Doing My own work

[Ampolitor]

OK I 've been writing in leather journals for years now for my campaign world. I have a ton of stuff that I want to edit for print into a game world.
Now what program should I use to do this. I want to do a layout for it so I can then send it in to a publisher for print. I know it has to be pdf format but what program? Should I go buy the microsoft publisher 2007? or can I use normal word and convert it? What do you guys use thats easy to type and do a good layout thats good to send in to print?

 

[Steve Conan Trustrum]

My program of choice is InDesign CS. Versatile. Powerful. Adaptable.

 

[xrpsuzi]

I use InDesign as well. It's pricey, but if you are integrating text, pictures, and tables together on the page, it works very well. I'd run text through a word processor for niffy features like spell check and grammar check, but for actual formating, InDesign does very well.

My sister-in-law put together a book (family history) in Word and turned it into a PDF. It was a difficult (especially integrating the pictures), but definitely doable.

-Suzi

 

[Steve Conan Trustrum]

Yeah, stick to a word processor for word processing and stick to a layout program for layout. You CAN do a PDF in Word, but you can't do as much. You can't manipulate the elements as well and you lose the HUGE advantage of layers, both from a purely layout standpoint but also from the sense of organization and simplification.

 

[Prest0]

I guess I'll be the dissenting opinion.

If your intention is to do all copyediting, proofreading, art, and layout-- basically everything involved in putting together a book short of putting it on a printing press and getting it into distribution--then by all means something like InDesign is the way to go. You can safely ignore everything below. Otherwise, keep reading.

If you're writing this masterpiece without a publishing contract in hand, you need to rethink your priorities. THIS publisher wants a clean manuscript in MS Word over an InDesign file any day. Our production cycle is such that manuscripts get proofed and edited in Word by a team of people. It's a lot easier to pass Word files back and forth than it is to pass around InDesign files. If a freelancer sent me an InDesign file, I'd export the text as an RTF file, do all the edits, then re-lay it out. The fact that you don't already own layout software and are asking for advice tells me that you're not proficient in layout. Focus on what you're good at (presumably writing), and let publishers focus on their strengths.

In short, don't waste your money on layout software unless you plan on self publishing. And don't try to self publish unless you've at least *tried* to get an established publisher to pick it up.

 

[Ampolitor]

thanks

Thanks for the advice!
I plan on doing this all myself then sending it through lulu for printing on demand. I'm gonna look at Indesign prices since I have an entire line of products planned (most are already written) I'm mainly doing this just to have my stuff published but If I sell some thats a plus.

 

[Bacris]

Having used both MS Publisher and Adobe InDesign, I definitely recommend InDesign over Publisher.

Publisher is VERY limited in what it can do.

 

[Steve Conan Trustrum]

I'm gonna look at Indesign prices since I have an entire line of products planned (most are already written) .

Look for OEM versions on the cheap.

 

[Urizen]

I use INdesign for layout and other adobe products for graphic design, and ms word for my word processing stuff.

Expect to spend around a grand (ballpark figure) for adobe products. If you do buy them. I suggest getting the Creative suite, which is a package of all the popular products (Illustrator, Photoshop, INdesign, Golive, and Acrobat Pro). The Creative suite will be a better deal than trying to get these products individually.

www.adobe.com

If you can't afford that much, and don't much like MS word, another program - Open office - (www.openoffice.org) also works. It's free and I understand you can make pdfs from it.

 

[Cathix]

If you're interested in becoming a publisher, invest in InDesign. However, if you're interested in shopping your setting to someone who can coordinate layout, art, promotion, marketing and print/pdf production - all you need is Microsoft Word.

Keep your doc in Times New Roman 11 pt., no fancy font headings, bold and italicize the proper things (subheadings, spells respectively). Then send a sample that contains examples of both prose and mechanics to publishers whom you believe share your vision. Accompany the sample with a synopsis of your project. Send a professionally written, flattering and friendly letter of introduction, too.