Monday, March 11, 2013

Chapbook Instructions

Please read these instructions carefully. You will be frustrated if you do not follow procedures.

Your chapbook project is due Friday. Instead of printing out these long books, please send me a PDF version of your completed project. Send PDF's to: bradley.craddock@rcsdk12.org.

 
Chapbook Instructions:
  • 1.     Decide how many of your poems and which ones you will select for your chapbook.
  • 2.     Decide upon a title for your chapbook.
  • 3.     Decide how you're going to arrange your chapbook: one author after another, or interspersed work based on style or theme or type of poem project, etc.
  • 4.     Once you're completed this step, follow the harder steps below:
5. Create a document in your word processing program. I suggest using PAGES for the text box option. It will make your life a little easier when formatting.
6. For our purposes, setting up the booklet in portrait (the default) will be easier and read better in the online program we will be using. In portrait orientation, set up your margins as 1" all around, or 1.5" all around. (If you want a challenge, set up your chapbook with the page orientation set to landscape (8 1/2 by 11) and all the margins at one-half inch. Divide each page into 2 columns and set the gutter (the space between the columns) to one inch. (When you fold the page, this will leave a one-half-inch margin on each page.))
7. Add page numbers to each side of the pages. Depending on the program, you may find it easiest to use the header or text box function so that the page numbers do not interfere with the flow of the poems. In PAGES this can be found on the INSERT drop down menu.
8. Your first page will be your cover with the name of the title and your author names (usually a graphic or picture will also be allowed...); HINT: you may find an original photo (for example from your Journalism project) might be a good idea. A graphic taken from the internet must be paid for, unless it is in the public domain.
9. The cover is usually followed by a copyright page, then the title page, similar to the cover, but this one without a graphic. After the title page, please add a table of contents. In PAGES, you can do this automatically from the INSERT menu. You can create a place holder for page #'s, but record the poems you are going to include. Decide how you're going to organize the chapbook (one author, then another, then another, or all poets work organized thematically or stylistically. After the table of contents, insert a skipped page (leave it blank so that you start your first poem on an odd page.) You can do this easily in PAGES from the INSERT menu, the SECTION: blank.
10. Then add your poems. Each poem should have a title and the name of the author, unless you set up your book in PARTS with each part being clearly attributed to one of your authors. In PAGES, you can insert a TEXT page from the INSERT menu, SECTION: text; or create a text box in which to hold your text. Text boxes need to be stretched to fit properly.
11. When you've create a text from the section menu, you will have a bold header for the TITLE of your poem, followed by a smaller subbox for your author's name. The text of the poem should be added in normal 12 point font. DO NOT DOUBLESPACE YOUR POETRY!
12. Continue to do this until all your poems are copied into your booklet.
13. If you need to share your booklet shell, each member of your workshop group should save their own files (without a title page, table of contents, or copyright page) and save the work on a jumpdrive or flashdrive. Then choose one person to be the editor and upload or copy the files to that person's computer.
14. When you are done, PROOFREAD and correct any errors.
15. Instead of printing on our difficult printer, please make a PDF version of your chapbook (only do this when you are done. Send PDF's as attachments to: bradley.craddock@rcsdk12.org.
“In the same way that the music industry has been shaken by the Internet, the publishing world is never going to be the same. Authors are no longer at the mercy of a couple of publishers who get to decide what’s going to be printed and distributed. Today, any person who’s written a book can have it serialized on his own blog, or turned into an ebook that anybody can download and read straight on his computer. And in addition to social networks for authors (such as Smashwords), there’s social sites that allow aspiring authors to try and have books printed and sold. Authonomy is one such resource.
And now, there’s also Pandamian. This new site is closer to Smashwords than to Authonomy. It lets you create ebooks in lots of different formats, and then have them spread as best as you can. The site lets you create ePub, Mobi and PDF books that anybody can download. And people who like what you write can also keep posted on new chapters that become available by subscribing to what you do, pretty much as they would subscribe to a RSS feed. The site is in beta right now, and you can freely create an account and use Pandamian’s services to the full. You have to supply your email address, and customize your own URL (IE, rogerhollings.pandamian.com).” –Roger Hollings
Use any one of these programs to create a PDF on-line chapbook of your poetry collection (they do require you to provide your email address and sign up for a free publishing service…if you are not comfortable with this, let the student in your group who IS comfortable with this sign up for the service…if NO ONE is comfortable, let me know and I will set up the service).
  • ·      http://www.wattpad.com
  • ·      http://www.smashwords.com
  • ·      http://www.pandamian.com
When you use these services, they ask you to divide your “book” into chapters. For our purposes, this would be equivalent to a PART in a chapbook.  See #3 above. You will not need a standard Table of Contents for these websites (but it may be helpful to include a CHAPTER of contents).

YOU MAY ALSO, if you’d like, make each single poem you write a chapter. This will, however, create a very long table of contents on the website. I suggest splitting your work into chapters (chapter #1: student A, chapter #2: student B, etc.)

The category you want to log this in is POETRY (it might be considered OTHER on the webpage). Each site will give you options for your title and copyright materials. Please follow individual website guidelines for formatting (they may be different from what I’ve given you above, depending on the program you choose).

When you have created your PDF and sent it to me, please also include the internet address for your on-line book.

For project rubrics and details check out the handouts or the blog posts.

Good luck!

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About this course!

This course stresses understanding the characteristics & techniques in the literary genres of fiction, poetry, and dramatic writing. This course will continue to build on students’ reading and writing skills begun in previous creative writing classes. Readings and discussions of works by major writers in the field will be examined as inspiration and models of fine writing. This educational blog is designed for the use of the students at the School of the Arts in Rochester, NY.