The Scholarly Kitchen recently ran a post and video showing how ink is made. “The post is dedicated to all craftspeople — photographers, editors, writers, designers, papermakers, typographers, videographers, and audio engineers — being asked to stretch and change by…
Wondering if you need professional editing?
Many people who come to the Troy Book Makers wonder whether or not they need an editor. People frequently don’t understand the different kinds of editing services available, such as developmental editing, copyediting, and proofreading. Here are some simple explanations…
D-I-Y Formatting and Typographic Sins
So, you’ve written your book, had it reviewed by friends, even paid to have it copyedited. But, as a passionate do-it-yourselfer, you’ve decided to format the text yourself and submit it to the printer as a print-ready PDF. It saves…
The Apostrophe
Ah, the apostrophe. So misunderstood. Have a look at this playful video and see how many people struggle with the right way to apply it. It’s the Apostrophe Song!
The Golden Age of Self-Publishing
Here’s a great post from The Book Designer celebrating the advent and popularity of self-publishing. It’s called Eight Reasons Self-Publishing is Entering a Golden Age. Enjoy!
Printer vs Publisher
With so many new writers participating in the process of making books, it’s natural that there is confusion about the roles of printers and publishers. Who does what? Many people come in to The Troy Book Makers assuming we will…
Podcast Friday: Kerry Mendez
We’ve posted our second podcast! Last Friday we featured an interview with Bob Congemi, English professor, Albany resident, and author of three collections of short stories. This week we have Kerry Mendez, author of the perennially popular, The Ultimate Flower Gardener’s…
PW Select for Self-Publishers: Good or Bad?
Publishers Weekly announced earlier this week they would be providing a new review service for self-published books, PW Select. There is a fee of $149 associated with having your book registered (not necessarily reviewed). If you’d like to follow the…
RPI freshmen visit Troy, and The Troy Book Makers
Yesterday, incoming RPI freshmen were busy touring downtown Troy, and several groups stopped by to see how we make books. Our last group had a few hams, so we got them to pose making hand shadows. Hand shadows? Well, they’re…
Publishers Weekly to Review Self-Published Books
Good news! Publishers Weekly has just announced they will begin reviewing self-published books in a quarterly supplement called PW Select. The first one is scheduled to appear in December. From the article: Titles submitted for our first supplement must have…