Kindle Tips

Most of us in this business can take one look at a printed manuscript or proposal, and guess at the page count with remarkable accuracy.   (My funny illustration of that will follow.)    Or when you get a Word attachment, it’s easy to open the file, and look see the page count on the screen.    Either way, you get a manuscript, and you know whether it’s a 600 pager, or a quick read.

Not so on the Kindle.   Have I got a 20 page proposal, or an 80 page proposal?   Is it a subway ride, or a morning’s work?

We’ve found a good fix.   Before my assistant emails the document to my Kindle, she’ll add a line of text to the title page:  40 page book proposal.   Partial ms., 150 pp.    Final manuscript, 380 pages.   Right away, I know what I’ve got.   And when I glance at the Kindle progress bar, I can guess how many pages I have to go.

OK, here my story about knowing the page count just from the thickness.   Years ago, a colleague was giving me the recipe for her baked cheese puff appetizers (they were awesome) and trying to explain how thick to roll the dough.   Needing a visual, she peeled off a few pages of the manuscript she was holding.  “This thick,” she said.   From then on, the recipe instruction was “Roll to the thickness of 30 pages.”

If I can find that recipe, I’ll post it