The Koryu.com
Guide to Book Publishing

by Diane Skoss

The books and web sites below helped me learn the ropes. They are all highly recommended for anyone contemplating publishing a book.

Getting Started

You can lose your shirt putting out your own book! Production and marketing of a single book can cost anywhere from $20,000.00 to $40,000.00 (and it is usually closer to the latter for first time publishers as there are additional setup costs). The following books can help you avoid some of the pitfalls and show you how to plan effectively. Don't even dream of publishing your own book without consulting these sources.

Financial Feasibility in Book Publishing
Kirsch's Handbook of Publishing Law
Publish To Win
Publishing For Profit
Self-Publishing Manual

The following web sites are also good places to find more information to get you started:

Writing and Editing

Be sure to allow plenty of time for copyediting and proofreading. You need to draw on outsiders for this part of the process, particularly if you are the author. It is impossible for one individual to catch all errors. Developing a "house style" is very important--you should do this before you start to edit the manuscript. Editing should be COMPLETELY finished before you start production. Many first time publishers put all their efforts into this phase of the process. While it is crucial to get things right, it is even more essential that you don't think the job is done when you've finished writing/production.

Chicago Manual Of Style
Elements of Editing
Elements of Style
Style Meister: The Quick-Reference Custom Style Guide
Synonym Finder
Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictioner (though I personal perfer Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged)

Production and printing

Home computers have made it possible for professional looking books to be created at home (all our books were done entirely in-house). But it is not for the faint-of-heart. You need good equipment, a trained sense of design (the training doesn't necessarily have to be formal...), and a lot of time and patience.

Looking Good in Print
McNaughton & Gunn, Inc
Real World Scanning and Halftones
Thomson-shore's Book Manufacturing Home Page

Marketing and Distribution

Last, but by far the most important part of creating a book is marketing and distribution. If you don't have a way for people to get your book, there isn't much point in making it in the first place. And if people don't know about your book, they won't even know to look for it. Effort and money spent in the marketing process is the single greatest factor influencing whether a book is successful or not.