The Business of Writing: Book Layouts #MFRWOrg indie publishing @luckybatbooks #ASMSG

Today on The Maze:

Everything you wanted to know about 

e-book and print book layouts...*

Book of Kells, Folio 19v, Breves Causae of Luke
(The Gospel of Luke), Wikimedia Commons.

*...but were afraid to ask!

So, you've written your Great American Masterpiece, edited it to within an inch of its life, submitted it to an editor so that s/he can edit it to within a micrometer of its life (please invest in professional editing, for the love of All That Is Holy)... and now what?

Formatting it for publication, of course.

There are many companies that offer formatting services, and they charge varying rates. Unless you can code your own e-books (as I do), or you can create your own print book layouts (as I have learned to do), perform a search on "book formatting services" and then pick your poison, so to speak.

Some "poisons" are more lethal to the pocketbook than others, and Your Mileage May Vary with regard to the output quality too.

I'm not going to list any specific companies to avoid; in general, your best value will be to select a company that charges an up-front fee for services, NOT fee plus a percentage of your royalties. To charge you a percentage on sales is patently absurd, because once the work is completed, the service provider adds no more value to your work and therefore does not deserve to receive an ongoing percentage from it. Period.

I will state that such a policy was what knelled the beginning of the end between me and my ex-literary agent, who was trying to hedge his bets with clients' unpublished manuscripts. If your literary agent has started up such a side business, beware. All that practice does is line his/her pockets at the expense of performing his/her contracted job for you. Exclamation point.

The book service provider I have been relying upon for three years and counting is Lucky Bat Books. They offer a wide range of author services, including cover design and marketing, as well as e-book and print book layout. Their prices are very reasonable, they are a joy to work with, and I get nothing for sending you their way; I'm just very happy with the quality of their work. Oh, and they do not charge a percentage of sales.

I realize that not everyone can afford to lay out the huge chunk of change required for professional services, but as a former software engineer who cut her programming teeth, decades ago, on conversion software, I am here to beg you NOT to rely on the Word-to-EPUB or Word-to-PDF software offered by such companies as Smashwords and Createspace. I have seen other authors' books generated by these programs, and they are—shall I say?—less than ideal. At least Smashwords is honest in nicknaming its program the "Meat Grinder."

I even ran a test to export an EPUB e-book file from a print layout that I had created using Adobe's inDesign book layout software, and its quality left a lot to be desired too.

My recommendation is to set up crowd funding for your book rather than relying on these cheap-but-less-than-optimal conversion options.

The book layout process I follow is:

For e-books:

1. I code the HTML, including setting up CSS templates for margins, line spacing, indentations, etc. An EPUB file is simply a rigidly formatted ZIP file, and HTML is its source language. I admit I'm not a CSS expert; a mentor shared her e-book template with me years ago, and I've been tweaking it ever since. For quick answers and to look up the latest HTML code sets, I rely upon the web site HTML Dog.
2. To test the book's format prior to conversion, I read it in a browser window that's sized to approximate the aspect ratio of the average e-reader. This also gives me another avenue for spotting last-minute typos and items to wordsmith.
3. Once I'm happy with how the HTML file looks in a browser window, I import it, the cover, and metadata into Calibre free library-management software.What is metadata? It is literally anything you wish to define about your book. Specific metadata tags that import directly into predefined fields in Calibre include:
   • Author
   • Series
   • Tags (Keywords)
   • Publisher
   I also code the book's description in the metadata section just to include it in the file for my reference.
4. Then I use Calibre to convert the HTML file to EPUB. Calibre offers a slew of output formats, but the two I use most often are EPUB and MOBI (primarily for reviewers who can side-load the MOBI into their Kindle). 
5. At this point I check the EPUB file in as many e-reader emulators as I can. Calibre offers its own e-reader emulator; on my laptop, clicking on the MOBI version imports it into my Kindle-for-PC application, and if I upload the EPUB file to my Android phone, I can import it into my Nook-for-Android app.
6. Once I am satisfied with the result on as many platforms as possible, I run the EPUB file through EPUBCheck free online validation software created by the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF). E-tailers such as Amazon and Smashwords also run your submitted EPUB file through EPUBCheck, but it's best for you to do this first and avoid any unpleasant surprises. Smashwords has finally upgraded the four years outdated and buggy version of EPUBCheck that it was using internally, so now I'm not gnashing and pulling teeth to upload my EPUB files to that platform.
7. If EPUBCheck has reported any errors, I fix them and revalidate. The biggest "gotcha", if you have been otherwise careful in your coding, is to have referenced image filenames that include embedded spaces, a practice that's allowed on Microsoft computers but not Apple or Unix machines. EPUBCheck flags this as a warning, but even warning messages will cause your submission to be rejected by Amazon, et al.
8. Once you have an error-free, warning-free EPUB file, you may upload it for publication on all your chosen platforms: Amazon, Nook, Kobo, etc.

For print books that don't have a lot of complicated interior art insertion:

1. First I import the Word doc into InDesign, the de facto standard book-layout software for the publishing industry. I don't know InDesign well enough yet to execute complicated layouts, which is why I am still happy to employ Lucky Bat Books for titles such as the forthcoming, fully illustrated hardcover edition of King Arthur's Sister in Washington's Court!
2. Then I tweak the layout—defining custom paragraph styles, drop cap styles, etc.—until it all looks good, right, and salutary... and everything lines up across each "spread," which is a pair of pages representing an open book. If you have no scene-break graphics to insert, then this step is almost a no-brainer. I embed graphics for chapter headings and scene breaks, so this step can be time consuming for me, and it's more cost effective for me to do it myself these days. BTW, "spreads" PDF output is an economical way to produce a printed ARC, especially if you have access to a duplex printer.
3. Finally I export the finished layout to a press-ready PDF file in "pages" (rather than "spreads") form. The "pages" (single page) PDF output is what is required for submitting your print layout to Createspace and IngramSpark.

Next week: the Book Cover. Meantime, best of luck with your book layouts and all aspects of your writing!

NEWS FLASH:

My ancient Rome historical romance novel Liberty is a finalist for 
Best Self-Published Work 
and for Best Cover of 2015!

Your vote is very important to me, so if you have found this post about book layouts useful, please click HERE 
and vote for Liberty in both categories.
This poll closes 25 June 2015, and you can vote every day.
Thank you so much!

***

This month, you are invited to...
— Add Kim as a Favorite Author on Amazon.com
— Follow Kim on Twitter
— Add Kim to Google+
— Subscribe to Kim's YouTube channel
— Leave a comment on any page of The Maze, especially if you have done the Amazon, Twitter, and/or YouTube follow
...and each action this month is good for one chance to win an e-book copy of Liberty. Please enter often, and good luck!

Blog Tour: Pack of Trouble by @Liza0Connor humorous Victorian mystery #BookPlugs #BYNR #IARTG

Vic is certain that if Claire has a baby, she’ll turn herself around. But try as she might, Claire cannot get pregnant.

Today, I’m sharing some possible reasons why Claire can’t seem to have babies.

At sixteen, Claire decided to give herself to her beloved, the butler in training. However, she didn’t dare have children, so like her Aunt Maddy, she took droughts.

While most Victorian women knew very little about how to prevent pregnancies, the women in Aunt Maddy’s line had successfully passed down a ‘recipe’ book from the fourteenth-century book that contained various recipes to prevent and stop pregnancies.

Her aunt made the acid-based drought exactly as the original book instructed and she never had a child. So she naturally shared this with Claire. However, Claire wished to improve upon the concoction based on all that she had read from the various erudite pamphlets to which she subscribed under Victor’s name.

It is possible the constant and daily use of these acid draughts scarred her ovaries, especially if her changes were to ‘strengthen’ the potency.

The second possible reason Claire cannot have children is her interest and work using uranium dust. Vic has warned her not to handle it, knowing people who use it often begin to lose their health. However, neither realized the full extent of the danger. Thus, it is possible her exposure was enough to make her sterile.

A final possibility is that David’s use of an x-ray machine in his dental office has made him sterile and the problem is not Claire’s at all.

We will never know for sure why Claire could not have children, but even when she gave up her butler in training and married her gentle, obliging, highly intelligent David, no matter how often they tried, no seed would set in her womb.

The lack of a child, left her without purpose, and to be frank, was making her a bit crazy.

Vic knew her baby sister needed a baby, so when she rescued little Maddy from certain death, she brought the child to Claire, only to be left waiting at the front door like unwanted vermin.

While Xavier’s plan to take a holiday in Europe for Vic to have her baby incognito works well enough, complications during the birth almost takes both mother and child. Dr. Connors performs his first cesarean ever. While successful, it Vic takes months to recover. A prisoner to the bed, she spends her time encouraging marriage between two of their employees. Unfortunately, Xavier’s original negotiations with Tubs prevents the giant from acting upon his heart. While Xavier chases ladies enjoying the sun, Vic convinces Tubs to resign his service.

When Xavier and Vic return to England, the head of Scotland Yard awaits them at the dock. A great change in Parliament has occurred due to the fallout of their last investigation. England is crumbling beneath an outbreak of crimes and their help is desperately needed before lives are ruined and jobs are lost.

When they arrived at Vic’s prior estate, no one answered the door for fifteen minutes, although someone was home because curtains kept moving. While Vic had a wheelchair to sit in and Tubs was used to standing for long periods of time, Sally was left standing, with the baby in her arms. “You might want to take Maddy back to the carriage.

“A little sun is good for her. But if no one answers in five minutes, I’ll find shade. However, if no one answers then maybe this isn’t meant to be.”

“She has a point,” Tubs muttered.


“Hit the door again,” Vic said.

Tubs slammed the side of his fist against the door once, creating a loud explosion, rather like a small bomb.

Finally, the door opened to one very angry sister.

“How dare you come here and terrify my servants!”

For the first time in her life, Vic stared up at her petite sister. “If I had a fern, I would lay it down now in a declaration of peace, but I don’t. So just listen to what I have to say. Our fight has been going on for long enough. It’s time for each of us to forgive and move on.”

Claire’s eyes rimmed with tears. “I don’t see how that’s possible.”

Vic stared up at her. “We survived a shipwreck, surely we can survive this as well.”

Her pretty forehead crinkled. “Why are you in a wheelchair?”

About to reply ‘it’s nothing’, Vic decided the truth might actually move matters along faster. “I almost died recently.”

Claire’s face paled. “Oh…I’m sorry.”

“Well, I wasn’t too happy about it either, but it saved a life and got me to thinking about what’s important.”

Her sister’s eyes grew watery and her head shook. “No, I mean I’m really sorry, Vic. I shouldn’t have done it.”

Vic had no clue which horrible thing she thought she shouldn’t have done. Was it claiming Jacko abused L’il Pete, firing Gregory when he wouldn’t lie to help her steal Pete, or demanding sweet Sara be fired? Maybe it was telling Alice that ridiculous story about Pete dangling a baby off the carriage.

“Could we come inside? Maddy’s turning pink,” Vic said.

“Maddy?” her confusion turned to rapture as she spied the tiny baby. “Maddy…oh she’s beautiful!” Claire rushed to the baby, pulling her out of Sally’s arms. She then hurried inside without actually inviting the rest of them to enter.

Book 5
Pack of Trouble
AMAZON
Free with Amazon Kindle Unlimited

Need to catch up?
Book 1
The Troublesome Apprentice

The greatest sleuth in Victorian England hires a young man

who turns out to be a young woman.

Book 2
The Missing Partner

Opps! The greatest sleuth in Victorian England goes missing, leaving Vic to rescue him, a suffragette, and about 100 servants. Not to mention an eviscerating cat. Yes, let’s not mention the cat.

Book 2.5
A Right to Love

A romantic detour for Jacko. Want to see how amply rewarded Jacko was when he & Vic save an old woman from Bedlam?

Book 3
The Mesmerist

 The Mesmerist can control people from afar and make them murder for her. Worse yet, Xavier Thorn has fallen under her spell.

Book 4
Well Kept Secrets

L’il Pete’s mum is murdered,

and discovering who & why reveals a great deal of secrets.

All Xavier books Free with Amazon Unlimited

Liza O’Connor was raised badly by feral cats, left the South/Midwest and wandered off to find nicer people on the east coast. There she worked for the meanest man on Wall Street, while her psychotic husband tried to kill her three times. (So much for finding nicer people.) Then one day she declared enough, got a better job, divorced her husband, and fell in love with her new life where people behaved normally. But all those bad behaviors have given her lots of fodder for her humorous romances. Please buy these books, because otherwise, she’ll become grumpy and write troubled novels instead. They will likely traumatize you.

You have been warned.

Mostly humorous books by Liza:

Ghost Lover— Two British brothers fall in love with the same young woman. Ancestral ghost is called in to fix the situation. And there’s a ghost cat that roams about the book as well. (Humorous Contemporary Romance)

Untamed & Unabashed—The youngest of the Bennet sisters, Lydia, tells her story. A faithful spinoff from Pride & Prejudice.

A Long Road to Love Series: (Humorous Contemporary odd Romance)
Worst Week Ever — Laugh out loud week of disasters of Epic proportions.

Oh Stupid Heart — The heart wants what it wants, even if it’s impossible.

Coming to Reason — There is a breaking point when even a saint comes to reason.

Climbing out of Hell — The reconstruction of a terrible man into a great one.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT

LIZA O'CONNOR

Investigate these sites:

Liza's Blog and Website   Facebook   Twitter

***

All this month, you are invited to...
— Add Kim as a favorite author on Amazon.com
— Follow Kim on Twitter
— Add Kim to Google+
— Subscribe to Kim's YouTube channel
— Leave a comment on any page of The Maze, especially if you have done the Amazon, Twitter, and/or YouTube follow
...and each action this month is good for one chance to win an e-book copy of Morning's Journey. Please enter often, and good luck!

LIBERTY shortlisted for 2015 Best Self-Published Book; please vote! @lpobryan #MFRWOrg #ASMSG

Click here to vote for
Liberty by Kim Headlee!

I'm popping a virtual bottle of bubbly on The Maze today to celebrate my ancient Rome historical romance novel Liberty being a finalist for this prestigious award!

Your vote is very important to me, so please either click on the above image, the caption, or here. Thank you so much, and have a wonderful day!

***

This month, you are invited to...
— Add Kim as a Favorite Author on Amazon.com
— Follow Kim on Twitter
— Add Kim to Google+
— Subscribe to Kim's YouTube channel
— Leave a comment on any page of The Maze, especially if you have done the Amazon, Twitter, and/or YouTube follow
...and each action this month is good for one chance to win an e-book copy of Liberty. Please enter often, and good luck!

#MedMonSpring spotlight on His Captive Princess by @SJonesRomance Sandra Jones

Check out His Captive Princess by Sandra Jones for this week's installment of Medieval Monday

Synopsis:
Earned respect is sweet…but deserved revenge is sweeter.

Warren de Tracy was assured the Welsh village of Dinefwr would be an easy conquest, as would the widow of its fallen prince. Wedding her will appease the locals and win the respect of his liege, the usurper King Stephen.

Instead, Warren is ambushed, taken prisoner by a hooded Welshwoman with skin that glows like moonlight. If he must die at her hands, at least his honorable death will silence the whispers of disloyalty hanging over his name.

Princess Eleri has never seen a knight as stoic—and as eager to die—as Warren. She’d love to oblige the bastard, but something in his ocean-blue eyes stays her hand. Plus, suspicion nags at her, for the arrows that wounded him and killed his men are Norman, not Welsh.

A ghostly prophecy portends danger that thrusts the enemies closer together, where hate explodes into passion that won’t allow Eleri to surrender Warren to her vengeful clan. But returning him to his king breaks more than it mends…and for Warren, retaliation will be sweet, indeed.

Product Warnings:
Contains a Norman warrior with a thirst for justice, a Welsh rebel princess with second sight and a steady bow hand, magical prophecies, and a plot of royal proportions.

Excerpt:

“‘Your Highness’?” Warren jerked in astonishment, pulling against his bonds. The ropes chafed his raw skin, sending a fresh wave of pain down his arms. “You’re of royal blood?”

She leaned over him, reaching for his bonds. “Hush! In addition to your arrow wound, I trow your tongue has healed as well these past days. It would behoove you to use it less and just be grateful you’re alive.”

Her breasts hovered inches above his face. In fact, if he lifted his head, he could bury his face between them. What would she do, this spirited wench, if he chose to do so? He would’ve enjoyed finding out if circumstances had been different. “I’d rather be dead than be a prisoner. But first...I’ll kiss your feet if you’d scratch my nose.”

She made a choking noise in her throat that almost sounded like amusement.

He felt a tug at his ropes and the friction of a knife. By the saints, she was freeing him. He couldn’t allow it.

Air stung his raw skin as soon as one of his wrists came loose. With his one arm still useless in its restraints, he shot out his free hand and clutched her forearm. Using all his strength, he turned her over beneath him, wedging her between his torso and the bed. Nose to nose, he could make out her eyes gone wide with shock in the darkness. “No!” he growled. “Do not let me leave here alive.”

Suddenly, her warrior was upon him and his knife back against Warren’s throat. “Get off the princess, you cur!”

The woman’s blade touched his chest plate. She could dispatch him with ease. Her arms were strong and lean. Her body was far from frail, and he recalled her skillful defeat of his conroi. She twisted beneath his pelvis defensively, and the grinding of her soft mound awoke his sex. Shame heated his cheeks at his sudden need and dark desires. This one time, he would allow himself to speak his mind. “If you release me, Princess, I’ll go to Kidwelly and inform my commanders what has befallen my five men at the hands of you and your people. The king will strike at the subjects of Cantref Mawr with vengeance such as you’ve never known.”

Her expression shifted from stark panic to slow derision as her saucy lips curved up at one corner. “You think I don’t know what you’re capable of?” Her eyes flashed downward meaningfully, and he knew she’d noted the turn of his wicked thoughts. “You want to have your way with me. To tear my clothing from my body and part my legs. But you know nothing of my people, Norman. You haven’t even bothered to learn the language—” she broke off, slurring in Welsh at her vassal.

The burly guard grabbed Warren’s bandaged shoulder, twisting it back until bile climbed in his throat. “Umpff!” While he convulsed in pain, the woman slipped loose and turned him on his back, pinning his groin beneath two very sharp knees. He hissed through his teeth, “Par les saints!” If he’d been successful in his mission, this devil-wench would’ve been his bride?

“You are my prisoner, knight.” She planted the flat of her hand against his neck, leaving no doubt of her desire for domination as her angry pulse drummed against his skin. “I am the Princess of Deheubarth, widow of Prince Owain ap Daffyd, murdered by your Norman peers. It will be my pleasure keeping you alive. We’re taking you to those who will do with you what they will. I care not. Until then, you are my dog. My captive. My slave. And you will obey!”

ISBN: 9781619224452

Buy Links: 

Samhain store | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | All Romance |

About the Author
Sandra proudly considers herself a history geek. She is the author of five historical romances including the new River Rogues series set in frontier America. When not researching or writing, she enjoys traveling, genealogy (she’s the direct descendant of a Norman knight) and watching British TV. She and her husband of twenty-five years live in a cabin with two spoiled cats and occasionally attend Renaissance fairs.

She also loves chatting with readers. You can connect with Sandra at any of the following links:

Author Links:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads |

***

And check out this YouTube video highlighting all the participating authors' works!

Last week: Viking Flame by Andrea R. Cooper
Next week: The Heart of the Phoenix by Barbara Bettis

***

All this month, you are invited to...
— Add Kim as a favorite author on Amazon.com
— Follow Kim on Twitter
— Add Kim to Google+
— Subscribe to Kim's YouTube channel
— Leave a comment on any page of The Maze, especially if you have done the Amazon, Twitter, and/or YouTube follow
...and each action this month is good for one chance to win an e-book copy of Morning's Journey. Please enter often, and good luck!

Have a #SpringFling with Fairy Fun by @anitaphilmar #sexy #fantasy #romance

Spring Fling spotlight on 

Fairy Fun by Anita Philmar!

Anita shares why she likes spring:

Spring is in the air. The butterflies are fluttering along with the fairies from flower to flower.

This is why I love spring the possibilities to a new world are awaking, creating endless new ideas, a rebirth of life, and exciting stories.

Hope you enjoy Fairy Fun. A little fairy tale to get one’s blood a-pumping.

Synopsis:
Dedrick Forester, Prince of Endole, is fast approaching the end of his fairy cycle, which means losing his ability to fly, transforming into a wood gnome, and having to choose a mate. Until then he just wants to have fun...and lots of sex.

King Rosewood of Evermore is determined to see his daughter wed, but Chloe loves the freedom of fairy flight too much to settle down as a frumpy old wood gnome. She escapes and spreads her wings to reach new heights...like air sex with a stranger.

Combine her passion with Dedrick's and sparks light up the sky. Both discover pleasure beyond their wildest fantasies. But neither is prepared for the emotional connection. Now Dedrick must convince Chloe that losing her wings doesn't mean there aren't other ways to fly? 

Excerpt:

Mel laughed and wiped a rag over the bar. “What you need is a stiff chocolate drink. It’ll help ease the pain in your crotch. And as part of the royal family, every girl in the forest would love to be your bride. They just haven’t decided exactly how to catch you.” Mel glanced at the patrons scattered throughout the bar. “Once they make up their minds, you’ll be hard pressed to satisfy them all.”

“I wish,” Dedrick weighted the options of enjoying sex against the cost of a long-term commitment. If his lust turned to love, then he could satisfy his parent’s demands. He’d marry and have a wife to fuck regularly. “But I can’t let loose right now, because I don’t want to lose my ability to fly just yet.”

“Most fairies love flying, but there are advantages to having your feet on the ground.” Mel picked up a coco-shell cup and placed it under the spout before pulling back the lever. The rich aroma of chocolate filled the area.

Wow, just a whiff and the wicked scent calmed Dedrick’s racing hormones.

After filling the shell, Mel placed the drink in front of Dedrick. “You don’t have long before you’re past the age to fly any ways.”

“Have you ever done it while flying?” A soft female voice whispered near Dedrick’s right shoulder.

He turned.

A fairy with dark auburn hair stood a few steps away. Her sea green eyes held a teasing glint and a come-hither smile welcomed him closer. He dropped his gaze and scanned her lush body.

Purchase from:
The Wild Rose Press | All Romance |

Amazon | UK | CA | AU |  Kobo | B&N |


Find Anita Philmar everywhere:
Website | Blog | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter |

***

All this month, you are invited to...
— Add Kim as a favorite author on Amazon.com
— Follow Kim on Twitter
— Add Kim to Google+
— Subscribe to Kim's YouTube channel
— Leave a comment on any page of The Maze, especially if you have done the Amazon, Twitter, and/or YouTube follow
...and each action this month is good for one chance to win an e-book copy of Morning's Journey. Please enter often, and good luck!

More reviews of #KASIWC and the Blog Tour winner! #MFRWOrg #BZBooks #ASMSG

“The well of our hitting was abysmally dry.”
(c)2015 by Tom Doneske
from Chapter XXII, "The Crocodiles" in
King Arthur's Sister in Washington's Court.

Thank you for making the latest blog tour for King Arthur's Sister in Washington's Court (#KASIWC) such a rousing success!

Please join me in congratulating Jennifer W. (already notified), winner of the $25.00 Amazon gift card.

I extend a warm welcome to all my new followers on Twitter and Pinterest, as well as the new subscribers to my monthly newsletter, The Dawnflier. Didn't win this time? Keep scrolling down to learn about another opportunity!

Latest reviews of #KASIWC:

• Liza O'Connor - Author: 5* "Wow! Just Wow! There are so many things I loved about this book."
• Just Jeanae: "I found myself laughing hysterically as I braced myself for what [Queen Morgan] would get into next."
• Bonnie of LeahSay's Views: "Fun summer read!"
• Jemima Pett, Author: 4* "Vote Morgana!"
• Angie of Sher A Hart: 4* "I loved the resurrection of Mark Twain's writing."
• Vic's Media Room: 5* "Lots and lots of fun."

Oh, and what does a knight trying to wrestle a baseball bat from a crocodile have to do with my sci-fi/fantasy futuristic time travel novel? There is an excellent reason, but I leave you to discover it for yourself. :)

BUY LINKS

Amazon Kindle:

US | UK | CA | AU | BR | DE | ES | FR | IN | IT | NL | JP | MX

EPUB format for:

Nook | iPad/iPhone | Kobo | Smashwords

***

All this month, you are invited to...
— Add Kim as a favorite author on Amazon.com
— Follow Kim on Twitter
— Add Kim to Google+
— Subscribe to Kim's YouTube channel
— Leave a comment on any page of The Maze, especially if you have done the Amazon, Twitter, and/or YouTube follow
...and each action this month is good for one chance to win an e-book copy of Morning's Journey. Please enter often, and good luck!

The Business of Writing: ISBNs and Imprints #MFRWOrg indie publishing #IARTG #ASMSG

Today on The Maze:

ISBNs and Imprints demystified!

Still-Life with Books
by an unknown Dutch Master, ca 1620
public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

ISBN: The acronym for International Standard Book Number, a unique commercial book identifier that is now most commonly 13 digits. Buy them in bulk from Bowker -- why? Because each edition (e-book, paperback, hardcover, graphic novel, etc.) needs a separate ISBN, which will chew through them fast if you are creating several editions of the same title.

To clarify: You do not need to assign a separate ISBN to the same manuscript file you publish via different e-book platforms (e.g., KDP, Nook, iTunes, Kobo, GooglePlay, Smashwords, Draft2Digital). Even when the requirements differ for the inclusion of licensing notes, you can still assign the same ISBN because the edition of the story itself is identical across e-reader platforms.

Furthermore, if your plan is to distribute only via Amazon, then you do not need to buy an ISBN for your e-book because Amazon's internal ASIN suffices as a substitute, and you can obtain a free ISBN from Amazon if you release the print edition via Createspace. That said, there has been a recent change to European VAT law -- not yet adopted by all EU members -- that allows for the VAT to not be deducted from your royalty if your e-book has an ISBN.

Decisions, decisions!

If you can afford to lay out $600 (give or take) for a clutch of 100 ISBNs, that's the most economical route short of buying 1000 or more. Bowker's next lowest bulk tier is 10 ISBNs for $295 as of this writing. But unless you're going to print your books via your local print shop, do NOT bother to buy the barcode they try to sell you. (More on those reasons in a future article, when I give my US$0.02 about book covers.)

And if you really and truly do want to buy a barcode, please contact me first. :D

Imprints: An "imprint" is simply publisher-speak for a label to define a body of work. Traditional publishers, such as Simon & Schuster, have established imprints for decades. For example, my first novel, Dawnflight, was published in 1999 by Sonnet Books, a Simon & Schuster imprint. And the process for establishing an imprint isn't as onerous as you might believe.

1. Decide on a catchy name for your imprint (e.g., Pendragon Cove Press).
2. Do your homework to make sure someone else hasn't already decided that it's a catchy name (e.g., Pendragon Cove Press is my imprint). "Homework" includes any or all of the following steps, depending on how big of a network reach you wish for your imprint to claim:
• Searching for the name on a book e-tailer site such as Amazon (these are the search results for Pendragon Cove Press). This step is a must.
• Performing a "Whois" lookup, if you're also interested in snagging the domain(s). For now, pendragoncovepress.com points to this blog; that's all you need to do too, if you don't have time to set up a separate web presence.
• Searching Gmail, Ymail, and so forth if you want to claim the imprint's name for one or more email accounts.
• Searching for your desired imprint's name on Twitter, Facebook, etc.
3. Send an email to Bowker requesting that the name be added to their Imprints database. They include a "mailto:" link for this purpose on the page for defining sales & prices when you're setting up your book title's ISBN information. I don't know what their response time is today, but a Bowker representative got my Pendragon Cove Press imprint established within 24 hours last year.

It's that easy!

Once your imprint is established, then it will display as an option for assigning in your book's "publisher" field on the product page, rather than your name, which blares the "I Am an Indie Author-Publisher" label to God and everybody.

If you don't set up an imprint but have elected to incorporate (see my article here), then your corporation's name will be recorded as the publisher. That choice doesn't blare quite so loudly, but establishing one or more imprints for your books will make you appear that much more professional and perhaps give you a leg up on your competition.

Oh, and if you have sent in a new-imprint request, please use a little common sense in your follow-up correspondence if you believe it's taking too long. I imagine that they don't perform those sorts of tasks on weekends and US holidays.

Happy imprinting! :)

***

All this month, you are invited to...
— Add Kim as a favorite author on Amazon.com
— Follow Kim on Twitter
— Add Kim to Google+
— Subscribe to Kim's YouTube channel
— Leave a comment on any page of The Maze, especially if you have done the Amazon, Twitter, and/or YouTube follow
...and each action this month is good for one chance to win an e-book copy of Morning's Journey. Please enter often, and good luck!