A Professional Look That Takes Both Conversion and Formatting

Jeanine Henning from Indie Author News offers these guidelines for the polishing a book or e-book will need before it's sent out:

"When a mainstream publisher prints your book, they take control over what ultimately happens to your book. This includes the ‘polishing processes’ like editing, cover design, formatting and marketing. They also take the royalties for this process of polishing your book. So as your own self-publisher, you retain control over your entire book’s ‘life’, from inception of story, the writing process, and ultimately the glorious publication of your [masterpiece]! However, this is where independent self-publishing requires you to actively consider and use the ‘polishing services’ that the mainstream publishers normally offer...Formatting is when a designer polishes your manuscript to professional standards...Formatting is basically working over the entire text to look like something Bloomsbury or Random House would publish using a proper book layout designer...Conversion is taking your now formatted manuscript (which should be edited and proofread with a great cover already) and converting it to the various eBook formats...as required by the author/indie publisher. It’s the fast and easy part of taking an MS to eBook or print...Pick up ANY mainstream book (print or eBook) and compare yours to it. Is your book as neatly done with added touches? Are the page breaks as clean? Does it have that mainstream polished feel?...Give your books the same professional treatments as mainstream publishers do with their publications. Get on their level because there are excellent services out there for you to do so...A [well-formatted] and converted book really has an impact on your [storyline], the dialogue, the flow and overall experience of your book."