Self-Publishing in 7 Steps

In our approach to offer any writer the opportunity to self-publish his/her book, we follow a well-established 7 step process to ensure that you as the writer reach your set goals.

On the right you will find links to the different steps applied in this process. It is highly important that aspiring authors read and familiarise themselves with these steps.

Step 1: Writing

Books are what self-publishing is all about. Although some writers have a gift and the talent to write, value can be added to books by understanding and applying the finer art of writing. A number of workshops are available for various writing courses and tips.

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Step 2: Editing and/or Translation

Be prepared that this step takes a lot of time and effort and can therefor be costly. Additional value can be added to the book when the editing is done by a professional linguist.

Read More

Step 3: Typographic Layout (Typesetting)

The professional team at Groep 7 does the typographic layout in the world-renowned professional program, Adobe InDesign. This is also the first step toward publishing an e-book when the InDesign file is converted into E-Pub, which can then be converted into a secure e‑book.

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Step 4: Cover Design

The cover of a book is always very important because it will be the deciding factor whether a reader will pick it up to investigate it further, or not.

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Step 5: Printing and Binding

Digital printing has developed exceptionally well during the last few years and is therefor cost-effective to print and bind from 1 to 1 000 books per order. The suggestion is therefor to print books on a continuous basis as needed, even as few as 10 books per order!

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Step 6: Distribution and E-Books

Groep 7 can take care of the packaging, distribution and administration on behalf of authors using one of the four options listed below. An agreement needs to be completed for each book.

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Step 7: Marketing

Self-publishers market their own books and e-books, and the following are some methods used very successfully by several of our authors.

Read More

Policies

Pages

Please note: Email or phone for an appointment please

Tambotiweg 776, Kameeldrif-Oos
Roodeplaat, Pretoria

Directions: From the N1, take the Cullinan off-ramp and travel towards Cullinan (R513). Turn left on the R573 (KwaMhlanga/Moloto) for 5km. At the "Mooipoort Golf course" sign, turn LEFT on tar road and continue straight for 3km on gravel road. Groep 7 (white sign), is on the left.

epos@groep7.co.za

(prefer email correspondence)

Call us: 082 449 0574

Step 1 – Writing

The Art of Writing

Setup

The book will probably be written in Microsoft Word which will make editing and proofreading easier. The following is a basic guideline for the sequence of the information in the book. The self-publisher can still decide to do it their own way. Uneven page numbers are always on the right-hand page of the open book (spread).

Half Title Page/Reviews and Series Title Page

Optional beforehand.

Page One – Title Page

The title of the book and author’s name appears here.

Page Two – General Information

The word "Copyright" and/or the copyright symbol "©", accompanied by the publisher’s address and contact details appear here. This confirms that the copyright of the book is the property of the author.
Thereafter the ISBN, date (month and year) of the first print and the date of any reprint appears. (Groep 7 can register the ISBN number on behalf of authors and the cost is R200.)
It is a good idea to acknowledge who did the editing, translation, typographic layout and cover design. In the case of photos, sketches or pictures; the relevant copyright information (where it was taken/sketched and by whom or where it was purchased).
Lastly the printer’s name and address is added.

The following is an example that may be used to describe copyright:

“All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.”

Important: Please be informed on the copyright & permissions guidelines for use of text from South African Language Bibles as well as any other publication or photos. For more information email copyright@biblesociety.co.za.

Basic guideline: The BIBLE text of the Afrikaans, Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho, Tswana, Southern Ndebele, Swati, Xhosa, Zulu, Tsonga and Venda Bibles and New Testaments may be quoted in any form (written, visual, electronic or audio) up to and inclusive of five hundred (500)* verses without written permission, providing the verses quoted do not amount to 50%* of a complete book of the Bible nor do the verses account for 25%* or more of the total text of the work in which they are quoted. This permission is contingent upon an appropriate copyright acknowledgment.

*Specifications may differ between the different versions.

Groep 7 can do the registration of an ISBN on behalf of the author. Poetry book and books for the limited market do not need an ISBN but you can send your request to marietjie.debeer@nlsa.ac.za to apply yourself.

Page Three – Dedication (open on reverse side)

Special information is printed on this page, e.g. if the book is dedicated to a person who provided the inspiration that led to the writing of the book.

Page Four – Contents

A table of contents is normally only used in non-fiction works that have sections and chapters. A contents page is less common in works of fiction but may be used if your work includes unique chapter titles. It is never used if your chapters are only numbered.

Acknowledgement

This page is used to acknowledge anyone who helped, contributed, motivated and/or supported you in the process of writing your book.

Foreword and/or Introduction

The foreword or introduction may be written to give background information on how this book came to be published and to explain more about the book.

The foreword can also be a piece written by another person (usually well known) who has already read your book.

Body of Book – Chapters

The body of the book follows the Foreword, Introduction etc. and the first chapter will usually appear on the right-hand page, which is an uneven page number.

Last pages

Reviews, Book List (optional beforehand), Bibliography, Author’s Profile, Index and Addendum.

Step 2 – Editing and/or Translation

Editing

Be prepared for this step to take a lot of time and effort and can therefore be costly. Additional value can be added to the book when the editing is done by a professional linguist.

Please keep the following in mind when contracting an editor. Comprehensive editing can basically be explained as follows:

Copy-editing: The text editor (copy-editor) is qualified to apply the language norms across the entire spectrum of language. It involves basic editing, as well as: syntax, semantics, pragmatics, writing style, arithmetic, positions of tables and illustrations, ambiguity, contradictions, references, footnotes and even legal problems like libel.
Proof-editing: Basic editing (proof-editing) is language remediation, which means correction of syntactic errors, incorrect punctuation, grammar, language and spelling.
Proof-reading: After the page layout has been completed, the PDF document or proofbook is sent to the proof-reader to do a final check for any linguistic or page layout errors that was not picked up by the editor.

Contact Groep 7 for references to experts or find the right person for your book by personal reference of friends or on the internet e.g. www.editors.org.za.

The experts who are part of the Groep 7 team, handles it as follows:

Basic evaluation of the book with a report so that authors can make an informed decision about linguistic care – R350.00.
A quotation is given according to the number of words and the extent of editing required. The amount per word is approximately:
- Professional linguistic (copy-editor) – 14c–22c p/w.
- Basic language editing (proof-editing) – 10c–14c p/w.
- Proof-reader – 6c–10c p/w.

Process:

With acceptance of the quotation, a section of a chapter will be edited and suggested changes will be pointed out.
Editing is done with 'track changes'. Thus, the choice remains with the author if he/she wants to accept the suggested changes or not. The author does not need to fear that his/her book will be rewritten! This also gives the author the opportunity to see if he/she and the editor will be happy to work together.
At this stage the quote will be re-confirmed and chapters, one-by-one, will be sent in ‘track changes’ format to the author for acceptance and/or alternative suggestions. Payment will be made as the work progresses, e.g. chapter-by-chapter, or 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%, depending on what the author and editor agree on.

Translation

Should an author have the need to reach another market (i.e. language – Afrikaans, English or African languages) the book can be forwarded in MSWord format to an independent translator. Groep 7 can recommend a translator who will supply a quote.

The procedure is basically the same as the editing process:

A few pages are translated so that the author can get the “feel” of the translator’s work.
A quotation is calculated. Authors can expect translation costs from 28c per word – depending on the quality of the language used and the difficulty of the book.
As work progresses, the translator sends the completed chapters back to the author for approval.
The translator is paid as the work progresses, e.g. chapter-by-chapter, or 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%, depending on what the author and translator agree on.

Step 3 – Typographic Layout (Typesetting)

The page layout and cover design can be done by:

Professional staff at Groep 7;
The author;
or any graphic artist of the author’s choice.

The professional team at Groep 7 does the typographic layout in the world-renowned professional program Adobe InDesign. This is also the first step toward publishing an e-book, when the InDesign file is converted into E-Pub which can then be converted into a secure e‑book.

The type of printing will also determine how the page layout will be done. Estimate costs for page layout in Adobe InDesign are:

A5 books – from R9 tot R16 per page.
A4 books – from R12 tot R22 per page.
Books with sketches, photos & diagrams from R25 per page.
Books requiring indexing from R65 per page.
Corrections after typesetting – R120 per hour.
When authors wish to keep their document in MSWord and do any corrections themselves, we can do the finishing from R4.50 per page.

The final quote is given when we receive the manuscript and two invoices are sent for payment after 50% and 100% of the work has been completed.

Typesetters at Groep 7 do professional typographic layout. However, this does not exclude the author (or friend!) from doing the design and forwarding it to us in print quality PDF (portable document format) and there will then be no charge for page layout. A proofbook is printed by Groep 7 and the author needs to approve it before we print the book order.

If you, or a graphic designer of your choice, would like to do the page layout, the following guidelines can be followed for a neat page layout:

The pages in an A5 book are 148,5 mm wide and 210 mm long with 15-20 mm margins for space between the contents and four edges of the page.
An A4 page is 210 mm wide and 297 mm long with the same margins.
Fonts generally used are “Serif” which means the font has a head- and foot piece which may make reading easier. “Sans serif” are fonts without the head- and foot pieces and can be used for headings. Consider fonts like:
- - Century Schoolbook;
  - Baskerville;
  - Garamond; or
  - Goudy Old Style
Numbering of pages preceding the first chapter is normally done in Roman numerals and then Chapter 1 starts on page 1. Uneven numbers are on the righthand side. If a book consists of 100 pages, it means that 50 sheets are printed on both sides and numbered. For example: Roman numerals i-iv and the remaining pages of the book will be numbered 1-96.

Step 4 – Cover Design

The cover of a book is always very important because it will be the deciding factor whether a reader will pick it up to investigate it further, or not.

The graphic artists at Groep 7 use Photoshop or CorelDraw and have the knowledge to design your dream cover! The cost for design is normally between R600 and R900 depending on the information supplied by the author and time spent. Therefore, it may be necessary to obtain copyrighted photos or graphic stock where the artist has given us the consent to purchase and use these (R250).

Authors are more than welcome to design their own book cover and forward it to us in print quality PDF (portable document format), without incurring costs for the cover design.

Please ensure that you have copyright on all photos, clipart etc.

The following can be used as layout guidelines when designing your own cover:

The front, spine and back are designed as a single document.
The layout size for an A5 book is double A5 (thus A4 landscape) plus spine, plus 3 mm ‘bleed’. (E.g. an A5 book with 100 pages, has a spine of 6 mm, and the document will therefore be 216 mm x 309 mm).
The layout size for an A4 book is double A4 (thus A3 landscape) plus spine, plus 3 mm ‘bleed’. (E.g. an A4 book with 200 pages, has a spine of 12 mm, and the document will therefore be 303 mm x 438 mm).
An important guideline to ensure it is visually pleasing, is to place all text and photos 15–20 mm from all edges.
Please design in CMYK, short for “Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key Black”.
After binding, the book is trimmed 3 mm on 3 sides.

Step 5 – Printing and Binding

Digital printing has developed exceptionally well during the last few years and hence it is cost-effective to print and bind from 2 to 1 000 books per order. The suggestion is therefore to print books on a continuous basis as needed, even at 10 books per order!

At least one proof book will be printed and approved before the order is executed.

Larger orders (>1 000) are printed lithographically which means that the unit cost is reduced; however, the total initial capital outlay may be expensive.

Cover Page

The cover page is printed in full colour or black, on 250 g/m² to 300 g/m² coated paper and laminated in gloss or matt for protection.

Contents

Different paper can be used and we keep 80g white Bond and off-white Bookpaper in stock. Books can be printed in either black or full colour, or a combination of black and full colour to save costs where a book does not have full colour photos on every page.

When a combination of black and colour printing is used, it is important to already decide before the layout stage which photos will be printed in colour to save printing costs. One sheet (printed on both sides) will either be printed with a black laser printer or a colour printer; thereafter it will be collated to complete the book. This means that if a sheet is printed in colour on one side and black on the other, both pages will be considered as having been printed in colour and will be invoiced as such.

Binding Methods

Perfect bind (60-700 pages):

This is the process normally used in the industry. It is bound with hot glue onto the spine of the cover page and gives the book a square spine.

Staple (8-60 pages):

A4 books are printed on A3 paper, folded and stapled with 2 staples in the fold onto the cover page. Using the same method, A5 books are printed on A4 paper, folded and stapled. The advantage is that the book lies flat when it is opened.

Wire binding (10-500 pages):

Any number of pages can be bound in this way and the pages can open completely. It is ideal for study material and manuals.

Hardcover books (60-700 pages):

The book is bound and cut separately. The hard cover is covered with the full colour cover page and the book is then bound into the hard cover. The unit cost on top of the printing cost of the book is R115 for A5 books and R145 for A4 books.

Printing costs

Basic specifications with full colour 300g cover laminated, contents laser printed in black on 80g bond and perfect binded. A proof book is printed and the author needs to accept it before we start printing the book order.

Proof book and unit cost (example):

A5 book with e.g. 160 pages, R53
A4 book with e.g. 160 pages, R87

Printing costs on orders after proof book has been approved:

1-49 books = unit price of proof book
Discounts on:
- 50 books 5,0% 100 books 7,5%
- 250 books 12,5% 500 books 15,0%
- 750 books 17,5% 1,000 books 20,0%

Step 6 – Distribution and E-Books

Groep 7 can take care of the packaging, distribution and administration on behalf of authors using one of the four options listed below. An agreement needs to be completed for each book.

The advantage is that authors do not have to pay in advance for any books that are ordered in this way, and administration costs are kept as low as possible to give authors the opportunity to place their books in the market at competitive prices.

Reconciliation of sales are done every three months (February, May, August and November), the nett income calculated and paid to authors.

Orders by authors (printed books)

Authors supply the list of names and addresses where books need to be sent. Groep 7 prints and sends the books, and the author is invoiced for the printing and courier costs.

Online Bookshop (printed books)

Books are placed on Groep 7’s online website bookshop, Groep 7 eShop at a once-off payment of R250 (VAT included).

The author determines the selling price.
Buyers order and pay online.
Groep 7 prints and dispatches the books.

Calculation of the net income for the author is as follows:

Selling price less
- - 20% (15% VAT, which Groep 7 pays to SARS plus 5% Payfast costs (credit card);
  - Printing cost of book.

Bookshops (printed books – conditions apply)

When bookshops enquire to buy an author’s book, the process is as follows:

The author determines the selling price.
Groep 7 prints and sends the books, invoices the bookshop and manages the administration.

Calculation of the net income for the author is as follows:

Selling price less
- - 50% which the bookshop charges;
  - 15% VAT that Groep 7 pay to SARS;
  - Printing cost of book.

Electronic books (e-books)

Groep 7 quotes on each individual book for preparation to convert it into an e-book format.
• The typesetting is done in InDesign and then converted to E-Pub.
• The ISBN is registered in the author’s name.
• All information required are loaded on Kobo website (www.kobo.com) which have the software to convert is to a secure E-Book.
• The link is sent to the author who can market and expand for worldwide sales.
• The author can use this E-Pub file to publish e-books on any other platform.
• The link is also placed beside the author’s book on Groep 7’s website bookshop.
• The author determines the selling price and receives 50% thereof.
• Amazon.com – preparation of documents for author to self-publish.

Step 7 – Marketing

Self-publishers market their own books and e-books, and the following are some methods used very successfully by several of our authors at:

Tertiary institutions, schools and pre-primary schools where the need already exists.
Orphanages or similar institutions with large data bases.
Agreements with bookshops, Amazon and Kobo.
Marketing via email, Facebook and other communication channels where the target market has already been identified.
Seminars and workshops.
Author's own website.

Groep 7 can assist and offer quotations on any of the following:

Make books available to (per agreement):
- - Groep 7 online bookshop;
  - E-book on Kobo;
  - Bookshops (conditions apply) - Groep 7 is a registered supplier of Exclusive Books, Bargain Books, Protea, PNA and other bookshops (their decision to order);
Authors’ profile on Groep 7 website;
Posters (printed and electronic format) e.g. for book launches.
Amazon.com – preparation of documents for author to self-publish.