The Publishing Journey

Many authors tell me, “All I want to do is write.  I don’t want to take the time away from my writing to figure out what an ISBN number is and where it should be placed, or how to format the copyright page, or how to generate a barcode for the back of the book, or how to typeset all the chapters, or …” (the list goes on and on). We get that.

When I produced my first book, I was absolutely amazed at the hundreds of decisions to be made to get that book off my hard-drive and into the hands of readers.  We exist to make your book a reality.  Our goal is to help authors with all the decisions that need to be made.  We want to build a collaborative working relationship with an author so that we can both be proud of the finished product.

We know each book has undergone hours and hours of your time as you’ve written and rewritten until you feel it’s finally done.

Our process starts with a careful review of your manuscript where we talk about your goals for the book. We try to assess how you view your target market – who did you have in mind as the reader when you were at the kitchen table doing the writing. We will talk about your “musts” and “wants” and any concerns you have about the project, process, and timeline. Depending on the project’s scope, we will provide a draft proposal to include recommendations, and a cost estimate. We will submit this within 10 days of the initial walk-through. From that point, it is yours to review and decide if we move forward, or to answer any questions you might have about the proposal, or anything else you’re pondering.

It’s our goal to meet your expectations, but never by sacrificing quality. Honesty is always our best policy and if we feel a particular request won’t be appropriate or cost-effective, we will suggest alternatives or modifications that will work for your tastes and project.

Are you curious about the stages a book goes through from beginning to end?  Read on.

Publishing Timeline

A book starts with an idea in the mind of the author and ends with a marketable book (in paper or electronic format).  But along the way there are many stages the book travels through.  At a high level, it looks like this:

1. A story, an idea, a theme
2. Author writes manuscript
3. Manuscript is “done”
4. Manuscript review
5. Edits suggested
6. Edits implemented
7. Manuscript is final
8. Cover design begins
9. Back cover created
10. Bar code is ordered
11. ISBN number assigned
12. Copyright and Library of Congress numbers applied for
13. Decisions:
    1. Hardback, paperback, ebook, POD
    2. Hardback/paperback size determined
14. Internal formatting begins
    1. Copyright page created
    2. Front matter created (things like copyright page, table of contents, endorsements pages, etc.)
    3. Back matter created (things like a Glossary, Appendices, Author Contact Page, etc.)
15. Cover Design Finalized
16. Back Cover Finalized (ISBN number and bar code properly sized and positioned)
17. Ebook formatting occurs
18. Ebook (cover and text) uploaded to e-book reader platform (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.)
19. Book order takes place
20. Marketing begins!

Now that you see all the steps, what is it you want to do?  Let’s talk.