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A lot goes in to publishing a book, but one of the most basic things also happens to be one of the most easily forgotten: getting the manuscript ready for publication. This is an issue that only the smallest publishers need to worry about because larger ones have experts to do the job. If you don't have an expert, then you need to hire one or become one. If you think you can avoid this, and simply send a word processing file to your printer, then you risk ending up with a book that readers will instantly dismiss as unprofessional, no matter how great the words inside the book are.

If you decide you need to become an expert yourself, then the first thing you need to do is to choose a desktop publishing software. I prefer Corel Ventura because I feel it works well for long documents, but any of the following programs will give you the control you need to produce professional quality results:

• Corel Ventura

• Adobe FrameMaker

• Adobe InDesign

• QuarkXPress.

The next thing you need to do is learn how to use the software you choose. You can do this by attending classes, purchasing self-paced training courses, books, or just practicing until you can get the results you are looking for. It is important to keep in mind that you need to know what to look for. A good way to learn what to look for is to use books like Looking Good in Print by Roger C. Parker. These types of books will explain why you should never use two spaces after sentences, and the correct amount of white space you need on each page. They will also guide you through the importance of choosing an appropriate font, something which novice publishers often fail to understand.

Once you have mastered your desktop publishing software and have an idea of the way a professionally published book should look, you will be well on the way to creating them yourself.