Product Description
YOU CAN DO IT! What if you could design, layout, and format your own book and then convert it to PDF and publish it, all for less $$$ than you thought? This book and BookSurge’s POD press can make this happen! If you are tired of getting your book proposals rejected by traditional publishers, here, at last, is a solution that will make your failed dreams come true. This one-of-a-kind book offers highly detailed, technically precise instructions that will lead you through the entire process of designing and formatting your book to BookSurge’s PDF and POD specifications. You will learn how to organize and configure your book’s elements as per The Chicago Manual of Style. You will find out how to insert 300 dpi images into your book’s pages. You will master the difficult process of inserting and unlinking section breaks and of inserting header text and page numbers. And, you will actually learn how to design and format a cover for your book. YOU CAN DO IT! What are you waiting for?
I highly recommend this book. I read another book that has often been recommended in self-publishing circles, Perfect Pages, and although I learned a lot about book format from Perfect Pages, this book taught me how to actually use MS Word 2007 to achieve the required format. The book goes step by step and addresses every aspect of formatting from starting with a practical MS Word template to page numbering and provides lots of valuable advice along the way. I’m very happy with this book. I think that the only reason this book doesn’t have more positive reviews is because it’s so new –2008-2009. FOLLOW UP: I’ve completed writing my first book using this book as a guide and it was a snap. It looks very professional and includes all the hallmarks of a professionally edited book thanks to the the step-by-step instructions contained in this short, easy to read manual.
I did not use the section on making the book’s cover because CreateSpace’s on-line instructions were simple enough to understand so I can’t really speak for that section.
Amazon User Rating: 5 / 5
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.
Amazon User Rating: 5 / 5
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”
Amazon User Rating: 5 / 5
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.
Amazon User Rating: 5 / 5