Tag: print book formatting

Formatting: What an Author Should Do and Know

Um, it’s not supposed to look like that.

In today’s ever-changing publishing landscape, new ways of doing things are popping up constantly. But doing a good job should never change.

You can choose to format your own books, or, you can pay to have it done professionally. Either way, you should do a little research and understand what needs to be done.

John Low, the founder of EBook Launch (the company most recommended by Smashwords for formatting) provides some insight to authors in his article What Do Formatting Companies Require from Authors and Why.

Melissa Bowersock talks about eBook formatting consistency in her article entitled Book Formatting Checklist.

Watch this space for updated articles on how to work with formatters and how to do it yourself. Meanwhile, visit I’ve Written a Book, How Do I Publish It for other informative articles in the formatting section.

Tips: Top Ten Common Book Mistakes

Between the submissions we receive here at Indies Unlimited and the ones I receive for consideration for the Hurricane Sandy Library Recovery project, I’ve vetted close to 200 books in the past two weeks. Yes, my eyes are tired, and there’s a slight chance I may be just a teeny tiny bit cranky.

I’m noticing a lot of common errors while reviewing the previews of these books, which I’m going to list below. People complain (no, I don’t know which people, just people, all right?) that indie and self-published books don’t meet the same level of quality as traditionally published books. I don’t believe that can be made as a blanket statement. What I will tell you, however, is that these errors are DEAD giveaways that a book is a not-so-high-quality self-published product. Isn’t the goal ultimately that someone can pick up an indie book and a traditionally published book and not be able to tell the difference? Well, let’s do away with the issues below and we’ll be well on our way. Continue reading “Tips: Top Ten Common Book Mistakes”