In the first article<\/a> we discussed how to go from a book idea to submitting a proposal to a publisher. This article looks at what’s involved, including agreeing a contract and writing the book.<\/span><\/p>\n First, we’ll consider the tasks and roles needed to publish a book. You may need to fulfil one or more of these roles but it is unlikely that you can fulfil all of these:<\/span><\/p>\n Writer<\/b><\/span>: writes the content. This may be the writer’s own concept or made to order e.g. from a book packager.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Illustrator<\/b><\/span>: draws the diagrams or may put symbols onto photo-diagrams.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Photographer<\/b><\/span>: photographs and enhances pictures of origami. May also photograph the folding process for photo-diagrams.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Editor<\/b><\/span>: selects and assembles the material; changes it for clarity, brevity, coherence and correctness.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Designer<\/b><\/span>: lays out the content using a consistent style. Ideally this is attractive, functional and of suitably high production value.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Jacket<\/b><\/span> designer<\/b><\/span>: designs the cover.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Proofreader<\/b><\/span>: checks for typographic errors.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Indexer<\/b><\/span>: makes the index.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Publisher<\/b><\/span>: coordinates the book production. Responsible for ISBN, fulfilling orders (to wholesalers, booksellers and readers) and following the law on libel, copyright and accounting.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Printer<\/b><\/span>: prints and binds the book.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Marketer<\/b><\/span>: makes potential readers aware of the book.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Distributors and retailers<\/b><\/span>: wholesalers sell to retailers who then sell to customers.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n After sales support: answers questions from readers e.g. clarification of steps, corrections, etc.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Traditionally publishers pay an advance on royalties. Sometimes the advance is paid on publication. Large advances are often used for publicising blockbusting fiction, but for you a modest advance is a sign that the publisher is investing in your book before a copy has been sold. Some books are written for a fixed fee: these are typically commissions from book packagers or commissioning editors.<\/span><\/p>\n You must set a realistic deadline for submitting your manuscript. It needn’t be exactly the same as in the proposal as circumstances may have changed, or you now know more about the work involved. If you are late, the publisher’s schedules and teams will be knocked out and time wasted. If you are early, or on time, then you will earn a good reputation for any subsequent books.<\/span><\/p>\n Carefully examine the contract, especially your rights. If you are uncomfortable with a clause, ask for an explanation and do not be fobbed off with \u201cit’s a standard clause\u201d. Consult an expert if needed, e.g. in Britain, try the Society of Authors, <\/span>https:\/\/societyofauthors.org<\/span><\/a><\/u><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n Your book sample will set your writing tone and style. My aim was to be approachable and authoritative: friendly but not over-familiar. You could choose five adjectives as ideals to achieve and five to avoid e.g.<\/span><\/p>\n Aim to be…<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n Avoid being…<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n lively<\/span><\/p>\n clear<\/span><\/p>\n approachable<\/span><\/p>\n authoritative<\/span><\/p>\n sophisticated<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n dull<\/span><\/p>\n verbose<\/span><\/p>\n incomprehensible<\/span><\/p>\n daunting<\/span><\/p>\n worthy<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n If you’re not sure, try describing books like yours e.g. what might fit this bill?<\/span><\/p>\n Aim to be…<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n Avoid being…<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n clever<\/span><\/p>\n funny<\/span><\/p>\n quirky<\/span><\/p>\n friendly<\/span><\/p>\n generous<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n boring<\/span><\/p>\n ugly<\/span><\/p>\n long-winded<\/span><\/p>\n mean-spirited<\/span><\/p>\n cliquey<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n In general, clear writing uses simple words in short sentences. It avoids the passive voice. You are writing to be understood by the reader. You can address your audience with \u201cyou\u201d. Avoid cliches and redundant words. A variety of sentence length and structure can make writing more pleasant to read.<\/span><\/p>\n Take time to use the right words. Remove verbiage. Writers sometimes moan about editing and redrafting, but these stages will make your work exceptional. Our minds usually see what they want to see, so leave enough time to revisit your work with fresh eyes. You will spot errors and clumsy writing that were previously invisible. <\/span><\/p>\n If you find writing difficult, you could start by writing as if you were speaking to an interested layperson. However, writing is different from speaking: you will need a structure for your ideas so they flow. Consult writing guides for more advice (some are mentioned in the next article). <\/span><\/p>\n For diagrams, try integrating the text with the pictures. This means the reader\u2019s eyes don\u2019t need to flick back and forth across the page when reading the text and looking at the picture. In the past the text was on a separate page from the diagrams because the reproduction of diagrams was harder than today. Sometimes it still happens to make translation easier. (By the way, if you are expecting to translate from English to other languages, leave more space than seems necessary as some other languages tend to use more and\/or longer words.)<\/span><\/p>\n Avoid labelling the diagram and using old-fashioned geometry-style instructions. For example, instead of writing \u201cfold corner A of square ABCD to corner C\u201d, you could use \u201cfold the top left corner to the bottom right corner\u201d. Both of these help the reader by focusing their attention on what\u2019s important (the top left and bottom right corners) without mentioning the irrelevant \u2013 why label corners B and D if they\u2019re not referred to?<\/span><\/p>\n A layout of flowing diagrams, sometimes called boustrophedon, can be appealing. These diagrams<\/a> of Robert Neale\u2019s <\/span>Pinwheel-Ring-Pinwheel<\/i><\/span> are an example where the wide grey line guides the reader\u2019s eyes around the page: left to right, then right to left, then left to right.<\/span><\/p>\nTasks and roles<\/span><\/h2>\n
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Contract<\/span><\/h2>\n
Writing<\/span><\/h2>\n
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