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Publishing Step 3: Uploading Your Manuscript

Home Help Centre How to Publish a Book at Mybestseller Publishing Step 3: Uploading Your Manuscript

In this step you’ll be uploading your manuscript (without the cover – you’ll be making that in step 4). You can still return to this step and make changes to your manuscript later, but doing so may change the cover dimensions, so be careful.

We also offer professional editing services, if you want to make use of them. This can be anything from a thorough spell-check to detailed feedback on your story. We assume that you will upload a ready-to-print manuscript in a format that complies with the size you have chosen. In the FAQ you can download templates to match your chosen book size. These templates are pre-formatted with colophon pages, the right margins and interlineation, a workable font and page numbering.

For an e-pub the layout is not important. For example, page numbering is unnecessary. What does matter is simplicity.  Click here to learn more about how to format a good manuscript for ebooks.

You can choose to upload your manuscript as either a PDF or a Word document, unless you’re making an e-book, in which case we only accept Word files. Click here if you’re not sure how to save your manuscript as a PDF. If you have uploaded your manuscript in a different size than you originally chose, we will automatically scale it to the right size. We will always inform you if this happens.

When you are completely done with your manuscript and you want to start uploading, choose browse, select the applicable document and click upload. Usually we will return a print-ready file within a couple of minutes.

Tips

  • Always have your manuscript checked by third parties, be it friends, family or experts.
  • Colophon pages: the first pages of a book usually consist of:
    • First page: only the title of the book.
    • Second page: empty.
    • Third page: the title of the book followed by the name of the author.
    • Fourth page: the name of the author, ISBN (if applicable), cover design, copyright, print run.
  • Left and right pages: odd-numbered pages are always on the right, even-numbered pages on the left.
  • Page numbering: colophon pages are not numbered. Our templates are already formatted to accommodate that standard. Click here if you wish to alter this.
  • Position page numbers: we advise you to place the page numbers at the bottom, at the outer edges of the pages.
  • Print margins are a matter of personal taste. Our template is set to common print margin by default. When laying out your manuscript, always make sure that the inner part of a page has more margin than the outer part of a page (the inner part will be on the right side of an even page and on the left side of an odd page).
  • Tips for Word: we have listed a number of tips for working with Word, among others page numbering, print margin, and fonts. Click here to learn more.
  • PDF: most computers have Adobe Reader (in order to view PDFs) pre-installed. Click here if you do not have Adobe Reader yet.
  • If you’re planning on making an ebook, you should take care to format your manuscript correctly before uploading, to ensure a professional result. This article will teach you how to format your ebook manuscript in Microsoft Word, and this article will explain how to create or edit an EPUB file, which is what your Word document will be converted to when uploaded to our platform as an ebook.
  • Always check the file that it is returned to you carefully! What you see is how it will be printed, so make sure you’re happy with the way it looks!

FAQ

Do I need to have my book edited?
No, not necessarily. However, we do advise you to have your manuscript reviewed by someone else. This could also be a friend or a family member. The big advantage of having someone review your manuscript is perspective. You will always overlook things yourself, and it’s definitely worth minimizing the risk of potential errors in your final product. These could be spelling errors or the layout of your manuscript, but it might also be the case, for example, that there are inconsistencies in your story.

What font type should I choose?
It’s for you to decide. We do have a handy article where we discuss what font you should use for your book, which we recommend you to take a look at if you’re having doubts about your font choices. Cambria, Times New Roman and Arial are among our favourites.

What font size should I choose?
This is a matter of personal taste as well and might differ depending on the font used. Sizes 10 and 11 are most commonly used.

Where does the text of my book start?
The first page (which is always on the right side) of the book block is the start of your book. Usually you begin with some colophon pages:

  • First page: only the title of the book.
  • Second page: empty.
  • Third page: the title of the book followed by the name of the author.
  • Fourth page: name of the author, ISBN (if applicable), the name of the designer, copyright, print run.

Then, you might add a table of contents and a foreword. Bear in mind that the text always starts on a right page (an odd-numbered page).

How can I create and upload my manuscript?
There are two main approaches to creating and uploading a manuscript for your book:

  1. The first option involves downloading one of our templates and use it to write your manuscript. There are a number of manuscript templates corresponding to the various book sizes that you can use, listed below. Simply download the template corresponding to your chosen book format and save it on your computer. If your manuscript is already finished, you can copy and paste the text into the template to adapt it for publishing. If you haven’t finished your manuscript yet, you can just write it directly in the Word template. Note that the format of the template will not be altered.When you download and use a template, keep in mind that Word copies layout instructions from your source document into the chosen template. In other words, if you’re copy-pasting previously written text into the template document, paste the text you want to transfer into a notepad document first, and then copy the text from the notepad document and paste it into the template. This will prevent the template’s formatting from being altered.
  2. Alternatively, you can create your own manuscript document and format it yourself. If you do this, make sure that the document adheres to the required dimensions, specified by the layout of your book.

You can choose to upload your file as a Word document or as a PDF. If you’re unsure of how to make a PDF out of a Word document, we’ve got you covered.

Why do you work with Word?
Word is a global standard for text processing and virtually everyone knows how to work with it. Moreover, Word is well suited for working with pictures, tables and graphs. Of course InDesign (and Quark) is the standard for professionals.

I want to make my book with Adobe InDesign, what are the delivery specifications?
When designing your book’s layout using Adobe InDesign, use the following settings:

  • Make sure your InDesign document is set to the right page sizes with a bleed of 3mm (entered in all four fields except the ‘inside’ field).
  • Use Adobe PDF Preset PDF/X-3:2002.
  • Check again if the bleed is set to 3mm and that all printer marks are turned off.

I am not a proficient Word-user; can you assist me with the layout?
Yes, we can. Click here for tips and tricks for working with Word. Alternatively, you can make use of our review services. Contact us at support@mybestseller.co.uk for more information about these services.

Is it possible to add pictures to my book? If so, what resolution should they have?
Yes. We strongly recommend making sure that you use images with at least 200 DPI (dots per inch), and preferably 250 DPI or more for the best result. Using lower-quality images can still turn out alright, depending on your standards, but it’s always better to opt for a high-quality image.

What is the maximum size of the file I want to upload?
We can handle files up to 500 MB, if your file is larger or the upload doesn’t work, please don’t hesitate to contact us and we’ll help you find a solution.

Can I upload a PDF file?
Absolutely. It is important that the format of your PDF matches the dimensions of the book type you have chosen, as the layout in a PDF is static.

For this reason, you’ll need to upload either a Word document, or an EPUB file if you’re making an ebook, since we won’t be able to convert PDFs into ebooks for you. If you upload a Word document, it’s important that you format it correctly, as our platform is going to convert it into an EPUB. Read all about how to format your Word document here, and if you’re looking to create an EPUB, you can check out our article on that as well. 

What happens if I upload the wrong format?
We will automatically scale your file to fit the book size you have chosen (this only applies to print books; for e-books you can upload any size). In such cases we enlarge or reduce the size of your document. We urge you to thoroughly check the PDF you receive from us to make sure everything is in its right place!

How long does it take before I receive my formatted manuscript?
It depends on the size of the file and the amount of activity on the platform. Most of the time, you’ll get your formatted manuscript between 1 and 10 minutes.

What am I supposed to do if the file does not look right?
If the formatted manuscript file looks off, the first thing you should do is have a look at the original document you uploaded to see if the issues are present there as well. If you can’t find the source of the issue in your original document, you can try to turn it into a PDF file yourself and upload that. The platform will always make an exact duplicate of your PDF. To learn more about creating PDF files, click here. Should you find yourself completely lost, you can always contact us.

What should I do with the PDF that is returned to me?
Check the file thoroughly and decide if it’s completely to your satisfaction. You can print a few pages yourself to be sure of the quality.

What is the minimum number of pages for a book?
The minimum number of pages for a book depends on the chosen book type and paper.

Hardcover:

  • Cream paper (bookwove): 76 pages
  • White paper: 79 pages
  • Semi-gloss white paper: 98 pages

Paperback:

  • Cream paper (bookwove): 57 pages
  • White paper: 57 pages
  • Semi-gloss white paper: 47 pages

What should I take into consideration when making a book?

  • You will take care of the layout of the book block yourself; we don’t add any pages to it. What this means is that your book will be printed exactly as you have uploaded it. Therefore it is important that the formatting of the file complies with the book size you have chosen. Make sure you set the right size for your manuscript in the program you use to make your book. When formats do not comply, we will resize your book by enlarging or reducing it. This might influence the readability of your book.
  • The first page of your file will be on the right. Regarding page numbers: take into account that the numbering on odd pages (right pages) should be aligned to the right and on even pages it should be aligned to the left.
  • Make use of our templates!

The automatically generated EPUB file is rendered incorrectly. Can I still adjust it?
We convert uploaded documents to EPUB files automatically, and in some cases it might not work perfectly. The result may vary depending on the type of file that was uploaded. If your EPUB file isn’t to your liking, consult this article to learn how to edit it.

How does copyright work?
When you have included (parts of) text or images of others in your work, you might be dealing with copyright. Avoid any problems by asking the owner of the text or image for permission beforehand. Most of the time the owner is the writer, illustrator or photographer.

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