Type setting with Word - don't do it!

I think the computer gremlins might be working on my side now. We fell out of favour with each other and it may be tempting fate to even the voice the idea but I think the latest pdf is not only in the right format but also the right size for my chosen paper size.

The problem with earlier submissions was that everything looked okay on my screen but wasn't producing the expected result on the Lightning Source system.

To complicate matters I was submitting not only the revised textblock for The Horsepower Whisperer but also the textblock for The Wormton Lamb. Both used the same template and both were either too small or too big, never the right size. And there was nothing to indicate why.

This was particularly galling because I had successfully uploaded the textblock for The Horsepower Whisperer using this method before Christmas. Something had changed during the interim.

I posted a query about this to the Yahoo! Self Publishing blog and the response was that I was using the wrong software. I've been using Word to write my books and Adobe Acrobat to create the pdf (portable document file) that Lightning Source require. However, Word is not really suitable for big documents and can prove unstable. Even the conversion to pdf can often go wrong because Word ws never intended for setting type, which is what the creation of a Lightning Source pdf textblock is all about.

The solutions were to use real typesetting products such as Indesign or Tex. Another solution was to use Open Office Writer. Indesign is what Becky at Red Snapper uses but a quick search on the internet indicated that this WYSIWYG programme would cost about £750. Then I would have to learn how to use it. Becky did a course in it. I think hers lasted three days so training wouldn't come cheap. Of course, she uses it all the time but I wouldn't have the same need for it.

I checked out Open Office next and this is open source software. It's very similar to Word in terms of use but has a "Create pdf" button on its toolbar. There's quite a useful hyphenation facility but kerning can be a bit long winded.

It was also free.

Open Office is an open source office software suite that anyone can download or pass on for others to use. I have joined as a user. It's an ongoing project and anyone can contribute whether it's as a developer or a programmer. You can suggest enhancements or make monetary donations. It's another example of "internet crowd power."

This philosophy really appeals to me as and, as you can imagine, fits in well with the Anarchadian and Engine Punk ethos of people doing it for themselves.

I paid £100 for Word and ultimately it didn't do what I wanted.

I'm now part of a self-help community whose open policy is one of continuous improvement.

To cut a long story short, it was easy to load my proof read and edited Word document into Open Office Writer but I then had to check all the formatting, hyphenation and kerning - the spaces between individual letters. I'd already undertaken two page designs marathons to get my textblocks looking right in Word. I now had to do them again and learn to use Open Office Writer. It's similar to Word in many respects but there are differences.

So that's how I spent most of my Easter holidays. I had planned to do a load of other things during this time but getting the textblocks right took precedence.

I've now submitted the latest textblock to Lightning Source and the next few working days should prove whether my recent efforts have overcome the problem.

I will wait until I have the proof for The Horsepower Whisperer before doing the same thing for The Wormton Lamb.

Although I am now behind my self-imposed schedule, one positive outcome is that the textblock looks better than ever.

I've had a lot an awful lot of practise in page design over the last few weeks.