Book formatting is no easy task. Watch me format a children's picture book that complies with IngramSpark's file creation guide in real-time from start to finish using Scribus, an open source alternative to Adobe InDesign (livestream starts at 2:53 and you can watch the highlights here: [ Ссылка ]).
We'll chat about self-published author life and the self-publishing process along the way!
// THIS WEEK'S AGENDA
1. Book revisions (because somebody told me I have errors in my book 😭 so I should fix those)
2. Revise back matter (because my original back matter was written with zero marketing in mind, so I should probably fix that too since I'm going to be submitted revised files to KDP and IngramSpark)
3. Plan giveaway (because I screwed up my launch marketing so I kinda need to up the ante here)
The plan is to knock out one of these tasks per hour...let's see how we go!
Spoilers! It took me four hours to format the interior of my kids' picture book using Scribus, so I did not get to #2 or #3 on my agenda. Somewhere out there, a book designer is cringing at everything I'm doing on screen (if that's you, let me know in the comments what I'm getting wrong because I would love to hear from you!).
// JUMP TO
0:00 Streaming soon
2:53 LIVE! What we're working on today
3:39 TASK #1: Book revisions
8:08 IngramSpark vs KDP interior files
18:50 My cat decides to join us. Say hi to Zeke!
19:07 Fixing my book formatting mistake
32:16 Correcting errors in the full text
35:24 Reviewing reader feedback
1:02:50 Ebook production regrets
1:03:22 Correcting errors in the full text (cont'd)
1:09:18 What I'll do differently the next time I proofread!
1:11:10 Exporting the full text PDF for import into Scribus
1:13:04 Book formatting in Scribus: separating artwork and text
1:13:22 Splitting up double page spread artwork into separate pages using XnConvert
1:15:37 IngramSpark interior art print requirements
1:20:10 KDP interior art print requirements
1:22:21 Kindle ebook interior art requirements
1:25:19 Repeat, but for the other side of the book!
1:28:40 Book layout in Scribus
1:28:37 Properties vs Content Properties in Scribus
1:30:57 Setting up Styles in Scribus
1:42:45 Text layout in Scribus
2:11:22 Thinking about text layout while illustrating a book
2:14:42 What's awesome about writing Chinese text
2:16:11 Future picture books?
2:19:02 Me, breaking all sorts of book design rules, probably
2:19:33 Revision risks
2:24:46 Ex-auditor chat about what #auditlyfe was like
2:34:26 Self-published author chat about what self-published author life is like
2:39:38 Me, realizing there's no way I'm getting through all the things on my to do list
2:43:20 COVID-19 Delta, process design and pandemic chat
3:03:33 My least favorite part of the self-publishing process
3:05:56 Workspace chat
3:09:30 Book 2 and ongoing marketing of Book 1 struggles chat
3:16:29 Chinese punctuation and punctuation in a kids' book
3:24:25 RGB vs CMYK color profiles
3:26:13 Scribus/Noto Sans HK font weirdness with Chinese punctuation!
3:30:24 Tip on navigating around in Scribus
3:31:30 Setting new goals for the rest of the livestream
3:32:31 Margins and guides in Scribus
3:34:26 Print guidelines for KDP vs IngramSpark chat
3:35:33 General KDP vs IngramSpark chat
3:37:20 LAST PAGE!!! PDF import in Scribus
3:41:56 What happens when you import a PDF of text into Scribus
3:50:57 Scribus vs Adobe InDesign and SaaS business model chat
3:58:44 Sooooo close!
4:02:01 DONE! THANK YOU!
// REGULAR "GET STUFF DONE!" LIVESTREAM EVERY WEEK
Writing the book was hard. Revising is harder and marketing is the hardest of all. That's why I've decided to start streaming every Tuesday 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM AEST so I'll actually get stuff done. BYO work or just come hang out and chat with me while I do self-published author stuff. Check out my channel page for the next livestream: → [ Ссылка ]
#selfpublishing #authortube #livestream
// CHECK OUT
My Cantonese/English bilingual rhyming picture story book for kids aged 2-6:
→ [ Ссылка ]
