Like it, hate it, curse at it, deny it, but at some point, you’re going to have to face it: If you’re an independent author selling your work, you are running a business. And in some of your transactions with professionals who provide services for independent authors, like editors and designers, you might benefit from having a solid, written agreement.
First, a disclaimer: I’m not a lawyer, unless watching Legally Blonde about a dozen times counts. But as an author and an editor, I’ve worked under a few agreements. Let’s look at the basic types and how they might help you: Continue reading “The Basics of Agreements for Indie Authors”
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One of the most frequent questions I’ve heard lately from self-publishing authors is about ISBNs. Do you really need them? Do you really need to buy them? What are the pros and cons of buying an ISBN versus using the free or inexpensive ones offered by CreateSpace, BookBaby, Smashwords, and other online partners? Let’s see if we can clear that up some.
A quick spin through Mama Google tells authors and indie publishers pretty much everything they want to know about choosing the appropriate book size, usually called trim size. Sources mention that most self-published books range from 5″ x 8″ to 6″ x 9″, and often books that depend on images, like children’s picture books, cookbooks, and “coffee table” style books are larger, as are reference manuals and workbooks.