custom services with
unlimited
one-on-one consultation.
We've been helping
authors
publish their books
since 1988.
Your book may not even look like a book!
Your choices start with paper or non-paper. Non-paper options available today include e-books and web publishing, CD-ROMs and DVDs, Kindle books, books you can read on your PDA or other hand-held device, narrated books, and anything else you can think of. These days we have a wealth of versatile and graphic ways to present many types of technical or highly visual content for training or entertainment. Training and motivational materials are often presented in slides with video segments and posted online for 24/7 availability.
A fast-growing sector of publishing today is audio books on CDs or tape. You can make your new book or one that has already been published into an attractive, professionally produced audio book with a relatively small investment. Hiring a professional reader raises the price as well as the quality of your production.
Depending on how diverse and important your readers are to you, you may wish to provide your book's content as a printed book as well as a CD or DVD, an online live or archived event, and an e-book. Each of these formats has associated benefits and challenges. Your publishing consultant should be able to help you make the best decision for your book's format.
Once you choose to produce a book printed on paper, you still have several options. Keep in mind, however, that probably 90 percent of books by self-publishing authors fall in the first category, below.
1. Paperback book with perfect binding and full-color cover
2. Book with hard cover and full-color dust jacket
3. Short book or pamphlet with saddle stitching (staples)
4. Book with plastic or metal spiral binding
5. Stapled coloring book or comic book
Most publishing consultants, including Griffith Publishing, will be happy to format and produce a book as an e-book or other format at the author's request.
Then there's POD (print on demand)
We've set up a special page to discuss the pros and cons of print-on-demand books. Be sure to go there before you order a POD book from us or anyone else.
And what about your book?
Tell us about it.
We'd love to hear from you. Call us any time at 800 359-9503. Or send us email (hodi@mindspring.com).