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Book Author Web Resources: How to Get Your Book Published

Ann Yager — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 12:43:00 GMT

At Yager Indexing, all we do is create top-notch indexes for book writers and publishers. As part of our research to help authors, though, we often find some useful web content on how to get your book published.

Please leave a comment and let us know which of these sites is useful!

How to Get Your Book Published in 6 (Painful) Steps

Sam Harris makes a great point -- if you want to write a book, don't start by writing a book! Instead, write a book proposal. Then, find an agent. Only write your book after you know there's a market. Even better, after you get an advance.

Book Proposal E-Mail Query Template

OK, you're thinking. So, how do I write a good book proposal? Gini Graham Scott has a handy, free template you can use. Also, don't miss her complete Resources section that includes ideas on how to get an agent and how to pitch your book to editors and publishers.

Future Author Publishing Guidelines

Once you do have a marketable book, an agent and a publisher, don't make the common mistake of ignoring the publisher's guidelines.

Publishers are working with a lot of books at any given time. Not following the guidelines is a sure way to frustrate your editor. Publishers and editors love authors who do follow the guidelines, so pay attention -- it's a great way to get a head start on selling your next book.

Takeaway

Being a book writer can be a lonely job. Take advantage of resources like Yager Indexing and the links above to make the process easier.

Book authors are often surprised to learn that their editors and publishers expect more than just a great book. Publishers often ask authors to create an index or find a book indexer. If you've never created an index before, it can be an unexpected chore.

Image Credit: alancleaver_2000

Book Index: A How-To Guide for New Writers

Ann Yager — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 10:25:00 GMT

So, you have finished your first work of written art? Great. Now what?

Before sending your masterpiece off to the publishers, consider adding an index.

The addition of an index to your book can result in more interest from your audience.

An index will explore and explain the subject matter of your book in detail for your readers. As a book author, it is your responsibility to make your book into everything it can be; including making the journey through it more easily accessible. Unlike a concordance which provides a brief generalization of key topics in your book, an index provides specific details about the subject matter; as well as, providing a guided tour through the concepts of your book.

Including an index in your book is not only valuable to you as the book author, but also to your targeted audience, book critics, researchers, librarians and anyone else who happens upon your book during their research efforts. The Table of Contents at the front of your book guides your readers through the book, chapter by chapter. The index at the back of your book allows your readers to find similar concepts in one set of groupings; which in turn, makes for an easier read.

When your book is easily understandable and the information is easily obtained, more readers will choose your book over other books on a similar topic.

An index will also allow for a relationship to form between the concepts of your book in a more fluid fashion. Important topics and subtopics of your content will be grouped together in the index, allowing for a more direct path to that specific content. For those readers who want a more thorough understanding of what they are reading, cross references used in the index will allow them to locate and compare similar topics throughout your book.

You, the book author, have done all the hard work in writing and rewriting your book. You may feel confident enough to attempt the indexing of your book on your own, but understand that the more precise your index is, the better your book will fare in the market. Indexes can be simple to complex, depending on the specific book.

Takeaway

Your book isn't finished until you have a great index. Don't waste your hard work writing the book by neglecting the index.

Image Credit: Casey David

Don't Allow Your Book Index to Undermine Your Book

Ann Yager — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 12:30:00 GMT

Many inexperienced book authors often succumb to the myth that they have to do everything on their own. Having written their work alone, they feel that they have to carry it one step further and do everything else on their own as well. Having written the book they believe that they are only ones capable of indexing it. This is especially true when it comes to science-related books such forensics and criminology, but it is equally applicable to all authors.

Luckily this myth is easy to dispel. While the novice author believes that he or she alone is capable of developing a concise list of words and phrases that point back to relevant material in the book, the professional knows that it can be cost and time efficient to hire this work out to a specialist. As an author, you know the material but as a marketer you may not be aware of which terms and phrases will yield you the greatest results when people are searching for material.

Understand what a professional indexer can do for you. As a professional, indexers have experience with the search terms that people use when they are looking for substantive material. They know the ins-and-outs of information optimization and the best methods of arrangement. More than just a list of names and places, a well-done index is a map of the book itself, and the author can often benefit by following the insight of an experienced professional.

This is just one of the many often overlooked opportunities when promoting your new book. As a book author, you may not even be aware that such services exist, but they do. There are a wide variety of freelancers and indexing services that are available to suit your needs, regardless of the size and subject of your book. The professionals know your audience and understand how that audience would use an index to find the material they are looking for. More than building good indices, specialists understand what kinds of terms and entries make for a bad index and steer clear. They clarify the ambiguous, give form to the amorphous and often paint as much of an overview of the material as the book itself. Any book author can benefit from having a professionally crafted index.

Takeaway

Your book index can help your promote your book and increase your sales.

Image Credit: Dust Storm

An Indexer’s Advice When Writing Your Next Book

Ann Yager — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 11:10:00 GMT

Book indexing is an important and vital part of the book writing process. Without the proper index, you could be setting yourself up to fail before someone even gets to page one of your book.

The index is a quick access guide to chapters found throughout your book, and potential buyers prefer a book with a good index. Books with good indexes have been shown to have increased sales! Consumers, book store buyers, reviewers, and educators have all prefer books with good indexes.

Book indexing is very often underestimated as a vital part of your book because it does involve intuition, understanding, and meticulous attention to detail. If you haven't created an index before, it can consume your time. Some authors can master the indexing process, but others will simply become confused and frustrated when trying to develop a good index.

Yager Indexing is the leader in book indexing and can show you step by step how to map out your book index for the easiest access by your readers.

We will show you how to help your readers pinpoint the locations of your book where they can find the information they need. Easy usability saves your reader time by helping them find exactly what they are looking for.

We can also teach you proper terminology and phrasing for your index in order to better assist your reader in their search.

Your book is your baby. Treat it right and give it the proper nourishment to thrive and grow.

Takeaway

Don't overlook the index! It's essential to any great book.

Image Credit: Paul Keller

An Important Book Writing To-Do

Ann Yager — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 12:21:00 GMT

Just like you would want a trained mechanic to fix your car, a professional indexer is the perfect place to find advice regarding your book indexing needs. An author can be knowledgeable in a certain subject, but usually needs help finishing off their book with a professional and appropriate index. A professional indexer makes a book more organized, more professional, and more likely to sell.

An index is defined as a list of words or phrases (called "headings") and associated page numbers (called "locators") that tell where pertinent information relating to that heading can be found in a document or book. A book with a well-organized index is desirable because readers will find it more user-friendly.

Here are some things to keep in mind as you finish off your book with a well-designed index.

Book index tips:

Each topic or section includes various relevant entries, about two or three per topic.
The index appropriately represents its target audience's needs and abilities.
It uses consistent grammatical and capitalization rules throughout the index, utilizing standard indexing conventions.

A professional indexer can help you accomplish these goals for your index. Don't make the mistake of thinking an author has to do it all on his own. A good index provides quick access to the ideas in your book and can be the difference between a book buyer purchasing your book or passing it up.

You can find an indexer for any subject you need. We specialize in non-fiction books -- especially books on forensic science, criminology, chemistry, military topics, and aviation. We want all authors to be successful, so please ask us for advice.

Selecting us to help you write your index will provide you with the following advantages:

A high quality, concise index that accurately reflects the content of your book
Appropriate cross-references that help your readers find results quickly
An index formatted to fit with the style of your book
An index free of typographical errors or inconsistencies

Takeaway

The key to success is not only the book writing process itself, but paying attention to the index as well.

Image credit: ocean yamaha

Quotes From Most Notable Book Writers

Ann Yager — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 12:55:00 GMT

We write them in notes to loved ones. We boldly place them on the walls of our homes. We use them in conversation to prove a point or to demonstrate our worldly wealth of knowledge. What are they? Words of wisdom bestowed upon us by the greats.

Whether you're making dinner, book writing, or training for a marathon, remember the advice given by some of the most quotable literary figures to ever lay a pen on a piece of paper.

Author Lesson 1: Don't be ignorant.

"A person who won't read has no advantage over one who can't read."

- Mark Twain

No matter what they say, ignorance is almost never bliss. Take every opportunity you can to learn.

Author Lesson 2: Stay focused.

"I never could have done what I have done without the habits of punctuality, order, and diligence, without the determination to concentrate myself on one subject at a time."

- Charles Dickens

In his book writing career, Charles Dickens created close to 1,000 named characters. He also renovated his house to isolate himself from any distraction that could lead to writers block.

He made sure he could focus. So set goals. Exceed them. Find a system that works and execute it to the fullest of your abilities.

Author Lesson 3: Be persistent.

"I didn't fail the test, I just found 100 ways to do it wrong."

- Benjamin Franklin

No one but you has the authority to label you as a failure. Learning what not to do is equally as important as learning what to do. If you try and you fail, well you're already miles ahead of the guy who didn't even enter the race.

Author Lesson 4: Grow.

"Happiness is neither virtue nor pleasure nor this thing or that but simply growth. We are happy when we are growing."

- WB Yeats

Challenge yourself. Every step you take is progress. Progress is results. Results are satisfaction.

Author Lesson 5: Prove them wrong.

"However my parents - both of whom came from impoverished backgrounds and neither of whom had been to college, took the view that my overactive imagination was an amusing quirk that would never pay a mortgage or secure a pension."

- JK Rowling

Recognize your unique talents. Use them in the most effective and enjoyable manner. Stand behind your work. If you must throw practicality out the window, do it with confidence. No one can argue success.

Takeaway

Learn from the best! Please leave a comment to let us know which of these quotes you liked and why.

The key to success is not only the book writing process itself, but paying attention to the index as well.

Image Credit: ell brown

(Statue of Dr Samuel Johnson who was famous for writing the first English Dictionary.)

3 Book Writing Errors Common Among Experienced Authors

Ann Yager — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 20:14:00 GMT

Anyone can pick up a pen and write a sentence. That does not make them an author. Being an author and writing a book takes courage, conviction and above all talent. Yet, all the talent in the world does not keep authors from making the same mistakes over and over again.

Too often, writers make 3 avoidable errors during the submission process. An author’s book may be a New York Times bestseller, but no one is ever going to know that if the piece does not get past the publisher.

Book Writing Mistake #1 - Overusing "I"

One of the biggest complaints that publishers have for aspiring authors is the use of the word “I.” Even in first person books or self-help books, the word “I” can be overused.

Obviously in a self-help book the word “I” is going to be used, but somehow you must bring the audience into your world and engage them without going overboard with the “I’s.”

Book Writing Mistake #2 - Too Much Information

Often when you begin writing a book, you brainstorm ideas that turn into other ideas and so on. The problem with this is that sometimes you can come up with too many ideas.

A reader’s attention span is only so large. If you introduce too many new thoughts all at once, a reader can lose focus and lose interest. When your reader can’t figure out exactly what is in the book for them, they are likely to put it down and sigh at the thought of picking it up again.

Book Writing Mistake #3 - Proofreading and Editing

Writers are notoriously bad editors. It might have something to do with the left brain and the right brain. Writers are artistic and editing does not seem artistic. Grammar is very cut and dry. Therefore, writers will often put together pieces that on many levels may be genius, but on an editorial level is a nightmare.

Before submitting any piece of work have a trusted friend read it over for at least basic understanding. Then consider hiring a professional to edit your book. Make sure you listen to their advice and give the publisher something easy on the eyes that will make it to the bookstands.

Takeaway

Avoid these 3 common mistakes and make your book publisher-friendly. You'll smooth the publishing process and jump start your book royalties.

Book authors are often surprised to learn that their editors and publishers expect more than just a great book. Publishers often ask authors to create an index or find a book indexer. If you've never created an index before, it can really be time consuming.

The key to success is not only the book writing process itself, but paying attention to the index as well.

Image Credit: qisur

How to Write a Book That Sells

Ann Yager — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 11:18:00 GMT

If you are trying to break into the forensic science or criminology field, you know that writing a book is a sure way to gain credibility and authority.

Book writing however may seem an especially difficult and lengthy process.

To gain some insight into how to write a book, and specifically, how to write one that sells, here is a tip for capturing your audience:

Your readers must quickly grasp and gain an interest in and understanding of your material.

Your readers want to solve their problems and improve their lives. Help, and they will buy your book!

Have you ever gone to the library to look up a book on a certain topic you know very little about? What did you do? Open the book, and promptly flip to the index or table of contents to find that word or topic you think is related to what you’re looking for?

Indexes connect your book with the audience because they really understand the relationships between things in the text, and provide appropriate cross-references and links to subtopics.

Most libraries (especially university libraries), won’t accept books that don’t have a proper index, because they know that an index will make the book that much more readable and research-able for the broader audience.

Creating a Book Index

Writing an index is one of those tasks that can lengthen the writing process, and no one wants the book writing process to drag on. Especially for science authors, it is important to stay abreast of the latest developments and research findings in the field.

As the writer, you may not have the time or distance from the text to produce a solid index. Instead, you might even end up rewriting your book all over again!

Takeaway

Use a professional indexer. They provide the middle ground between the author and his/her text and the audience by both understanding the complex material, but being able to concisely organize it for the mind of the untrained audience. It’s a great way to connect your book to the audience and get it on its way to selling well!

The key to success is not only the book writing process itself, but paying attention to the index as well.

Image Credit: katerha

Increase Sales of Your New Book via Structure and a Good Book Index

Ann Yager — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 11:27:00 GMT

Readers care about the structure of your book – Good structure can increase sales!

Book buyers considering two well-written books on the same subject will make their decision based the structure of the book and the accessibility of key terms and concepts. Having a simple but organized layout, with easy to navigate sections and a reader friendly index helps you gain an edge over other books in your field.

Many authors view book indexing as an intimidating obstacle, while it actually provides a great opportunity for you to strengthen the appeal of your work.

A well-written, clear, and concise book index is a pivotal factor in its structure. The index must be clear and accurate. When key ideas and concepts are difficult to find, your book, although high in potential, will not receive the attention it deserves. Most critics and librarians will simply ignore a book that lacks a good index.

Important Ideas on How to Structure Your Book

An index is not a rewritten table of contents.
Authors often struggle to create an index for their book. Yes, the author is the expert. Still, being so close to the material, they may be tempted to rewrite the book in the index.
The purpose of the index is to increase the usability of the book. Readers are not as familiar with the terms and subject, so the index must be easily understandable.
Computer software can list terms in alphabetical order. A true index requires human reasoning to identify relationships between concepts and synonymous passages. The index must list terms in a way that reflects the connection between key ideas, and categorize terms to help readers quickly find information.
A professional, polished index can dramatically improve the quality and reception of your book. Having a clear and organized index will allow your readers to isolate concepts and navigate the text without hassle. The result is more readers and more sales.

Takeaway

Consider a book indexing service to bring a fresh perspective and professional touch to your work.

The key to success is not only the book writing process itself, but paying attention to the index as well.

Image credit: art_es_anna

5 Tips to Prepare Your New Book for Better Indexing

Ann Yager — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 11:37:00 GMT

An important part of any successful non-fiction book editing is proper indexing. Following are five ways to make indexing easier.

A proper index is a necessity for any non-fiction book. As a writer, you will want people to read your book through. Still, most non-fiction books are used for reference. This means that people go to the book searching for specific information. The faster and easier they can find that information, the happier they will be and the more likely they will recommend the book to others.

Indexing can be a time consuming part of book editing but here are some tips to make it easier on you and your professional indexer.

1. Leave Time for Indexing

Remember, it does take time to create a great index. For shorter trade books, it may only take a week for the index. For more complex scholarly books, it can take 3 - 5 weeks or more. Don't wait till the last minute and have to compromise the quality of your index.

2. Know Your Format

There are several ways to arrange your pages and index. The main rule, though, is consistency and ease of use. If you identify ahead of time the format you want for your headings and subheadings as well as for your index, it's easier on you as a writer to remain consistent during the entire writing process. You can spend more time polishing phrases and checking for typos during book editing instead of double checking the font.

3. Make Sure The Book Is Finished

There is really no way to make an accurate index until the book is completely finished and the pages are all properly laid out and numbered. Adding or taking away even a few paragraphs during book editing can shift information to a different page which will make any previous index useless. So, have the book laid out and numbered exactly as it will appear in print before even glancing at the indexing part of the book editing process.

4. Identify Your Target Audience

As mentioned earlier, you want your index to make your book easy to search and useful. However, different audiences will be looking for different things. For instance, if your target audience is composed of historians, they will want to be able to easily find names and wars. On the other hand, if you wrote a medical text for physicians, they will be more interested in finding a listing by symptom or diagnosis rather than the who discovered the disease and when. If you didn't decide on your target audience while you were writing, book editing is a good time to think carefully about who this book is targeted towards.

5. Provide Enough Space

Make sure you have enough room at the end of your book for a complete index. Making an excellent and easy to use index is useless if it has to be cut down to fit to a certain page count for the book. A professional indexer should be able to give you an estimate of how much space a good index will need.

The key to success is not only the book writing process itself, but paying attention to the index as well.

Image credit: ktylerconk

7 Book Writing Secrets of Experienced Authors

Ann Yager — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 21:05:00 GMT

Experienced authors have their own book writing secrets that they use when writing a book. By following some of these secret tips, you will be on your way to completing a successful book that people want to buy.

1. Stay Organized

All experienced authors stress the importance of staying organized when book writing. Many recommend creating and following an outline when it comes to staying organized.

2. Write for a Broad Audience

Even when writing a book in a tightly focused niche, make your book appeal to a wide-variety of people. Keep your writing clear and avoid jargon and technical terms as much as possible.

3. Start and Then Finish

Many successful writers know that the key to successful book writing is to start and then finish it as fast as you can. If you tend to procrastinate, experienced authors recommend setting deadlines for yourself.

4. Read and Edit Chapters as You Write

After completing a chapter, you should read and then edit each chapter. Try to make it perfect. By doing so, you will make editing the book much easier.

5. Have Someone Else Read Your Work

Even successful authors often ask their editors, friends and family members for their opinion. One of the best steps you can take during the book writing process is to ask others for their objective opinion.

6. Offer Well-Researched Information

It is essential that all of the information in your book is based on well-researched facts. This is true whether you are writing a fiction or non-fiction book. Readers want to know your book is accurate.

7. Have a Professional Indexer Create an Index

Successful authors know that the index is just as important as the front cover. In fact, the index is the one part of the book that many readers evaluate when deciding to purchase a book. Since consumers often base their decision to buy a book based upon what the index looks like, the index is one item that you never want to overlook.

The key to success is not only the book writing process itself, but paying attention to the index as well.

image credit: Globalism Pictures

Should authors write their own book indexes?

Ann Yager — Sat, 28 May 2011 23:11:00 GMT

Martha Osgood, of Back Words Indexing, says while it is true that authors are the experts on the topic of their own books, the index is meant for the reader, often a non-expert who may not be as familiar as the author with the concepts, thrust, or vocabulary of the topic. If an author can view the book from the perspective and needs of the reader, using reader-friendly synonyms to guide the reader efficiently back into the book, then the author might well be the best person to index his or her own book.

Other issues the author might want to consider include whether he or she:

wishes to learn the details of and then apply the publisher's style sheet for indexing
understands or wants to learn the established principles and standards of information retrieval (there are many, and they are detailed, often contradictory or unintuitive and thus many decisions have to be made to make the index truly useful to the reader, remembering the while that an index is not an outline)
can lead the reader into the book via the index rather than rewriting the book in the index
can express complex ideas concisely
owns and knows how to use to fullest advantage software adequate for the indexing project, remembering that both index cards and a word processor fail to offer the de-scattering and subentry alphabetizing benefits (among others) of the three professional software packages
can face yet another deadline - remembering that the index cannot be written when the book is in manuscript form; it requires final pagination to be completed first. By then the printer date is often set in stone so the index deadline can be tight
can separate her- or himself from the book in order to write the index instead of revising/rewriting the book yet again
has a spouse who can tolerate that book in the house for one more month, week—or even one more day.

Courtesy of Martha Osgood, Back Words Indexing.

American Society for Indexing, Pacific Northwest, Spring Conference

Ann Yager — Tue, 24 May 2011 14:39:00 GMT

Join us on the beautiful campus at Bastyr University near Seattle, WA on June 11th for the PNW/ASI Spring Conference.

Our own Charlee Trantino will be presenting us with two remarkable workshops. The descriptions below were taken from the PNW/ASI website www.pnwasi.org where you can find more information about hotel accomodations, dinner arrangements, and the registration packet.

The Secrets of Rekeying
Presented by Charlee Trantino

A hands-on workshop to learn the traditional skill called rekeying an index (revising an index after the original book is repaginated for a new edition, with or without changes in the original text). Once used in the publishing industry’s production departments by the “old-timers” who kept the method proprietary, rekeying became a lost art after the practice of “shooting-down” hard cover books to fit paperback format came into vogue in the 1990s and rekeying was no longer needed in-house. Charlee learned it by stealing the knowledge, shamelessly, while working in a production department. Now she will show you how the skill of rekeying can still make you money as well as save you time.

Do or Die—The ebook’s impact on indexing
Presented by Charlee Trantino

Ebooks are going to transform our profession whether we embrace them or hate them. But will you be ready—and willing to change? As Roosevelt said, “All we have to fear is fear itself.” Charlee will share the information she has obtained from people in the book industry to predict what types of books and genres will be most affected. She’ll discuss the software programs needed to create an ebook index. Then she will give a brief demonstration on how to create an index for an ebook that was created in Adobe InDesign. It’s easy! But it’s a huge change that many of us may fear and resist. A brainstorming discussion will follow on how to support each other and gain new skills as the publishing industry is transformed.

Looking forward to seeing you on June 11th!

Can computers create a back-of-the-book index?

Ann Yager — Fri, 20 May 2011 14:04:00 GMT

Language is complex and the indexing process requires the evaluation of a human. A computer is just too literal and is not capable of reasoning.

Take homographs for instance. A computer would list all of the page numbers for the word "wind" regardless of whether the subject was the wind blowing through the trees or how to wind a bobbin for a sewing machine.

How about synonyms? A computer would be unable to gather together such similar words as accident, casualty, misadventure and mishap.

And inferences. The "aboutness" in the sentences "the powder sticks to the moist, greasy lines left by the sweaty skin ridges" and "if marks are on porous surfaces the perspiration residue is absorbed by the material" is the process of recovering fingerprints. A computer would not understand the relationship between these two sentences, located in different chapters of a book, and be able to collect the page numbers under the heading "fingerprint recovery".

As you can see, it takes both understanding and organization of the information and ideas in the text to make an effective index. Computers can be quite helpful in the indexing process but it takes a human mind to evaluate the information to be indexed.

What does a book indexer do?

Ann Yager — Tue, 17 May 2011 20:15:00 GMT

A back-of-the-book indexer creates a systematic arrangement of entries designed to enable users to locate information in a book. This requires an indexer to read the complete text...sometimes twice!

While reading the author's manuscript, the indexer selects concepts, terms, and important names in order to reflect the text accurately and anticipate the reader's viewpoint. The reader is not as familiar with the book as the author so multiple access words are provided to help the reader find the desired text.

Entries are ordered differently than in the text and are not an outline of the text. An index is also not a concordance of words. A concordance is an alphabetical list of all the important words in the text. An index differs from a concordance because the index shows relationships between entries by providing subentries to guide the reader to a specific topic. Here is a simple example:

Concordance

Acids, 73, 75, 78, 105, 152

Autopsies, 105

Inks, 152

Poisons, 73, 75, 78

Index

Acids

autopsies and, 105

inks used in, 152

poison testing with, 73, 75, 78

See how the index links the 3 subentries to the main heading, Acids, and points the reader to all of the information? This is one reason a computer can not create an effective index. However, indexer's do use special computer software to help keep working indexes organized and in alphabetical order.

Once the rough index is completed, the indexer edits the structure for clarity and consistency, proofreads it and sends it to the publisher or author.