Alice Monterio, a self-published author in South Carolina, contacted me initially for help converting a document into PDF/X-1a2001 format for her print service. But upon review of the manuscript, I suggested a more intensive effort to raise the quality of the book and facilitate any future edits.
The book’s manuscript was created using a desktop publishing application, but the spacing and alignment were inconsistent. There were some other structural problems with the headers and page numbers. They were created in line with the body text rather than applied using a header function. This created compounding inefficiencies for the author’s editing process. Any change that affected pagination could potentially cause the headers on all tof teh subsequent pages to wrap incorrectly.
Working closely with Alice, I laid out the manuscript using InDesign’s long document format, INDB. This structure allowed global edits to styles, headers, footers, and other repeating elements. I also recommended content edits for grammar and style, added footnotes for citations, and applied blockquote formatting to long quotes. Finally, I also rebuilt the cover using vector artwork and type because the initial concept’s text had been rasterized. At the end of the project, the overall quality of the interior of Single Mom Syndrome matched that of any mass market book released from a large publishing house.
The book is available on Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/Single-Syndrome-Rising-Above-Challenge/dp/0615775691/
Visit the publisher’s website: http://www.amonteriopublishing.com
