"Create your book as you envision it"
Now that you have decided to self publish your
book, isn't it worth taking that extra step
to give your book the polish it deserves?
"Make the process enjoyable"
Every project benefits from the attention of
a specialist. I'm not a writer, I'm a book
designer. In the last 15 years I've designed all
manner of communications but books are my favourite.
The binding, weight and feel of a book communicates
something that other mediums do not.
The final publishing process is costly, intimidating
and seems technically arcane. But as complex as
professional book design and printing is; it is
a process I love.
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Michael
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"Let me help you
through this hurtle"
I will guide you through each step. You are in
the drivers seat and I will give you choices and
recommendations wherever possible. When you
finally hold your book it will be exactly as you
wanted it. It will be the best it can be and
a joy to own.
The following will give you a very good idea of
exactly what you will receive and the process
we will follow for your book project.
"Quotes are free"
I will e-mail you a quote outlining everything
we have discussed. It is a firm quote meaning
that you will not pay more than the quoted price.
Nevertheless if we come in under-time you
will only be charged for the actual project time.
Should you decide to make changes during the project
that will affect the cost; I will immediately
send you a revised quote so you know exactly where
you stand. In the quote
examples you can see the number of hours I
allocate to various projects. These examples can
give you a rough idea of cost but every project
is unique so e-mail me
your specifications or fill out the quote
form and I will send you a firm quote.
My job is to make sure that everything is laid
out correctly and ready for the printer. I
guarantee printable files. Considering how
complex computers and digital files are it's amazing
how rarely we have problems but should they occur
it's my job to fix them. As soon as you accept
the quote we can get started.
"Your ideas are crucial!
It's not my cover, it's yours"
We start with your ideas. Tell me how you
see the cover and what you want it to communicate.
Do you have any cover art
picked out or do you need some ideas? I may have
some available art or can send you a link to a
Web site with pictures that you may like. When
we get an image I'll do mock-ups of the cover
and e-mail you the PDFs. This process can take
some time and several mock-ups but it is well
worth the effort. Remember the cover is the
first impression anyone will get of your book.
Once we have the cover I will mock up the spine
and back cover. When the interior type is set
you will receive a printed mock up of your book
for proofing.
"Interior typography is subtle"
While the cover needs to attract or shout, depending
on the type of book, the interior typography should
be subtle and unnoticeable. Typography done properly
lends credence to the content. If the typography
is good it's unlikely that anyone will notice
(except a professional), but rest assured if it
is poor everyone will know.
The quote examples
are divided by cover and interior and simple and
complex layouts. Simple layouts are text without
graphics. Complex layouts use multicolumn grids
and graphics on many pages. For example a children's
book or catalogue is usually done in full colour
with every page laid out individually. Manuals
and scholarly works are usually complex layouts
in one colour. Novels are simple layouts sometimes
with illustrations.
You need to choose a printer and decide the physical
size of your book. Your printer will have some
standard sizes that fit nicely on their press.
Most printers consider 5.5" x 8.5", 6" x 9", 7"
x 10" and 8.5" x 11" to be standard book sizes,
however anything goes. I will contact your printer
for exact specifications and special formatting
they may need.
"You are in the drivers seat
every step of the way"
During the design process you will receive PDF
mock-ups of your book cover and interior showing
design ideas and font choices with pros and cons
to help you with the decisions.
All text will be styled for consistency; proper
paragraph indents, quotes, word spacing and special
formatting, bullets properly formatted and numbered
as per your manuscript.
Each page will be checked for awkward paragraph
endings, double spaces, and hyphens where there
should be dashes, along with other typographic
problems that may show up.
You will receive a complete physical mock-up
when formatting is done so you can carefully proof
each page.
"I will follow through with your printer
to make sure the files print correctly"
Once the project is complete I will send the files directly to
the printer. I will communicate with the printer
during the entire process to ensure that your
book is printed the way you want it. You will
receive a digital copy of all native files for
your records (makes a second printing easy).
Congratulations you are a published author.
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Yes I would like a FREE guaranteed
quote