|
|
Self-Publishing
A Children's Book
 |
The
information contained on this page is specifically directed to those
who are self-publishing a children's book. We have reduced the process into
six simple steps. If you have any questions and would like to speak
directly with one of our customer service representatives, please click
here.
|
Table
Of Contents
Self-Publishing Your Children's Book
First
Step – Writing Your
Children's
Book
Those
who have undertaken the task of writing a children's book will often
say that computer software posed a significant challenge to them. This
is why at the outset, we recommend using software that is user
friendly and designed to work with the larger files that are common
with many children's book projects. Below, we have provided a list of
the most common software used for creating a family history book. The
list is complete with comments and a rating system of 1 - 4 stars.
Do not use 2 or more varieties of
software to produce your manuscript. Choose one type of software and
stick with it. If the software you have originally chosen is causing
problems, we would suggest copying the files to a Microsoft Word
document. While Microsoft Word is not a perfect software, we have
found it to be among the most stable.
Use
a single computer. Using 2 or more computers or a variety of software
can cause a number of problems with your file, the most serious being
text-re-flow. Text Re-flow is the repositioning of text on the page. This
problem is not insurmountable but is avoidable. Using
a single software on a single computer will minimize the risk of
developing problems like this later on.
Software
We
have listed a variety of the most common software used to create your
children's book. We have rated each type of software according to its
performance.
| SOFTWARE |
COMMENTS |
RATING |
|
|
|
Microsoft
Word
|
(Most
common) (90%)
|
|
Microsoft
Works
|
(Similar
to Word - Not as stable with large file sizes)
|
|
Microsoft
Publisher
|
(Serious
text re-flowing problems - Very Unstable - Many
service providers will not accept Publisher files)
|
|
Adobe
PageMaker
|
(Large
learning curve - Problems in transferring files
Seldom used)
|
|
Adobe
InDesign & Quark Express
|
(Large
learning curve - The best, but also the most expensive)
|
|
Corel
WordPerfect
|
(Possibly
the most user friendly but not compatible with commercial
printing presses ) |
|
Unfortunately for users of Corel WordPerfect, font restrictions built
into the software make it very difficult to print the file on our
large commercial presses. We would strongly recommend copying the file
into another software such as Microsoft Word before proceeding.
If
you are interested in purchasing software to write your children's
book, we
would suggest you search online at ebay.
Second
Step – Editing Your Manuscript
Editing
is a term which simply means To
prepare (written material) for publication, as by correcting,
revising, or adapting. We
would strongly advise having your file edited before you submit your
manuscript to be produced. This is to avoid delays in printing due to
last minute corrections and the added cost of printing several proofs.
First, as a cost saving measure, we would suggest a friend or family
member who is qualified do the editing. Another option is to hire a
student from a local community college or University to do the
editing. A third option is to hire a professional editor. Although we
do not provide an editing service, we would be pleased to recommend a
qualified editor.
As the author, you should never do the final edit. If there are
mistakes you probably won’t catch your own mistakes, no matter how
many times you read through the manuscript.
Third
Step - Finding
An Illustrator
To
those who are getting their children's book published, searching
for an illustrator can be a difficult and
frustrating process. When looking for an illustrator, you should ask
to see a portfolio of his or her work. When selecting an illustrator
for your book, you should discuss the terms of your arrangement,
including price, then put these terms into writing. This will prevent
the terms from changing half way through the process. We would be
happy to refer illustrators to anyone requiring this service. Please
contact us toll free at 1-866-944-2999.
Fourth
Step – Choose
A Binding Style and Page Size For Your Children's book
Most
Children's books we produce are in the 8 1/2" x 8 1/2"
saddle stitch format. Saddle stitch is the type of binding that looks
like a paperback book but instead of the paperback style adhesive
binding, the book is held together with two staples on the very edge
of the spine. A saddle stitch book should have no more than 52 pages.
Most saddle stitch children's books are approximately 24 pages plus
cover. The 8 1/2" x 8 1/2" page style is excellent for
allowing the placement of illustration and text. Having said that,
there really are no hard and fast rules as to what page size or page
layout style is best.
Fifth
Step – Page Layout
Fonts
Choosing
font styles for your book is very important for both the appearance and
for transferring files for printing. The most common fonts used for
books are the Oldstyle fonts, as they are easily readable for large body
copy. Among the most common are Times Roman, Goudy, Garamond, and
Baskerville. Remember to choose a contrasting font for your
headings. A sans serif font such as Arial is a common choice. A sans
serif font is one without the "hooks" at the ends of each
letter. These "hooks" help to guide the eye from one letter to
another making the text easily readable. This is why sans serif fonts
such as Arial should never be used for the main body of the text.
Children's books are commonly set in a slab serif font, because of their
clean straight lines. Some common Slab serif fonts are New Century
Schoolbook, Classic SSK, and Clarendon.
Oldstyle
Slab Serif Arial
In regard to printing, it is
important to ensure that all fonts being used are resident in your
Windows font folder. This includes both bold and italicized versions of
each font. Simply using the bold or italicize commands on the toolbar
may not necessarily ensure the font is available. For example, Microsoft
Word will manufacture its own version of a font if it is not already
installed on your computer. If this is done, the bold font will appear
to be two images side by side when printed on a high quality digital
press. The italicized versions may not print at all. The simple solution
to font problems is to avoid unusual fonts such as Wing Dings and
Symbol, and stay with more common book fonts such as Times New Roman and Garamond.
Copyright,
ISBN
Copyright, ISBN, CIP, and Library of Congress information should be
placed on the page directly after the title page. This page is commonly known as the
copyright page. If you have decided to produce your own page layout, we
will check to make sure all the necessary information is included on
this page. For more information on copyright / ISBN and CIP applications
click here.
Scanning
In
order for illustrations to be added to your book,
they must first be scanned. For those who prefer not to scan their own
illustrations, we offer a complete scanning service which includes image
touch-up and adjustment for overexposed or underexposed images. For more
information on our scanning service click
here.
There are many brands of scanners available on the market. Even the most
inexpensive scanner will be able to produce the high quality images
needed for printing.
For
best results, illustrations should be scanned as 300 DPI TIFF or JPEG files.
Some
scanners automatically default to 72 DPI between uses so be careful.
Illustrations scanned and printed at 72 DPI would not be considered
acceptable for printing.
Higher
resolution is not necessarily better. A resolution over 300 DPI will
only increase your file size (sometimes dramatically) and cause your
computer to run more slowly.
Sixth
Step - Cover Design
As
with all books produced with us, we will provide you with a professional
cover design at no additional cost. Our designers invite your input in
the process and will work closely with you to create an outstanding
design for your children's book. For complete information on our cover design
process, click
here.
Pricing
Please
click
here to request a
quotation online or call us toll free at 1-866-944-2999 for an immediate
quotation.
Submitting
Your File For Printing
As
a rule, files can usually be saved on a 3.5” floppy disk or sent by
email. Files which exceed 5 megabytes in size should be burned onto a CD
or uploaded to our FTP site. FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol, and
it is an excellent way to send large files quickly and easily. Please
contact us for instructions on how to upload your file to our FTP site.
All books are kept on file and can be reprinted in
2 weeks.
For
information on sending your manuscript for self-publishing, please call us
toll free at
1-866-944-2999 to speak to a customer service
representative.
|
|
