FAQ Overview

How do I publish my book?

Which file type does my book need to be saved as?

Your book block (interior pages) may be a .pdf (preferably) or .doc file.
Your book must be contained in only 1 file.
The file must include the entire book (cover not included).
The file should be a maximum of 30MB

A .pdf file is the preferred file format. By using a PDF all images and fonts are embedded in the file and there will be no surprises with the printed book layout.

See also: How do I write a PDF?

See also: How do I have to format my book?

How do I create a PDF?

In general, to create a book in PDF you must install a printer driver. From a text editor you can print your book to a PDF file. The software for printing PDF files is free.

Some possibilities are:

Tip: Use a search engine (e.g. http://www.google.com/) to search for "create free pdf" or "convert doc to pdf for free"
ex. A useful site where you can convert your Word document into a PDF for free is PDFonline.com

Adobe sells PDF print software:
Online - https://createpdf.adobe.com/
Software - http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/

OpenOffice and StarOffice provide a very convenvient pdf conversion (without printer driver):

How do I have to format my book?

Page size

Format your book (.pdf or .doc) with the same page size as the page size of the book to be published.

document properties in .pdf	format in .doc	publish in
8.27"x 11.69"	A4	A4 210 x 297 mm 8.27"x 11.69"
8.5" x 11" Download Template	Letter	US Letter 216 x 279 mm 8.5" x 11"
5.83" x 8.27"	A5	A5 148 x 210 mm 5.83" x 8.27"
6.00" x 9.00" Download Template	15,24 x 22,86 cm	6" x 9" 152,4 x 228,6 mm 6.00" x 9.00"
8.27" x 8.27"	21 x 21 cm	21 x 21 210 x 210 mm 8.27" x 8.27"

How do I set the page size of my .doc?

See help Microsoft Office Word: http://office.microsoft.com/en -us/word/HP051894931033.aspx

What fonts can I use?

If you are going to convert your Word .doc manuscript to PDF before uploading to the UniBook Self Publishing Wizard, you can use any font that you prefer (as long as all fonts and images are imbedded). However, if uploading a Word .doc the text must be formatted in one of the following fonts:

Arial
Courier new
Georgia
Times new roman
Trebuchet
Verdana
MSMINCHO
MSGOTHIC

How do I change the font of my .doc?

See help Microsoft Office Word: http://office.microsoft.com/en- us/assistance/HP051894601033.aspx

Should I protect my .doc file with a password?

Your book ( .doc) may not be protected with a password.

How do I remove a password from my .doc?

See help Microsoft Office Word: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HP051860921033.aspx

Do I have to use embedded images?

Yes, the images in your .doc manuscript must be inserted as embedded images. This means that the source of the image is saved in the document.

The images may not be inserted as linked images.(Inserting linked images means that the destination file (.doc) only saves a link to the image. The source of the image, however, is saved outside the .doc. When the .doc file is opened, the images are shown through a link.)

Nevertheless, Microsoft Word inserts images by default as embedded images. Therefore, if you have inserted the image through the menu 'Insert image' in your .doc, this condition is fulfilled.

See help Microsoft Office Word: http://office.microsoft.com/en -us/word/HP051898661033.aspx

See help Microsoft Office Word: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HP052324261033.aspx

What if I don't have my own cover file?

Your book (.pdf or .doc) file should contain only the interior of your book - that would include everything except for the front and back covers. You can create the cover while publishing your book using the Self Publishing Wizard. Or contact us if you have your own complete cover (front, spine, back) already created and saved as a PDF.

See also: Which covers can I choose from?

Is there a minimum/maximum number of pages?

If using the UniBook Self Publishing Wizard, your book must have at least 30 and no more than 550 pages. If your book is larger than 550 pages you may consider publishing in two separate volumes. If you book is smaller than 30 pages or larger than 550 contact us, infous@shopmybook.com, for a quote.

Where should I place my page numbers

We recommend that writers align page numbers in the center of each page and not to show page numbers on the first page.

Which covers can I choose from?

You can construct your book cover while uploading your book through Self Publishing Wizard. When putting together your cover using the self publishing wizard there will be several steps involved:

Hardcover or paperback?.
Choose background color of the cover (required).
Front cover: upload an image from your computer or select a default image from UniBook or select no image
Back cover: Book description is printed on back cover (automatic). This description was entered by the author in Step 1.
Back cover: An image picture of the author (optional). The author uploaded an image in Step 1. Often authors choose a black and white headshot.
Back cover: Author biography (optional). This biography was entered by the author in Step 1.

See also: The publication wizard

Why register for free on the website?

See Site in General: Why register for free on the UniBook website?

Why open a PayPal account?

UniBook requires that authors who choose to sell their self published books in our online bookstore also have a Pay Pal account. We recommend setting up a free Personal Pay Pal Account. We will then use the email address associated with your PayPal account to deposit the royalty amounts earned from the sales of your books. If you choose not to earn royalties, then you do not need to provide a PayPal account. Opening a PayPal account is easy and free of charge. We will only use your PayPal account to deposit your royalties.

For PayPal see: http://www.paypal.com

When will my book be available for sale on the website?

Immediately after you have successfully completed the publication wizard your book will be listed and available for purchase in the UniBook Bookstore.

See also: The publication wizard.

What does it mean - worldwide or private availability?

By default your book will be listed as Worldwide and available for all internet users that want to buy it.

When you do not want your book to be visible for everyone and to be for sale on the UniBook bookstore, you can choose for private publication. In that case your book is shown in |MY BOOKS| and can be ordered there. Other visitors or registered users of our website cannot see or order this book.

See also: How do I administer my books?

See also: The publication wizard.

What is the self publishing wizard?

In order to self publish a new book, you start the publication wizard in this way:

Click on the side menu |PUBLISH MY BOOK| in order to start the wizard.

Step 1/5: Book Information

In the first step of the wizard, you enter the general data of the book. In this step you can also calculate the selling price of your book.

Fill in the title of your book.
Fill in the short description of your book.
This description will be printed on the back cover and will be shown in your book advertisement on our website.
Select the language in which your book is written.
Select a category for your book.
When users of our website search books within this category, your book is listed.
Fill in key words for you book.
You can enter up to ten (10) keywords, separated by comma and a space, e.g. cooking, recipe, pasta, pesto. When a user searches a book through the search engine of our website and uses one of these keywords, your book is listed in the search results. Entering keywords is optional.
Select whether your book is available for worldwide or private sale.
A worldwide available book is shown and for sale at the UniBook website. A privately published book is only shown to the author in |MY BOOKS|.
Fill in the author.
This may also be a pseudonym. The name of the author is printed on the cover of your book and in the advertisement of your book on our website. Make sure that the book title and author is unique.
Fill in the biography of the author.
This is optional. The biography, if filled in, will be printed on the back of the cover of your book.
Click [Next>].

If you want to see the selling price of your book in advance, do not click [Next>] but use the Price Calculator on the right top:

Click [Calculate the price of my book].
Select the page size of your book.
Fill in the number of pages.
Select your royalties percentage
Click [Calculate].
The selling prices (Tax included) of your book are shown.
In case you change the above selections, do not forget to click [Calculate] again.
Click [Back].
The price calculator is closed
Click [Next>].

See also: How do I search a book?

Step 2/5: Upload and Print Preferences

In the second step of the wizard, you upload your text file and select the print options for the book that you are going to publish.

Click [Browse...].
- Select the file with the text of your book.
  Only one .pdf (preferred) or .doc file can be uploaded. This file must at least be 30 pages long. The text must be formatted with the same page size as the page size of your printed book (A4, US Letter, A5, 6" x 9", 21cm x 21cm). Note: the file may not include the cover of the book.You will create your cover later on in this wizard.
- Click [Open].
Click [Upload book].
Click the format you choose.
The page size that you select must be exactly the same as the page size with which the uploaded .pdf or .doc file is formatted (A4, US Letter, A5, 6" x 9", 21cm x 21cm).
Click to print in color or for Black & White.
Be aware of the fact that a book in color will be more expensive than a book in Black & White.

See also: How do I have to format my book?

Step 3/5: Cover Layout

In the third step of the wizard, you choose the layout for the cover of your book.

Upload a image of the author. This is optional:

[Upload author image].
If you upload a image of the author, the image will be printed on the back cover of your book and will be shown in the book details on the UniBook website. The image of the author will be printed in a small format. Therefore it is recommended to use a close-up. You may want to look at the back of cover of some of your favorite books for ideas.

With regard to the image on the front of the cover of your book, there are three options: or a image that you upload yourself, or a cover without a image on the front, or one of the images from our library.

If you choose to upload your own image:
- Click [Browse...].
  - Select the image. It has to be a .jpg or .jpeg file.
  - Click [Open].
- Click [Upload cover image].
  When you upload a cover image, select "own image". Do not click on it: it has to stay selected.
If you do not want a image on the cover:
- Select no image.
  If you upload an image and would rather choose no image: make sure no image is selected. The system will always take into account your selections and will ignore the fact that there had already been an image uploaded.
If you choose to use one of our images:
- Click the image of your choice
  If you upload an image and would rather choose no image: make sure you have selected the cover image of your choice.The system will always take into account the selection and ignores the fact that there had already been a cover image uploaded.
Select the background color of your cover.
Click the radhard cover or paperback.
Select the layout below the lay out you choose.
Select the font of your title and author on the front of your cover.
Select the font size for the title and author from the select box.
Select the color of the font of your title and author.
Click [Next >].

Sign in

When you are not signed in, you will have to sign in before the fourth step of the wizard.

Sign in with your e-mail address and password, if you are a registered UniBook user
or
Select "I am a new visitor..." in order to register yourself for free.

Step 4/5: Profile Data

The PayPal logo is a reminder that we ask writers to open a PayPal account for depositing the royalties.
Select the royalty percentage by clicking the percentage in the select box.
To get paid royalties, we need the correct address of the writer.

See also: Why open a PayPal Account?

Step 5/5: Confirmation

The fifth and last step gives you an overview of pricing, information about the book and its author, and snapshots of both the cover and the content of your book.

Check the sales price and the selected publication data of your book.
If you want to edit this data : Click [<Back] until you are at the step where you entered the data. Here you can edit it.
Edit the publication data.
Next, click [Next>] until you are back at the last confirmation step.
Click [Read the excerpt] for previewing the first 10 pages of your book (book cover not included).
If you agree with the all publication data like the sale price, publication data in the excerpt of your book, click the select box "I agree with ..." .
Click [Confirm].

See also: How do I promote my book?

Click [My Shopping Basket].

For help with regard to buying books: we refer to the general register:

Click [Check Out].

See also: The check out.

Who is the owner of my book?

The book is owned by the person who holds it's rights and published the book. This will generally be the writer, but can also be the publisher or organization who holds the rights (or permission) from the writer. UniBook authors retain all ownership rights to their books.

See: Agreement for UniBook content providers

How much does it cost to self publish my book?

It is completely FREE to self publish your books with UniBook. No long term contracts, service agreements or hidden charges.

How much will I earn with the publication of my book?

You will receive as author a fee based on the sales of your books by UniBook. You can select a margin of 0%- 200% on the list price (tax not included). In the book industry, an author is generally paid a fee of 10-20% of the list price (TAX not included). The royalties are deposited into your PayPal account, which is required for publication. Please note that Pay Pal deducts a 2% administration fee (with a max. limit of $1)."

See also: Why open a PayPal account?

See also: The publishing wizard: Step 4/5.

How do I promote my book?

Along with your five printed books, you will receive a set of postcards, picturing the front cover of your book.
You will also receive an e-mail promoting your book, which you can forward to your e-mail contacts.

See also: How do I administer my books?

How do I make changes to my books / listing?

In order to edit your books / listing, you have to sign in first.

Click on top of the UniBook site [Sign in].
Fill in your e-mail address.
Fill in your password.
Click [Continue]
Click in the header menu |MY BOOKS|.

All published books and the books on hold (to be published) are listed.

When will my book be offered for sale at the website?

In |MY BOOKS| you can change the availability of your book from private to worldwide or the other way around.

Click in the column Availability (Change).

Worldwide or private availability?

In |MY BOOKS| you can also delete a book.

Click behind the book to be deleted Remove.

The deleted book will no longer be displayed on the website. When you search for a deleted book, you will no longer find it within the search results.

FAQ Overview

How do I publish my book?