Perfect Pages: Self Publishing with Microsoft Word, or How to Use Word for Desktop Publishing and Print on Demand

by Aaron Shepard

Book Overview

With this text as guide, readers will produce pages and book layouts using Microsoft Word that no book reviewer will scoff at. (Computer Books-Desktop Publishing & Design) This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0938497332
• ISBN13: 9780938497332
• Release Date: January 1
• Publisher: Shepard Publications
• Length: 164 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Good book and to the point

This book had exactly what I was looking for. I was writing a new set of manuals using Microsoft Word and needed to set up a new template that had all the styles and page formatting options I wanted. The book goes directly to the point and explains exaclty the options that you need to use and set for getting the character spacing or avoid typographical mistakes. I loved the fact that included information about both Windows and Mac OS versions, since I use both of them. More drawings and diagrams and perhaps a few more examples would have been nice, but all the information I needed was there. If I think about it, all those things would have made the book bigger and bulkier. I did not really skipped any sections because I thought had useless information. I read it from front to back. Note that the information provided in this book is useful for apprentice, intermediate and expert users. Some things that the author explains were common sense to me, but I did not feel they were condescending or boring. In many cases, they reinforced what I already new. Note also that this is not a user manual for Microsoft Word, nor is it the primer for book design or typesetting. It is a book that does what is says in the title. Overall, I am very happy with this book and I think that it is a great value for the price.

"Perfect Pages": a clear and accessible guide for book creation

I enjoyed Aaron Shepard's "Perfect Pages", a clear and accessible guide for book creation using Microsoft Word instead of expensive publishing software. Shepard shows that Word actually has some advantages for publishers, tells how to make Word do what's needed, while avoiding some of Word's hazards. Thus the book delivers worthwhile Word tips for novices and experts alike---and there are more web resources at the end of the book---but it's more than that, because a book is more than a manuscript: it has to look good and read easily. "Perfect Pages" covers the details (fonts, typography, trim sizes, formatting, covers, generating PDF files, common errors . . .), showing how to make manuscripts into attractive and readable books. The book provides the ideal bridge between a Word software manual and a publishing manual (such as Morris Rosenthal's) that teaches business and strategic decisions. "Perfect Pages" is a gracefully written book that wastes few words, and minces none. The book will be helpful to authors, in-house publishers, students preparing theses, and others.

Self-publishing with Microsoft Word

I just received my copy of Aaron Shepard's new book, _Perfect Pages, Self Publishing with Microsoft Word_. It's an update of his former e-book, _Books, Typography, and Microsoft Word_. I don't normally recommend Word for page layout. I prefer to use Word for writing, and then pump the manuscript into a proper page layout program for final book production. But then, I create heavily illustrated books, something Word just can't handle. Still, Word is perfectly capable of producing a simple, text-only book, if one knows what he is doing-- but not using the default Word settings! Luckily, Aaron Shepard knows what he is doing. In _Perfect Pages_, Aaron does a great job of showing the user how to alter Word's defaults so that it produces professional looking text. He shows them how to use the program to format pages and how to avoid the typical typographic blunders that identify a publisher as an amateur. He explains styles and templates, and even shows how to create a simple book cover. I also like that he's not afraid to point out Word's limitations, even noting differences between versions and OS platforms. The information on preparing for press is indispensable for any newby publisher. All in all, it's a great book for any self-publisher who is on a tight budget and can't justify the purchase of expensive page layout software. Even those who recommend true page layout software for book design can find useful tips in here for improving the performance of Word, or the typography of their own publications. Heck, I even learned that straight quotes were not the best choice to represent inches and feet. There are actually prime and double prime symbols available. I highly recommend _Perfect Pages_.

Perfect Pages is Perfect!

If you have ever considered self-publishing a book and didn't know how to get it ready for publication you must read this little book! Aaron Shepard provides everything you need to format your own book using...Microsoft Word. You will see how you can do everything using Word. The book itself is an example of how a book can look when you follow his advice. You will not be sorry if you get this book. You will use it for reference often. This one is a definite keeper for any writer who is even thinking about writing a book and publishing it themselves.