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How can I get funding to have my book published?

Posted on April 20, 2010, by Sandra K. Williams

[Updated Feb. 13, 2013 & Dec. 10, 2014]

When I first answered this question, crowdfunding was still a new idea. (Crowdfunding is when you request donations from lots of people, usually online, and usually the donors/backers receive some type of perk based on the amount of their contribution.)

You can get money just by asking for it! (Who knew?) Writers have used Kickstarter to fund audio versions of their books and the start-up of a bimonthly fiction anthology.

You don’t really get money for nothing: You’ll need to make up a persuasive package and, if your project is funded, distribute any rewards that were promised.

Some crowdsourcing sites:
Kickstarter
Indiegogo
GoFundMe
GoGetFunding

See Wikipedia for a comparison of crowdfunding sites.

[Original response]
There is no fee to have a book published if you go the traditional publishing route. The publisher pays the author.

You may be thinking of using a subsidy publisher (sometimes called a POD publisher or self-publishing company; both are misnomers) or of self-publishing. A subsidy publisher makes money by getting authors to buy its services. You should not expect any support beyond delivery of the books you purchase.

If you self-publish, you are responsible for purchasing your ISBN and arranging the editing, design, typesetting, and printing. You are also responsible for marketing and distribution.

Here are some resources to help you get started. You might also check out the Independent Book Publishers Association and any publisher associations in your local area.

How a Book Gets Published
Warnings About the Schemes, Scams, and Pitfalls That Threaten Writers
Preditors & Editors

Good luck!

Filed in Books and tagged . 1 comment

Singular “they”

Posted on March 29, 2010, by Sandra K. Williams

“They” has been used as a singular pronoun for centuries, since 1400 or so according to the Oxford English Dictionary. When I edit, I take into account the intended audience. If I think my client will get dinged because readers will insist singular they is wrong, I’ll suggest rewording.

From Merriam-Webster’s 11th Collegiate Dictionary:
Writers and speakers have supplied this lack by using the plural pronouns: “and every one to rest themselves betake” — Shakespeare; “I would have everybody marry if they can do it properly” — Jane Austen; “it is too hideous for anyone in their senses to buy” — W. H. Auden.

Also see this blog post discussing singular they filed under “Prescriptivist Poppycock” at Language Log.

Filed in Editing & Writing and tagged , .

Fonts for Web publishing

Posted on February 25, 2010, by Sandra K. Williams

There are several ways to ensure you can use your preferred fonts on the Web.

First of all, you can use images with headers without hurting SEO. The text is either shoved offscreen or covered with a graphic.

There are also some more complicated (to my mind) text replacement methods using Flash and other techniques.

Most current browsers support @fontface (a CSS method) but you have to upload multiple font versions for the different browsers. The font files can be big (bad for downloading) and when I’ve tested @fontface on pages, the text looked funny. There may also be a problem with font licensing; your desired font might be restricted from being stored on a server.

For body text, here’s a list of fonts you can expect computer users to have.

If you’re not building the pages yourself, just tell your Web production person what you want and let them take care of it.

Filed in Websites and tagged , , .