The three most important parts
Photo provided by the author, Henery X
It always seems impossible until it’s done. — Nelson Mandela
Creating A Book
2022, Henery X ©
Here I will share the three things that must occur if we expect to have a book, as well as explain why they must occur. As with everything I share, this is my humble opinion, which I stand behind, before, and on either side of. My views are based solely on my observation of the experiences that led up to me being a five time self-published author.
1. Content
Without content, no other aspect of creating a book is relevant. The beautiful thing about this part of creating a book is that the average writer already has what’s needed. If you have been writing for six months or better, you have a starting point or maybe even enough for a first draft, depending on what genre you’re aiming for. Most of the writers I’m connected with are poets, so creating a book of their work is what I always suggest. In my humble opinion, this is the easiest book to create, especially if the content already exists. The work on the poet’s end will consist of gathering everything desired to be shared, categorizing it, and then placing it all in a word document for a rough draft. And don’t concern yourself with nothing outside of gathering the content desired to be shared, categorizing it, and placing it all in a word document.
2. Editing
Now that we have our rough draft, it’ll need to be smoothed out. This is where editing comes into play. The purpose of editing is to make the experience as memorable as possible for the readers. Sure, we want our content to remain as close as possible to its original form, but sometimes what we want isn’t always what’s needed for the best outcome. As an editor, my goal isn’t to change what the writer is attempting to convey, but to make it as easy to comprehend as possible. One thing we as writers should never want to occur is to lose the attention of the readers once we have found it. In my humble opinion, editing is only second to creating the content. Editing will determine the fate of the book from the reader’s perspective, which is all that matters once we share our offerings. Remember, the goal isn’t to change what we are attempting to convey, but to make it as easy to comprehend as possible. There may need to be additional edits, which will be determined by our satisfaction. I offer three revisions before I charge an additional fee for every other after the fact, which is only two. The number of revisions offered varies from person to person.
3. Formatting
The purpose of formatting is to ensure our completed manuscript is print ready. Remember, this insight overall is based on my observation of the experiences that led up to me being a five time self-published author. I know nothing about formatting outside of the fact that the system we’ll attempt to submit it to will not accept it if it’s off. I know a couple of people who do formatting. One of them, Sabrena Evbuomwan, has been responsible for ensuring all my manuscripts were ready for print. One thing that needs to be known when it comes to formatting is that if it has to be redone, say for some editing issues, it will more than likely need to be upgraded, which could be an additional fee. So, before we get to this part of the process, we need to be one hundred percent sure we're satisfied with the editing. Like with editing, the formatter often offers revisions. Like with editing, the number of revisions offered before an additional fee is required varies from person to person. I take my hat off to those who format. The finished product may look as if it was easy, but trust me, it wasn’t. Well, I say it wasn’t easy because I attempted to do it myself, which didn’t turn out not good at all. Some things we just need to leave to the professionals, especially if we want them done correctly.
So, that’s it, the three things that must occur if we expect to have a book. Sure, there are other aspects, such as the book cover, which would be the fourth most important thing. But those things are for another time. I wanted to focus on what I felt was the most essential parts of the process.
For additional information, or if you need editing or formatting services, you can send me an email at selfcreated124@gmail.com. My mission is to help 100 writers to become published authors. To date, 57 have joined the rakes of writers who have immortalized themselves in the literary world and thanks to becoming published authors.
The book that he has made renders its author this service in return, that so long as the book survives, its author remains immortal and cannot die. — Richard De Bury
Thank you for taking the time to acknowledge my offering.
Remember. I’m not here to convince you to believe. I’m here to offer you something else to consider.
May we never lose our desire to outdo what we’ve already done.
Peace, Love, and the utmost Respect.