Okay It's Time To Get Serious, What Do You Do First?

I guess I couldn't convince you to rethink your idea about publishing books.

But first, again, i'd like to say I think everyone should publish a book. I do believe the world would be a better place if everyone wrote a book. I just don't want people thinking they can make money at it except in very, very specific cases.

The first place to start is www.bowker.com. Read everything on this site. This is the starting place for making your book official. You buy ISBNs here. This is the number that identifies your book for everyone in the book industry. As I mentioned earlier I made the mistake of buying an ISBN from a POD publisher. Don't do it.

You have to buy ISBN numbers in blocks of 10 or 100. Remember that each version of a book - paperback, hard cover, etc., - requires its own ISBN number. That's why the numbers are sold in blocks.

You need an ISBN before you print your book. It's like the book's social security number. It's always printed on the book.

There's a lot of discussion on the Internet regarding the relative quality between offset printing and digital printing. Digital printing is the future. Its quality is getting better almost every day. Its magic is one book at a time can be printed.

But the following is still the final word on this discussion today. If you're doing a full color children's book, test it with a digital press, but when you're ready to do the press run have it done on an offset press. There's not a single picture book at your local Barnes and Noble that's printed on anything but offset.

If money is a factor then you'll have to use a press that's outside the United States. Your homework assignment is to go to http://www.aeonix.com/ . Pete Masterson has a list of printers there that will give you an idea of who is doing what.

Michael LaLumiere