PrePubPonderings
How does one get permission to use lyrics in a book?
For getting text on the spline in Photoshop, how do I place vertical text, the bottom of whose characters face the back of the book?
Where to store 1000 books, 48 to a carton, 35 pounds to a carton, a block of paper about 4 feet on a side. Sheesh. I hope to do honor to all those trees. I have a friend with dry storage and easy access near Floyd. He has a guest house with no guests. Or I could break the pallet, stack them in two or three places here on the bottom floor, cover each with a table cloth and say we have three new coffee tables in odd places.
How to go about getting ISBN numbers and corresponding bar codes (I have some info on that), then placement in Books in Print or other prominent places. I heard there were places you could submit books for review, but haven't researched that yet.
How to get endorsements of a book that isn't in print yet. I have the almost-final draft converted to pdf (size 690k) this morning--115 pages 11 font 1 inch margins in Word. Hmmm...only 59k words or about 200 pages in the actual book. We cut more than I thought. The draft isn't perfect; line breaks fall in odd places I'll correct in the layout program before the final final draft, and other than the first page, no images yet. Now what? I'd like to get reader feedback before the vault door closes. I'd appreciate some cover endorsements, both from "regular readers" and from the few authors whose names might carry a bit of weight. Not a time to be timid. Or overly aggressive, either. Have Kinkos make 15-20 copies, see what happens. Follow David St. Lawrence's lead and upload for free in part or whole, or what? And when?
Discovery: Duh. I guess it's one of those tools I have never really needed before, like I was talking about earlier today. In Word, from the VIEW menu, click "READING LAYOUT" and the page opens in narrower columns in a two page spread, very easy to read, with left sidebar thumbnails if you want them. I like it.
Comments
Fred,
My name won't carry weight, but I'll be happy to read for you, either for editorial comments or general ones.
Save some trees - send electronic copies if you want general comments, paper if you want mark-ups. Pick a few trusted readers, like fellow bloggers.
Worry about the storage when the time comes - those things have a way of working out, I think. If you have publication questions, Ed Falco at Tech is a good person to ask, as are Nikki Giovanni and Lucinda Roy.
Cheers,
-Danny
Posted by: Danny V | February 23, 2006 10:08 AM
re: lyric reprints -- contact the copyright-holder.
re: ISBN -
http://www.isbn-international.org/en/agencies/usa.html
re: Photoshop - not sure exactly what you're asking, but if you're asking how to make the spine text element -- create your text element (text tool, click anywhere in your layout, type text, click to the select tool, which should transform your text into a standalone element with its own layer, etc.), and then rotate that element 90 degrees clockwise. You should now be able to place the text within the layout.
Luck.
Posted by: lynD | February 23, 2006 10:59 AM
To license lyrics; go here:
www.ascap.com
There are splines and there are "splines" (sorry couldn't resist)
I use QuarkXPress so can't help, have you tried the InDesign forums? Whenever I am stumped on an Adobe product the forums almost always have an answer/fix. Sometimes it takes a few tries to ask the right question, but there is a vast wealth of Adobe knowledge online.
Posted by: BJ | February 23, 2006 12:24 PM
You can quote partial lyrics without obtaining permission as long as you credit the source and the copyright but it is still best to ask before publishing. Contact ASCAP or BMI. Many songwriters have web sites that list contact info and agent's names.
As for your publishing programs, you are trying to master a major program in a short period of time. The forums on the Adobe web site can help but you might consider taking a class on basic use because mastering the basics should be the first step. I've been publishing with Quark, Pagemaker and InDesign for years and still haven't mastered all the basics. Same for Photoshop, which I've been using since version 1.0.
Posted by: Doug Thompson | February 23, 2006 6:31 PM
I'm astounded that the book has progressed so far, so fast. you are the opposite of a procrastinator! If progress slows from this point forward, don't get impatient: it should!
Posted by: Kathy Barron | February 23, 2006 11:02 PM