I know I’ve been terribly negligent in keeping up this blog lately. There are a ton of things that I would like to add here that I’ve learned over the last couple of months, but for now I just want to give you a link to a wonderfully concise list of the parts that should be included in a book. Check out this great post by Todd Rutherford: Book Nuts and Bolts.

Every self-published author MUST know these parts of a book! And can I please just put in a special plug for the book foreword. There is nothing that screams “ignorant self-publisher” louder than picking up a book and seeing the foreward. I know this from personal experience – I was at a conference a while back and picked up a book written by the speaker. As I was flipping through it, the heading Foreward glared at me from the page. I know this will expose me as a book snob, but I put the book back on the table and refused to buy it. If an author/self-publisher hasn’t done enough research to at least get a basic thing like the spelling of Foreword correct, I can’t help but think that the rest of the book may lack elements of quality and excellence as well.

So, my fundamental piece of advice to all aspiring self-publishers is to do your research. There’s a reason self-publishing has earned a bad rap; many people don’t put in the time, effort, and resources to produce quality work – whether it be editing, cover design, page layout, printing, content organization, etc. I say, let’s do our part to change the perception of self-publishing!

For the past three months, Bryce Beattie, of the StoryHack blog, has been compiling and posting The Self Published Carnival. I’ve been a bit delinquent (as if you all didn’t already know that), so I just finally got around to looking over them in greater detail. They are fabulous! From writing to editing to marketing and more, the links on these carnivals are a treasure trove of helpful tips and tools for the self-publisher:

The Self Published Carnival #1

The Self Published Carnival #2

The Self Published Carnival #3

Check out this article at Self Publishing Advice with five helpful editing tips for self-publishers. I can vouch for the absolute importance of having an editor – multiple editors, actually! When I finished my first draft of Pajama School, I gave a copy of the manuscript to each member of my family for them to read and edit. (I think we must be a little bit on the geeky side, because just about everyone in our family enjoys editing…or at least pointing out errors in other people’s writing!) Once I inputted all of those edits and changes, I gave copies to the other four people I recruited to do editing for me. One of them is still finishing up his editing. (Note: Editing is a LONG process! Be sure you don’t underestimate the time it will take!)

Once I receive the final edits this week, I plan to do one more read-through to incorporate all of the edits, suggestions, etc. Then we’ll be ready to move forward with the final page layout before printing. Hooray! It’s getting close!

Author Josh Harris shares How to Write a Book in 16 Easy Steps on his blog. Even though I’ve only written one book, I can totally relate to his bit of tongue-in-cheek commentary on the emotional rollercoaster of writing a book. A great little dose of reality for anyone working on a book or aspiring to write a book!

About a month ago I distributed copies of my manuscript to the four people who are doing editing for me. A couple of them are focusing more on the “big picture” of the book – identifying gaps or concepts that need clarification and evaluating the overall feel of the book. The other two are doing detail grammatical and sentence structure work.

Since I distributed the manuscripts, I haven’t personally touched the book. I thought it would be helpful to step back and clear my mind a little so that I can approach it with a fresher perspective when I set about to incorporate the editorial suggestions. As I’ve begun getting feedback from my editors, I had to decide how to respond. Here’s the list I’ve come up with for how to handle feedback from editors:

1. Listen.
2. Humbly receive every comment and critique.
3. Ask questions to clarify what changes they are suggesting.
4. Take notes that you can refer to on your own later.
5. Don’t become discouraged; remind yourself that it will be better in the end because of the contribution of others to the finished product.
6. Re-evaluate what you want readers to take away from the book and what you want the overall tenor of the book to be.
7. Wait until you have received complete input for the entire book and/or from all the editors before you begin implementing changes.
8. Pray for wisdom and discernment.
9. Determine what suggested editorial changes will enhance the message of the book and are worthy of implementation.
10. Implement changes.

I’ve made it to number 7 thus far and am in the waiting stage. This has been a tough process, but I continue to learn a lot and am truly grateful for the friends who are expending their time and energy to help make Pajama School a success. I am clinging to the hope that it will all be worth it in the end!

After running around in circles for a couple of days trying to figure out where to apply for what and in what order, I think I’ve finally managed to get some of this figured out! Here are some step-by-step instructions I’ve compiled to help other self-publishers navigate the various registration requirements in the most efficient order. I haven’t quite gotten through all these steps yet (and there are probably more yet to be discovered!), but once I have printed copies of my book in hand I should be able to finish up the last of these.

1. Go to the ISBN Website and apply for a block of ISBNs.

2. Upon receiving your block of ISBNs, follow the instructions in the e-mail to print and assign your book title to one of the numbers.

3. Go to the Bookland Website and use the free bar code generator to generate a bar code for your book. Download and save both the .EPS and the .PDF files to your computer. (Incorporate this into the final book design.)

4. Go to the Bowker Link Website and enter the username and password contained in the e-mail with the ISBNs. Once you are logged in, click the “Add Title” button and enter the information for your book.

5. Go to the Library of Congress Website and apply to participate in the Library of Congress Preassigned Card Number (PCN) program.

6. Upon receiving the e-mail indicating that you have been accepted into the PCN program, go to the PCN area of the Library of Congress Website and login with the username and password provided in the e-mail. Complete the application process by filling in the forms.

7. Wait 2-3 business days and go back to Bowker Link and upload a cover image to the book information.

8. Upon being accepted into the PCN program, send a copy of the best edition of your book to the Library of Congress at the address listed in the acceptance e-mail.

9. Go to the U.S. Copyright Office Website and you can either fill out an electronic form or download and complete a print form to send in to the office along with two copies of your printed book. (Based on Morris Rosenthal’s experience with the on-line registration process, I may just fork over the extra $10 and go the paper route.)

If anybody knows of anything I’m leaving out so far, please let me know and I’ll update the list!

Now that I’m nearing the final stages of preparing Pajama School for publication I’m trying to make sure that every element of the book is as professional as possible. I just came across this page of Common Typographical Errors on the Aeonix Publishing Group website. The article identifies numerous typographical errors that make a book look unprofessional. Many of the items listed are small details, but they make a big difference in the overall look and feel of the book. Every self-publisher should carefully study this list and make every effort to avoid these errors in their own work so that the finished product looks professional.

After many hours of writing, researching, praying, and collaborating with friends I am finally ready to announce the title of my upcoming book. Many of you have expressed your support and encouragement as I have tackled this endeavor and it is exciting to be at this point in the process! So, without further ado, may I introduce to you my book:

Pajama School – stories from the life of a homeschool graduate

Pajama School is currently in the final stages of editing. Once the edits have been implemented and the interior design completed, I will be doing a small print run and sending the book out for reviews and endorsements. If you or someone you know would be interested in receiving an Advance Review Copy for review and/or endorsement, please e-mail me for more information. Lord-willing, Pajama School will officially be released and available for purchase in March, 2009. In the meantime, you can find more information on the Pajama School website and stay up-to-date by checking back regularly for progress reports.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support!

BTW, you can also click here to become a fan on my Facebook page.

Almost four months after officially launching this journey, I am excited to announce that I am ready to reveal the title and cover of my book. Next Tuesday is the day. The moment I just know you’ve all been waiting for. I’ll be announcing the title and subject matter, presenting the cover design and providing a link to the official website. Thanks for your patience and for those of you who have offered prayer support, helpful advice, and even financial contributions toward this project. I still have a long ways to go, but I trust that the Lord will continue to direct each step of the way. It’s exciting to at least be at this point!

An Interested Reader graciously pointed out that I have not revealed any additional information about my book for a while. I truly am sorry for the delay, but I am waiting for two things:

1. The final cover design image from my designer. We’ve basically finalized everything, now I’m just waiting for her to implement the final decisions so that I can present an image of the book cover when I announce the title.

2. Finish the website for the book. I’ve been working on a website and have the basic layout done. I just need to tweak the shopping cart system and add the rest of the content on the pages of the site.

I’m definitely getting closer to the end, but now that I’m back into my fall schedule, it’s been harder to devote as much time to all these details related to my book project! And I know that the speed certainly won’t be slowing down at all anytime soon!

Thanks for your patience. And rest assured…I promise that I will announce the title before the book is published!