Set Yourself Up to Self-Publish: A Genealogist's Guide

C. Carson Dina

Description

If you have a family story to tell or research to share and want to know what your options are for publishing, this guide will:* lead you through how publishing works* illustrate the four stages of a publishing project* show you how to pick a project to publish (and give you some ideas for new projects)* analyze the which tools you will need to complete the project* and instruct you how to prepare your manuscript to publish in print, as an eBook, or online. This handy publishing primer will give you what you need to take your writing--your genealogical research, your family or local history, even your personal experiences and adventures--from manuscript to published book.

Informations

• Publié par: First Edition Design Publishing
• Date de parution: 15 décembre 2014
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781622877249
• Langue: English

Extrait

Set Yourself Up to Self-Publish: A Genealogist’s Guide
Dina C. Carson


First Edition Design Publishing, Inc.
Set Yourself Up to Self-Publish:
A Genealogist’s Guide

by D ina C. C arson

I ron G ate P ublishing
Niwot, CO
Set Yourself Up to Self-Publish:
A Genealogist’s Guide
Copyright ©2014 Dina C. Carson

ISBN 978-1622-877-24-9 EBOOK

September 2014

Published and Distributed by
First Edition Design Publishing, Inc.
in conjunction with Iron Gate Publishing
P.O. Box 20217, Sarasota, FL 34276-3217
www.firsteditiondesignpublishing.com



ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means ─ electronic, mechanical, photo-copy, recording, or any other ─ except brief quotation in reviews, without the prior permission of the author or publisher.
Because …
“ … we may find ourselves bedeviled by a weak link
in a future generation willing to throw things out
without checking what it is first.”

—Carl Boyer
How to Publish and Market Your Family History
Contents

Preface
Introduction
Section 1
Chapter 1: Why Self-Publish?
Chapter 2: Publishing Projects—The Four Stages
Chapter 3: Pick a Project to Publish
Chapter 4: How Publishing Works
Chapter 5: Right Tool for the Right Job
Section 2
Chapter 6: Page Layout for Print
Chapter 7: Typesetting for Print
Chapter 8: Images for Print
Chapter 9: Scanning Basics for Print
Chapter 10: Cover Design for Print
Chapter 11: Final Files for Print
Chapter 12: Other Information about Your Book
Section 3
Chapter 13: Converting a Print Manuscript to eBook Formats
Chapter 14: Converting a Print Manuscript to a PDF for the Screen
Chapter 15: Interactivity for eBooks
Section 4
Chapter 16: Converting a Print Manuscript to a Website
Chapter 17: Converting a Print Manuscript to Blog
Chapter 18: Converting a Print Manuscript for Social Media
Section 5
Chapter 19: Working with a Scanning Company
Chapter 20: Working with a Photographer
Chapter 21: Working with an Illustrator
Chapter 22: Working with a Cover Designer
Chapter 23: Working with a Book Packager
Chapter 24: Working with an Indexer
Conclusion
About the Author
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Updates
Bibliography
Preface

I started publishing in 1989 before self-publishing became popular or quite so easy. The reason I did so was because a friend and I were working on a series of books about planning reunions, and we wanted to know what our options were to publish the books. Back then, we found plenty of options, but few good options.
Non-fiction books enjoy the advantage of having an an easily identifiable audience, but are disadvantaged due to lack of interest by publishers or bookstores for selling a few books here and there, even if an audience is clamoring for the information contained in the book. It turns out that you are better off publishing some non-fiction books yourself.
Enter Dan Poynter and his Self-Publishing Manual: How to Write, Print and Sell Your Own Book . Tom and Marilyn Ross were not far behind with The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing . I learned from their books, I attended publishing conferences and joined publishers groups. I endured the pain of writing an enormous check to the printer for which I received eight pallets of books stacked four feet high, numbering more than 10,000 books. It is harder than you think to sell 10,000 books, but it can be done. Thankfully, these days, there is almost never a need for 10,000 books in one delivery unless you have a blockbuster on your hands. A blockbuster is a good problem to have.
The best news for genealogists and family historians is the ease with which self-publishing takes place today. You will notice that I did not say that the research or writing was easy, or that laying out and typesetting a manuscript was easy. Once you have a manuscript ready for print, however, the actual process of choosing a printer, uploading the files, and having a single book delivered to your doorstep at a reasonable cost, is E A S Y.
Throughout this book, I will remind you that if you can do the research, you can publish. If you can crawl through the depths of Aunt Mabel’s basement in a quest for the family bible, if you can schlep your toddler to the Family History Library in Salt Lake, if you can endure a sweltering Missouri courthouse attic in August, you can self-publish.
I have written this book in a conversational style—just us having a conversation, sharing what I know. My primary aim is to take the fear out of the process—to put your mind at ease—by helping you recognize that after researching and writing a fantastic family history, there is no reason for you to stumble over the last step, publishing the book.
Set Yourself Up to Self-Publish: A Genealogist’s Guide is the first in a series of nine books that describes the process of publishing. The other books tackle the particulars of planning, research, writing and marketing the following:

• A genealogy—your research, published in order to pass it along to the next generation of researchers.
• A family history—your family stories, based upon the research, written so that your non-genealogical relatives will enjoy reading it.
• A local history—everything from the history of a region to the stories of a single farm or business.
• A memoir—the story of you, told for a future generation.
• A biography—focusing less on an entire family and more on an individual or couple.
• A photo book—fewer stories, fantastic images.
• A source index—indexing record sets, the bedrock on which genealogical research stands.
• A how-to—imparting your research expertise to help others.

For now, allow me to explain your options for publishing in print, electronically, and online.
Introduction

Throughout this book, you will read the words, “If you can do the research, you can publish it.” Why? Because, I truly believe it.
Before we move to the nuts and bolts of page layout and typesetting, I want to explain to you what your options are for publishing.
You can publish in print, and there are plenty of publishing companies out there to do that for you, if you choose. I believe, however, that there are many advantages to self-publishing. So many, in fact, that most family historians choose the self-publishing route.
You can publish electronically. There is something appealing about being able to send your cousins a copy of the book without incurring any expenses to print and ship. About one quarter of adult readers have switched to electronic devices (eReaders or tablets) on which to read books. Many of these people do not buy books in print any longer. Fortunately, the process of converting a book you have laid out for print is fairly simple. Once you have the print manuscript ready, why not take a few extra steps and publish an eBook version as well?
You can publish online. Publishing online is an organizational challenge, but has the benefit of making your book available across the globe to anyone who wants to read it.

Section One describes the stages of a publishing project, how to pick a project that is doable, how traditional and self-publishing works, and the tools that facilitate the job of typesetting and layout.

Section Two describes the ins and outs of print publishing. The books that look the best also are the easiest on the eyes to read. Reading comprehension decreases dramatically when books are not typeset well. Books that are not typeset well also look amateurish. This section will give you all of the instructions you need to make your book look its best.

Section Three describes the steps necessary to turn your print manuscript into an electronic book and to add some interactivity, if you wish.

Section Four describes how to overcome the organizational challenges that accompany online publishing using a website, a blog or social media.

Section Five is useful if you do not want to tackle the entire publishing project yourself and require professional assistance to:

• Scan your images and prepare them for use in your book
• Photograph objects, people or places
• Hire an illustrator for one-of-a-kind artwork
• Work with a cover designer, book packager or indexer

My original contention bears repeating. If you can research, you can publish.
Section 1

The goal in this section is to give you enough of an understanding about how publishing works to make you comfortable with the decision to self-publish.
First, we will take a look at the stages of all publishing projects—planning, writing, production and marketing.
Then, you will see how traditional book publishing works, and how everything a traditional publisher could do for you, you can do quite easily for yourself.
Finally, we will examine the tools you will need to make your way from bright idea to a book in your hands.
Keep reading. If you have ancestors who are interesting enough to research, they have stories interesting enough to tell.
Chapter 1: Why Self-Publish?

With a little bit of knowledge, you can take your research and make it available to family, friends or other researchers in print, as an electronic book, or online. If you can do the research, you can also do the publishing. Modern publishing technology makes it possible for anyone to create a quality, published family history.
Not only will family members appreciate knowing more about their heritage, the hours you spent researching deserves to become an everlasting record of your family’s history. Self-publishing is one way to assure the legacy of your research.

Who Needs This Book?
You need this book if you:
• are still gathering research, but want to know what your publishing options are.
• do not want to pay for and store a garage full of books produced the old-fashioned way in print runs of hundreds.
• are al