“Does anyone have a book publishing checklist?”

It’s a common question in author groups.

In the past, I might have recommended using Google to find one, but now I can recommend Andrea Schmidt‘s new book, Almost Done Writing: Now What? A Guided Workbook for Self-Publishing Authors (Nonfiction).

Take a deep breath

Recognizing that new authors might be overwhelmed by the self-publishing process, Andrea uses words, design, and typography to quietly and gently guide them through the process.

In fact, Andrea’s “voice” is one of this book’s best features. She’s not your cheerleader; she’s your encourager, quietly touching your shoulder or nudging you to take a break when you start to feel overwhelmed.

It’s like having the nicest person you know sitting next to you as you take on a new challenge.

More workbook than how-to book

Almost Done Writing: Now What? is a thin workbook that offers an overview of everything from cover design to front and back matter and launch teams.

“Overview” is the key word here, as this is not a comprehensive guide to everything you need to know to self-publish a nonfiction book. Instead, it presents a high-level look at most topics covered, often giving them just a paragraph or two.

Along the way, Andrea  leads you through exercises that will help you create a compelling cover and better understand your target audience, among other things.

And that’s as it should be, since this is a workbook rather than just a how-to book.

Highlights

From my perspective, Andrea’s thought-provoking exercises are the best part of the book. In fact, the book title exercises alone are worth the price.

I also appreciate the various checklists, including those for the front and back book matter. (And oh-by-the-way, much of the content applies to fiction as well as nonfiction.)

Each exercise includes space for your answers or brainstorming. There are also plenty of lined pages for “notes” and, at the end, blank monthly calendars for planning and scheduling.

I’ll admit, though, that I was sometimes confused a couple of times about how Andrea organized the book’s content. More than once, I stopped and thought, “Why is this here, rather than there?”

I think that shows that my brain approaches things differently. I mention it only so that if your brain works like mine, you won’t let it slow you down, because it shouldn’t.

And just a head’s up on word choice: Andrea uses the term “advance reviews” for endorsements, testimonials, and blurbs. I think some authors will think “reader reviews” when they see “advance reviews” so I want to get ahead of any potential confusion now.

Buy the print format

If you’re interested in this book, I recommend buying the printed version.

Completing the exercises and activities within the book, rather than in a separate notebook, will make it more useful for you. It will help to have that record in one package to refer to as you move through the publishing process.

Think of Almost Done Writing: Now What? A Guided Workbook for Self-Publishing Authors (Nonfiction) as a friend leading you to the finish line. It will get you there.

Do you have a favorite book publishing or marketing book? Maybe I’ll review it here! Please tell us in a comment. 

Ack! I found a typo in my book! Now what?

By Andrea Schmidt

Almost two decades ago when I was a communications designer at a large public institution, my job was to design books with huge print runs.

Although our team had a comprehensive review process in place, one day we discovered an unfortunate typo in one of the printed books. One of the web links was wrong! A link that led to . . . nowhere. Each and every one of the tens of thousands of printed books had to be destroyed. Ack!

No matter what niche or industry you’re writing in, writers everywhere want to present final published work at the highest standard possible.

Especially when the final responsibility for your book’s quality rests on your shoulders (as it does for independent authors), it’s natural that the thought of typos in your book can lead to nail-biting.

But worrying about typos is completely unnecessary as long as you a) put steps in place to minimize typos, and b) learn what a typo really is (it’s not what you think!).

4 guaranteed typo-busting strategies

Before I address how to prevent typos and barring that, fix them after publication, you might sleep better knowing that there will be typos, because there always are! Even in the first editions of traditionally published books!

To get your work as typo-free as possible before publishing, here are four steps you can build into your self-publishing workflow.

Step 1: Learn how to self-edit. 

Self-editing is a hugely valuable skill for writers. Learning this skill will serve you for the rest of your writer life.

Step 2: Hire a professional copyeditor before the book is formatted. 

If you do nothing else, please do this.   

Step 3: Recruit multiple pairs of eyeballs. 

Get as many eyeballs on your writing as possible before making it public.

Send out PDF advance review copies to as many people as you can think of who might be interested in your book. I promise, you will be amazed by how many typos your reviewers find, even when you think the manuscript is perfect!

Step 4: Proofread the book again after formatting.

New typos always show themselves after formatting.

And finally, here are a few more unusual ways you can minimize typos in your manuscript.

Now that you’ve taken extreme action to ensure your book is polished, here are a few more tips to help as you move forward.

What to do about typos after publishing

Now that books can be printed on demand with really low minimum quantities, the stakes are much lower for typos in self-publishing.

Simply put, print-on-demand makes it really easy to upload replacement files with corrections — so keep track of them. Publishing coach Debbie Horovitch recommends keeping a list of necessary changes and planning to republish with a new edition in six to 12 months.

Simply put, print-on-demand makes it really easy to upload replacement files with corrections -- so keep track of them.Click to tweetSelf-publishing platforms allow you to upload new versions of your book when you need to.

With Amazon’s KDP, that process is free.

With IngramSpark, each time you replace a file, it costs you $25 (unless you can find one of the codes that are sometimes floating around, or join ALLI which offers an IngramSpark code with your membership).

What is a typo, really?

Still . . . it helps to keep typos in perspective. I believe they are tiny reminders to be kind to ourselves.

We are humans and we make little mistakes sometimes.

It’s not a reflection on our worth.

Recognize the ways that perfectionism hurts

Accepting that there will always be at least one typo helps perfectionists in particular. After all, perfectionism is a form of fear: fear of not being good enough.

The very idea of typos can feel especially painful if you mistakenly believe your work is you. It’s not.

When you are publishing a book, you’re making yourself vulnerable. Be kind to yourself!

Move ahead with your dreams with courage and confidence. I’m proud of you!

What’s your typo philosophy? Do you believe “good is good enough,” or do you strive for perfection? Please tell us in a comment!