Friday, July 29, 2011

Publish Your Book in Pages

It's great to hear from other Pages users who have successfully used the programme to accomplish project bigger than home or office tasks.

A reader of I Work in Pages reports:

Just what I needed. I independently published a book last year using Pages and it came out grand, in my view, professionals might differ. But at the moment I was looking for CMYK info and found your site as I am looking for a different printer. Color has come into the vision of my book now and you have provided the answers.  
Once I found out about leading and Pages could do it, I was in book design heaven. No need for the expensive apps of InDesign or Quark. Also, once I figured out how to do the cover, you can say I completely did my book in Pages, both the interior file and the book cover.
- Kevin Cullis


See details of Kevin's book at createspace.com/3403435 (image of the book cover, right). Read Kevin's blog at macstartup.com.

Kevin also informs that a print-on-demand (POD) company for magazines, Magcloud.com, included iWork/Pages as a source, barring some CMYK ICC stuff to download.  There is a step-by-step guide for publishers using Pages here. Please note: I haven't used the company myself, so take it on 'as is' basis. I would welcome reports from anyone who have published with Magcloud or other POD companies.

I Work in Pages wishes Kevin Cullis success with his book venture and welcomes reports from other users.

Please read some tips on preparing a book for publication in Pages in an earlier article 'Putting together a book in Pages'.

5 comments:

  1. Alexander, thanks for sharing my information with others. As some further notes about creating my book, I showed a proof copy of my book (a test copy) to a professional editor and asked her to grade it (A, B, C, D, or F) just as a quick look and she gave me a "B+" on it. She asked if I had done it in Adobe's InDesign, when I told her it was done in Pages she did not believe me until I brought up the file on my laptop. She was stunned.

    The second thing from a technical issue was I uploaded my PDF file to Createspace.com and their email came back "you need to flatten" your images. Well, I had few images, but I did have "objects" such as multiple objects to create a graphic. I ended up "Grouping" all of the objects into one object and that solved the issue.

    The third note, if anyone wants to write a book using Pages, it can be done as I have proved it can be done. But one this is for certain if you choose to go this route: Make sure you take the time to put out a good book. Many people in a rush to see their name in print put out a lousy product. While it does not have to be "perfect," ensure you DO take the time to learn what it takes to make it good enough to fool the average person but take the professional a few minutes to catch your "C" or "D" level work.

    Lastly, Pages compared with the learning curve of Adobe's InDesign or Quark is really simple, but it still takes some effort to produce a good looking book.

    Thanks for posting and here's to bypassing the "Big Publishers" to get your book out there.

    Kevin

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous2:58 pm

      I am also attenpting to wrte a book, using many photos to illustrate. Howver when i go to make changes l find the pictures and sentences get all scrambled. Is there some way to affix the photos to the surrounding words????

      Delete
  2. Kevin,
    once again thanks for sharing your tips and insights. I am sure they'd be much appreciated.
    Totally agree with the point about'elbow grease' - no matter how easy it looks, check, double check, walk away, come back and check again. You won't regret it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous6:07 pm

    Which format on Pages did you use for your book?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The iWork Cookbook is 235x190 mm, the guides are ISO A5.

      Delete

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