1. 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.