Manuscript Preparation for
Publishing Books
The best way to produce a book is to go to a bookstore and look at as many page designs as possible. Pick one you like and follow the same type of format. Be sure to size your document to the size of book you want to publish before you start typing as this will save you from having to reformat after typing. If your manuscript is already entered onto your computer, you can still re-size; but you will need to go back through and make sure everything falls on the correct page and looks correctly. The easiest way to tell what page falls where is to look at the physical page number. The easiest way to set your book size is to enter the size of the book as the paper size on your page setup screen and enter .75" for left and right and .7" for top and bottom margins.
To produce a book you should start with a title page followed by the copyright page. The title page typically includes the title, subtitle, name of publisher and author. In book publishing, the copyright page must contain Copyright © followed by the year and name of who the copyright is filed under. Example: title page and copyright page. One frequently quoted source is Strunk & White's "The Elements of Style" at http://www.strunkandwhite.com. If you have questions about type for your text pages, you might look at http://www.adobe.com/type/ for ideas. Your cover can optionally be full color. Content pages can be printed in black type or can be in full color.
Listing the publisher (your name) and printer on the copyright page is standard in the book publishing industry. The book would be printed in the United States of America by Instantpublisher.com.
All books are priced by the number of pages. Many books will have special pages such as a Table of Contents, Foreword or Introduction, Glossary or Index. You are the publisher and have full control of how the pages will look and in what order they appear in your book. When planning to publish your book, do not use too many fonts, especially on the same page and never use all caps.
