Yup, tell your printer how many pages of what paper and said printer
will tell you spine width. Any art work allow a bleed--ask your
printer what that means and how much he needs. It means a part of the
image gets cut off if it's at the edge of the cover. A fix for that
is to actually add to the affected edge, so that what's cut off isn't
part of the original image.
It aint rocket science. Hell, rocket science aint rocket science.
Mark
At 05:25 PM 11/28/2008, you wrote:
>Janet,
>
>These days most printing firms produce the text pages from a pdf.
>The covers are a different
>matter.
>To make the pdf, set your page size the same as the book will be.
>Make the margins at least 10mm
>with no text in them. Produce a pdf from Open Office. This will of
>course not have any
>publishers info or ISBN unless you are Doing it Yourself in its entirety.
>The cover is an entirely different problem but can be solved the
>same way with a bit of
>ingenuity in the design. Calculating the spine width is the main
>problem, but a good printing
>house will help here.
>
>Roger Collett
>Arrowhead Press
>http://www.arrowheadpress.co.uk/
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>"Imagination is the one weapon in the war against reality."
>Jules de Gaultier
>
>
>----- Original Message ----- From: "Janet Jackson" <[log in to unmask]>
>To: <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: Friday, November 28, 2008 3:21 AM
>Subject: Linux software to design books?
>
>
>>Need some help here.
>>
>>Because I don't fit into any of the pre-existing categories, it looks like
>>I'm going to have to self-publish the dratted thing. My book manuscript,
>>that is. "Coracle: 98 poems", my first (and long overdue) collection.
>>
>>I've made the manuscript using OpenOffice.
>>
>>What I don't understand is how you get from a manuscript to something that
>>can be given to a printer to create a workmanlike edition, a sturdy
>>paperback with the name and title on the spine. Presumably one uses some
>>kind of book design software. I prefer to work under Linux, although I can
>>use Windows if I must. What do people use? All suggestions welcome.
>>
>>Janet
>>--
>>I'm looking for writing-related paid work! Performance (my poetry, yours or
>>someone else's); any kind of writing including technical or corporate;
>>ghostwriting; editing; teaching creative writing, poetry or performance;
>>selling books; literary administration... whatever. All leads appreciated.
>>
>>Janet Jackson <[log in to unmask]>
>>www.proximitypoetry.com (Poetry)
>>www.myspace.com/poetjj (Includes occasional arts & culture blog)
>>
>>The Line Mine, bulletin board for Perth poetry & spoken word:
>>[log in to unmask]
>>groups.yahoo.com/group/thelinemine
>>
>>Breastfeeding info & help: www.breastfeeding.asn.au
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