A dedicated viewer of HGTV and budget-conscious person, I like to watch the High Low Project with Sabrina Soto. During each episode, Sabrina and her assistant decorate a space with high-end furnishings and trimmings, then recreate it on a shoestring budget. Bottom line: You needn’t spend a lot to look like you broke the bank. And you can apply this same idea to publishing. Recently, I reviewed a manuscript for a potential client. Her intriguing story needed work, so I gave her a sample edit—and a bid that didn’t fit her budget. The writer lamented the fact that she might not be able to afford the professional help needed to publish the quality book she wanted. Many writers fail to count the cost before they begin. They also fail to explore options that may whittle huge expenses into affordable services. How can they create their own high-low publishing project? Join a writer’s group, but be selective. Visit them. Are they a good fit for you and your work? (Check out both loca...

This past month I arrived at the narrow end of the editing funnel, where we examined all of the final finicky details. Copyedits Thankfully, considering I’m an editor, I received a pretty light copyedit. Comments from two copyeditors dotted my manuscript. Even though I recommend that my clients spell out all numerals, I had applied my own advice inconsistently. I had to decide when God was the almighty or the god of casual “oh my—” usage. My “blonde” was changed to “blond.” I surrendered a few commas, they traded a few back. One editor pointed out the possible unintentional humor in the sentence, “By the time we got to the butt-blaster, Angela looked pooped.” I had two weeks to address these edits and make any other final changes. Template review My first glimpse at the interior design and all its elements! Everything looked great. Because my book quotes "articles" written by a character who is a dance critic, and in one place contains a formal invitation, we had a lit...

By Dani Greer/Chief Red Pencil Welcome to the Blood-Red Pencil blog, readers. How's the year going for you so far? We have exciting news from Kathryn Craft this month about her new book, which she's been blogging about here, and it ties right into one of our new monthly features: Cover Reveal! Good cover art is so important to the success of your book, and you've probably noticed with e-books that a bad cover can sometimes keep you from buying, or even downloading a free book. I know I'm that way. But it's a lot easier to "re-cover" from a bad art choice with e-books than with a print version, and long-time BRP blogger, Helen Ginger, will share her before and after re-covery of Angel Sometimes later in the month. (I think that joke now qualifies as a "darling", don't you? Let's kill it and hope it never recovers.) I've kept my eyes open for good book cover artists over the past few years, and have noticed someone lately who ...

Even those of us who've purchased e-readers miss certain aspects of the print book. Perhaps it's the paper: its color, texture, or ragged edge. Perhaps it's the elegance of the font, or design of the headers. As we pay homage this month to the print book, I wanted to take a look at the unsung hero of book beauty and reading comfort: the book designer. Assisting me is Glen Burris , of Baltimore, MD, an award-winning book designer who has worked for Johns Hopkins University Press for more than twenty years. ~ Kathryn : What exactly does a book designer do? Who do they collaborate with, and how does their work fit into the production of a book? Glen : A book designer takes an edited manuscript and, using his or her expertise, determines the appearance of the printed book. This involves determining the page layout (page margins and type area), type specifications (sizes and appearance of the text, titles and subheads), sizes and positions of any art, and layout of display p...

I was having lunch with an old friend of mine yesterday, and the conversation turned to writing, editing and publishing. This was hardly surprising, since she's a professor of English at a nearby university, and I'm returning to contract teaching after a long stint as a book editor and designer. (I'm not quitting; in my life jobs tend to accrete rather than change. Now I'll be a book designer and editor who also writes books and teaches College Writing.) I had taken along a book published on CreateSpace, and as we talked she flipped through it. "Beautiful pictures," she said. And they were. Furthermore, the type was clean and crisp, the production values of the book (things like overall print quality, straightness of crops, color balancing, and so forth) were excellent. "I have a friend who might be interested in self-publishing," she said. "But it's just text. How does that compare?" I picked up one of the mid-grade paperback b...

We live in the days of Kindle. There's no denying that e-book readers have much to offer; users can carry thousands of books around with them. Cost of production is virtually eradicated. And the trees saved…well, as I said, there are many good reasons to invest in an e-book reader, and use it regularly. But here's another thing. The most popular e-book readers--like Kindle--don't support graphics. Users are offered a few simple type options, and a range of sizes, and that's pretty much it. The thinking is that this reduces file size, I think, and is supposed to enhance reading efficiency. It also strips books of their visual elements--their illustrations, their page layouts, and their font stylings. Does this matter? Well, yes. Quick now, which of these words is the "holiest?" Which of these was written by someone in tie-dye and a medallion, which by someone wearing barrettes, and which by men laying the foundations of a nation? A book's design--...

As self-publishing becomes more common and accepted  in the book world, all of the responsibilities of producing an excellent product fall on the author's shoulders. Beyond hiring an independent editor and handling marketing, the job of creating the book cover as well as book design within falls on our shoulders. Alas, most of us are ill-equipped to tackle these crucial elements ourselves. Today we welcome Sherry Wachter of Magic Dog Press, a professional artist and book designer and herself a published author. She'll cover many aspects of this important issue in future posts - because a good book cover and interior layout can help ensure the success of your book, whether self-published or not. Welcome, Sherry! ~~~~~ A good book cover is more than just a matter of prettying up the outside of your book. It is your first--and quite possibly your last--opportunity to turn browsers into buyers. If you're considering designing your own cover you ...