Your rough draft is finished. You’ve selected the photos and other images you’ll use to illustrate your book. You’ve accomplished a lot. You’ve completed the most important step in creating your memoir or family history. But there’s a lot left to do to get from this point to publication of your book. And you may find that you need help with some of the remaining steps.
- REVISION: You need to revise your manuscript. You’ll need to complete two phases of editing. The macro reading or content edit looks at the big picture – how to improve the quality of your narrative. What details should be added? What isn’t needed and should be cut out? Would your book benefit by reordering some of the stories? The micro reading – the copy edit – focuses on details and correctness including grammar and word choice. No one should undertake the editorial process alone. If you have a trusted friend who possesses the requisite skills get them to help you. If not you may consider working with a professional editor.
- PHOTO PREPARATION: Next your photos must be prepared. You’ll want to write captions for them. They will need to be scanned, cropped, corrected for color, and may require retouching or even photo restoration for particularly important but damaged photos. If you have the skills with Adobe Photoshop you may be able to do most of this yourself. If not, you’ll need a photo editor.
- BOOK DESIGN: Your manuscript is transformed from a draft to a book during the book design process. This step will determine what your book will look like when it’s printed. You’ll need to make decisions on all kinds of things including type font, page layouts, photo placement and cover design. Then you’ll need to prepare your book as a digital file to send to the printer. It is a rare author that is not well served by working with a professional book designer.
- PRINTING: Selecting a printer is an important step. The choice is often determined by the size of your intended audience. If you intend to print only a small quantity for family members and friends you’ll want to choose a printer who can produce an archival quality, hardback, heirloom book with quality binding and paper. But if price is a factor, as with a person seeking to distribute her book commercially, a lower cost per copy may be important. In this case you might choose a different printer.
If you want your book to be a true do-it-yourself project you can probably learn all of the skills involved in these steps. But if you would rather be sharing your book with family and friends or seeing it on Amazon rather than trying to master Photoshop or InDesign, the time you save by hiring professionals to help you will be worth it.
