Formatting/Cover/Proof
My story is written, it’s been edited to a certain extent, now what?
Now I get the fun part. I mean I love writing and seeing the story come together and finding out what happens to my characters, but I also enjoy formatting, designing the cover, putting it all together and getting my proof copy.
Preparing Proof
Once Jim Wood was written, I sent it off to my synopsis writer and then divided the story into chapters and began formatting. (This means I had to decide on the size I wanted the book to be.) I added chapter titles because one of my readers loves them. (Yes, I did them just for her, but you can enjoy them too if you want.)
Next was cover design! Sometimes I love designing covers, other times it can get frustrating if I can’t find the image I want for a cover. With this book, however, it just took patience to find the same images because I was using Book Brush to design the covers instead of something else. But I did find what I wanted. Some things changed from my original design, but I like this look better.
Once I had the cover and the story formatted, I uploaded it to KDP and ordered my proof copy. (And the proof copies of a few other books to save shipping.)
Our next stop will be the Beta-Reading stage. Same time, same place . . .
Do you prepare your book in a similar way? Have you ever thought of what goes into preparing the books you love to read? Do you enjoy formatting or designing covers?
I found it interesting that you order the proof copy before the beta readers get through with it! It’s a good idea, I suppose; I just hadn’t thought of doing that before. 😉 Yes, formatting can be fun (but also frustrating at certain points 😉 ), and I also like designing covers. 🙂
I don’t always order the proof copy first, but for this book my beta readers were going to read the paper copy since one was at church and I could hand it to her, and the other is my sister who reads and checks for formatting problems. 🙂
Okay, cool! 🙂
*beams* Thank you for the chapter titles 🙂
*grins* Of course! 😉
Fun!!!! I LOVE cover design (I’ve done it for myself and few different people), but it can definitely get stressful!! And synopsis writing…I stressed so much over getting one done just for my alpha/beta readers! When it comes time for a publication one, I definitely plan on using Angie (your sanity saver :D)! Her synopses are amazing…much better than the one I struggled over for days!
Yes, Angie is wonderful for those pesky synopses! 😉 Yes, cover designing can be stressful when you can’t find the image you want, or can’t get the cover to look like you envisioned at first. 🙂
What do you use to format?
I use Microsoft Word. Any version works well. I also use the formatted templates from KDP and am saved SO much frustration! 😀