Part 5: Printing & Publishing

My Storybook Process

This part focuses on what I did to prep for print publishing through Amazon's self-publishing KDP service and IngramSpark. There is also a brief summary on the making of this website.

Drawing of a Lion congratulating a Bunny

2022 | July and August

I finished writing the book!

By the end of July/first of August, I finished drawing and finalizing the story!

It still needs proper proofreading and tweaking minor drawing details... but everything rhymes now - something I hadn't intended or thought possible in the beginning of this endeavour.

The Checklist

Pink was what's left to draw or fill the page; 
Blue was what's left to finish writing and completing rhyming schemes.

visual to-do checklist on a spread marked up in pink for incomplete pages

July 25: I had since added more pages to the story while worrying I wouldn't finish on time...

visual to-do checklist on a spread marked up in pink for incomplete pages

July 28: I powered through within the span of three days.
August 1: PRE-FINAL version! Drawings and page count are pretty much set now. Content edits at most.

Now... onto the part in where I excel!

After figuring out the KDP process (which is pretty straight-forward), I uploaded the manuscript and ordered some proofs for QA-ing. Sometimes I forget that things can show up very differently on print after drawing on a screen for so long, and it really depends on the paper/print shop most of the time.

Screenshot of book cover preview on Amazon KDP Publishing

Approving for Print

It didn't even feel real when I exported a pre-final version... it was seeing that barcode on the back of the cover that did it for me T___T

1st Print Proof

Image of a woman reading a children's book

It arrived!

First print proof arrived (and fast too!) but it seems to be for paperback only... hardcovers take at least 2 weeks, unless you pay an arm and a leg to expedite shipping.

Such a funny feeling to be holding one in my hands when not long ago it was only a figment of my imagination.

Image of a children's book with colourful sticky tabs

Time to get cracking!

There was only so much scrutiny you can do through a computer screen when the finished product is meant to be physically printed. Time for some good old-fashioned stickies and markups on paper!

Note: I may have went overboard with the stickies, but anything to remind me to give it a second look.

Image of a Lion and Bunny sketch marked up in pencil

Catching all my dumb mistakes

When you stare at the same thing for far too long, it gets easier to start missing even the most obvious things. I was glad to finally have a hardcopy for reviewing - really gives it a different perspective.

Like, how did I miss the inside of Bunny's ear?!?!

On Screen ≠ On Print

Things may look great on screen, but the print came out too dark for my liking =(

1st proof comparison

With Print-On-Demand services, the choice of paper and ink is fixed. Even digital proofs cannot truthfully tell you much because at the end of the day, you are still reviewing it through a digital screen.

I had no choice but to brighten my drawings instead in hopes that they turn out better in the second round...

2nd print proof

Image of colour quality comparison of two autumn night scene pages

Much better!

All that effort did not go to waste! It was still not as vibrant as shown on screen, but it was pretty darn close.

2nd proof comparison

It still bothers me that ordering hardcover versions on Amazon in Canada take so long (because they produce hardcovers in the US only), so I decided to explore other options... which led me to IngramSpark.

Initially I had avoided IngramSpark because it is more complex where you really need to DIY everything, from registering for an ISBN through the official Library of Archives Canada website, generating a barcode, to navigating their convoluted interface and process for book publishing... but that's a story for another time. I might share more later on for the benefit of future aspiring Canadian self-publishers though.

I lucked out being a designer, otherwise I could see why people would decide to hire someone else to go through the entire publishing process for them.

Specification Comparisons

Below are the many print proofs I've ordered to test out the different specifications offered by Amazon and IngramSpark.

Specification Comparisons

Cover finishes

Matte vs. Glossy

Both services offer matte and glossy for book covers. In this example the matte finish is produced by IngramSpark and the glossy finish is produced by Amazon KDP.

Verdict: Matte finish is the clear winner for me. Glossy looks a little cheap in this format. Therefore, there are no glossy versions available. Matte everything!

Hardcovers

IngramSpark vs. Amazon KDP

IngramSpark hardcovers are definitely more costly to produce than Amazon, so naturally I need to inspect just what we're paying for.

Verdict: IngramSpark wins here. Even though both are case laminate (colour laminated cover glued to boards), IngramSpark's boards looks and feels higher quality (and SO nice to hold *dreamy sigh*). Amazon's is not bad, the board just feels a taaaad thinner.

Paperback

via Amazon KDP only

I didn't explore paperback via IngramSpark because the cost and quality of Amazon KDP (not to mention the unbeatable speedy shipping) is already very good. I mean... we get perfect bindings here!! 

Verdict: Amazon KDP wins.
(side note: you see how much light is reflecting off the glossy cover spine? That's why I won't gloss.)

Hardcover vs. Paperback

Just sharing photos between the two!

Note: only hardcovers has the Fishy Design Studio imprint because it's via the registered ISBN/self-publishing route and everything (rather than the one-stop-shop through Amazon). So official-looking eeeeekk!!!

Ink Qualities

Premium Colour vs. Standard Colour

There are two different choices of coloured ink: premium and standard. Both services suggest that any books with lots of photos or illustrations (such as cookbooks, photography showcase and the likes) should choose premium ink for vibrancy. Of course, that means it hikes up the production cost. Premium is naturally the best option, but I was curious just how much "lesser" standard ink really is.

 

Verdict: Okay fine, premium ink wins. It really is more vibrant that pops more. It wouldn't do the drawings justice if I opt for standard and it'll ruin the experience.

2022 | September and October

Working with an Editor

The more official this project was becoming, the more I felt the need to approach things properly. Something I didn't want to cheap out on was getting it proofread and edited by a professional editor. Best decision ever.

It wasn't just for grammar or minor punctuation edits... I had someone reading this with an outside perspective and provide advice on how it could sound better. My editor understood my intent and made extra effort to work within my rhyming scheme and storytelling style!! <3

In the end, it's what they do and do best, especially the really good ones.

2022 | November to December

The making of fishydesignstudio.com

I was going to create a page to talk about the making of the website... but you're already looking at it anyway lol, so I'll just summarize it below.

#1 E-commerce website: Shopify

Despite working professionally in the web sphere, it still took a while to figure out Shopify's content management system and the e-commerce side of things. I also decided to stick with a free theme and "hack" my way around it instead because 1) they're not cheap, and 2) I wouldn't be using its full features anyway.

I really wanted to include the whole storybook documentation on the website, but e-commerce site aren't built that way. Therefore, I ended up making life harder for myself by trying to hard code/customize a good chunk of the site JUST for the storybook process section you've been reading, while at the same time, take advantage of Shopify's great features.

It was tedious, but not Shopify's fault. I'm just stubborn. After all, where's the fun in it when you can simply buy your way out? ;)

#2 Shipping and Pricing

Easily a project on its own. Cannot emphasize that enough.

I had to go into full spreadsheet mode to figure out the cost of printing and shipping to different locations, starting with just Canada, preparing for the worst possible shipping cost I may need to absorb. Interesting finding: for me to ship to any of the Canadian territories, it's at least $183+ in shipping alone! Nunavut is worse =___=

This is why I'm limiting shipping to just our 10 provinces for now. (Sorry World, you'll need to go through your country's Amazon instead >__<)

#3 Compiling my Documented Artifacts

Luckily I've been periodically sharing progress to friends in the past year so I already have existing content to work with. However, trying to lay things out within the confines of a free website theme was what ate up a considerable chunk of my time towards the end...

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