You’ve found the right place! I’m Lana Castle, and I’m ready to give you the inside scoop on publishing and steer you clear of the pitfalls. I provide expert editing, publishing advice and production support for printed books, ebooks and media materials. I’m here to help you publish an outstanding product in a cost-effective way. (And I’m nowhere near as mean as I look!)
New to publishing? Not sure where to start? Want to explore different publishing options? Looking for an expert editor?
ISBN (International Standard Book Number)
The unique number assigned to each new book or book-like product, including each new edition or format (hardcover, softcover, ebook, audiobook). Most everyplace in the book trade requires an ISBN to identify a product and its publisher. Publishers of all …
- Share this:
- Share
Starting a sentence with a conjunction
Dear Style Meister: Isn’t it wrong to begin a sentence with a conjunction? — I Don’t Think So
Dear Don’t Think So: Relax. When it comes to English usage, it’s usually more a case of preference rather than “right” or …
- Share this:
- Share
Standard manuscript format
A standard manuscript is typed in a 12-point plain font like Times New Roman. Don’t try to be artistic; that only makes editors cranky! If you’re mailing a hard copy, print it on one side only on plain white or …
- Share this:
- Share
Em dashes and en dashes
Em dash — A dash about as wide as a capital M in a particular font and point size — Often typed as a double hyphen, em dashes can be used to:
- End an informal greeting in a memo or
…
- Share this:
- Share
Handling a character’s internal dialogue or thoughts
Dear Style Meister: How do you handle characters’ imaginings in a work of fiction? Do you place them in quotation marks? italicize them? or what? — Introspective Novelist
Dear Introspective: The Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago) states that internal …
- Share this:
- Share
Handling the he/she dilemma
Need a way to avoid using “he/she” or “he or she”? The simplest solution, using “he” as generic, risks alienating lots of people. And some “solutions” are so awkward, they leave us even worse off. Luckily, you can usually edit …
- Share this:
- Share
PDF (Portable Document File)
An electronic file that duplicates the appearance and contents of an entire page or image, regardless of what type of computer or electronic device it’s displayed on. Think of it as a snapshot. Adobe Systems invented PDFs to help people …
- Share this:
- Share
Publishing an ebook
Once you have a carefully edited final manuscript and have a high-quality front cover PDF (Portable Document File), you have the basic ingredients needed to publish an electronic book (ebook).
Unlike a manuscript file for a printed book, a manuscript …
- Share this:
- Share
Congress’s or Congress’
Dear Style Meister: What is the possessive form of Congress? Would you write “Congress’s unanimous acceptance” or “Congress’ unanimous acceptance”? — Possessively Perplexed
Dear Possessively: I’m hard pressed to imagine a situation in which Congress could accept anything unanimously! …
- Share this:
- Share
Ending a sentence with a preposition
Dear Style Meister: Is it okay to end a sentence with a preposition? For instance, is “What are you referring to” now preferred over “To what are you referring”? — Prepositional Purist
Dear Purist: The old rule about never ending …
- Share this:
- Share
Book production and publishing options
Today’s publishing industry offers several options that writers often find confusing. Books may now be produced through offset printing, digital printing, print on demand (POD) or as ebooks.
Offset printing is most appropriate for printing large quantities of books, usually …
- Share this:
- Share
Advance reading copy (ARC)
Sometimes referred to as advance copy, reader’s copy or reader’s edition — ARCs are formatted bound books that often have a plain rather than final cover. They are extremely important for obtaining the endorsements and book reviews that often …
- Share this:
- Share
Coming in June 2012
