Get Your Self-Published Book Designed and Printed by a Pro

If you've decided to self-publish and print your own book, it's usually for one of two reasons:

1) You're starting a small press and want to make money from book sales 

2) You're an expert who wants to use the book to get more clients

Regardless of the reason why you want to publish a book, if you're going to do it, do it right.

Why Many Self-Published Books Fail

A royalty-free image and text isn't going to cut it

Besides lack of a good book marketing plan, one of the top reasons why self-published books don't sell or attract enough attention is because they're poorly produced.

For instance, many self-published authors who use POD services now use templates offered by the service or they simply pull a royalty-free photo and slap some text on top.

The result is a boring cover that wouldn't attract a buyer to read the synopsis let alone buy the book. If you give your book away to attract new clients, you want them to actually read the book -- not put it on the shelf.

Besides the cover, the book must be properly edited and formatted. People will flip through your book whether they're holding it in their hands or looking at it on Amazon. If they see a page full of typos, there goes your sale.

Click here to get a book printing/design quote.

Another issue that many self-publishers have, particularly those who use POD printing services and want to make money from book sales, is getting a reasonable cost per book to have copies printed. Whether you buy 10 books or 1000 books, it's always the same rate. While it's great if you only want a couple of books for some promos, it becomes a burden if you want to order in bulk.

If you get an account with Baker & Taylor or another distributor and they send you a purchase order, they want you to ship a stack of books at your predetermined rate ASAP. You can't depend on a POD to help you fulfill that type of order because it's not financially feasible.

Let's say you have a book that retails for $13.95. Your discount to the distributor is 55%. That means that you net $6.28 per book. The POD publisher charges about $4.60 per book plus shipping, just for the printing. Your profit in this case is $1.68 per book -- if you factor in the cost of shipping from the POD and the cost of freight to the distributor (yes you have to pay that too) you're lucky to turn a profit at all.

The Solution

The solution to these problems is simple. First off, you need to hire a book pro to package your book properly and help you with marketing issues. Secondly, you need a source for getting your book printed at a rate that will still allow you to make a profit when it's time to work with distributors.

One Stop Books is a book production service that allows you to get the best of both worlds.

We have packages for serious first-time publishers who need the whole shebang-- attractive book cover design, professional text formatting and printing for around $5 per copy (the exact rate depends on the size of your book and how many copies you need). 

Even if you don't need the design part, chances are we can get you a better print rate per book than most POD printing services. Unlike POD services, the more books you print, the better your rate.

Click here to learn more and to request a quote.

How to Get a Book Printed

Getting a book printed and designed is a breeze when you use a book production service.

Many new self-publishers aren’t yet familiar with how to get a book printed. You have three main options these days:

1. Submit it through a POD service

The Rundown: Generally fast turnaround and you don’t have to keep an inventory. However, the per-book price is high compared to other printing options—it is not cost effective for larger quantities (about 250 or more). You also have to hire a typesetter and graphic designer.

2. Find a printer on your own

The Rundown: You might get a better printing rate per-book but it’s a hassle and very time-consuming—especially if this is your first time going through the process. Again, you also need to pay for a reliable cover artist and typesetter to prepare your files.

3. Use a book production service

The Rundown: You get bundled typesetting and cover design services with your book printing, little to no hassle and an awesome price per book.

Now of course as a book production consultant I’m going to write about the third option for getting your book printed.

If you’re brand new to this and you want 250 books or more to sell hand-to-hand, distribute or giveaway for book promotions and reviews, it just makes the most sense.

The process of getting a book printed is ultra-simple when you use One Stop Books:

1. Submit your manuscript to us in Microsoft Word format (1.5 spacing, Times New Roman, 12 point font). One Stop Books keeps your file 100% confidential and gladly provides you with a non-disclosure agreement to that effect.

2. Tell us your preferences, including your cover design idea (if you don’t have a cover yet) and send me any other required information.

3. Do a final review of the finished files (text and cover) that I send you.

4. Wait for your books to arrive via freight, USPS or Fedex.

There is it, how to get a book printed in 4 easy steps. It’s really that simple, and many of our clients get their books printed for $5 or less including typesetting and a custom cover design.

Contact Louise for a quote today or fill out the estimate form.

Special offer good until February 12, 2012: I will convert your book to Kindle format and upload it to Amazon as well for no additional charge when you get your book printed with One Stop Books!

What Is Book Production?

New to Self Publishing and Book Production? 

Learn the basics in this quick article...

Even though a lot of self-publishers and small presses are now opting to publish eBooks to make money without having to handle an inventory, some publishers still want to publish traditionally by printing paperback books and selling them in person or through their own author websites.

Some business professionals like brokers, lawyers and agents like to keep printed books in their offices to offer to clients. Even a small shop owner like a hairstylist could benefit from selling a printed hair care book to customers.

Since my service is printed book production in “one stop,” I thought it might be useful to quickly summarize the process of turning a manuscript into a printed book.

File Preparation

After you’ve written and edited your masterpiece in Microsoft Word you have to get it typeset. This is the process of transferring the text from Word to a graphic layout program that aligns it in book-sized pages. For instance, if your paperback book is 6 x 9 inches in size each typeset page is 6 x 9 inches.

Typesetting is a bit time-consuming and requires attention to detail. You have to ensure that all of the margins of the book pages are sized just right, that the text is justified (straight at the page edges) and that you use the right font size. You must include a copyright page as well as a dedication page, headers, page numbers and a table of contents if necessary. When everything is finally done you have to turn the file into a PDF file.

Then you need a cover design. Imagine you were to open the book in front of you so that you can see the back cover, spine and front cover on the table—that’s how it has to look in your finished file. The book cover must have exact specifications so that nothing gets cut off during the printing process. The cover is usually a JPEG, TIF or PDF file.

Finding a Printer

Next is the process of finding a reliable book printer who can give you a good quality product. Sounds easy enough, but it can be a pain.


What I’ve found over the years is that you’ll find a wide array of quotes, from the curiously low to the outrageously high. 


Once you do find a printer within your price range, you have to double-check that your files are the right size, set at the right resolution, the color mode is correct (CMYK) and in the proper format according to the book printer’s specifications.

Submitting Files

After you submit your files to the printer, they go through a pre-flight stage. They inspect the file for potential errors and complications during the printing process. If there are problems with the file you must correct them quickly if you want to stay on schedule.

When the files are approved the printer sends you a proof copy (one book) for your review. Once you approve the proof, you’re good to go.

Get Books in Hand—An Exciting Moment

It normally takes anywhere between two to eight weeks to receive your printed books in the mail after the files are approved. Don’t forget to factor in the cost of shipping, which may have to be through a freight service.

So you see, the printer handles the easy part — running your finished files through their machines. The part before that is what requires the most work.

Let One Stop Books take care of it for you. Many of our quotes, including typesetting and cover design, come in at about $5 a copy. Contact Louise today for a quick quote.