Ready! Set! Go!
Your book is done and you really want to get it published. Because it takes a long time to submit it to a traditional publisher, and wait for them to decide if they want to publish it or not, you have decided to self publish. RMK can help!
There are a number of steps and decisions which need to be made prior to publication via either Ingram Spark or KDP Amazon or any other service you with to use. Here is a checklist of items to go by
Manuscript
Have a FINISHED manuscript. Before you go to publish the manuscript should be completely done – the content should be complete and the editing/proofreading finished. Normally this is done in MSWord.
The smallest book possible is 28 pages – this will not have a spine. To have a spine the book must be more than 100 pages. Standard size books are between 50,000 and 100,000 words – though many are shorter (chapbooks) or longer.
Although the author will have a chance to look over and make corrections to a proof copy of the book prior to public release, the manuscript sent to RMK publications cannot be added to or changed once initially uploaded.
Size and type
The standard size for paperbooks these days is 6×9. Amazon and Ingram have other options as well, but using one of the standard sizes they recommend means printing them is less expensive.
In general, hardbacks are more expensive than paperbacks. Color interiors are much more expensive than black and white.
Pictures and Book Cover
RMK can work with you to insert photographs or artwork into your manuscript and to create an attractive cover.
Categories and Keywords
Both KDP and Ingram will do some marketing of the book through their websites and emails. Customers purchasing books use keywords and categories to find what they want. Generally write down a description of your book, and write a “hook” paragraph to intrigue the readers.
Copyrights
Only submit a book for publication that you own the rights to. Formal copyrighting by the Library of Congress is fairly simple and costs about $75, but not always necessary. If you wrote it, you own the copyright – and once published you have proof it is yours. Formal copyrighting is done most often by those who publish non-fiction and reference works, or by fiction writers of renown whose work might be plagiarized.
ISBN
An ISBN number identifies a book to booksellers and other marketing avenues. You can choose to purchase an ISBN number from RMK, Ingram, or KDP. KDP also offers the option of a free ISBN number if the author agrees to only market their book through Amazon. Both Ingram and KDP have options to market the book nationally and internationally.
Account Access
RMK will help the authors create accounts with either Ingram or KDP. The author may either do all the uploading and modifications themselves or authorize RMK to take control of the account until the book is published. Once the project is complete, RMK will relinquish control and encourage the author to change passwords.
You are the Boss!
RMK publications believes that the author is the final authority. We do not do content or any other type of editing. If you wish to go with non-standard spellings, punctuation, etc…that is the author’s choice. What we do is take your manuscript and set it into the size and dimensions required for publication.
