Having read up everything I could find on self publishing and sent off for and received quotes that would entail taking out a mortgage, I decided to do everything myself: convert the book into ebook and design the paperback. The only things I paid for were for editing and cover design. (This not necessarily a path I would recommend unless you have plenty of time and endless patience.)<\/p>\n Self publishing is ideal for family historians for the following reasons:<\/p>\n Print on Demand (POD), which means your manuscript is stored on some electronic device and only printed out when someone orders it, has revolutionised the publishing business. The unit cost of a book is the same whether you order one copy or five hundred. No book goes out of print, and there is no wastage.<\/p>\n However whether or not you decide to buy in professional services or advice it\u2019s important to have a clear idea of what you are looking for with your book. There are sharks out there who are only too happy to charge a small fortune for not very much indeed.<\/p>\n Having done a lot of asking around two companies cropped up frequently, known to offer an efficient, professional and trustworthy service.<\/p>\n Matador\u2019s charges are (according to\u00a0Choosing a Self-Publishing Service,\u00a0<\/em>published by ALLi)<\/p>\n They do not provide editors,\u00a0but they do offer marketing and the possibility of getting your book into bookshops (apparently).<\/p>\n SilverWood\u2019s charges are similar, though I\u2019m told they offer a slightly more personal service, and they don\u2019t take on every book.<\/p>\n Also worth considering:<\/p>\n A husband and wife team who offer cover design (at \u00a3240), book interior design, setting up of websites, marketing etc.<\/p>\n At the high end of the market:<\/p>\n A bespoke, personal service for print books only, offering everything from ghost writing to editing to the end production of a beautiful work of art, printed on paper of your choice, handbound in leather or anything else you choose.<\/p>\n Before you approach any of these companies however:<\/p>\n EDITING: \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>Every writer needs an editor no matter how experienced or successful they are. There are three main types of editor:<\/p>\n There is a certain amount of blurring between these three tasks, but do not expect an editor to proofread your book. It is not his\/her job. She\/he may correct mistakes if they spot them but it is a different process altogether, and one a sharp-eyed friend might be able to do for you (as she did in my case).<\/p>\n For editors you could do worse than taking a look at the readers at the following manuscript assessment companies:<\/p>\n DESIGN of the book<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Received wisdom says do not try to create your own book cover unless you are an experienced graphic designer\u00a0or au fait with Photoshop or other graphic software. For cover designers:<\/p>\n Matador<\/strong> and\u00a0SilverWood<\/strong> also offer cover design.<\/p>\n In addition as one helpful participant suggested, it might be worth your while contacting local HE colleges for\u00a0 graphic design students who might offer their services at a modest fee, in return for experience\u00a0and publicity. (I have yet to check if this is possible.)<\/p>\n BOOK INTERIOR: \u00a0<\/span><\/strong>First, find a book whose layout you like to use as a template. Consider:<\/p>\n FRONT MATTER<\/strong>\u00a0: What goes before the main text. This is a matter of choice, but for ebooks certainly it\u2019s good to keep it\u00a0to a minimum (especially for readers who have downloaded a free sample). Mine are:<\/p>\n END MATTER<\/strong>\u00a0 : \u00a0What comes after the main text. Mine are:<\/p>\n You can also include reviews, if you have them, or \u00a0books you\u2019ve already written.<\/p>\n AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY: \u00a0<\/strong>This is important to readers, so it\u2019s a good idea to make yourself sound interesting and likeable!<\/p>\n BLURB: <\/strong>The blurb is crucial \u2013 it\u2019s what makes a person read a\u00a0book or pass on. Mine is on the back cover of my book, and also on my Amazon page.<\/p>\n The blurb also acts as a reminder of why you decided to write the book in the first place, and what it was made you think other people might like to read it!<\/p>\n Enough for now.\u00a0The sun is over the yardarm.<\/p>\n COMING NEXT:<\/strong>\u00a0 DOs and DON’Ts, marketing; ebooks etc.<\/p>\n As promised to the gentle folk at the Society of Genealogists on Saturday\u2019s workshop on self publishing, here are my notes,\u00a0posted in two parts. WHERE I am coming from What I know about self publishing… More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,11,20,24,29],"tags":[38,75,136,151,180,196,200,213],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/patsytrench.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/715"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/patsytrench.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/patsytrench.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patsytrench.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patsytrench.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=715"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/patsytrench.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/715\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/patsytrench.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patsytrench.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patsytrench.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"img094\"](\"https:\/\/selfpublishingforthetechnicallychallenged.files.wordpress.com\/2014\/02\/img094.jpg\")
<\/a>WHAT is self publishing?<\/h3>\n
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MATADOR: \u00a0\u00a0troubador.co.uk\/matador.asp<\/a><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
SILVERWOOD\u00a0<\/span> www.silverwoodbooks.co.uk\/packages<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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What you need to think of<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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