A mistake I often see in the layout of academic publications: The line length is too wide. The text is stretched wide upon the page, and the margins are too narrow. This forces the reader to ‘jump’ off the end of the line, searching for the start of the next one. It fatigues and slows down the reader (or makes them give up entirely). For longer texts, you should aim for between 8–13 words per line for comfortable reading. The white space of the margins is, in a very real sense, a comprehension tool. Be careful not to crowd the page if you have to adhere to a standard printer paper size, such as A4 or US Letter. Leave some room for the eye to rest. Don’t set the column too narrow either. A large newspaper page with different articles across many columns is another story. For optimal reading of a professional paper, you use the space available. Both for presenting text and figures, but also for some breathing room.

You want to write a book. You have a strong idea about what the book should be about, and you have solid people on your team. Then it's time to make a good plan and think about the actual content of the book. You can create an outline where you list all the topics that should be included. In addition to the main content, you should also consider other common elements in a book. An example of an outline might look like this: - Cover - Title page - Colophon - Table of contents - Foreword - Introduction to the topics - Topic 1: Text, photo - Topic 2: Text, photo, text box - Topic 3: Text (interview), illustration, map - Etc. - Afterword - Glossary - Index What goes in and where? Once you've gone through the outline a few times, you can start gathering material to be included: images, texts, and things to be photographed. Is there anyone you need to speak to who has information? Can you get access to an archive with images? At this stage, you're starting to get an overview of the entire project. Is the outline clear enough?

The person or entity responsible for publishing the book is the publisher. This can be a publishing house, a business, an organisation, or an individual. It's good to think about who will be the publisher of your project. Amongst other things, it says something about who has rights and obligations in the project, and it has very concrete consequences for the process. If you want to publish a book, you can try your luck with the big established publishing houses. An editor there has many manuscripts on their desk to read through, and the competition is fierce. If you send in your text for evaluation, it can take a very long time before you hear anything from them. And if you should be so lucky as to be accepted by an established publisher, you'll go through several rounds of critique, rewriting, polishing, and copy-editing before you end up with a finished manuscript. And after that, it can take time before the design and marketing get underway. If you work with a publisher, it's not unusual for it to take several years before a manuscript (which you thought was finished) is reworked into a finished printed or digital book. And what do you get in return for your efforts? A small percentage for every book sold. Everyone involved in the process must have their share. I want to present another path for you. A path where you yourself have much greater control, and where the book project is completed relatively quickly. In recent years, book production has become accessible to most people. Better and faster tools are available from designers and printers, and if you believe in the project, there isn't much standing in the way of you realising it yourself. Welcome to self-publishing! Releasing your book yourself requires a fair bit of work. But if you have someone who can guide you, it's just a matter of following the recipe. So, who should be the publisher of your book? Unless you have all the time in the world, I would advise you to put together a working group. It can be composed of colleagues at work, a local community group, an organisation, good friends, enthusiasts, or people who care about what you want to say. Make sure some people can do things that you yourself cannot – language, finance, sales, planning. Together, the group becomes stronger.

Many people get the idea to publish a book, either on their own or with help from others. It could be a collection of poems they've written over the years, or a novel they're working on, or perhaps some business advice they want to share. But before we move too fast into a book project, let's take a step back. Is it really a book? If you have ideas you want to communicate, there are many ways to do so. You can make - an article series in a magazine or newspaper - a podcast series - an online lecture - a searchable website - a Facebook page - an email series - a YouTube channel - a Skool community Or other forms of expression and channels. Whatever you want to communicate, think through different ways to tell the story. Not everything needs to be a book lying on the table in a bookshop. Putting together a good book is often a long and complex process with many people involved. It takes time and can become expensive. And even if the book turns out well and can be ordered in bookshops or bought online, there's no guarantee there's a large enough audience for significant sales or wide distribution. But of course, if you are a decent writer (or know someone who is), you've had signals from people around you that they'd like to have a book in their hands on the subject – and you strongly believe in the idea yourself – then you're well on your way to starting a book project! If you'd like help planning the project and designing a good book, you can always message me here on Skool or book a call to see if we can work together.

I’ve read The Boron Letters, a collection of letters from accomplished copywriter and direct marketer Gary Halpert to his son in bloom, Bond (who also shares his comments in the book). It’s rather poor. I can understand why young copywriters today speak warmly of this book, as it is as fragmented, deconstructed and scattered as the copy of young writers today. But it has many gems of wisdom. I like how he pays attention to the look of his marketing materials – something that many who follow in his footsteps seem to have forgotten. For example: "One thing that helps is if your promotion has a 'crisp' look about it. In other words, the layout should be clean, there should be a lot of contrast, and it should look easy and inviting to read. Your letterhead should be dignified and non-distracting. Your type face should be a serif face (…)" Words of wisdom.