Hello and welcome to the home of all the deets on my print classes. 👋
Previous to these classes, I’ve taught (by myself or with other authors):
- Three classes on ebooks for Wide authors (distributing to the various platforms; promoting the ebooks to readers; newsletter magnets vs permafrees; and much more);
- A class on publishing on Radish; and
- A class on BookBub Featured Deals (getting them, maximizing them, etc)
Along with print classes, in the future I’m also going to be teaching classes on audiobooks, GooglePlay, uploading your audiobooks to YouTube, translations, selling direct off your site using WooCommerce, and tons more. 🤓✏️
But for now, let’s talk print, shall we? 📚
Until I sat down to put a syllabus together for this class, I had the nebulous idea that I’d “teach a print class.” And then…
Well, I started jotting down enough topics to kill off a person with a weak constitution. Not only would no one in their right mind want to sit through this class (no, I promise, not even you!), my voice would never make it.
So to do this topic justice, I will be splitting it into five parts (yes, five! I told you there’s a lot to cover!):
- Print 101 – Foundations of Print
- Print 201 – Print Options & Distribution
- Print 202 – The Intersection of Print and Libraries
- Print 203 – Large Print (mini class ✨)
- Print 301 – Selling Direct
At the time of me writing this, I have only scheduled out Print 101 classes (see dates and times below). As I teach my way through these classes, I will rework this page and link to replays of the earlier classes so that if you don’t take the Print 101 class right now but want to later, you’ll be able to easily find it.
(I’ve had people ask me so let me just tell y’all now: The cheapest way to take one of my classes is to take it live. Replays will either be the same price or higher. The exception will be if a class is older and not as relevant now as it was when I first taught it).
So let’s get into what I’m going to include in Print 101 – Foundations of Print:
- What is an ISBN?
- Where do I get an ISBN? Do I need to purchase one, or can I use a free one?
- Do I need to purchase a barcode?
- Should I have the price of the book on my covers?
- Which of the Big Five ebook stores also sell print books?
- What is Print on Demand (POD) vs Offset Printing?
- Why is print not nearly as dominant in the indie world as it is in the trad pub world?
- What is case laminate vs dust jacket?
- What is library binding – is that the same as hardcover?
- How much and what kind of backmatter (and front matter) should I include in my print books?
- Should I put out a discrete version of my print books? (This question is specifically geared towards romance authors)
- What should the dimensions of my adult fiction print book be?
- How do I format the interior of a print book – Atticus? Vellum? InDesign? Use D2D? Hire someone?
- What is a gutter? A margin? What numbers should I put where in Vellum? What font type and/or font size should I pick?
- Why does my cover designer care what paper type I choose (white vs cream)? And what is this groundwood option in Ingram?
- Is a cover designed using Amazon’s template also usable on Ingram, or vice-versa?
- Why is there this concept in the print world that I should give discounts and allow returns? Where did that start and why does it continue?
**NOTE: Please understand that I am going to be explaining the reason why discounts and returns exist, not if you should allow them for your own books (and if you do choose to allow them, what settings you should select). That part comes in the next class (Print Options & Distributions). Here, I am hoping to give you the foundational knowledge of why these concepts exist in the print world, so that in the next class, you’ll easily be able to understand if you should apply discounts and allow returns, and if so, under which circumstances.
WARNING! If you choose to skip this class and then are confused about one of these topics in a future class, please understand that I am not going to circle back around and explain that particular concept. I’m sorry! My classes are long enough as they are (anyone who’s taken one of my classes knows it’s a really short one if it’s “only” 1.5 hours long). If I rehashed previously covered topics each time, these classes would become even longer than they already are, and nobody wants that. (Okay, let’s be real: My voice wouldn’t be able to handle that). 😏
If you are ready to sign up for the Print 101 class, here are the three classes available; check out the FAQs below for the specific times that they will be held:
- October 14th (This is the Saturday class and thus is a good fit for those who work during the week)
- October 25th (This is a “late” class and thus is a good fit for those who work during the day in the US, or live in Australia / New Zealand; this is being held on a Wednesday)
- November 2nd (This is an “early” class and thus is a good fit for those in the US or Europe; this is being held on a Thursday)
More questions? Read on for more info about this class and what all is involved…