Tips from the tool bag...

[Richard Sutton]

I usually write up at least one design and book-production related post every month for my own blog site. Self-publishing is not for everyone, but for those of us who do it, other authors' tips and tricks can be very valuable. To that end, I'll share my posts here...

Production Formatting for Writers — How you can wear more than one hat at a time and not even be aware of it…

Last night I watched a film with my wife that involved writers passing reams of manuscript paper between themselves for the purpose of “notes”. I laughed as it seemed pretty anachronistic. I may be wrong, but at least my own little niche of the Publishing Industry exists almost completely paper-free. I’m also at a point where I don’t do a lot of cold pitching of my work; which means that some of the old pitfalls I remember in having to convert page sizes, line spacing, margins, etc. to meet the requirements of various industry readers/editors needs is gone. Almost completely.

Remember these?

My mental notion of a “manuscript” has gone from 500 pages of double-spaced typewritten text, to 60K words in a compatible doc. file. Except in the movies, where the old concept of lugging around all that paper seems to endure. Well, piles of stacked sheets are more interesting than a thumbdrive, I guess. But thinking about all the time I’ve had to pare down the processes to their most basic, from first draft through to print pages, has brought me to a few points about the actual time on keyboard. Here are some tips, if you can call them that, that have removed error and reduced time overall in making a written idea into a viable product…
Read more here...

 

[Nicole Wilson]

I still very much use paper manuscripts. Makes it harder for someone to steal my work. It's also much easier for me to make my heavy edits with pen and paper, as it does for my hubby. I print out my mansucript at least twice, maybe more depending on who my beta readers are, plus 10 pgs every week for my writers group of about 10 people.

 

[Jason Byrne]

I still very much use paper manuscripts. Makes it harder for someone to steal my work. It's also much easier for me to make my heavy edits with pen and paper, as it does for my hubby. I print out my mansucript at least twice, maybe more depending on who my beta readers are, plus 10 pgs every week for my writers group of about 10 people.

That's true. I like to make an edit in four different media — word file, kindle document, printed loose-leaf, and bound paperback. You catch different things, each way.

 

[Richard Sutton]

That's true. I like to make an edit in four different media — word file, kindle document, printed loose-leaf, and bound paperback. You catch different things, each way.

Exactly -- it's never like there aren't plenty of issues to go around!

 

[Richard Sutton]

I still very much use paper manuscripts. Makes it harder for someone to steal my work. It's also much easier for me to make my heavy edits with pen and paper, as it does for my hubby. I print out my mansucript at least twice, maybe more depending on who my beta readers are, plus 10 pgs every week for my writers group of about 10 people.

Nicole, there are plenty of writers who still prefer to go paper. I know I learned all those proofreaders marks for a reason, but nowadays, it escapes me, somehow...

 

[Robinne Weiss]

I write a lot of stuff with pen and paper in that first draft, but once it's on the computer, I like to keep it digital as much as possible (we've no recycling or rubbish pick up here--everything has to be hauled half an hour to the tip--so the less paper, the better).

 

[Karen Gray]

I write everything on the laptop, rarely write in a notebook, though it happens when I can't get to the laptop, but I do print every chapter as I finish them (that's about 4th draft stage the way I work) so I can pick it up any time without having to go to the laptop. Also, weirdly, sometimes it's easier to spot mistakes on paper.

 

[Paul Mackay]

I agree, Karen, it's much easier to find mistakes on paper. I do most of my writing on a laptop and it's too much staring at a screen to do the editing the same way. And I just prefer reading on paper.