Re: self-publishing and polish

I saw this list of 25 Things You Should Know About Self-Publishing from CNET.com. All the points are salient and should be taken seriously by anyone who wants to go forward. But I was struck especially by #6:

Creating a "professional" book is really hard.

Barrier to entry may be low, but creating a book that looks professional and is indistinguishable from a book published by a "real" publishing house is very difficult and requires a minimum investment of a few thousand dollars (I'm up at around $5,000 right now). You wonder why "real" books take 9 months to produce--and usually significantly longer. Well, I now know why. It's hard to get everything just right (if you're a novice at book formatting, Microsoft Word will become your worst enemy). And once you've finally received that final proof, you feel it could be slightly better.

A book that looks like it was created in Word will be an immediate turn-off to anyone who might want to purchase your work. Don't do it. Unless you're writing about the Key to all Philosophies that will tie everything in the world together in one tidy package, ensuring happiness to all of mankind and and an end to all unnecessary wars and famine, you will not be taken seriously with a sad, lifeless layout.