The Skeleton Method
First 30 Days*: Manuscript Development
Book Branding:
Focus on title, sub-title, demographic, intended distribution channels, budget, in order to pin down the edgiest & most salesworthy book brand.
Collection:
Collection of all existing written and spoken content from client, including articles, notes, writings, books, audio recordings, video recordings, and all promotional material pertaining to the book’s content.
Transcription:
Transcription of older video and audio recordings, as well as new recordings of speeches, notes on the road or at home made to a digital voice recorder, and of all conversations pertaining to the book’s content.
Bucket Method:
Many clients like to use the Bucket Method. Dr. Kent came up with a coaching technique that uses the simple metaphor of buckets to help the client pull out all stories and structures that will fill out the book’s content, whether 25 pages or 2500 pages long.
Puke and Polish Method:
Arguably Dr. Kent’s most amusing analogy, the “puke and polish” process is the most effective in the process of manuscript development. His approach seeks to get all possible information out of the client before polishing. Quite often, when this method is used, the author has no idea where all of the great ideas came from when they look back at the process, and look at the finished product!
Interview Method:
Many clients really enjoy being interviewed. It is far simpler than sitting down with a pen and paper, or in front of a computer’s flashing screen… and it is much easier to get a great quantity of content out within a short amount of time. Think about it. How long are audio books? Can you answer questions for 5-6 hours? Sure! This method is interactive, and often brings out the client’s personality and humor. At times, it often works well to have additional interviews conducted by a member of the client’s family or a close friend… Humor and insight varies greatly depending on social context.
Pain-Free:
Regardless of the combination of the above techniques we employ in working with our clients, we strive to make the entire process as pain-free as possible. Actually, most of the time, the client really has a blast! Especially if we are able to dig out a brand that will help to solidify your base and your message. But there are clients who really struggle with books, and we specialize in working with entrepreneurs, speakers and trainers who have sometimes waited 20 years to write their book. And we help them get it done (almost) painlessly!
Second 30 Days*: Copy & Content Editing
Deep Content Editing:
Putting pen to paper. Filtering the wheat from the chaff. Polishing the material so that it starts to look and read like a “real” book. “Deep” content editing involves the movement of large chunks of text, creation of transitional material, additional research, large-scale cuts or adds, and so on. This is a very messy stage. Progress may be shown to the client in this stage, but it will not be pretty, and we suggest that the client simply request to receive the manuscript after we have finished the deep content editing. However, there are clients who like to see their book in every stage, and we welcome those clients to become part of the process. Warning! The manuscript will still contain typos and grammar problems at this stage. While we attempt to correct any egregious errors we encounter, the focus of deep content editing is not the minutiae. That comes in the subsequent editing stages.
Copy Editing:
We have a team of copy editors that will comb through the client’s manuscript once we have mutually agreed that the content is all in the right place, and has been appropriately fleshed out. They will look to make sure that all “p’s and q’s” are in place, and that context and grammar make sense.
Cover Design:
Blooming Twig has designed covers for several award-winning and bestselling books, and has been lauded for its intelligence, wit, and non-commercialism. When we design a client’s cover, it is guaranteed to be unique. We don’t use templates, and we don’t have predisposed categories for the designs. They are completely customized, and we cater to to the client’s specific needs. We will additionally work on the cover until we get it just right for the client.
Interior Layout Design:
We have several layout artists, and they all tend to go under the radar. Layout is like underwear – everyone has it on, but rarely do you catch more than a glimpse of it, or pay it any heed. Fantastic layout is like expensive underwear. What makes it better? It’s functionally the same design, same words, same story, same drawings… But layout makes a huge difference. Our layout designers have designed thousands of books over the last several years, and work within InDesign and Quark XPress to create incredible wordscapes.
Illustrations:
We have an illustrator on staff who does line drawings in black and white as well as full color drawings, cartoons, children’s illustrations… you name it, she’ll take it on! We also are partnered with dozens of other designers and artists who can alternatively work on illustrations.
Final 30 Days*: Printing & Distribution
Test Printing:
A test printing is advisable so that you may send out advance copies of your book to reviewers, and/or solicit quotes for the back cover of your book. A typical test printing would be for only 100 or so books.
Print on Demand:
Print on demand is mostly good for very small quantities of books (under 25). Digital printing is more advisable.
Digital (Short-Run) Printing:
Digital presses have truly revolutionized the publishing industry. Now small independent presses are able like never before to release titles at very little risk to themselves because of the reasonable nature of digital printing. Digital presses are used for quantities under 1000, and contrary to popular belief, are not lower quality than offset-printed books. They are in fact far higher quality, and often have double the dpi as standard offset presses.
Offset (Long-Run) Printing:
Offset printing is the printing method of choice for more than 1000 books at a time. It takes longer, but the binding and the case for the book are often higher quality than the digital bindings and cases.
Offshore (Long-Run) Printing:
For very large print jobs, outsourcing the job to an overseas printer will save a great deal of cost.
US/Canada In-Store Distribution:
Blooming Twig has in-store distribution in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, France, and several other countries. There are reps on the ground actively representing the titles to book buyers. This distribution is governed by a separate agreement, and is not a part of this publishing package. However, Blooming Twig does consider all clients for possible publication and international distribution.
Online & Device Distribution:
Blooming Twig has a relationship with Amazon.com and all other major online retailers, and we get our authors into as many chains as we can. For smaller titles with a smaller potential sales market, we also offer print-on-demand models and Amazon.com distribution models. We will be developing much of our content into audio format, Kindle and .epub format, as well as all other cutting edge technologies we are able to integrate, now and in the future.
To get started with The Skeleton Method, please fill out our brief questionnaire HERE, or get in touch with us HERE.
*Timelines are only estimates, and vary based on many factors.