Self-publishing Tips – Writing an Acknowledgement Page

There’s no doubt that a lot of time and effort goes into writing a book, whether self-publishing or going through an agent or a traditional publisher. An author is, of course, the heart and soul of their work, but it would be very difficult for them to complete such a time-consuming project without, at least, a little help. Family members, significant others, and even complete strangers can play a major role in making a piece of work come to fruition. The acknowledgement page of a book is intended to thank those people who heavily influenced you or your book as it was being developed.

To start putting together your acknowledgement page, simply create a list of everyone you feel contributed to your work. This can be family members who cooked your meals while you were working, or who gave you a quiet space in which to write. It could also be a professional who contributed information for your research or someone who supported you spiritually or emotionally. For example, they may have prayed fervently for your success or encouraged you when you considered giving up.

The following steps will help you work your way through a complete acknowledgement page:

• First, compile your list together, along with the reasons why you’re grateful for each individual. This will help you pinpoint who had the most influence on your work as a whole.

• Narrow down your list. Most acknowledgement pages are no longer than a half-page, so keep that length in mind.

• Write the rough draft of your acknowledgement and have an unbiased individual review it for editing or suggestions regarding changes or information that could be omitted.

• Write the final draft of your acknowledgement and save it with the same font size and font color as the rest of the book.

• A completed acknowledgement page is generally placed in the book between the table of contents and the actual work.

Once your acknowledgement page is complete, your manuscript is one step closer to being sent off for self-publishing so you can get it on the shelf as soon as possible!

For more information on self-publishing your work, contact CMYK Graphix, Inc. They offer options for authors considering self-publishing as well as other tools to help self-published authors promote their work. Call them at 1-800-698-2071 or email them today.

Author Ergonomics – A Book Printer’s Tips To Keep You Pain-Free

At some point, most writers have experienced some form of pain or cramping while honing their craft. A stiff hand and an ache through the wrist is often associated with writer’s cramp. Contrary to popular belief, however, writer’s cramp is not an overuse syndrome. Instead, it is a problem of lost coordination and control of movement arising in the basal ganglia of the brain. Specific, fine motor skills, such as writing and typing create localized, sustained muscle contractions that cause twisting and repetitive movements or abnormal postures. When done in an improper position, these movements can lead to the development of repetitive strain injuries or carpal tunnel syndrome. The position of the body and the objects you’re working with play a major role in eliminating the aches and pains you might experience while writing or typing.

Here are some tips for reducing your risk of pain from the book printers at CMYK Graphix :

While writing:

• Use the lightest grip possible on the pen or pencil you’re using.
• Use a felt-tip pen, gel pen, or roller ball so the tip glides easily over the paper.
• Do not plant your wrist or forearm on the desk. Glide over the surface of the desk using your shoulder to initiate the movement of writing.

While typing:

• Refrain from slanting your wrists up or down. They should be held slightly higher than the keyboard.
• Keep your shoulders relaxed and elbows unlocked.
• Do not rest your arms on the arm rests of your chair.

Sitting position:

• Your feet should be flat on the ground with your knees at a 90 degree angle.
• Your back should be resting against the back of the chair and the lumbar support should fit into the curve of your lower back.
• Arm rests should fit just below your arms when your arms are at a 90 degree angle.

By utilizing these tips you’ll see a vast reduction in the pain and cramping you experience as a writer. For most of us, that also means we’ll be able to write longer and focus more on the task at hand, which means your hard work will be finished and off to the book printer’s sooner than you could imagine. When that time comes, contact the book printers at CMYK Graphix, Inc. to self-publish your masterpiece.

For more information, contact the experts at CMYKGraphix.com by calling them at 1-800-698-2071, or by emailing them today.

Tips To Help You Copyright Your Book

In the United States, most creative works produced privately and originally after April 1, 1989 are copyrighted and protected whether they have a notice or not. Publication or registration with the U.S. Copyright office is not required for a copyright to exist. Your book copyright and your ownership of this right occur as you create it.  Your creative work must exist in a tangible form – such as on paper or a computer disk. Major advantages to registration include the following:

• A copyright registration is necessary for works of U.S. origin before the owner can file an infringement suit in court. Filing before an infringement takes place allows the copyright owner to seek statutory damages and attorney’s fees and not just damages and lost profits.
• It serves as prima facie evidence in an infringement suit of the existence of a valid copyright.

As you can see, it can be a good idea to copyright your book. Even though the process is not difficult, it can be helpful to have a guide that will spell out the steps to take in order to obtain a copyright.

Before you begin the application process, you must first prepare your manuscript. The entire piece of work needs to be submitted so be sure to check that all editing, both for grammar and for the story, are completed. When you are certain the work is finished, visit the official site of the U.S. Copyright Office. This is where you’ll find all the appropriate paperwork to file your copyright application. You will be instructed to select a form for submission depending on the type of novel you’ve written.

Once the paperwork is completed it needs to be sent with your manuscript and filing fees to the Library of Congress. Instructions and tutorials on the U. S. Copyright Office page will guide you regarding procedures and the fees you’ll need to send, which can range anywhere from $35 to $65. Approximately six months after you register your work, you should receive a certificate stating that everything is in order and that you are officially part of the copyright office. When publishing your book, you should display the following in the first pages of the novel:

• Your copyright stamp of approval. Put the copyright symbol on the book by either adding a circled "C" in the front section (imprint page) of your book or the word "copyright" with the date and author’s name following it (example: Copyright 2009 John Doe).
• An acknowledgement that you own the book.
• The publication date.
• The Library of Congress catalog number.

Keep in mind that you can not copyright the title of the book or the names of the characters. A copyright protects how you used the words within the body of the book only and doesn’t protect the words themselves. Also:

• Watch your timing: if you file for the copyright before your book is published, you’ll have to refile for another copyright of your book after it’s published. So, you’ll have two copyrights for the same work and you will have paid two fees. If wait until after your book has been published before getting a copyright, you will have to send two bound copies of the book to the copyright office along with your registration paperwork.
• When you copyright your book, you are generally entitles to the rights to your manuscript for your lifetime plus 70 years.
• International copyrighting does not exist. Different countries treat copyrighting differently, although most will protect foreign works under certain conditions.

For more information regarding how to copyright your book, or for other question regarding the book printing process, contact the book printing experts at http://www.CMYKGraphix.com by calling them at 1-800-698-2071, or by emailing them today.

Book Printing Tips – Setting Up An Author’s Website

You have written your novel and are eagerly awaiting the completion of the book printing so you can see your dream come to life. Time to sit back and relax, right? Wrong! Book printing is only the first step in selling your self-published book – you need to market it, too. Like any other product, you will sell more books if more people are aware of its existence. In today’s internet-based world, having a professional-looking author’s Web site can be one of the most important steps you take in promoting your work.

Fortunately, it’s possible to create a professional author Web site for free with limited design or programming skills using a blog host such as WordPress or Blogger. To successfully promote an author and his or her books, a professional Web site should have some very specific pages:

• The Home Page – this is the first page readers will come across when they visit your site. In some cases, it may be the only page you create. It should include vital information such as:

• Your full name or pseudonym if you choose to use one.
• A book cover image of your most recently published work. Ideally, this cover will be a link to Amazon or some other Web site that allows the reader to purchase your book.
• A jacket flap summary of your novel.
• Contact information, either as a form or a link to your email address.

• About the Author Page – this should include basic facts about you, including::

• A biography that focuses on the parts of your life relevant to your book.
• Information about current projects you are working on.
• Any other contact information you wish to share, such as a Facebook fan page or a Twitter page.

• An Events Page – this page offers easy access to updates regarding your professional schedule. This should show readers:

• All scheduled book signings, conferences, and school visits you will be attending.
• Any current news, such as a new book deal or publication of the book in a different country.

The creation of these and any other pages you can think of (such as a Published Novels Page or an Author’s Blog) will help create a baseline marketing tool that all your other promotions can spring from. Be sure to refer to it during any promotions and your word-of-mouth marketing is sure to increase.

For information on book printing and how to self-publish your book, contact CMYK Graphix, Inc. at 1-800-698-2071 or email them today.

Factors to Consider When Printing Your Book

Many people across the country have dreamed about writing the next great American novel. Most of us think that writing the novel is the hardest part, but one should never underestimate the steps that have to occur once the final page is typed or the decisions that have to be made to get the book on the shelf.

The details and decisions that go into printing your book, for example, are something many writers don’t think about. However, even for something that seems so simple, a lot of decisions have to be made that could impact the final result of your book. Factors to consider with book printing include:

• The type of paper used in the book – there are many different grades to choose from. The body paper can vary depending on the type, graphics and colors as well as the look and feel you want to achieve.
• You also must choose the type of paper for the cover. Most books have a soft or paperback cover as they are less expensive. Hardcover books are more costly.
• The book’s dimensions. Mass market paper backs are just 4.25” by 7”. Bigger sizes are appropriate for trade books, handbooks, fiction, manuals, textbooks, and coffee table books.
• The number of books printed. The economics of book printing are such that the greater the quantity produced, the lower the unit cost. So ask your printer for quotes for two or three different quantities.
• Another important aspect of your book is its binding style. There are a number of standard types of binding. Soft cover books are frequently perfect bound. The outside cover is glued to the spine to create a flat bound surface, which is great for books that have 40 or more pages. Saddle stitch binding utilizes staples in the fold, which is appropriate for books with less than 40 pages. Manuals and cookbooks might benefit from spiral plastic or wire binding, so that you can fold the book in half and lay them flat when referring to them. Hardcover books utilize adhesive casebook binding and may be sewn for additional strength and durability.
• The number of pages in the book. The number of pages can be especially important because this is something that can also affect the success of your book. Someone may be tempted to write fewer pages for the sake of saving money but if this short-changes your topic, it’s not worth it. Obviously, if your book covers a broad topic, you’ll need to use more pages to ensure it’s adequately discussed. The number of pages and resulting thickness of your book can also influence its perceived value.
• On of the most important decisions you must make relating to printing your book is the cover design. The spine and cover of a book must be eye catching, interesting, and aesthetically appealing in order to get noticed on the shelf. The design is critical in attracting the attention of consumers and directly affects whether they will notice your book and want to investigate it further. Cover design can be a critical make or break factor in the commercial success of your book.

Once the specifications of your book are determined it’s time to start getting price quotes and checking samples. It’s usually best to not go with the cheapest printer, consistent with the old saying that you get what you pay for. You want to make sure that you’ll get a quality job, delivered on time with the customer service that you need. It never hurts to ask for samples from a book printer and get references from people who have used them before. You want to make sure you can work well with whichever company you choose. Look for responsiveness, quality, honesty, and service as well as price when selecting you book printer.

CMYK Graphix, Inc. offers fast and easy book printing quotes online at http://www.cmykgraphix.com and custom quotes by request. For more information, contact them at 1-800-698-2071 or email them today.

Take Time to Edit Your Book Manuscript Before Submitting It For Book Printing

Whether a person is creating a work of fiction or nonfiction, they need to have a solid knowledge of writing fundamentals. Word choice, sentence structure, and grammar all play a role in developing a sound manuscript that turns into a great self-published book. On the other hand, even the most talented writer is bound to make a few mistakes throughout the writing process. It is for this reason that editing is such an important step to complete before sending your manuscript off for book printing.
           

There are several things every writer should watch for during the editing process, including:

• Spelling errors
• Sentences that are too long (run on sentences)
• Misuse of words
• Punctuation and grammar errors
• Capital or lower-case letters in the wrong places
• Nonsense sentences
• Factual errors
• Omissions of vital material

Reviewing the book for these types of errors is the first stage of book editing, and possibly the most important. After all, if your writing appears amateurish or if your facts are inaccurate, your book won’t have much success and you’ll have wasted a lot of time and money. This stage of editing is generally completed before sending your printer ready file to your book manufacturer. Experts suggest that writers review their entire manuscript several times over to be sure they’ve caught the majority of errors. It’s also a good idea to have a family member, friend, or local college student majoring in English edit your writing after you’re done. Their fresh, objective review will frequently catch errors you missed.

The final stage of editing occurs after editing your manuscript’s content. The purpose of this final edit stage is to eliminate any remaining errors, make sure that your book’s introductory section and back section are complete, and to adjust the length of the book, if necessary. After the title page, a book’s front section pages always begin on right hand pages and may include the following:

• Dedication
• Acknowledgements
• Table of contents
• Other optional pages that continue as right and left pages until the first chapter page may include:
• Foreword
• Preface
• Introduction
• List of Abbreviations
• List of Illustrations
• Disclaimers

Few writers think about it but the length of the manuscript, or the length of specific sections, can play a major role in how the book is laid out. For example, you will want all your chapters to begin on a right-hand page. The length of each chapter might need to be adjusted by adding a blank page at the end of a chapter that ends on a right hand page.

Once the editing process is completed your book is ready to go through the process of book printing so it can make its way into the hands of waiting readers. For more help self-publishing your book, contact CMYK Graphix – they provide one-stop shopping for book printing and other promotional print items. As the No. 1 choice in book printing today, CMYK Graphix will not only help you self-publish your book, they will provide the business cards, brochures, and flyers that will get your words out there in the world.

For more information about book printing, contact the experts at Cmykgraphix.com, call them at 1-800-698-2071, or email them today.

Sell Your Own Book Through Amazon

In today’s publishing world, the highest-selling book often becomes the shining gem of book distributors and wholesalers everywhere. With all the attention focused on the latest favorite, self-published authors can find their books at the bottom of wholesaler’s priority list, making it even harder for them to get sales. Remember, however, that those best-selling stories had to get their start somewhere and, in many cases, Amazon.com has been at the forefront of helping you sell your own book.

Unlike other wholesalers, Amazon.com pays equal attention to all their authors: best-sellers and those still getting their start in the sales world. They make sure all titles appear frequently and prominently throughout their Web site. Plus, their renowned personalization technology fits Amazon.com customers with the products they’re going to be interested in buying, even if they didn’t know the product existed. In this way, they can help you sell your own book by making sure your book find its way into the hands of the people with the highest probability of enjoying it. Those people are then more likely to pass it on to their friends and family members with similar tastes.

Additionally, Amazon.com’s Advantage program allows you complete control of your book’s detail page. Set up sample passages, a “Read about the Author” section, customer reviews, and images of your book cover, among other things. They send you automatic email notifications when the supply of your book is low so you can send more to their distribution center. This ensures your customers receive your book in the shortest time possible. Plus, their system will continually adjust the number of copies requested from you based on the sales performance your book maintains at any given time.

All that’s needed to enroll is the North American distribution rights for your books, barcodes with an ISBN or EAN on the back cover, and online access so you can manage your account. With this and the affordable flat fee of $29.95 per year your book can be available to the public 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can sell your own book by partnering with a wholesaler who has a reputation for service, reliability, and security, thus making it a self-publisher’s dream.

For more information about book printing or for hints to help you sell your own book, contact the expert book printers online at Cmykgraphix.com, call them at 1-800-698-2071, or email them today.

Marketing Your Self-Published Book? Try Amazon Advantage!

For a self-published author, marketing your self-published book can seem like a daunting task. Writing is what you know best and the stream of media contacts and advertising tools needed to get your book out into the world often appears to be an endless trail leading into the fearsome unknown.

The good news is that one of the largest wholesale Web sites in the world is doing everything they can to make marketing your self-published book easier for you. Through Amazon.com’s Advantage program any book can easily be advertised without having to reach the high levels of sales most other sites require.

The process is simple. Signing up for the Advantage program ensures that all titles appear frequently and prominently throughout the Web site. There is no favoritism between self-published works and the books sold by major publishing houses. Amazon.com’s distribution center keeps a minimum of five of your books on hand at all times so your work remains in stock for all customers. Since Amazon.com is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week your book has plenty of opportunities to get into the hands of the public.

Some other basic details and benefits of the Amazon.com Advantage include:

• Automatic emails notify you when your book supply is getting low so you can send more books into the distribution center. This ensures your customers have your book in hand as quickly as possible.
• Online access to sales and inventory reports, as well as the ability to control the details your customers see and to contact the vendor services team with any questions or concerns.
• Selling power. Tens of millions of consumers use Amazon.com on a frequent basis and the wholesaler has earned a reputation for service, reliability, and security.
• Unlimited titles. No many how many books you wish to promote and sell, you’ll pay the same flat fee of $29.95 per year and Amazon.com will only collect the standard 55% commission on the sale of your items.
• You even have the option to include “Not Yet Published” titles that will allow your customers to pre-order your books.

With such a user-friendly and powerful marketing tool at your fingertips there should be no reason to hesitate about marketing your self-published book.

For more information about book printing or marketing your self-published book, contact the expert book printers online at Cmykgraphix.com, call them at 1-800-698-2071, or email them today.

Tips To Help You Get Your Book Into Bookstores

One of the most difficult things about self-publishing a book is getting the sales volume to achieve meaningful success. Of course in today’s digital world, many authors are utilizing bookseller websites such as Amazon.com as well as their own website to promote and sell their book. However traditional bookstores remain one of the primary ways to get your book sold. Following are some of the steps needed to get your book into bookstores:

• To be sold in bookstores, you must obtain an International Standard Book Number (ISBN). The ISBN must be converted to a bar code format and appear on the back cover for scanning at the cash register check out. While applying for that, fill out the Advance Book Information form (ABI) to get your book listed in Books In Print (the main directory used by booksellers to order books).
• If you want to get your book into bookstores, you must first let people know the book is out there! Send out press releases to newspapers, newsletters and magazines.
• Consider making a formal presentation to a local book distribution company that ships to bookstores so you don’t have to worry about that particular detail. Such association also provides you a third party contact that bookstores are used to dealing with, which might make it easier for you to find a shelf spot.
• Research possible shelf space categories at your local bookstore where you want your book sold. When contacting a local store, inform them that you’re a local author and find out if they have a local author section. Ask about any book purchasing policies they have for local authors..
• Follow their policies for self-published authors as closely as possible. Many bookstores will reject your application if you don’t follow their instructions exactly as they are laid out.
• Discuss the various ways the bookstore might accept your books. Ideally, the bookstore will purchase your copies outright. That way you make your profit immediately upon sale to the bookstore. However, if you’re having a hard time getting your book into the store, you can also suggest selling your books on a returnable basis. That means that if your book doesn’t sell, you must take back any unsold quantity and refund the related purchase price to the bookstore.

No matter what steps you decide to pursue to get your book into bookstores, persistence is the most important thing. Success doesn’t happen overnight and every author has to wait some amount of time before word gets out about their masterpiece.

Before you can get your book into bookstores, you have to have it printed. CMYK Graphix Inc. is a professional printing company that can help you self-publish your book as well as assist you with some of the promotional materials you might need. For more information about self-publishing your book, contact the expert book printers online at Cmykgraphix.com, call them at 1-800-698-2071, or email them today.

Effectively Marketing Your Self-published Book

When you are self publishing a book, be it a memoir, a novel, or "how-to" manual, you need to put together an effective plan for marketing your self-published book. You should make sure to cover a variety of angles so you can get your book out to the greatest number of potential customers. The three most effective areas for marketing a book are in online sales, local book stores, and independent book sellers. Did you know that you can even list your book with Amazon and Barnes and Noble to get exposure across the globe?

To effectively market your book, start with drafting a press release. This is a statement that introduces your book to the media and lets them know your book is for sale. You can email or snail mail a press release but be sure to address it to the correct person, not just to a generic address, or it will likely be relegated to the wastebasket. You can find a database of media resources through the Internet News Bureau’s press release service. Include your contact information (name, phone number, email address, web site URL) and ask the recipient to call you to schedule an interview or request a review copy of your book.

Try radio if your book is suited to a radio talk show format or to a specific format. To find the right broadcaster, mail or fax your press release to as many stations as you can. You can purchase mailing lists of radio stations and their particular formats. Be sure to check with your local library for information on mailing lists and radio stations. 

Try the newspaper. As noted before, you must direct your press release to the proper person, not just a generic area of the newspaper. Newspapers have many sections and you need to be sure your press release falls into the right hands. If you don’t hear from them, send the press release again. And again. Persistence pays off when marketing your self-published book.

Call all of your local bookstores and offer to do a book signing. Book signings are an easy way for book sellers to generate excitement and boost their sales (and yours, too!). You can make up a promotional flyer and use their internal mailing list to promote the event.

One of the best things to do when marketing your self-published book is to list your book with Amazon. This is the largest online bookstore and they sell millions of books annually. One of the great things about them is that they give equal placement to both self-published books and those from major publishers. You need to go through the Amazon Advantage page to register and to list your book. You will also need to get an ISBN in order to sell your book in a retail setting like Amazon’s. Visit http://www.isbn.org for more information on obtaining an ISBN.

Create a Web site and blog that provides readers with the opportunity to buy your book. List excerpts from the book and provide an area where customers can sign up for your newsletter. The newsletter should list any special promotions you’re doing or any events you’re going to participate in.

Marketing your book can seem daunting at the start, but take it one step at a time and you’ll soon start to see everything fall into place.

Before you start marketing your self-published book, you have to get it into print! For more information about having your book printed, contact the expert book printers at Cmykgraphix.com, call them at 1-800-698-2071, or email them today.