Self Publishing - Writing, Proofing and Editing
Writing
You have the idea, the drive, the stamina; all that it takes to produce the
thousands of words that will become your book. Maybe you prefer to write longhand, perhaps
you are adept at word-processing. Whatever method you use to compose the text,
at some point it is going to have to be converted into a format which
the printers can use in their machines. It obviously makes economic sense to
produce properly formatted copy yourself. Later in this article, our friendly printers
have explained how to do this.
However, don’t worry if technology is not your thing; you can
always pay someone to convert the text but this, of course, will
add to the final unit cost of your book. The printers will normally be able to recommend
a good typographer.
Proofing
It is entirely possible to proof-read your own work but most of us
have quirks of punctuation and spelling which no amount of re-reading
can reveal as errors. In my experience the relatively small price
for someone to comb the text is well worth paying.
Editing
No matter how skilled you are as a writer it is important
to remember that almost all books which reach the shops have been professionally edited.
Sometimes we writers get too close to our own text and can’t see the deficiencies
which are obvious to an objective reader. Editing, though
not essential, is strongly recommended.
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