Perfect Pages

This 2007 version of the book was the last version published. For partial updates, please visit Aaron Shepard's Publishing Page. Please note also that the Word versions described in this book possessed an earlier interface as well as features better suited to print publishing.

Nowadays, new technologies and services have made it easier than ever to publish your book, but there's one question you may still face: Do I need an expensive page layout program, or can I just use a word processor like Microsoft Word? With this book as guide, you'll soon be producing pages from Word that no reviewer will scoff at.

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Aaron Shepard is a foremost proponent of the new business of profitable self publishing through print on demand, which he has practiced and helped develop since 1998. Unlike most authorities on self publishing, he makes the bulk of his living from his self-published books -- not from consulting, speaking, freelance writing, or selling publishing services. In a parallel life, Aaron is an award-winning children's author with numerous books from publishers large and small.

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"If you want to make your layout and formatting as unproblematic as possible and you don't want to shell out $1-$2k for someone else to do it for you, then add this book to your library. . . . Using this book, I've found page layout pretty fun and now look forward to that part of the process." -- Zoe Winter, Indie Books Journal (blog of IndieReader.com), Apr. 12, 2010

"If you want to use MS Word for typesetting, you really, really should own a copy of Aaron Shepard's book Perfect Pages. Nobody knows more about making Word produce acceptably typeset books." -- Walt Shiel, From the Publisher's Desk, Aug. 27, 2007

"If you are a self-publisher, the biggest favour you can possibly do for yourself is to learn how to present your work to its best possible advantage. And in that regard, Aaron Shepard is an invaluable aid." -- Michael Allen, Grumpy Old Bookman, Apr. 17, 2007

"Excellent not only as a guide to using Word to design books, but also as a concise guide to book design." -- Morris Rosenthal, author, Print-on-Demand Book Publishing

"On target . . . . Concisely addresses a lot of topics that Word users need to know about." -- James Felici, author, The Complete Manual of Typography

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CONTENTS

1 Managing Word
2 Formatting Your Document
3 Typesetting Your Text
4 Formatting Your Text
5 Perfecting Your Text
6 Handling Special Text
7 Handling Graphics
8 Enhancing Your Layout
9 Producing An Index
10 Preparing For Print
11 Creating A Cover