he following is a list of things we do when we publish a book. This is why it takes us an average of 50-60 hours to transform a Word document into a book. This is also why we suggest that the "normal person" should NOT try and self-publish their own works - it's a veritable mind-field of skills, processes, technical wizardry and standards that is beyond most people's normal computer skills.

 

BOOK LAYOUT
We do all the page layout and formatting for you so your book is professionaly set out and ordered as per modern publishing trends. Our formatting services includes

  • Half title page
  • Title page
  • Copyright
  • Dedication
  • Table of contents
  • Tables, maps, custom clip art
  • Preface
  • Acknowledgements
  • Custom chapter headings
  • Appendix
  • References,
  • Index
  • Author’s Biography
  • Text formatting - we use industry standard text sizes and fonts to make sure your book looks great and can be easily read.
  • Book padding - we can modify a short book (under 100 pages) to easily become 150-200 pages through creative formatting, line spacing and font choice (we can add 20-30% extra pages to your book just by changing the font ... not size - just the font)
  • Typing service. We can transcribe your hand-written or oral manuscript
  • Proof reading and copy-editing. We’re not professional book editors, but we are meticulous with proof reading manuscripts for spelling and grammatical errors and assisting with the basic mechanics of writing. However, you should always get your book edited by a professional book editor (if you can afford it). We suggest selling some books first and then pay the few thousand needed for a good book editor later. On the other hand, if you have the budget, we have a team of ghost writers and editors who can easily turn your book into a masterpiece
  • Editorial support and advice
  • ISBN allocation and 13 digit barcode for paperback edition or hardcover edition
  • ISBN allocation and 13 digit barcode for hardcover edition
  • ISBN allocation and 13 digit barcode for EBook(s) edition
  • ISBN allocation in the BowkerLink™ ISBN agency
  • International BISAC subject coding and provision for 2 ISBN numbers
  • Market pricing and wholesale pricing for the four major book market currencies (GBP, USD, EURO, AUD) set to make sure there is enough for wholesale distributors and the majors and yet you still make a profit
  • Legal’s and disclaimer

 

FULL DESIGN SERVICE
Life Skills Australia has a Full design and illustration service that can compliment your book in many ways including:

  • Book cover design (utilizing the latest design styles and trends for book covers)
  • Book interior designs (black and white images, colour plates, charts, clip art, etc),
  • Custom illustration (cartoons, 3D, portraits, super-realism, abstract, etc)
  • Hardcover setup (gold stamping, sleeve design and hardcover)
  • Web Design - Life Skills Australia can build you a custom designed author-website and or custom designed blog, Facebook page, Myspace page, Twitter account, etc. If you already have a website we do web alterations, SEO, image optimization, etc. We also do web-hosting, domain name registration, SEO, image optimization, PHP, mysql, etc
  • Graphic Design - We can compliment your book with a custom designed posters, flyers, business cards, point of sale, etc.
  • Digital photography, digital image editing and digital optimization

 

BOOK PRINTING SETUP
We handle all the complications of setting up your book for the printing process whether that's artwork proofing, print on demand or offset printing.

  • Printing setup in the three major book printing markets of the USA, UK and Australia - saves a bundle on shipping!
  • Pre-press printing setup including 300 dpi CYMK colour space setup, 300 dpi for 8-bit grayscale continuous tone images, 600 dpi for 1-bit B&W line art, bleed safety, spine margin and type safety, binding choice, paper choice, etc.
  • We also take care of all artwork proofing - we know the process and our books always come back from the printers looking exactly as they were intended!
  • Setup for print on demand (POD). We use the Print on Demand model (POD) where books are printed to order. Consequently there is no need to worry about a warehouse full of stock or your book ever being marked “out of stock” or “out of print” - your book will always appear in stock and available 24 hours a day in 30,000 book wholesalers, distributors and retail outlets in 100 countries around the world!
  • In addition, revisions can be done at any time without having to worry about outdated stock.
  • With print to order, your book is printed and ready for shipment in 12 hours or less and we also handle the e-commerce and paperwork for you!
  • We have a wholesale POD arrangement with one of the largest printing services in the world so we can print your books are extremely competitive prices (close to or even better than offset printing prices)
  • We can also setup book titles for offset printing for larger print runs (500 books plus)

 

MARKETING & ADVERTISING
We don't just leave you high and dry once you have finished your book. We do whatever we can to sell and promote your book. We do the following:

  • Market pricing and wholesale pricing for the four major book market currencies (GBP, USD, EURO, AUD) set to make sure there is enough for wholesale distributors and the majors and yet you still make a profit
  • Digital catalogue advertising so you're included in the largest and most popular monthly catalogue distributed to booksellers and libraries around the world. Includes a short paragraph describing the work, retail pricing information and a black & white cover image
  • Affiliate program setup (We’ll setup your own affiliate program where you can have other people sell your book for you - worldwide!)
  • Extensive marketing and advertising guidance!
  • We include your book in our website shop
  • We use our own mailing lists to launch your book
  • We use all sorts of other cross promotional tools to help you sell your book such as advertising your book in other books
  • Creation of EBooks for all EBook formats (Adobe Digital Editions, PDF, Amazon, Kindle, etc)
  • Legal deposit in Australia. Under section 201 of the Copyright Act, 1968 and various state Acts, a copy of any work published in Australia must be deposited with the National Library of Australia and the appropriate State Library(s) including National Library of Australia , State Library of New South Wales, NSW Parliamentary Library, University of Sydney Library. This means your book will be archived in the public record and also available through the libraries system in Australia (and soon - internationally)

 

DISTRIBUTION
Most importantly - we include your book in our wholesale digital distribution network, giving you access to the largest portfolio of wholesalers, distributors and booksellers in the world! Your book will then be digitally available (can be ordered in) through over 30,000 book wholesalers, distributors and retail outlets in 100 countries. For example, here's a few of the bigger more common wholesalers/distributors:

    • Ingram
    • Amazon.com (US and UK)
    • The Amazon “Inside the Book Program”
    • Baker & Taylor
    • Barnes & Noble
    • NACSCORP
    • Espresso Book Machine
    • Adlibris.com
    • Amazon.co.uk
    • Bertrams
    • Blackwell
    • Book Depository
    • Coutts
    • Gardners
    • Mallory International
    • Paperback Shop
    • Eden Interactive Ltd.
    • Aphrohead
    • I.B.S - STL U.K