May 2012 – Christopher Shevlin

The first review

My book has been reviewed by Sarah Castell (an improviser with Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, among much else) on Amazon and on her lovely blog, here: http://sarahcastell.wordpress.com/2012/05/25/review-of-a-funny-book-which-reminds-us-all-why-we-should-all-be-more-astonished/ It’s pretty much exactly how I hoped people would respond to the book: This book is, in a way, a manifesto for us all to recapture our childlike state […]

8. Adapting your InDesign files for the Kindle

Putting out the Kindle version is much easier than the paperback – I just adapted my InDesign files. It’s important to remember that the Kindle will flow your text however it wants to, depending on the size of the Kindle, the size the user has chosen for the fonts, and the settings you specify. In […]

7. Finishing it off

All that remains is to tell Lightning Source about your book and upload the files. To do this, log in to Lightning Source and choose “Set up a new title” from the “My Library” drop-down menu. Most of the form, and the screens that follow, is self-explanatory. However, here are some things to bear in […]

6. Designing the cover

The first thing you need to do is a get a template for your cover from Lightning Source. Log in and go to “Account at a glance” (top right-hand corner). Then, under “Tools”, choose “Cover template generator”.

5. Pagesetting

You need to lay out the text first because LS needs to know the number of pages in order to tell you how wide your spine should be – and you can’t design your cover without knowing the spine width.

4. Getting layout software

I believe in doing everything myself, even though it would almost certainly have been cheaper, quicker and easier to pay someone else to design the cover, lay the text out and then send me the files in the correct format. If you’re like me, here’s what you need to know.

3. Buying ISBNs

The minimum number you can buy is ten, which costs £118.68. To do so, go to http://www.isbn.nielsenbook.co.uk/controller.php?page=123, download the application form by clicking on the link at the bottom of the screen and fill it in. You need to answer easy questions about your new publishing house (a breeze after Lightning Source), give them credit card […]

2. Setting up an account with Lightning Source

Step 1 – register You need to sign up at Lightning Source’s website (www.lightningsource.com) by clicking Register and then Proceed to our new account page. Within a couple of days, you will get an email from one of their people asking some questions:

1. Choosing the printing company

In the US, you can use Amazon’s CreateSpace, and that’s probably what I’ll do if I decide to make my book available over there. In the UK, the only real option is Lightning Source. Before Robin Saikia told me about Lightning Source, I was planning to use Lulu, but I was already getting a bit frustrated […]

How to self-publish

I’ve written a short guide that I hope will be helpful to people – like me – who want their novel to be available in paperback and on Kindle, looking as much like a professionally published book as possible. The process has been much more complicated and confusing than I thought possible, as well as […]

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