Woordfees 2018 Skrywersfees

Transcription

1 Woordfees 2018 Skrywersfees n Ander manier van druk HB Thom-seminaarkamer Vrydag 9 Maart 15.30

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3 Selfpublikasie n paar strategiese vrae Wil jy self jou boek uitgee, vra jou eers n paar strategiese vrae af. Dit bepaal jou hele benadering. Is jou boek bedoel vir n klein en geslote kring wat jy maklik kan bereik, het jy al klaar n paar antwoorde. Ten minste wat die grootte van jou drukoplaag betref. Nog vrae: Wat sal mense bereid wees om vir jou boek te betaal? Kan jy hoop om jou belegging terug te kry? Hiermee saam gaan produksiewaardes, van die papier wat gebruik word tot die tipe omslag. Ons het by Tip Africa Publishing al n luukseboek in klein oplaag teen R800 per eksemplaar uitgegee. n Boekklubvriendin het n boekie met herinneringe en familiefoto s saamgestel wat R30 per eksemplaar gekos het. Jy kan die verskil tussen die twee sien, maar elkeen bereik sy doel. Is jou boek net vir familie en vriende bedoel, hoef jy nie noodwendig die duurste papier en tipograaf/ontwerper te gebruik nie, maar jy kan jou boek nog altyd mooi afrond. Wil jy hê jou boek moet op boekrakke te koop wees, is dit n ander storie. Dit sal jou loon om voor jy begin n baie deeglike sakeplan op te stel waarin jy vir professionele dienste begroot. SAKEPLAN Daardie sakeplan moet die volgende in gedagte hou: Wat gaan die skep van die inhoud jou kos? Is dit gedigte wat hoofsaaklik talent, pyn en trane kos? Of n resepteboek wat duur is omdat resepte getoets en professionele foto s geneem moet word? Wat gaan professionele dienste vir die uitgee van die boek jou kos? Wie se hulp het jy nodig. n Redakteur? n Subredakteur? n Uitlegkunstenaar wat ook as drukbestuurder kan optree? n Proefleser? By Tip Africa Publishing bied ons al hierdie dienste aan en het n span kundiges wat elke aspek hoogs professioneel hanteer. Baie ervare kuns- en redaksionele hoofde is vir gehaltebeheer verantwoordelik. Daarvoor gee ons jou n kwotasie wat ook ons uitgewersfooi insluit. Moet jy gebruik maak van een van die sogenaamde vanity - uitgewers, daardie uitgewers wat jou bystaan om jou boek teen minimale koste ontwerp en gedruk te kry? Ja, jy kan. Maar kyk goed na die gehalte van hul werk en hoe eties hulle optree, en praat met skrywers wat reeds by hulle uitgegee het. Ken jy iemand wat InDesign ken en aanbied om die boek spotgoedkoop uit te lê? Ligloop. Jy gaan kry waarvoor jy betaal het. 1

4 Wat gaan die drukwerk jou kos? Watter drukker gaan jy gebruik n plaaslike drukker of een in Singapoer of China? Digitaal? Dit hang baie af van die tipe publikasie. Gesels met ander skrywers wat dit al gedoen het, kry hulle raad, weeg kwotasies teen mekaar op. Daar is goeie digitale drukkers wat jy ook kan oorweeg om baie klein oplae so min soos 20 te druk. Die eerste uitgawe van On Top of Table Mountain het ons in n oplaag van 750 litografies laat druk; van die tweede druk af gebruik ons n digitale drukker vir n kleiner oplaag. Gaan jy ook n e-boek skep? Onderhandel met jou ontwerper daaroor om beide vir jou te hanteer. Wat gaan boekwinkels jou vra? Boekwinkels vra tussen 35 50% van jou omslagprys en die groot groepe soos Exclusive Books en Bargain Books koop nie regstreeks van klein uitgewers nie. Jy sal deur een van hul geregistreerde verskaffers moet werk, en dié vra ook kommissie. Wordsworth, Protea, Graffiti en boekwinkels soos The Book Lounge en Clarke s sal direk by jou koop, maar jy sal self reëlings vir aflewering moet tref. In baie gevalle betaal hulle jou eers ná drie maande en ook net vir die boeke wat verkoop is. Loot is wonderlik. Dis maklik om n boek deur hulle aanvaar te kry en hulle betaal jou maandeliks, soos wat die boek verkoop. Dis moeilik, indien nie onmoontlik nie, om jou boek self aan biblioteke voor te lê. Jy kan hulle nie direk nader nie, en moet dit deur goedgekeurde leweransiers doen, en ook daarby is kommissie ook betrokke. Dit is n groot nadeel vir ons wat self ons boeke uitgee. Jou verspreider wil gewoonlik minstens 150 boeke hê om te versprei, en jy word eers betaal as die boeke deur die boekwinkels verkoop is. Die verspreider hanteer gewoonlik net ook verkope, nie bemarking nie. Hoeveel moet jy vir bemarking begroot? Begroot vir bekendstellings, vir ete en drinke. Hoe meer bekendstellings jy kan reël, hoe beter. Begroot ook vir boeke aan resensente. As jy al hierdie vrae beantwoord het, en kwotasies gekry het vir elke diens wat jy nodig het, kan jy begin om jou prys vas te stel: Die prys waarteen die boek verkoop gaan word, sowel as die prys aan boekwinkels (gewoonlik so 40% van die omslagprys.) Bepaal hoeveel boeke jy moet verkoop om jou koste te verhaal, en waar jy n wins sal begin maak. Kan jy verwag om soveel boeke teen daardie prys te verkoop? Wees realisties. The President s Keepers kom een keer in n leeftyd. My eie ervaring hier. Ek was nie bereid om aan gehalte in te boet nie, en het dus deurentyd professionele mense gebruik: van n baie ervare 2

5 Engelssprekende sub om na die fyner nuanses van die taal om te sien tot by n uitstekende grafiese kunstenaar vir die illustrasies. Dit het my produksiekoste taamlik opgestoot. Die uitleg, drukbestuur, bemarking, verkope, verspreiding en administrasie is deur ons familie-onderneming, Paternoster Books, hanteer. Dis nou stap een. Jy het jou boek se prys bepaal en besluit wie se kwotasies jy gaan aanvaar. PRODUKSIE Waak oor elke stap van die proses. Laat die ontwerper vir jou n paar moontlikhede voorlê: n paar bladsye van die boek, en veral van die voorblad. Toets die voorblad wys dit vir n paar kennisse en vra wat hulle dink. Die voorblad moet maak dat die boek sommer van die rak af in jou hande spring. Proeflees die ontwerpte boek eers self. Gee dit dan aan n ervare proefleser. Moenie dat woorde vreemd afbreek of dat apostrowe hul eie rigting inslaan nie. Lees dit weer en weer nadat al die veranderinge aangebring is. Drie onafhanklike lesers is die beste. Maak seker jy het ISBN-nommers gekry vir die gedrukte sowel as die elektroniese weergawes. Lees ook weer die proewe deur wat die drukker aan jou verskaf. En kyk deeglik na alles. Die drukkersduiwel bestaan wel. Dis nie net n verskoning vir tikfoute nie. Jy het n publikasiedatum. Jy het jou verspreiding gereël en kan nou jou bemarkingsplanne in werking begin stel. BEMARKING Vergeet enige beskroomdheid oor jou eie werk. Leer SMOUS! Vooraf Begin by n webwerf. Skep of laat skep n webwerf vir jou boek. Laai soveel as moontlik inligting daarop. As jy kan, maak n video waarop jy meer oor jou boek vertel. Kry aanbevelings van mense wat die manuskrip gelees het. Stel n bemarkingsblaadjie saam waarop jy aan kopers en boekwinkels die nodige inligting verskaf. Reël meer as een bekendstelling. Daar is iets besonders aan n bekendstelling waarheen jy mense uitnooi, daaroor praat en jou boek met n persoonlike boodskap voorin vir hulle teken. So verkoop jy sommer met die wegspring n hele klomp boeke. 3

6 Beplan om deur Facebook, koerante en oor die radio te bemark. Gebruik elke enkele kontak wat jy het. Skep n Facebookblad waarop jy gereeld nuuswaardige stukkies inligting gekoppel aan jou boek, nuus oor die boek, bekendstellings, ens. met vriende deel. Vra hulle om dit verder te deel. Sorg dat wat jy plaas interessant genoeg is sodat mense nie omgee om dit te deel nie. Mik op een plasing per week, selfs meer, in die maand dat jou boek verskyn, daarna so een keer per maand. Maar moenie maande voor die boek op die rak gaan wees met jou bemarking begin nie. Jy kan hoogstens vooraf n aanduiding gee dat iets groots aan die kom is. Moenie suinig wees met jou inligting nie. Plaas n hoofstuk uit jou boek op die webwerf, stuur mense via Issuu daarheen. Verskaf inligting en foto s vir artikels aan koerante. (Hulle is veral in die Desembervakansie honger vir artikels en staan maklik n bladsy aan jou boek af.) Gee boeke in kompetisies weg. Maak geraas. My eie ervaring: Ek het mini-blogs oor byvoorbeeld die blomtyd van die rooi disa (met verwysing na die blomsoekers in On Top of Table Mountain) op Facebook gedeel. Toe die kabelspoor vir herstelwerk gesluit is, het ek die nuus gedeel en gesê, lees die boek en verbeel jou jy is op die berg. Ek het verder ook: Blogs vir nuusbriewe geskryf en boeke in kompetisies weggegee; Aan belangegroepe (soos Die Vriende van De Waal Park) boeke teen afslag verskaf, met n deel van die omslagprys wat na hulle gaan; Baie praatjies gelewer van die Bergklub tot by die Stigting-VOC en van n tuinbouklub tot by n boekklub met net sewe lede; Oor die radio gepraat en dadelik boekwinkels in die omgewing daarvan laat weet; Die boek in Paternoster se Oep ve Koep-winkel te koop aangebied, met n deel van die inkomste wat aan ons leesprojek vir die skool se kinders gaan; Altyd n paar boeke in my motor se kattebak gehou jy weet nooit wie jy raakloop wat belangstel in n boek nie. Die herdruk van my boek stel my nou in staat om dit deur verspreiders soos Xavier Nagel aan groot boekwinkels te stuur. Hulle maak aanspraak op 25% van die nettoprys (d.w.s. nadat die boekwinkels se kommissie afgetrek is). Met die koste van illustrasies, sub, uitleg en proeflees reeds betaal, kan ek nou daardie ekstra 25% kommissie bekostig. My volgende stap sal wees om die boek ook in digitale formaat uit te gee. 4

7 Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing het die grootste verspreidingsnetwerk en maak die proses baie eenvoudig. Hulle vereis net eksklusiwiteit vir hul e-boeke. Daar is ook ander verkoopsplatforms soos Smashwords, Draft2Digital en Gumroad wat skrywers kan oorweeg. ADMINISTRASIE Dit is tydrowend en vervelig, maar belangrik. Veral waar dit by Sars kom. Daar is talle belastingtoegewings vir skrywers, maar jy moet noukeurig boekhou. Jy moet ook stiptelik boekhou van jou inkomste en uitgawes om n greep op die hele proses te behou. En weet maar, daar gaan boekwinkels wees aan wie jy maand na maand state sal uitstuur en wat jou net sal ignoreer, en ander waar bestuurders weggaan en state in chaos los. Jy moet dus presies weet waar jy met elkeen staan om akkurate invordering te kan doen. SAMEVATTING Die grootste nadeel van selfpublikasie is die gebrek aan n kritiese redakteur. Jy kan jou vriende en medeskrywers om hul mening vra, maar hulle gaan hoofsaaklik dinge sê wat jou gelukkig gaan maak en jou nie terugstuur met die opdrag om die hele boek oor te skryf nie. Gelukkig is daar nou mense soos Louis Esterhuizen wat ook manuskripontwikkeling vir jou doen. Onthou net om daarvoor te begroot. As jy n beginnerskrywer is, is dit goed om n skryfkursus by te woon. (Die geluk is, vir skrywers is sulke dinge belastingaftrekbaar.) Probeer om jou boek so foutloos moontlik te kry. Lees en lees en herlees en moenie die manuskrip drukker toe stuur voor jy nie 100% seker is dis skoon nie. Lees ook die proewe baie deeglik deur. Jy sal verbaas wees oor die stommiteite wat drukkers kan aanvang. Wees wakker. Vra en vra en leer. Gaan soek boeke in die boekwinkel wat met jou praat, gebruik hulle om vir jou ontwerper n idee te gee van watter font en voorkoms jy verkies. Kyk watter drukkers goeie werk lewer. Ons het by Digital Action uitgekom omdat hulle Antjie Krog se Mede-wete so mooi versorg het. Vergelyk weer eens kwotasies en kontrakte met mekaar. Om n boek te maak, kan n taamlike belegging vereis. Maar oorweeg ook ruiltransaksies. Jy kan kundiges deels in kontant betaal, deels in voordele. Het jy n lekker strandhuis, kan jy n strandvakansie as gedeeltelike vergoeding vir jou ontwerper of fotograaf aanbied. Drukkers, helaas, dring aan op kontant. Vooruit. Die oomblik as jou boek verskyn, moet jy gereed wees om jou bemarking op elke enkele platform so goed as moontlik te doen. Gaan praat by elke groepie wat jou uitnooi. Moenie skaam wees om sosiale netwerkgroepe waaraan jy behoort te gebruik nie, maar gee iets van waarde wat sal sorg dat mense ook jou volgende 5

8 plasing sal lees. Vra jou vriende om jou eerste paar plasings te deel. Weet darem ook wanneer om op te hou. Darryl David met sy Boekbedonnerd bied n wonderlike geleentheid aan skrywers wat hul boeke self uitgee om hul boeke te bemark. Daar is ook nog ander boekfeeste wat jy kan oorweeg. Lesers hou van n mooi boek. Maak joune so mooi as moontlik. TIP AFRICA PUBLISHING PATERNOSTER BOOKS Ek en twee kollegas het Tip Africa Publishing tien jaar gelede tot stand gebring, aanvanklik om kliëntetydskrifte uit te gee, maar mettertyd het ons boeke ook vir kliënte uitgegee. Hierdie tydskrifte en boeke ontvang gereeld bedryfstoekennings. Tip Africa bied n volledige diens, van redigering tot druk, bemarking en verspreiding. Die skrywers, of gewoonlik maatskappye, betaal vir alles. Ons werk dus nie soos n tradisionele uitgewersmaatskappy nie, maar soos n selfpublikasiehuis. Onder die boeke wat Tip Africa al uitgegee het, is Waaraan ek dink as ek terugdink; Pieter Kapp se Nalatenskappe sonder einde; 50 Years of Learning and Growing (vir USB); Ackermans 100; gedenkboeke vir Paul Roos Gimnasium en die Hoër Jongenskool Paarl. Paternoster Books is opgerig met die doel om my boek On Top of Table Mountain uit te gee. Sedertdien help ek ook mense om hul eie boeke uit te gee. Die webwerf www. paternosterbooks.co.za verskaf inligting oor die boek. Joan Kruger joankrugertipafrica@gmail.com

9 Preparing your manuscript So you have written a book it might be a handbook, a novel, a poetry collection, a family memoir now you need to get it from manuscript to print. The process described below is not necessarily applicable to every book, but the basic framework will be similar, whatever your subject matter. Whether you want to make a book for friends and family, or for the commercial market, these days there is no reason why a self-published book should be less professional than one published by a mainstream publisher. Your budget will determine which professional skills you can buy in and which you might have to find amongst your friends, or tackle yourself. I work for a range of clients: from mainstream publishers, to NGOs, individuals who self-publish, and academics. I do as much or as little as my client requires: for mainstream publishers who have a team of professionals, I might only handle the design and typesetting of the text. For other clients, I might manage the project from the print specification and design concept through to the hand-over to the printers. If there are other skills to be drawn in, such as an editor or illustrator, I coordinate and liaise with the team. These notes are based on the way I work as a designer/typesetter and cover some of the things I have learnt over the years. THE MANUSCRIPT IS EVERYTHING While my part in the production process starts with the receipt of the final manuscript, I have learnt that it is the most important part of the process. If possible, it is worth spending money on a professional editor. If you are planning to sell your book commercially, it is essential to have the most professional product you can manage. Writers, quite aside from not seeing their errors, find it very difficult to be objective about their own writing a fresh eye can make all the difference! With or without an editor, the first step is to have as clean and neat and tidy a manuscript as possible. Not everyone chooses to write using a computer if you prefer to write by hand, then start by finding someone to type up your manuscript if you can t do that yourself. While most people use MSWord for everyday typing purposes, if you don t have Word, there are other programs available. Open Office, a free open-source word processing program, is a good option available from When typing your manuscript, consistency is crucial. Bear the following in mind: Controlling the overall document: Be methodical. Start by making a folder where you save all the documents relating to your book. It is easy to end up with several versions of a manuscript and then be unsure which one is the definitive version. 7

10 If you want to be able to go back to an earlier draft, think about how you name your documents. For instance, you could number each draft consecutively (My- Story-01; My-Story-02), or use the date ( My-Story; My- Story). When you save a document, Word will automatically offer the first line of the text as the name. Don t use that it is too long, and can be very confusing. Always insert your own document name. Save, save, save! Remember to save regularly while typing that way you are less likely to lose your work if something goes wrong. Most programs give two options: Save and Save As. Both will save your work but I like to use Save As at the end of a work session because it reduces the size of the document by overwriting it and cleaning up the file. Word documents become very bloated as one works, so reducing the file size is good housekeeping. Typefaces: Use one typeface for your manuscript. Unless there is a reason, such as to differentiate between different threads of thought or story, one typeface is enough. Use 11 or 12 pt for your body copy, with one blank line between paragraphs. To make it easier to proof, use 1.5 or double line spacing. Use a standard typeface, for example, Times New Roman or Calibri. You might find something more exotic on the internet, but fancy typefaces can be hard to read, and sometimes corrupt when moving between computers. If your content includes numbers, avoid using sans serif fonts such as Arial it can be hard to differentiate between the number 1, a lower case l, or an upper case I. (And don t type an el if you actually want the number 1. It will cause problems down the line.) If you wish to indent text, for instance, if you are quoting someone else s writing, use one tab or adjust the left-and margin to indent. Structure: If your text has separate sections or headings, e.g., in the case of a handbook, indicate them by changing the size of the typeface or label them [A], [B], [C], etc. Try not to have more than four levels of heading. It gets confusing for both the writer and the reader! Numbering: If you are numbering your headings or paragraphs, you can use Word s automatic numbering facility, but be careful: if you add or delete paragraphs, make sure that the auto-numbering resets. Stray blank lines need to be removed as well. Sometimes, it is easier to type the numbers in yourself. Punctuation: Word processing programs are designed to work best with one space after any punctuation (i.e. a comma, full stop, question mark, etc.). Typeset text should never have more than one space after any punctuation. If you prefer to use more spaces after punctuation, try to be consistent throughout. The only punctuation marks preceded by a space are a dash and an ellipsis ( ). Note that a dash and a hyphen are two different things a hyphen is not spaced. 8

11 Quotation marks: These days the trend in English is to use single quotes rather than double quotes. For a quote within a quote, if your main quotation is in single quotes, then use double quotes within the singles. Afrikaans text tends to use double quotes (when typing n, make sure the apostrophe is the right way round!) Footnotes and/or endnotes: If your text includes footnotes or endnotes, always use the word processing program s built-in footnote/endnote facility. Should you need to add or delete a note while writing, the note numbers will update automatically. Spelling: Be consistent South African English uses is- for words such as realise, organise, etc. If you want to use iz- (which is correct British English ), that s fine, but then you must use that spelling throughout (unless quoting someone else s text: quotes always keep the original spelling). Make sure that your word processing program s spell checker is set to South African English as default. If not on the list of options, then use UK English, not US (American) English. Remember analyse not analyze ; practise and license are verbs; practice and licence are the nouns. Keep track of names: If you have written a novel, it is worth making a list of all the characters and place names (give it to your editor and typesetter as well). This will ensure that names don t change or end up spelled differently. When writing about real people or places, double check that you have spelled their names correctly. I worked on a book where a well-known political figure was mentioned twice on one page his name was spelled incorrectly the second time, and no-one noticed till the book was at second draft! Alignment: Unless there is a reason to centre or indent your text, keep it left aligned, i.e., lined up with your left-hand margin. Let the text wrap automatically do not add multiple spaces or multiple tabs or hard returns mid-paragraph to manipulate the flow of your paragraphs. All of these extraneous characters have to be stripped out at the next stage as they will not translate properly when the text is typeset. Capital letters should be used at the start of sentences and for proper nouns not randomly for emphasis. You don t want your text to look like a Christmas tree, and if every second word has a capital letter, it becomes hard to read. If you want to emphasise something, don t underline, rather use italics. Page breaks: To start a new page, do not hit the Enter key to insert multiple line returns hold down the Ctrl key and press Enter to insert a page break. Inserting pictures: If you have a long document with lot of photos to insert into your text, it is advisable to break the Word document up into sections. I have had experience of a document that corrupted: although the photos were visible on my screen, it was impossible to click on any of them to select them! It is safer to have two or three short Word documents that can be recombined later, than end up with one big document which is unstable. 9

12 When your manuscript is complete, run a spell check, and then make a printout. It is much easier to proofread on paper, and will allow you to make notes as you go along. Once the final Word document is given to the designer and the typesetting and layout has started, be very careful if you need to make text changes if the corrections are small (the odd word or two), wait until you receive the first draft and mark the changes on the proof at that stage. If the corrections are large scale, then send only the paragraphs that need to be replaced to the typesetter. Make sure that it is clear what has to be replaced. Never update the Word file and send the whole thing to the designer/typesetter without highlighting the changes once the typesetting is underway. You will either force the typesetter to start from scratch or play spot the change : both of these options waste time and effort and can result in mistakes creeping in. 10

13 The production process DESIGN, LAYOUT, TYPESETTING Once the manuscript is ready, the next stage is the fun part: the design of your book. The steps outlined below are based on how I as a professional designer/typesetter like to work. Each designer has their own preferred method, but the more systematic your material, the more streamlined the process will be and the easier you will find it to contain costs and shorten the time needed to get to your final product. I start by checking the text received as an electronic document, e.g., stripping out stray spacing, checking for consistency of punctuation. I page through to make sure that the document opens correctly on my computer, and that it is complete. Illustrations (drawings, photos, letters, documents, charts, graphs): For print, these need to be scanned at 300 dpi. Say you have written a family memoir. The photos you choose will come from a variety of sources: old photo albums, cellphones or digital cameras. The quality is likely to be variable bear in mind, just because it looks great on your screen, that does not mean it will print as a sharp, focused image! While you can embed images in Word when working on your text, make sure that you keep the original image in a separate folder. Work out a naming convention, e.g., Dad01, Dad02, or by chapter: keep image names short and logical. Making separate folders for each chapter of your book and saving the photos or documents to the correct folder will help you keep track of your material, and speeds up the design process. If you don t have a scanner, and you have photos or documents to be scanned, use the same logic. Sort the hard copies into envelopes or plastic sleeves, per chapter. If you are going to number them and write captions on the back of the material, be careful. If you write on the photo, use a pen that won t smudge and come off on other material; don t press too hard as your writing will show through on the scan. Preferably write on a post-it note and stick that to the back of each photo or document. Alternatively, number the back of each picture and type up a caption list. Try not to fold items such as letters or newspaper cuttings unnecessarily. When working on the layout of a book, it is not always obvious where certain images should be placed. Think about inserting a note in your text about where you would like a particular item to be placed. For example, at the end of a paragraph, you could add a note in square brackets saying [place Letter01 here]. It might not be possible to put the letter exactly at that position but gives the designer a clue as to what you would like. 11

14 When your text is academic in content, and includes figures or charts, if you have used Excel or a similar program to construct the figures, give the designer those files as well. Picture files embedded in Word do not always hold their formatting across computers or programs. If you have used a specialist program to draw your figures, extract to tif or jpg format at a minimum of 300 dpi. In addition, when writing an academic paper, number any tables or figures consecutively and refer to them by number e.g., Table 1, Figure 1, when crossreferencing in the text, instead of above or below. When your paper is typeset, tables and figures may need to be moved to suit a different page size which affects the flow, and may not remain in their original position in the text. Design of page style/format: Think about what you like browse the shelves of your local bookshop to see what other current publications in the same genre look like. If you have a favourite book, show your designer. The physical page size can make quite a difference to the printing costs so that must be considered up front by the designer. Let s assume you have put together a collection of poetry. Have a look at what the norm is for that type of collection: I don t mean you can t be different, but you want your book to fit comfortably on the shelf with similar volumes. Don t overdesign: it is helpful to have some idea of what you would like as it gives everyone a starting point for discussion of the design of your book, but it is very difficult to work with someone who has worked out a precise layout, chosen typefaces, designed the cover then I have to ask what value can I add to the project. Having discussed the client s requirements, I mock up a few page layouts e.g., I test a couple of typefaces, look at the page format (margins, position of headers or footers, the style of headings) and work out how all the elements on the page will be treated. Then I make up test pages to discuss. Sometimes everyone likes the first concept; sometimes it needs further tweaking. First draft: Once the design concept is agreed, I build a template so that the page format can be applied consistently through the whole book, and flow the full text into the template. The text is typeset, and images are placed. The preliminary pages are laid out: these include half title, full title, imprint page, contents, dedication, acknowledgements. An Acrobat pdf and/or a printout is supplied for checking. If you don t already have Acrobat on your computer, the Reader can be downloaded free of charge. Go to and follow the prompts. Proofing: There are a couple of options at this point. If I spot any mistakes, or something that looks wrong while working on the text, I will make a note for the client (if I am absolutely sure it is a mistake then I will correct the error). If the client has a proofreader lined up, I supply a pdf and/or printout with any queries or comments. If there is no separate proofreader, I allow for proofing in my quote. 12

15 In that case, I first proof the draft before sending it to the client. (While I typeset in both English and Afrikaans, I only proof English texts.) This is the most important stage for proofing the text, and checking facts, grammar, spelling, rearranging the text or rewriting if necessary. You might be tired of having to read and reread your text by this point, but even if you are paying someone to proofread for you, you must check the draft yourself. Text looks very different when laid out in a different format, especially if images and captions have been added. This is the stage at which you can make changes which affect the layout and the flow of text if you need to. Use either Acrobat s note facility if working on the pdf, or mark up on the hard copy. If you are working on the hard copy, use a red pen that is easily seen. If correcting one or two characters or a word, don t rewrite the whole sentence, just indicate the change that is needed. Second draft: I input all corrections to the text and make amendments to the layout as necessary. Usually I supply only a pdf for the second-draft check, but if the job is complicated, a printout is sometimes necessary. An index: Not all books need an index (an alphabetical list of names or subjects placed at the back of a book, which cross-reference each word listed to the pages on which it appears) but they are a useful addition to a family memoir or cookery book and often essential to an academic or non-fiction work. Look at other books to see the different kinds of indices, and decide on the level of detail your book needs. If a simple listing of names or events/places, the typesetter could code and generate this. If more complicated with many levels of information, you might want to involve a professional indexer. If you and the typesetter decide to do this yourselves, the second draft is a good time to tackle this. Using a highlighter, mark any words you want indexed (only once per page). When these words are coded and the index generated, you will be able to spot any gaps or see if you have too much detail. If you are working on an academic book with abstract concepts, you need to guide the person coding the index as to what you have in mind. Indexing is timeconsuming and finicky, and needs an eye for detail. It can make a book, so it is worth the effort. Third (final) draft: Depending on what sort of book it is, three drafts are usually sufficient. If the publication is very complicated, further drafts may be required. For a straightforward book, any final corrections should be minor. The same applies to any layout issues: by this point, there should be few, if any, tweaks to be made. Cover: Design and layout of the cover can run in tandem with the text I tend to work on the text first. That gives the client something to work on while I am busy with the cover and, having worked on the text, I have a better idea of what the cover might need to encompass. 13

16 Going to print: When print-ready pdfs are sent to the printer, they load the files on to their computer and get everything ready for print. Before printing, you will receive a set of printers proofs to check and sign off. This is the absolutely last opportunity to make corrections. There is a cost to making changes at this stage, so it is not the moment to decide you just don t like what you wrote keep any changes to actual corrections! While many printers now have the option to sign off proofs online, I prefer hard copy. First, it is much easier to spot mistakes when looking at a printed copy. Secondly, if your book includes colour images, it is essential to see it on paper. Colour on a computer screen looks totally different to the printed version. In fact, if your publication is in colour throughout, it is worth asking the printer to cost in an extra proof, and have them run out the final pre-print draft for checking. The reason for asking the printer to do this and not going to the nearest photocopy shop is that their proofing equipment is calibrated to work with the printer on which the book will be printed. The colours on the draft will, therefore, match the final product closely and you will be able to judge whether adjustments need to be made or not. OTHER CONSIDERATIONS I am used to managing projects and working in a team but not all designers work this way. Check before you start how responsibilities will be allocated so that you know exactly what you need to do and what your designer expects to do. Expenses may be incurred during the production process. While it is obvious that you have to pay the editor and proofreader, the designer/typesetter and the printers, there are other things that may crop up. For instance: Are you supplying any images electronically, or will material need to be scanned? If scans are required, will your designer be able to handle them, or will you need to send the material to a bureau to scan? This might depend on the size of the originals and the quality. I can scan up to A4 on my scanner but should a client want a newspaper page scanned, I use a bureau which has equipment to scan large items to scan in sections and splice things together is not always successful, is time-consuming, and could add to your costs. I also prefer to use a bureau when I have old or damaged photos; retouching can be tricky paying an experienced professional can make a big difference to the quality of the final scan. Do you need an ISBN/barcode? If you are selling books commercially, you must have an ISBN in order for bookshops to be able to stock your books and track sales on their system. There is no charge for an ISBN from the National Library; they will expect copies of your book to be supplied to the national libraries (five of them across the country). The barcode is generated from the ISBN using specialist software. I use a bureau to do this if the proportions of the barcode are incorrect, 14

17 it will not scan at the till point. There are online sites where one can generate barcodes free of charge, but unless you are sure that the software is giving you the correct outcome, it is not worth the irritation for the sake of a few rand. Are you supplying the image for your cover or do you want the designer to source an image online? This can be time-consuming, so your brief must be clear. Online images are not necessarily free you might have to pay for the use of the image, and the costs can depend on the size of your print run, and the nature of the book. Check whether the price paid includes a reprint at a later stage. If you find a photo or piece of artwork on the internet that you really like, don t just steal it. From experience, I have found if you ask the photographer/artist for permission, they will often give you the use of their image free or at a small charge. Always offer a copy of your book in return. Are you working with a designer in a different town or country? While working by is the norm these days, and Skype is an easy way to communicate, remember to allow for long-distance phone calls as well as postage or courier charges. Have a contingency amount. Sometimes things crop up while a project is underway. Having a bit of a reserve fund to allow for something unforeseen, especially on a big project which runs over several months, is always a good idea. ELECTRONIC BOOKS (epub and mobi) If you plan to publish electronically, on Amazon or a similar site, discuss this upfront with your designer, as the typesetting can be structured to facilitate the conversion to these formats. Electronic books can be tricky if not coded correctly, so check that your designer has the experience to do that. I know how to set up books for conversion, but don t do this regularly enough to know all the in s and out s, so I work with someone whose main focus is making electronic books. PRINTING When I run a project in its entirety, I also draw up the specification for provisional printing prices. Check with your designer whether they will handle this part of the process. This can be done at the start of a project when one has only a very rough idea of format, page count and the number of books wanted. This will give you an idea of what to budget for printing. Once the project firms up, it is easy to update the specification to get an accurate printing quote. While I generally get only one print quote for provisional costing purposes, I usually get three print prices for the final specification. I do not have an account with any of the printers I work with. Once a decision is made I put my client in touch with the printer s rep to sort out the admin. For once-off projects, most printers will work on a 50% deposit before putting a book into production, with the balance payable when the books are ready for delivery. 15

18 The graphic below lays out the basics of a print quotation for a book with a small run suitable for digital printing. PUR is a type of perfect (ie. glue) binding Portrait = vertical format / landscape = horizontal format Front only indicates that the cover is printed on one side only, followed by the brand of paper and weight to be used Lamination protects and strengthens the cover from scuffing. There is a choice between a gloss or matt finish. Printing quotes are usually only valid for 30 days. That doesn t mean that they will change if the period between receiving the quote and accepting it is longer than 30 days. However, paper prices are susceptible to changes in the exchange rate. Always confirm the price with the printer when placing your order. IN CONCLUSION For me, the most exciting and nerve-racking moment of the whole process is the day the printed books are delivered. Will they look good? Is there a dreadful typo that everyone missed?! This is when I say goodbye to the project and hand it over to my client to deal with marketing, distribution and sales. Whether you use a distribution agency or sell your book yourself, I can design marketing materials such as flyers to promote your book or a launch invitation. Writing a book takes time and effort: to see your work transformed into a welldesigned and tangible product something that you are proud of when you share it with friends, family and the wider public is very rewarding for everyone involved. Jo-Anne Friedlander User Friendly jjf@userfriendly.co.za

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20 www. paternosterbooks.co.za Joan Kruger Tip Africa Publishing Igna Schneider Jo-Anne Friedlander Working only with well-established writers and published authors, Missing Ink is an authors cooperative publisher in which the author receives 100% of the profits from the sale of their work. At Missing Ink authors discuss and edit one another s manuscripts and employ experienced freelance professionals to subedit, proof read, and to design both print and ebook editions of their books. Missing Ink is about what writers want; a community of writers, responsive to both the commercial and creative needs of authors. Publishers of both fiction and non-fiction.