How to write your 1st Technical book? Part 2
Preparing your 1st draft and getting ISBN
If you have been following my blogs, you must be already aware that I recently launched my debut book on Generative AI which is going a bestseller since release.
I’ve already shared my motivation and things to consider before starting off with your 1st draft in my previous post.
This post is more towards getting started with the actual writing part. I will be talking about the below aspects of writing your 1st draft in this post
Where to write?
Structing the book
Begin writing.
Formatting
Get your ISBN
Final touches
Where to write?
Any tool/software where you are comfortable.
Be it Notepad++ or PyCharm IDE
I chose Google docs to penning down my draft. The reasons were very obvious.
Google Docs has got a lot of formatting options, be it page margin, fonts, formatting, etc.
The .doc file is compatible with most of the Publishing places, most importantly, KDP (By amazon) which is still the leading publishing platform by a huge margin.
On exploring, it was preferred by many authors and rightfully so.
The output .doc can be converted into pdf, epub, etc. other formats very easily. This is a must as you would wish to push your books to multiple partners which may require different formats.
I’ve been using it quite some time, so I already know a few tips and tricks.
Once you’re finalized with the tool, the next important part is.
Book Structure
As you must be knowing, every book, apart from chapters, has some extra stuff like Acknowledgment, About Author, etc. My book followed the below structure.
Cover Page: The front page with title, subtitle and Author’s name usually.
Dedication: Whom you wish to dedicate your book to. This is a 1–2 liner usually which is completely informal. Go as creative as possible!!
Copyrights: This is to notify that illegal use and distribution of the book is prohibited. This generally include the unique ISBN number issued for the book (will talk about ISBN later)
Table of Contents: Trying to generate this automatically (google docs has an option) as this will be updated multiple times.
Preface: This is basically a note by the author to the readers behind the motivation of the book, what to expect, why you wrote it, etc.
Book Chapters
Endnotes: Summarizing the book in a one pager
About the Author: Details about you and your professional life.
Do remember that most of the sections aren’t a necessity but good to have.
Begin Writing…
The hard task is now in your hands! to start writing.
To keep things clutter free, there are a few things I did.
Maintained a folder with a separate google doc for each chapter. In this way, tracking the progress is easier and managing is easier.
Maintained a sub-folder within this main folder for storing code files and images being used. Gave these files chapter number for clear separation.
Also, maintain separate code files for each of the chapter. And add a snippet to view versions of important libraries being used.
Maintain same formatting (up to you what to choose) for different, similar sections. It shouldn’t be the case one Chapter heading is of size Font=20 while another being in 18. The formatting should be consistent for similar elements.
On that note, let me share some formatting tips:
The Title of chapter, sub-titles & any other headings should be clearly identifiable through formatting. Minor changes (say Font size 20 for Title, 18 for sub-heading) might not be a clear discriminator.
Use bold, italics, underline, bullets, list, etc. wherever necessary to avoid monotonous reading.
Using font-colors for some sections like outputs, examples might be a good idea.
Text alignment (left, right, justify, etc,.) should be consistent throughout the book.
Code snippets should be as it is as in IDEs (color coding & indentation being followed). You can even use a different font for codes.
Maintain numbering and sub-numbering for chapter title, sub-titles.
Use page breaks after every chapter.
Don’t forget to add Page numbers (I actually forgot it).
…And many others that you will figure out once you’re in the arena!!
Getting ISBN
We skipped this before, but it is the right time to talk about it.
What is an ISBN?
An ISBN (International Standard Book Number) is a unique identifier assigned to every published book. It’s typically a 13-digit number (though it can also be 10 digits for older books) that serves as a universal way to identify a particular edition of a book. This number is used by publishers, booksellers, libraries, and others in the book industry to track and manage inventory and sales.
It is useful in many ways:
Identification: ISBNs uniquely identify each edition of a book. This helps in distinguishing legitimate copies from unauthorized ones.
Inventory Management: ISBNs are used by publishers, booksellers, and libraries to manage their inventory. By tracking ISBNs, they can identify irregularities or unauthorized copies in circulation.
Legal Protection: In cases of copyright infringement or illegal distribution, ISBNs can serve as evidence to support legal actions against unauthorized use of the book.
Consumer Confidence: Consumers often look for ISBNs when purchasing books, especially online. It provides them with confidence that they are purchasing a legitimate copy from a recognized source.
How to get an ISBN?
It very easy to get an ISBN against a book title. There are many online agencies providing you with an ISBN for a minimal cost.
Note: Being an Indian, ISBN is free of cost and can be generated using this website by Government of India: https://isbn.gov.in/
Couple of things to know about ISBN before moving ahead:
For different book formats of the same book (say pdf, hardcopy, kindle), you need to have different ISBNs for each format.
If you wish to make any major changes to your book once the ISBN is finalized and released in public, you need a new ISBN for that too.
Would strongly suggest applying for ISBN at least 2–3 weeks before your estimated publishing timeline.
Final touches
Assuming your draft is ready and required number of ISBNs are also generated
Get your book reviewed by someone from the same field. My friends helped me out with this.
Re-read your draft at least 10 times to avoid any obvious mistake. Don’t trust tools like Grammarly. They aren’t accurate always.
Update your Table of Contents. The page might get shifted due to continuous editing.
And you’re done!
It is a long journey of writing, getting feedback, re-writing which may go onto months. Hope you’re able to publish your dream book one day!
In my next, we will talk about publishing this Book and then the most important aspect, Marketing!
