Touchwood Press Blog

What are the specific manuscript formatting guidelines I should follow?

Published on by Michael McCandlessLeave a comment

You can save yourself a lot of time, hassle, and potentially money if you clean up your manuscript prior to editing or review by a professional or friend. Here are some manuscript formatting guidelines to follow as you get your book ready for publishing.

Use these standard manuscript formatting (SMF) guidelines to create a cleaner manuscript that will make you or someone helping you more productive. SMF helps authors produce ready-to-edit manuscripts without unnecessary characters, spacing, and formatting that only needs to be deleted and re-done later. Professional editors or formatters you may use will spend less time and save you money. A manuscript created using SMF leaves formatting to the formatting phase, where tools such as Word, Adobe InDesign, Atticus, or Kindle Create can do what they do more efficiently.

SMF formatting specifically in a Microsoft Word file format (.doc or .docx) is required by many publishers including Touchwood Press as a pre-requisite for accepting a manuscript for review and evaluation. The best way for you to implement these guidelines in your manuscript is to make use of Styles in Word. If you don’t know how to use Styles, ask someone, take a course, or proceed without Styles until you learn how. This is a really key way to up your authoring game.

SMF Guidelines

  • Times New Roman, 12-point throughout.
  • Double spaced lines, but DO NOT double-space with carriage returns. Just proceed with default line-spacing until you can learn how to double space automatically in Word.
  • Paragraphs indented 1/2″, no lines between. Use tabs, not spaces, if you must. Again, learn how to automate this and include in a Style.
  • Margins = 1″ on all sides.
  • Scene breaks: Use 3 #s, 3 *s, or 3 ~s only with a space between each one. A “scene break” is often used in fiction within a chapter to change the setting or break to a new scene like in a movie.
  • Chapter titles: Begin 1/3 of the way down the page, flush left. Then, leave a blank line between the chapter title and the body of the chapter. Make the CHAPTER TITLE all upper case.
  • Headers & Footers: Author last name / BOOK TITLE—all flush left. Page numbers: top right.

These guidelines will dramatically improve the usability of your manuscript for an editor or designer.

AVOID

  • Adding spaces or lines between paragraphs or around scene breaks
  • Adding extra indent at left or right margins.
  • Using spaces or tabs to indent or center text.
  • Using other fonts for titles, chapter titles, or in body
  • Using Enter to go to next page. Use INSERT PAGE, Ctrl/Command Enter to insert a page break.

As always, contact us here at Touchwood Press for more information.

What is formatting and why do I keep hearing authors complaining about it?

Published on by Michael McCandlessLeave a comment

If you’ve spent much time around personal computing over the past 40 years, you have never stop hearing about formatting. Formatting floppies, formatting hard disks, formatting pictures, formatting documents, formatting books.

What is formatting?

Consider the cupcake. A cupcake is formatted batter. I bet you didn’t see that coming. Stick with me here. You’re consulting your favorite cookbook or recipe blog looking for something to make as a snack and you come across a recipe that sounds delicious and will only use ingredients you already have, including some fresh blueberries that need to be used up soon or, you know. The recipe is for a blueberry quick bread or a loaf pan cake. But you had your heart set on cupcakes. Solution? You re-format the recipe and just spoon the batter into cupcake molds instead of pouring it all into a loaf pan. Reformatting. Changing the way you package the goodness.

Your writing goodness starts out in a word processor. Formatted so it looks the way you think it should look so you can read it comfortably, like the way a book should look — or to print it out to read or for someone else to read. Like a book. Except on 8 1/2 x 11 paper. Except for a one-page-at-a-time screen reader rather than a 2-page spread like a book. Different from a book. This means your writing needs to be re-formatted to make it look like a book, or actually, become a book.

Formatted for a word processor, and depending on your skill level with that word processor, you may have used tabs for indents, tabs and/or spaces for centering, carriage return characters to provide spacing between paragraphs and to start a new page, etc. To re-format a document so it will be print-ready can take you hours, or many hours, of learning, trial and error, and frustration. I know.

Why You Should Care about formatting

Formatting is really important and may make the difference between getting your book published at all. And you thought it was only about the writing. Some publishers will not accept a manuscript for consideration unless it conforms to their version how a document must be formatted—their own Standard Document Format. I’m going to talk about SDFs in a separate post, but understand that there isn’t just one standard.

Most writers are self-publishing these days. Many, after fooling around with formatting themselves and failing repeatedly to get their manuscript uploads accepted by a print-on-demand vendor’s quality checks, decide that maintaining their sanity is the better part of self-publishing, will hire a professional designer/formatter to help. Professional book designers are graphic artists who’ve been to book design school. They are skilled in the art and craft of book design. They can make a beautiful book out of your document—one that will pass the quality checks that Amazon KDP or any other print-on-demand service will require. In the scheme of things, it’s not expensive to hire a pro. Search “freelance book designers” to start searching.

So, yes, you should care about formatting because it is part of making a quality book that will make you proud. Sort of like those cupcakes.

FOr More Information

What challenges do authors face when trying to get their books published?

Published on by Michael McCandlessLeave a comment

My assumptions from your question is that you have a book (or nearly have finished a book) and would like to have an established publisher publish it. Apologies if this is too narrow.

Given these assumptions, your greatest challenge is getting a publisher to take a look at your book and give you some feedback. Getting a rejection letter is a win, of sorts. At least, someone cared enough to take a look and offer an opinion. There are more writers than ever with more books than ever, and publishers are very selective because so few books make a profit in the marketplace and they only want the ones that they will do so. Makes sense, right?

Authors are left with these options:

  1. Keep trying until you succeed somehow
  2. Give up.
  3. Publish the book yourself through a so-called “vanity press” — a book printer looking for ways to keep their presses busy. This costs the author a bundle and results in unsellable inventory, oftentimes.
  4. Publish the book yourself through a print-on-demand service like Amazon KDP or Direct2Digital, or others. This can be fun and rewarding — and inexpensive — but has a learning curve and may end up requiring that you hire some editing, design, formatting, or production management help from an expert. (Still better than a storage unit full of books you can’t sell.) One possibility outcome is that you hit a nerve in the marketplace and sell lots of books, or at least enough to keep you writing. Another great result would be if your success was noticed by one of those established publishers that sent you a rejection letter and instead they send you an offer letter. This DOES happen because established publishers didn’t get that way by accident and today’s self-publisher industry is their farm system where tomorrow’s superstar writers can be found and developed. Makes sense.

Good luck. Reach out for more if you like at publisher@touchwoodpress.com.

Tokyo Series 2025 Cover

Baseball, the world’s pastime

Published on by Michael McCandlessLeave a comment

We have just published Tokyo Series 2025, our timely book giving the background behind the upcoming 2025 Season Opening Series between the Cubs and the Dodgers in the Tokyo Dome. Developing this book has really opened our eyes to the international appeal and existing presence of professional baseball around the world. We hope it does that for readers, too.

More books are in the works. We have just completed 50 Fun Facts titles covering the American League East teams and will soon complete our coverage of the National League Central Division. Also in the works are books about The Negro Leagues, a great story, and baseball in Latin America.

We started this project as a way to scratch our own baseball itch in the off-season. But 50 Fun Facts Baseball has become a profound learning experience. The scales have fallen from our eyes, as it were, about the rich history and traditions of professional baseball teams all across America. Every team has its rituals, heritage, and legacy. Every home city has a story to tell about the hows, whos, and whys of baseball there. Even though the pro sports landscape in the USA continues to expand, providing entertainment and fun for fans of all ages, all year round, baseball maintains its special place in our hearts and minds.

Join us in remembering past baseball glories, present realities, and the exciting future of baseball. See the 50 Fun Facts Baseball books here.

AI and You

Published on by Michael McCandlessLeave a comment

My favorite self-publishing expert is all over AI as the way ahead to accelerating her writing process and publishing more books faster. I am catching up as fast as I can and you should, too.

But remember one thing as you experiment with AI tools and get them to help you write more books faster. AI is a robot. You are the human. Training yourself as a robot master may be a great way to expand your product line and become the publishing mogul your partner wants you to be, but in the rush to moguldom, don’t forget who’s in charge. To borrow a term from the avant garde movement in filmmaking, you are the auteur, the main artist. The one with the vision for the story, the mission, the final product. You are the Orson Welles, the Da Vinci, the Richard Wagner of your very own art form. The AIs are your helpers. A new way to be more productive, keep control of costs, make more at the end of the day.

That said, AI is fast becoming too many things to many different people and situations. Is it a productivity tool for enterprise workers? Is it a conceptualizer for the graphic artist? Is it an automated ghost writer? Yes. Yes. And yes. How you use AI depends on what you prompt it to produce and how good your prompting. For self-publishers, get your feet, then your knees, then your whole self wet as fast as you can. Your readers are waiting.

Easy-peasy audiobooks, relatively speaking

Published on by Michael McCandlessLeave a comment

Last month, we journeyed from idea to the publication of our first audiobook in three weeks. At no cost. International distribution. Easy-peasy.

Here were the keys:

  • We already had a decent microphone, a Blue Yeti, and a tiny bit of experience using the Audacity free version as our audio studio.
  • The narrator has done some acting and is familiar with speaking lines. He was the co-author and worked for free.
  • We used FindawayVoices.com as our production/distribution platform, and that was very helpful, and free.

The book, 50 Fun Facts About the New York Yankees, was launched in paperback and e-book on Amazon in July. We had the thought to produce an audiobook version once the Yankees were definitely going to the World Series. We didn’t allow quite enough time as it turned out, so we missed that opportunity. But not by much. We’re delighted that the book was available as quickly as it was, and on multiple distribution channels. We can now say that we have started up a brand new arm of Touchwood Press.

Takeaways:

  • Don’t be intimidated at the prospect of producing an audiobook version of your book. Just as with publishing the print book, you can do this, even if you need a little help.
  • However, remember to respect the medium. You’ll need a quiet place to record. You’ll need to be aware that your breathing and other mouth noises (and other noises) will absolutely end up in the recording. It may require multiple takes and some editing to get an acceptable audio files.
  • The two co-authors of the Yankees book are on different coasts. This did not present any serious problem. One author sent production-ready audio files to the other, who merged and did final production on them before uploading to FindawayVoices. There were remarkably few re-tries needed to get an OK from Findaway, and we were off to the races. Within a few days, we were notified that six distribution channels (GooglePlay, Audiobooks.com, others) have included our audiobook in their catalogs. Listeners everywhere can buy our audiobook, and we get royalties (almost) instantly, at rates that vary by channel. Pretty slick.

What about Amazon?

Amazon’s ACX is the kingpin in the audiobook production world, especially for self-publishers. That’s great. However, through my research and what I’ve heard from others over time, ACX offers a more complicated path for self-publishers than say, FindawayVoices, which we use for our first adventure into audiobooks. The complications begin with the ACX Book Posting Agreement, a lengthy contract that is well worth your time if you want to get into the audiobook business. For our purposes, publishing our first audiobook, this was a bridge way too far. Having said that, I look forward to accessing the benefits that ACX can offer as we ramp up our audiobook enterprise.

The Opportunity

The audiobook market is expected to grow about 25% per year between now and 2032. The market was $4.2 billion in 2022 and could be as big as $40 billion in 10 years. It’s not hard to figure out why, in a world where we live tethered to our phones, more and more folks are listening rather than, or in addition to, reading. Decide for yourself if you can bite off the time and effort to produce your own audiobooks and gain another slice of the pie.

The Times, They Never Stop Changing

Published on by Michael McCandlessLeave a comment

It has long held true in publishing that 20% of the titles make for 80% of the profits. Whether the typical numbers are more like 40/60 or 10/90, the principle is the same. In any speculative business such as book publishing (or movies or music or gold mining), the best-sellers carry the rest of the list to profitability and sustainability. But if Lora Kelly, a writer for The Atlantic, is right, even this economic pillar of the publishing business is changing. See Taylor Swift Is a Perfect Example of How Publishing Is Changing for the story.

This may be very good news for other self-publishing authors like Ms. Swift. I’ve always thought that the best way for a self-publishing author to get a shot with an established, aka traditional, publisher is to wait for them to come to you. For years now, savvy acquisition editors have been training their sights on Amazon and other platforms to get a bead on the next best sellers. A single shot to an aspirational writer has sometimes landed a new super-star author. What are the odds? Better than a total shot in the dark, apparently.

So, be ready for that e-mail or letter from an editor at a big-name publisher. Know your rights, and your copyrights. Be prepared to sell some, but not necessarily all, your rights to the first big-game hunter who has their sights on you. In the meantime, dream big, and get back to writing your sequel!

ALLi

Published on by Michael McCandlessLeave a comment

I’ve watched and waited for a really good association for independent author-publishers to develop, and I’m happy to report that one has. The Alliance of Independent Authors, or ALLi (pronounced ally, appropriately). It’s not that ALLi is brand new, far from it. But in my opinion, they have now reached escape velocity and are orbiting the indie author ecosphere sustainably. I’m sure the folks at ALLi, if they read this, will be saying, “So, where have YOU been?” Answer: lurking for 7 or 8 years to see when it would be worth the time to join and engage with your staff, members, and resources. That time has come.

ALLi has just put on a first-class online conference comprising presentations from top-notch experts and pundits in indie publishing. I want to encourage everyone looking for current info and a deeper dive to check out ALLi and seriously consider becoming a member.

The Alliance for Independent Authors

How do I know if my book is ready for publishing?

Published on by Michael McCandlessLeave a comment

A wise friend reminds me that “Done is better than perfect.” Sometimes it is better to go ahead with a new venture and just see what happens. Counting the benefits and costs of this is important.

Be kind to yourself and realize that having your book live on Amazon or wherever will have several immediate bonuses:

  1. There is no substitute for “seeing your name in lights,” as it were. Pressing the “Publish” button in KDP will produce a live product page for your book on amazon.com. Since this is familiar territory for Amazon shoppers, you should feel a mild rush of pride or maybe apprehension (Am I an imposter?) about see your book suddenly for sale in the world’s largest store. Savor the moment and then get on with promotion, because just having your book on Amazon does not mean automatic best-seller status.
  2. Your book on Amazon plants a stake in the ground of your writing/publishing career. This is a forever milestone. Use it to get a new sense of what you’re about with this writing thing.
  3. If you’ve created an effective title, description, categories, and key words in your KDP setup process, you may make some sales, especially if your book is nonfiction and well-aimed at a specific reader group.
  4. With your book on Amazon, you now have someplace to send friends, family, well-wishers, Facebook friends, LinkedIn connections, etc. to show them what you’ve been up to. Send them an email, message, or tweet and ask for their feedback and if they’re inclined, a positive review. This can help kick-start your book’s marketing.

Having made the case for self-publishing on KDP, I will balance my enthusiasm for this with the caution than wile done is better than perfect, perfection is a variable concept. Make sure to edit out typos, spelling errors, bad grammar, and obvious mistakes. In other words, respect the process and make sure to do a creditable job of editing and formatting. While KDP will make sure your book and cover meet their manufacturing standards, it won’t tell you that you have mistaken “there” for “their” or split your infinitives. Publish a creative product you will take pride in.

All in all, I strongly recommend self-publishing using the Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) service. It will introduce you to publishing as something you can do yourself at very low cost. You won’t tie yourself forever to one publisher or process, which means maintaining your freedom of choice down the road. Most important, self-publishing with KDP will get your book out there, pushed gently out of its nest, ready for the world to take notice. After all, done IS better than perfect.

Contact us at Touchwood Press if you’d like to talk through your project, get some coaching, or use us as your project manager.