Blog
How to write an essay, the easy way? Four simple steps. (NB: without AI.)
How do you write an essay of about 3000 words (without AI)? You can write an essay in four simple steps. The formula for a standard essay is: there are three parts. The beginning (introduction)....
Comparing Print-On-Demand (POD) suppliers, in 2026
Comparing POD companies: Ingram Spark, Amazon and others This week I asked my professional editor colleagues for their views and experiences in using various Print-On-Demand companies. These colle...
The reasons why you shouldn’t use AI to write your essay
AI tools can be used to assist you in work and life; that is a given. AI tools can help you plan your day or year or project, transcribe notes for you as you speak and even brainstorm with you. How...
FAQs about: beta reading, manuscript assessment, and developmental editing
1. What is the most helpful? (A) a beta read, or (B) a manuscript assessment (also called a manuscript appraisal), or developmental edit (also called structural edit or substantive edit)? A beta r...
Self-publishing a printed book – what’s best for you: traditional printing, or POD printing?
Once your book is designed (typeset) - both cover and inside pages - and is ready to be printed, you need to send it to the printer. There are two main types of printers of hardcopy books: ...
Editing fiction and non-fiction: a comparison
The purpose of editing any publication, whether standard non-fiction or fiction/creative non-fiction, is to make the corrections needed to ensure the writer's intended meaning, story and voice, are...
Self-publishing: the importance of “white space” in your book
A book's "white space" (or "negative space") is the parts that are not covered by text or images. That is, in a white-background type of book, it is literally all the white space around and in betw...
Self-publishing: How to “tag” the images in your manuscript, prior to design
So, you've written and self-edited your manuscript (MS), as a Word document. You've made sure it is structurally sound. You believe it is ready to be handed to an editor for a "final copy edit", be...
Why get an ISBN and barcode for your self-published book?
Why get an ISBN, or a barcode, for your self-published book? What is an ISBN? 'ISBN' stands for ' International Standard Book Number'. It is used to identify published (including self-published) ...
Self-publishing case study: the path from handwritten MS to ‘printer stage’
This detailed case study is about a manuscript (MS) written by Michael Cusick in 2017-18, that was typed, edited and designed by On Time Typing, Editing and Proofreading, and self-published in mid-...