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Every journey we make with our authors is a collaborative creation.
1. Manuscript Review
We accept authors' manuscripts that we feel are a good fit for our publishing vision. The first step in making this decision is to do a thorough read of the author's story, including synopsis and full manuscript, submitted in .doc or .pdf form - followed by a 30 minute 'get to know you' personal phone chat with the author, should we decide to move forward. For stories for children, short stories, poetry books and artist books there is no charge for this initial review.
4.Illustration and Styling
Usually in Step 1 we and the author determine if illustration will be required. During Steps 2 and 3 we will also begin to craft how these images will intertwine with the story and what they may look like in terms of styling. For artists' books - compendiums of their creative work - imagery is supplied to us by the artist in high resolution .jpg or .tif files. We require 1-3 images included with the initial manuscript submission so we can see what we are to be working with. Remember there is a big difference between how an image might look on your screen to how it is going to print.
7. It's Press Time!
We are responsible for working with the printer - uploading the final book document - which then will go through their prepress scrutiny. The first upload may be sent back to us to tweak, which we do and re-upload. Once the document clears their prepress we are ready to order the Author's Prototype book copy.
2. Story Coaching
During the Step 1 review we may determine an author has an interesting writing style and a great story worth the telling, yet in our opinion, the manuscript requires further thought, development and rewrite to bring it to editorial ready. Our authors find this step invaluable and appreciate having an 'outside the forest' perspective of their work - getting suggestions they may not have considered - including narrative, story structure, character development, timeline sequencing.... and more.
5. Design & Layout
This is usually the most exciting step for our authors, when they are finally able to see their book come to life as a document complete with a designed cover and interior text pages, uniquely styled in design, typography, layout and perhaps further embellishments. During this process the author receives approximately 3 .pdf drafts in which they may offer further comments or changes. Remember every step of the way, this is your work, your creativity, your voice and ultimately your book!
8. Author's Prototype Book
We never will order a volume press run without first previewing a finished prototype of the book. This is the very last chance to catch perhaps a typo, an errant punctuation or spacing error. Once you the author receive your prototype, which in our experience is a very exciting day, we ask once again, that you do a thorough proofreading and confirm acceptance with us. We will also do the same on our copy and make further corrections to the document if required. However, at this stage we hope changes can be avoided.
3. Editorial
Even the most seasoned writer is not an editor. Once we have a manuscript ready for editorial review another careful read begins, again reviewing content for anything missed in Step 2, plus proofreading for grammar, usage, spelling and punctuation. The manuscript then returns to the author who also is asked to thoroughly review and proofread their manuscript, and return with comments and changes.
6. Document Preparation
This step begins in Step 5 and finishes here when together we say, "We're ready to go to press!"... Well, almost. We do all the heavy lifting from here, preparing the document to be 'press-ready'. We include this as a separate step because most authors do not know what this means nor the work involved, and you don't have to. Just know all books are not created equally. Megastar books set a high standard for quality reproduction and have been working with printers for over 30 years. The presses we choose to print your book must meet our standards, and in turn your document must be prepared accordingly to meet their specifications to insure a beautifully bound and printed book.
9. Endgame Marketing
Megastar does not directly market or sell books in most cases. However we can point our authors in the right direction depending upon their goals. However, it is really important we discuss the 'how and where' part of an author's selling and distribution goals at the beginning of a book project. This can influence the dimensions, number of pages, paper and other options selected as we make your book. You may be making your book just for yourself, friends and family - or you may envision selling through bookstores or online platforms such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble and others.