You are a fan of Terry Pratchett. You adore nothing more than his witty British humor and the fantasy element of his novels. For almost a decade, you have been reading and collecting his work as you have dedicated a certain corner of your room entirely to his books.
You do some writing of your own as well. During your free time, you come up with random stories about your daily adventures, while adding some elements of Terry Pratchett’s writing style to them. Some of your stories are very interesting and are thoroughly enjoyed by your friends. Apparently, a dash of witty sarcasm blended well with your descriptive and sardonic writing style.
You are now confident that you can be a bigger hit than Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, if you were only given a chance to sell your stories. Think about it. If J.K. Rowling initially wrote Harry Potter on a set of napkins, you might as well create a handmade book. You may even make a fan out of Mr. Pratchett, in doing so.
Creating handmade books is quite easy if you know the steps. A handmade book will always be cheaper to produce than regular books since it does not have to go through publishing fees and other expenses. Once you make a handmade book, it is ready for distribution. It may take more time to produce one, but the low costs make it a good starting point for any budding author. Besides, the feeling of entirely creating your own book will give you much satisfaction since everything was born out of your own creativity.
Weave Your Tale
Before building the tangibles of your book, focus on creating the most important part of every book: the story. Carefully think about a tale that will catch the attention and the interests of your targeted audience. Create subplots to make the characters more interesting and for the story to have more angles.
Make sure that each of the subplots is interesting, since critically acclaimed novels like “The Game of Thrones” series by George R.R. Martin thrive on unpredictable subplots. To tell you the truth, creating multiple subplots is quite tricky and may require practice. It is advisable that you read a few novels before creating them.
A good story is often rooted in the development of characters and the interesting twists that happen to them. You can start building your characters by only hinting their true identities at first. Gradually, you can reveal their past by scattering facts about them through key events and twists in the story.
A good reference for exceptional characterization is Nick Hornby’s “High Fidelity.” After each chapter, you get to know a new set of interesting things about the main character. It just so happens that a lot of readers can relate to those things, which is why the novel is a worldwide bestseller.
Another important element in creating your story is the twist. The twist is a chain of events that make up a sudden outcome in a story. Most of the time, twists are used to change the direction of the story and to keep the readers excited. You can insert a twist in your story after a long period of slow scenes to sustain the interest of the reader. Through proper character build-up, you can make several surprising twists in your story.
Finally, finish your story with an effective ending. Effective endings usually induce a specific emotion in the readers and are free from loopholes. Effective endings are quite challenging to create. In fact, some novelists consider these the hardest to pull-off. The only way to create a very effective ending is to build a strong plot and to have valid resolutions to your story’s set of conflicts. Crafting an effective ending may seem daunting at first, but there is nothing that cannot be resolved by practicing often.
Print Your Story
Once you have crafted your magical tale, you can print it on contemporary paper using your computer. All modern word processors have book templates. You just have to activate that template then the proper book formatting will adjust automatically. You do not have to worry about measuring the margins, the indents and the dimensions of each book page; just type away once that setting has been activated. If you are not satisfied with the settings and measurements of the template, you can manually edit them until they conform to your personal standards.
The Right Design
Designing the cover of your handmade book should be carefully done. In fact, it is the second most important element to create behind your story. Your book’s cover is just like a flashy set of new clothes, where it is aimed to catch the attention of your target audience.
Creating a cover that is too simplistic will make people ignore it. On the other hand, crafting one that is too extravagant may totally alienate and at some point, disgust your possible readers. As you can see, the design of your cover should be visually striking without looking too ambitious.
The Binding Process
Hardbound books are often held in higher regard than trade paperbacks. You can make your hand made book hardcover with the right materials and a little labor.
Cut a strip of card stock that is large enough to cover the paper holding your story. Then, glue the printed designs of your cover to the strip of card stock. At this point, you must visit a bookbinding store to completely bind the book cover to your paper. You don’t need to worry about bookbinding costs since the service is as cheap as spare change. After a few hours, your handmade book will be ready.
For those who want a more unique approach to the covers of their handmade books, there are a ton of options available. One good option is to use a shoestring to bind the book’s cover and the pages together. You can punch a hole in every page of your book, along with the cover. Purchase a colorful shoestring from a hobby store or a shopping center then slide it through the holes of the cover and all of the pages. From there, you can tie the shoestring the way you tie your shoelaces, then you’ll have a handmade book that looks slick and modern.
Another way to bypass the traditional bookbinding process is to have your book ring bound. Your handmade book may seem like a formal paper or a thesis, but it will certainly look presentable. Besides, the ring binding process is cheaper and takes less time to finish than bookbinding. If you aim to produce a lot of copies and you do not have much money, the ring binding process is as a very logical choice.
A handmade book is one of the first bold steps that a new writer takes. Upon distribution, you will have an idea if your dream of becoming a successful novelist is tangible. The book could serve as your ticket to consistently making New York Times bestsellers in the near future. Whatever happens, we hope that you were satisfied the moment you finished your handmade book.