Helpful Info
“Help others achieve their dreams and you will achieve yours.” —Les Brown
Each of the following links will take you to a post on The Book Couple website (www.thebookcouple.com). Depending on your next steps, you may find some of these posts helpful.
Writing a Book? Identify Your “Why”
This is a handout we put together to help you identify your reasons for wanting to write that book you’ve been thinking about writing. You’re welcome to save this as an image on your desktop, which you can then print out and fill
How Does a Book Become a Bestseller?
So, how does a book become a bestseller? Throughout my twenty-one years in trade book publishing, I’ve asked this question, I’ve been asked this question, and I’ve discussed potential answers to this question with other book publishing professionals from time to time
Editorial & Production Services Step by Step
The following is a rough guide to the steps of the editorial and production process. These steps are standard in publishing, but many first-time authors may not be familiar with them. We work closely with our authors through all these steps to ensure their vision for…
An Interview with The Book Couple
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Publishing Platforms
The main platforms The Book Couple recommends for print-on-demand books that will reflect the author’s personal publishing imprint are Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) and IngramSpark. KDP is affiliated with Amazon, and IngramSpark is affiliated with Barnes & Noble.
Industry-Standard Style Overview
The following are a few book industry standard styles based on The Chicago Manual of Style (CMS). There is no need to memorize all this information! An editor or copyeditor with book publishing experience will be familiar with…
Staying on Schedule
The Book Couple looks forward to working with you to produce a high-quality book, and we are committed to completing it within the agreed-upon time frame. That time frame can be dependent on a number of factors, the most important of which is a scheduled event. We.
A Website for Your Book
It’s always a great idea to register a URL that matches the title of your book. So, for example, if your book is titled My Very Best, you could purchase the URL myverybest.com through a website-hosting company. If the desired URL isn’t available, you could add “book”…
Proofreader’s Checklist
Proofreading is an essential stage of the publishing process. The proofreader is usually the last set of eyes to read your book before you put it into the hands (and under the eyes) of your readers. No matter how many times you and your editor (or even your friends)…
Writing a Book? 8 Ways to Stay Motivated and Inspired
Set aside time every day, even if it’s just 15 minutes to write, and make those 15 minutes a priority. Other things can wait. If you wait to write until you’ve done everything else you need to do that day, it’s hard to feel motivated because now you’re tired. Think…
What Is a Press Imprint?
A press imprint or publishing imprint is the name of the publisher of your book. It appears on the back of your book, inside your book, and in the metadata associated with your book, which you will see listed on Amazon and other online booksellers under “publisher.”…
Additional Typographical Features of a Book
If you haven’t already, read our post “The Main Elements of a Book.” You’ll need that as a starting point. Depending on the subject matter, your book may require
Pricing Your Self-Published Book
In the self-publishing process, setting the retail price of a print book is one of the last things an author does before going live (publishing) on Amazon and other online booksellers. Some universal factors should be considered when setting the best price, one that…
Writing the Acknowledgments for Your Book
Your book is on the verge of being published, and there’s one more item on your pre-publication to-do list: the acknowledgments section. This is your chance to express your gratitude to all of the people who have supported you…
Who We Are & What We Do
The Book Couple (TBC) is a book-packaging boutique located in Boca Raton, FL, geared to helping new and veteran authors publish their books independently (aka self-publish) by producing professional print-ready cover and interior files of a professionally edited…
Printing: Commercial and Print on Demand (POD) Comparison
When it comes to printing your book, you have two choices: offset printing (aka
The Creative Production Process
It all starts with the words . . . and the design and layout of a book’s interior and cover begins with the author’s vision. The cover is the first thing people see, so it needs to be representative of the “feeling” evoked by the writing. We work with our authors to…
Carol’s Role at The Book Couple
Carol is the editorial specialist at The Book Couple. You can learn more about her and her editorial services by visiting carolkillmanrosenberg.com. Traditionally, when an author completes a manuscript, they will want to have it reviewed by a book-industry editor…
Responsible Self-Publishing
We have
Supplying Art and Graphics for Your Book
When appropriate for your content, art and graphics enhance the visual appeal of your book. If you are working with us, please follow these guidelines: Electronic images should be high-resolution (minimum 300 dpi) in TIF, JPG, PNG, or PDF format. Images that have…
The Book Couple’s Book Production Process
Cover Design: The book’s title, subtitle (for non-fiction), and trim size are determined. Dimensions are based on the material within and the word count of the manuscript.
What’s an ISBN?
An ISBN (International Standard Book Number) is a product identifier that’s used by publishers, libraries, booksellers, and
Book Publishing Industry Standard Reference Books
It’s essential to have a quality reference guide to refer to during the preparation of a nonfiction manuscript. (It’s less important for fiction since poetic license is often exercised.) Throughout the trade book publishing world, the essential resource for authors, editors, and publishers is…
The Main Elements of a Book
The following are all the elements of a nonfiction book in the order they traditionally appear in a published book. Not every book will include every element, of course, but some books will include them all. Fiction titles