Part 1

Part 1 

Design Your Own B0ok • Page i

Design Your 

Own Book 

A Beginner’s Guide 


from blackcatbookdesign.com 

© 2016 by Shawn M. Tomlinson 

Zirlinson Publishing 

email: 

blackcatbookdesing@gmail.com 

or 

goodondeadline@gmail.com 

Shawn M. Tomlinson • Page ii

Design Your 

Own Book 



By 

Shawn M. 

Tomlinson 

Zirlinson 

Publishing 

2016 

Design Your Own B0ok • Page iii

Cover design by Shawn M. Tomlinson 

This is the cover of the forthcoming book, The Film Photography Book by 

Shawn M. Tomlinson with Gary W. Ziroli. 

Shawn M. Tomlinson • Page iv

Introduction 

Photo © 2015 Gary W. Ziroli 

Shawn M. Tomlinson, Saratoga Springs, NY, July 11, 2015. 

You’ve done it! 

You’ve finished your novel (or memoir, or 

short story collection, or how-to, or poetry collection, 

etc.). 

Sit back. Breathe a sigh, take a drink, light a 

cigar. 

You’ve done it! 

Now what? 

Usually, an author is so exhilarated by finishing 

a book that he or she doesn’t really think 

about what’s next. 

Design Your Own B0ok • Page 1

Sure, there are those dreams of every publisher 

knocking at your door, starting a bidding 

war for your manuscript and your book becoming 

a best-seller over night. 

And that can happen. It does occasionally, 

but more often the hard work still is to come. 

Not to say writing a book isn’t hard work. 

I’ve been a professional writer, editor and 

photographer for more than 30 years, but it 

took me 27 years to complete my first novel. 

Still, getting your writing in print takes more 

work. 

This book is not for those authors who get 

an agent who gets them editors who convince 

their publishers to publish their books. 

This book is for those intrepid souls who 


The full dust jacket for the hardcover edition of In Kathryn’s Korner by 

Kathryn Spira is shown. 

Shawn M. Tomlinson • Page 2

decide the only way to maintain control over 

their books — and/or to make more money per 

book than with a traditional publisher — is to 

self-publish. 

Modern advances in technology mean that 

it never has been easier to publish your own 

book. It costs less to design and print books 

than ever before, relative to inflation. 

This book is a guide to help you through the 

arduous process of designing and publishing 

your own book, and hopefully many, many 

more. 

It’s going to take some serious effort, 

though, a lot of hard work, but you’ll get there. 

You’ll hold your first book in your hands knowing 

you did it all. 

This eBook has been divided into six parts to 

make downloading easier. 

This first part gets you started. The other 

parts will cover basic design, procedures, costs 

and other things associated with designing and 

publishing your own books. 

Come on along. 

— Shawn M. Tomlinson 

Jan. 7, 2016 

Ballston Lake, NY 



The front cover of both the trade paperback and hardcover editions of In 

Kathryn’s Korner by Kathryn Spira is shown. 


Design Your 

Own Book 


By 

Shawn M. 

Tomlinson 

Zirlinson 

Publishing 

2016 



The front cover of the combined trade paperback edition of Retro Camera 

Buying Guide & How to Pack a Gadget Bag is shown above. 


Chapter 1 

Write Your Book 

This seems obvious, and indeed it is, but you 

must write your book before you get anywhere 

near creating your print book. 

And, so we must take a look at the format of 

your manuscript first because you need to set 

things straight before you type your opening 

sentence. 


The spine, front and back covers of Tales Vol. 1: In the Wake of the King is 

shown above. 


There are certain conventions you need to 

follow if you are going to submit your manuscript 

to a traditional publisher. 

I’m not going to get into that here, because 

many of those conventions are unnecessary 

and/or have changed when it comes to creating 

your own book from your manuscript. 

Instead, let’s consider formatting your 

manuscript so that 

it is easier for you to 

use later when you 

are designing your 

book. 

First thing as an 

aside is that I really 

don’t like Microsoft 

Word because it tries 

to take too much 

control of my writing 

from me. 

I’ll get into some 

of the “features” it 

A friend of mine a while back 

wanted a very simple word 

processor and he didn’t want to 

go to the expense or complexity 

of Word. I was using Word at the 

time, but I did some research to 

find a suitable word processor 

for him. It was then that I 

discovered Bean. 

I liked it so much that I now use 

it almost exclusively. This book 

was written with Bean. 

has later that you may like but I can’t tolerate. 

If you want a pure, simple word processor, if 

you can still get it — they have stopped working 

on it — I highly recommend Bean. 

It’s free at this website www.bean-osx.com/ 

Bean.html as of this writing. 


Book design by Shawn M. Tomlinson 

This is a spread from In Kathryn’s Korner by Kathryn Spira. Each chapter 

of the memoir is preceded by a photo from the author’s life. 

It only works on an Apple Macintosh 

computer, but that’s really what you should 

be using anyway. Macs make the process of 

designing your book much, much easier than 

it is on a Windows-based computer, but if you 

want to struggle, then stick with your PC. 

Anyway, a friend of mine a while back wanted 

a very simple word processor and he didn’t want 

to go to the expense or complexity of Word. 

I was using Word at the time, but I did some 

research to find a suitable word processor for 


him. 

It was then that I discovered Bean. 

I liked it so much that I now use it almost 

exclusively. 

This book was written with Bean. 

I do use Microsoft Word to create basic 

databases because for that it is relatively simple. 

I turn off all the “features” though. 

OK, so whatever word processor you use, here 

are some basic rules of manuscript preparation 

that will help you when it comes time to design 

your book. 

The standard convention is to set 1-inch 

margins all around — top, bottom, left, right — 

and to set your first line indent to half an inch. 

This is fine and commonly the default of word 

processors, but it doesn’t really matter what 

margins or indents you set because you will 

need to set them differently in your desktop 

publishing (DTP) application later. 

Set your font to a very standard serif-type 

font. That means use Times, Times New Roman, 

Georgia or Palatino for your manuscript. 

Don’t use fancy fonts or sans serif fonts for 

the body of your text because they are difficult 

to read, especially over the long haul of a full 

book. So no Arial, Helvetica or Lucida Grande 

or any other sans serif. 


The text body of this book is Georgia. 

Next, choose a font size that makes you 

comfortable writing your manuscript. 

You likely will change it in the book itself 

anyway, so make it big if it is easier to read and 

work with in the manuscript. 

I often type manuscripts in 18 point type, but 

that is too big for a book, so it usually goes down 

to 16pt or 14pt on the book pages. 

Despite what college professors tell you, 

do not — DO NOT — put two spaces between 

sentences. 


This is a two-page spread from the children’s book, Why the Pig Stole 

Autumn, by Shawn M. Tomlinson. The illustrations are by Robert M. 

Tomlinson. 


This double spacing was necessary once 

because people typed on typewriters where the 

common font was Courier. Courier — Courier 

— is a font in which all the letters take up the 

same amount of space, called a monospaced 

font. In other words, an “m” takes up the same 

space as an “i,” even though an “m” obviously is 

wider. 

Because all the letters on a typewriter were the 

same size, the double space between sentences 

helped readers navigate text more easily 

because they could see at a glance — without 

even needing to read it — where the sentences 

ended and began. 

Most modern fonts in computers are 

proportional, which means smaller letters 

occupy less space than bigger letters. 

Because of this, there is no need to double 

space between your sentences. 

If you write your manuscript like this, you will 

need to remove the extra spaces between the 

sentences in your DTP application. Otherwise, 

your book’s text body will look odd. 

Here is an example in Georgia font. This 

paragraph has two spaces between sentences. 

It is correct for academic papers and traditional 

publishers. It makes things more difficult for 


you when you are designing your book. 

Here is an example in Courier 

font. This paragraph has two spaces 

between sentences. It is correct 

for academic papers and traditional 

publishers. It makes things more 

difficult for you when you are 

designing your book. 

Then, of course, there’s the other double 

spacing, which this time is between lines, known 

as tracking. 

Most professors and traditional publishers 

want your manuscript to have double the size of 

the line for each line. 

The reason is that when making corrections 

and notes on a typed manuscript, this double 

spacing provides areas at each sentence for 

editor’s marks. 

Here is an example of double spacing lines. 

This paragraph has double the space needed for 

each line. It is correct for academic papers and 

traditional publishers. It makes things more 


difficult for you when you are designing your 

book. 

The problem with doing this when you plan to 

design your own book is that your book will not 

use double spaces between lines. That means 

you’ll have to remove them all or adjust the 

tracking (the space between lines) once you’ve 


This is a two-page spread from Trying to Help People, a poetry collection 

by Richard H. Nilsen. It illustrates an author’s introduction accompanied 

by a photo of the poet. 


ought your text into your DTP program. 

Another thing that traditional publishers 

want in a manuscript is that you follow the 

convention for special text. This means, for 

example, that you use an underline under text 

you want typeset as italic. The reason is that a 

typesetter easily could see the underline, but 

might miss the italics. 

This is one convention that may serve you 

well even with modern technology. 

Not all DTP programs “see” your special 

formatting when they import your text. 

Frequently, italics are lost, which means you 

must go back through the text to make certain 

you italicize everything you did the first time 

around. 

You likely will need a copy of your manuscript 

next to your working DTP book layout to do this 

and it can take some time. 

However, if you underline everything that 

you want in italics, it is much easier to see 

quickly what words you need to change, and 

much quicker to make the changes. 

Some other basics you may want to know: 

• Newspaper and magazine titles are not 

italicized, not in quotes — single or double — 

and not underlined. The New York Times, The 


Chicago Tribune, Rolling Stone, etc. 

• Book titles, music album titles, movie titles 

and novella titles are italicized. Catcher in the 

Rye, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, 

Citizen Kane, Behold the Man, etc. 

• Short story titles, novelette titles, poem 

titles and song titles have double quotes in 

the text of your book, but single quotes if they 

appear in a chapter heading or other headline. 


This is a two-page spread from Trying to Help People, a poetry collection 

by Richard H. Nilsen. It illustrates front matter as well as the Contents 

page. 


Photo © 2016 by Shawn M. Tomlinson 

Many books may be illustrated with photographs. 

“A Perfect Day for Banana Fish,” “Nightfall,” 

“Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night,” “A 

Day in the Life.” Or, in a headline/chapter head: 

‘A Perfect Day for Banana Fish,’ ‘Nightfall,’ ‘Do 

Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night,’ ‘A Day in 

the Life.’ 

• All punctuation goes inside quotes when 

they are present. It’s “Hey, you look good,” Bob 

said. Not “Hey, you look good”, Bob said. 

These are general rules that you can break as 


you wish, but if you want to have your readers 

understand exactly what you mean, you may 

want to follow most of them. 

So, you must write your book. 

That doesn’t mean just furiously writing, 

then tossing the manuscript on your desk. 

It means writing the book from beginning to 

end. 

Then set it aside 

So, you must write your book. 

That doesn’t mean furiously 

writing, then tossing the 

manuscript on your desk. 

It means writing the book from 

beginning to end. 

Then set it aside for a month. 

Then read it again and edit it like 

it’s somebody else’s work. 

That means Edit Tough. 

Shawn M. Tomlinson • Page 18 

for a month. 

Then read it 

again and edit it 

like it’s somebody 

else’s work. That 

means, Edit Tough. 

Then hand it to 

someone you trust 

to read it. 

And edit it. 

Nurse your 

wounds when you 

get it back, give 

yourself some time to wallow in the pain of the 

knowledge that your book wasn’t perfect in the 

first draft. 

Then get up, wipe away those tears and get 

back at it.

Photo © 2015 by Carole A. Tomlinson 

The cover of Great Starter DSLR: Revisiting the Sony A100 benefits from a 

photo of the author using the camera, the subject of the book. 



Richard H. Nilsen’s first published novel, An Old-Fashioned Shooting, 

sports a photo the author set up to illustrate the characters and action. 


Read your friend’s edit again and consider 

every mark, every suggestion. If you really don’t 

agree, ignore the edit and move to the next. 

But really think about it. 

Why did your editor get stopped where he or 

she did? Would it be better written some other 

way while staying within your style? 

As a long-time editor, I do have the selfconfidence 

to — occasionally — ignore an edit 

suggested by someone I ask to read my work. If 

the person does not share the same vision, it’s 

OK, I believe, to not make the change. 

I do stop, though, and consider every 

correction, every edit. 

I always ask why the editor wants the change. 

I read and re-read until I’m sure which way it 

should go. 

For example, in the biography I wrote, titled 

Robert W. Chambers: Maker of Moons: Author 

of The King in Yellow Unmasked, I trashed a 

few things I didn’t like. 

I wrote: “The Cthulhu Mythos is a loosely 

themed fantasy universe contributed to by many 

authors before, during and after Lovecraft. It was 

named by August W. Derleth after Lovecraft’s 

death in 1937. 

“It contains some remarkable and unique 

visions from many writers. 


“And it’s really the only horror fiction worth 

reading.” 

My editor did not like this last line because 

he thought it would alienate readers of 

Stephen King or Laurel Hamilton or others. 

Perhaps it does, but within the style of my 

book, this line was necessary, I believed. 

The truth is, I spent a lot of time debating it 

with myself. 

My editor was right. It would alienate some 

readers. 

Did I want to lose readers in Chapter 12? 

Did I want to cater to the crowd? 

In the end, I believed — and still do — that 

the book would have lost a lot of its personality 

if I had eliminated this and other lines because 

some people might not like them. 

So, the editor isn’t always right. 

Often, he or she is, though, so keep an open 

mind. 

I know that’s not easy with your baby, your 

very own book. 

It’s important, though, because you will not 

be the only one reading it. 

Consider this chapter just a little unasked-for 

advice. 

It may help you get things straight with your 


manuscript before you move on to the actual 

work of designing the book. 

Shawn M. 

Tomlinson’s 

Guide to 

Photography 

started as an 

eBook series, 

but later was 

redesigned as 

a trade 

paperback 

series. 

This is 

volume 12, 

Photography: 

The 

Underdog: 

Reconsidering 

Pentax. 

Photo © 2015 by 

Gary W. Ziroli 



This is the cover of the eBook, Living in Faith After Losing My Job by Milanda 

Hill. 


Book Design Terms 

autobiography: the author’s own, full story. 

biography: a person’s full story told by another 

person as author. 

body text: the main text of the book. 

case wrap: hardcover book with cover directly on 

the bound book without dust jacket. 

chapter head: headline for chapter. 

desktop publishing software/DTP: software that 

allows an editor/designer to create graphical pages 

for a book or other publication. 

dust jacket: wrap around cover for hardcover book. 

facing pages: even and odd pages in a spread. 

graf: short for paragraph. 

graphical element: any image, illustration, box or 

other item used to break up body text. 

gutter: left or right margin of page closest to spine. 

hardcover: cloth-bound stitched book with hard 

covers, 6-by-9 inches. 

heads: chapter or other headlines. 

how-to: guide book designed to teach the reader 

how to do something. 

image editing software/IES: software that 

allows the user to manipulate and edit photos, 

illustrations, drawings and text for heads. 

ISBN: International Standard Book Number required 

to sell books through distributors. 


lede: first sentence of a book or chapter. 

memoir: self-reflection book about one’s life; 

shorter than a biography, usually hitting only the 

highlights. 

pagination: the act of laying out pages for a book, 

newspaper, magazine, etc. 

PDF: portable document format; embeds graphics 

and text into a single document viewable by 

anyone with a PDF reader. 

perfect bound: paperback book with glued spine. 

pocketbook paperback: traditional paperback 

book, 4.25-by-6.88 inches. 

pull quote: stylized text pulled from the text body 

and set apart as a graphical element. 

RAW: digital photo format that records all data from 

the instant of the shutter release. Superior to JPEG 

and TIFF for shooting photos because it allows the 

greatest range of image editing later. 

saddle stitched: paperback book with stapled 

spine. 

sidebar: additional or optional material set aside as 

a graphical element. 

spine: the place on a book where the front and back 

covers meet, and where the book body is held 

together. 

spread: two consecutive pages of a book, even and 

odd; spreads are used to print the book. 

subheads: dividing text, usually bold defining a 

subsection of a chapter. 

trade paperback: perfect bound book 6-by-9 

inches with soft covers, usually glossy. 

white space: areas of pages deliberately left blank. 


Books by 

Shawn M. 

Tomlinson 


All eBook editions are available at 

Amazon.com. 

To order paperback or hardcover editions, 

please visit 

www.lulu.com/spotlight/Shawn_M_Tomlinson 


Vols. 1 & 2 

Retro Camera Buying 

Guide & 

How to Pack a Gadget Bag 

Vol. 3 

The 12 Steps 

Of Photography 

Vol. 4 

The Black & White Book 

Vol. 5 

Going Pro for $200: 

Revisiting the Nikon D1 

How to Choose a Prime Lens • Page 29

Vol. 6 

How to Choose 

A Prime Lens 

Vols. 7 & 8 

Your 2nd DSLR & 

The Workhorse DSLR: 

Revisiting the 

Canon EOS 20D 

Vols. 9 & 10 

Getting Started 

In Photography & Sony 

A100: Great Starter DSLR 

Vol. 11 

Choosing Your DSLR 

Shawn M. Tomlinson’s Guide to Photography Vols. 5 & 6 • Page 30

Vol. 12 

The Underdog: 

Reconsidering Pentax 

Vols. 13 

Going Pro for $500: 

Revisiting the 

Nikon D2x 

Vol. 14 

Photography: 

What Not to Do 

Vol. 15 

The Film 

Photography Book 


Voyages of Photography: 

Book 1: 1974-2004 


Book 2: 2005-2012 


Book 3: 2013 


Book 4: 2014 



Book 5: 2015 


Through Time 


In Color 


Year One 


Robert W. Chambers: 

Maker of Moons: Author 

of The King in Yellow 

Unmasked 

Robert W. Chambers: 

In Search of the Unknown 

Author of 

The King in Yellow 

A Photo 

Curmudgeon’s Tale 

The (Almost) Complete 

Hitchhiker in Time 


Tales Vol. 1: 

In the Wake of the King 

Tales Vol. 2: 

In the Shadow of the King 

Tales Vols. 1 & 2: 

In the Court 

Of the Yellow King 

Tales Vol. 3: 

In the Streets of the King

Part 1

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