Authors or Aspiring Authors

Genie Press -> Authors / Aspiring Authors wishing to be published

"Let us know if you have a book idea and would like to have it published." Kevin Wilson - Founder Genie Press
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Steps for Authors when writing a book

Select Book Genre or Market
Books come in all types, fiction or nonfiction, and for all ranges of audiences. Children's books can be activity focused (how to count) or just plain fun (coloring books). Nonfiction books can be serious history, how-to (i.e., build a birdbath), or cookbook recipe collections.

Choose a title
Choosing the subject matter of your book is very important, of course. But selecting the book's title (and possibly subtitle) may be the most important piece of writing you will do for your book.

Choose the Subject or Personality of the Book
When you choose your book's subject, you're also choosing how it will be categorized (what genre and sub-genre), how it can be marketed (business books for business people, mysteries and romance to fiction genre readers, graphic novels to comic-book lovers), and what kind of cover will appeal to its intended audience.

Create a properly formatted manuscript
Creating a properly formatted word processing document helps your final printed book meet book buyers' expectations.

Sections of the book

Books are complicated and have many parts with different purposes. The following outlines the most common sections of books found in bookstores, typical content, pagination, and header/footer conventions.

The first section readers see upon opening a book is called the front matter. This contains important information such as the book's ISBN, cataloguing-in-publication (CIP) data, and statements of copyright ownership.

Convention also dictates that a book has two pages, the left and the right. Obvious, yes, but this is important because certain pieces of information should be displayed on either the right (recto) or the left (verso) page.

The first page the reader usually sees upon opening a book will be the right-hand half-title page. It usually displays only the book's title, not the author name, subtitle, or other parts of a full title page (see below). The inside of the front cover is left blank.

Publishers also typically leave the reverse of the half-title page (the following left-hand page) blank. However, a number of items could appear on this page: a list of the author's previous works or other titles if the book is part of a series. If none of those exist, this is where a dedication could be placed.

The title page always appears on the right and contains:

   Full title, including the subtitle if one exists;
   Name of the author or names of authors if the book is collaboration;
   Names of contributors, such as editors, illustrators, and translators; and
   Name of the publisher and the publisher's logo.

Some publishers choose to place the table of contents on the R page opposite the copyright page (also called imprint page), while other publishers instead place the dedication here. It is more important to remember that convention states that half title, title, foreword, contents, and preface should be R pages, and should appear in the order given.

Pages following the preface might include an introduction, list of illustrations, list of acknowledgements, and a dedication if this hasn't been shown on the half-title L page. The various List of" sections might instead be placed in the book's back matter. Other sections of a book that appear in the back are index and about the author" statement.

Following pagination standard convention" often results in blank pages appearing in the front matter. Where blank pages are found, they are included in the pagination flow, but neither the number nor the header/footer should be displayed on the page.

Covers & spine

COVERS/SPINE LOCATION	PAGE NAME	SAMPLE CONTENT
Front of book	Front Cover	Graphic, book title, subtitle (if any), author name(s)
Inside front cover		Usually blank; optional to include ISBN or UPC (Universal Product Code) numbers and bar codes
Vertical spine	Spine	Title, Author(s), Publisher logo (if available)
Inside back cover		BLANK
Back of book	Back Cover

Brief description of book's content

Author photo & qualifications (both optional, but highly recommended)

Book review/promotional quotes (definitely include if available)

ISBN + bar code (will be printed if available; be sure to leave sufficient white space)