As I’ve been expanding my skill set in the publishing process, I’ve been thinking about what to call what I do, and several years ago, the idea of shepherding came to mind. I’d been informally advising some self-publishing authors about that particular process and the basic aspects of editing that they’d have to go through, along with the book design process. So, I thought, hey, this guiding stuff is just like being a shepherd, a publishing process shepherd.

Of course, once I went to Google and searched, I found out lots of folks had thought of this already, and bookshepherd.com was already spoken for. Figures. So, for me, the title Book Shepherd is more of a role identity than a branding identity.

The Virtue of a Team Approach

I know the lone shepherd guarding his sheep is the main trope for shepherding, but one thing I want to make sure I do with this role is to focus my direct efforts on the aspects I have experience and talent in and refer the rest. Any one individual who says they can do everything for you in a long and often complex process like publishing is spreading themselves too thin, in my opinion, not to mention that more than one or two pairs of eyes on a document will almost always produce more accurate results. Remember that publishing has traditionally been a collaborative effort using a staff of editors, proofreaders, typesetters, printers, and marketers to support the writer’s creative effort. Just because we are self-publishing now doesn’t mean all these tasks must be done by one individual, whether it be the author or a single “book shepherd.” So, if I end up copy editing your book, I’m likely to recommend someone else to proofread it; I think you’ll get better quality copy that way. I also let other folks with better graphics skills do most of the book covers for my clients.

Book shepherds provide an invaluable set of services, though, particularly regarding expertise on the process as a whole. I am constantly being asked new questions (like “so, how can I get twenty-five copies of a new booklet to take to an event to show off and sell, but I don’t want to necessarily sell them on Amazon?”) that cause me to increase my knowledge on what’s available for self-publishing authors. 

If you need help with publishing, just let me know.

And in the interest of quality referrals, since it take a village oftentimes to publish a book, here are a couple of folks with great advice of their own:

Brian Klems at Writer’s Digest has written a great article on the editor–author relationship: “10 Things Your Freelance Editor Might Not Tell You—But Should.”

My editor buddy from the far north of Scotland, Sara Donaldson, is not only a great editor and genealogical researcher, but also a great writer herself, and her blog at Northern Editorial is just chock full of great advice for working with editors and writing in general.

And, in the past year, I’ve discovered an amazing book designer (who does covers, too!) I can refer my clients to for more complex interior designs and great covers. She is Julie Karen. If you need design, check her out!

Yep, I can do it all (well, almost), but having me carry out all the production tasks for a book is not necessarily in the author’s, and therefore, the reader’s best interest. Definitely more money for me if I do everything, but there are drawbacks to putting one’s book production tasks all in one basket.

Proofreading and/or Editing

I love proofreading, for example, but I am not the best candidate for your proofreading need if I’ve also been working with you on developmental and copy editing. We often say that it’s not a good idea for the author to do all the editing of their own work, and this advice also applies to the editor doing proofreading. I don’t care how awesome your critical eye is, fellow editors, another pair of eyes (preferably professional ones, though), will always catch errors you’ve missed from reading through the material too many times. With my book shepherded authors, I always recommend using a different person for proofreading.

Book Design

In book design, I am mostly an interior girl. I like doing interior layout, getting fonts right for the author’s style, the trim of the book, the content itself, for headings, titles, and regular text. I like checking page flow and image placement to create the best use of space and continuity with the story or information (=fun!).

I can also lay out the book’s cover, but I definitely need a detailed checklist to get everything right (image resolutions and spacing in particular). I am also not a skilled visual artist. And that’s all OK. If the cover is simple and the client wants me to do it, I can pull it off, but I do need to be firm that original illustration, and possibly the entire cover layout, may best be done by someone else, depending on what the author needs. It’s very important to make sure that as a book shepherd, I help the author find the best combination of my skills and the skills and perspectives of others in order to create the best book for them and their readers.

Distribution, Printing, and Marketing

And then there’s printing, distribution and marketing. I don’t have any of the tools necessary to print books, of course, but I do have experience with setting up books at providers like Ingram Spark and Amazon/KDP. I also know the procedures for getting ISBNs for books.

Although I do keep up with some aspects of promoting one’s book, a large-scale book launch or a niche audience will require input from other experts.

It really does take a village to create a book.

I recommend that book shepherds keep contact info for any of the publishing production tasks that are better done by others and not get hung up on doing everything themselves.

Yep, I can do almost all of it, but that doesn’t mean I should do it all.