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HomeShop at BookSurgeJuvenile FictionHOW TO SELF-PUBLISH YOUR BOOK WITH BOOKSURGE FOR LESS $$$: A Step-by-Step Guide for Designing & Formatting Your Microsoft Word Book to POD & PDF Press Specifications |
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5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
A godsend from Edwin Scroggins Feb 27, 2009
As a person who owned a technical writing and publishing company in the early days of personal computers, I have to say that. Edwin Scroggins must have been a technical writer in a previous life. His instructions for designing and preparing files for digital production are clear, concise and organized in a way that makes the task easy, even for neophytes. When writing a book such as this, it is easy to follow one track through the process -- the track that you used for your own book -- but Mr. Scroggins gives you other options as well. I especially appreciate the fact that the book tells you what tasks need to be completed before other tasks are started. Before buying the book, I had to go back and start my project over several times, because I didn't do things in the right order. I could go on all day praising the value of this book, instead I suggest that you buy the book and find out for yourself how very helpful it is.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Valuable Resource Feb 21, 2009
This is a fantastic book for anyone in publishing. Whether you choose to self-publish with BookSurge, submit to a traditional publisher, or publish completely on your own--this book has a lot to offer.
The first half of the book is worth the price, on its own. It takes you through a step-by-step process of formatting your book to look completely professional. Scroggins lists the standard formatting for every page of a book, from the half title and full title sheets, that belong in the front matter, to inserting page numbers and chapter titles in the headers and footers. The writer has really done his homework here, and doesn't miss a single detail.
While walking the reader through formatting requirements, he also offers useful tips for using the tools in MS Word, explains how to build a proper book block, and includes instruction for using images and photos in a document.
This book will remain in the "quick-grab" section of my bookshelf, alongside my Roget's Thesaurus and my Chicago Manual of Style. Five Stars.
5 of 6 found the following review helpful:
Phenomenal Book for Self-Publishing, Not Just with BookSurge, but also for LSI Dec 27, 2008
I just finished reading Edwin Scroggins's* book on self-publishing, and I thought it was incredible. It contains the following chapters:
1. Publishing with BookSurge
2. Formatting Your Pages with MicroSoft Word
3. Designing Your Book Block
4. Inserting Your Manuscript
5. Preparing and Inserting Images
6. Inserting Section Breaks
7. Inserting Page Numbers
8. Inserting Text into Headers
9. Editing and Reviewing Your Book Block
10. Designing Your Book's Covers to BookSurge's Specifications
11. Signing up with BookSurge
12. Converting Your Word Files to PDF with Adobe Acrobat
13. Submitting Your PDF Files to BookSurge
14. Nurturing Your Book on Amazon
Although I'm a Lightning Source publisher, I wish I had had this book when I was formatting my first self-published book. I learned how to format my book from Aaron Shepard's "Perfect Pages." The main difference between Shepard's and Scroggins's books is that Shepard's book is more of a reference on the subject of book formatting that explains everything you need to know. Scroggin's book tells you only what you need to know, and every step is explained in great detail. So even if you don't publish with BookSurge, this book can still be a great help if you self-publish with Lightning Source.
I believe that this is currently the only book that explains how to format a book in Word 2007. I found myself faced with many of the problems the author had when using Word 2007. And I also found myself very frustrated when it came time to insert page numbers and headers. Although I eventually figured how to do so, I could've saved myself a lot of headache had I had this book.
Another great aspect of this book is Scroggins's explanation of section breaks. I have published three books without using section breaks. Although you probably couldn't tell by looking at them, inserting chapters would have been much easier if I had used the section break option. And the explanation of unlinking the sections is very valuable. I believe I spent two hours trying to figure that out.
Apparently, BookSurge has PDF conversion option for its authors. That's one good thing they have over Lighting Source. There are ways of converting a Word file to PDF that are free, but it's a good idea to ask other authors if they have had success with it.
Here comes my only criticism of this book. Scroggins recommends that you buy "Sell Your Book On Amazon" and "Aiming At Amazon"" to learn how to promote your book. However, I do not recommend "Sell Your Book On Amazon" under any circumstance**. Since "Aiming At Amazon" is more geared towards Lightning Source publishers, I recommend "Plug Your Book" if you plan on self-publishing with BookSurge. But the sections on book promotion in "Aiming At Amazon" are still worth the price.
If you plan on self-publishing with BookSurge, definitely get this book along with "Perfect Pages" and "Plug Your Book." If you plan on going with Lightning Source, this book along with "Perfect Pages" is still a good idea, in addition to "Aiming At Amazon" and "Plug Your Book."
Brandon Simpson
*Although Scroggins ends in an -s, it is still necessary to add an apostrophe and another -s since I'm forming the possessive of a singular proper noun. (This is according to the MLA Handbook by Joseph Gibaldi- page 91)
**Read my review of "Sell Your Book On Amazon"
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