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From manuscript to finished book
Skilful attention to typography and book design is essential to the success of your book. A design which does not complement your content will leave your readers confused, disappointed and unlikely to talk about or recommend your book to other potential readers. The goal of our process is to create a design that is sympathetic to your content and that provides an enjoyable experience for your readers. It is all about turning your hard work into a finished book you will be proud of.
Getting started
We start our process by meeting with you and talking about your book. We need to know whether you have a style in mind or have decided on one of our self-publishing packages. We also need to understand your comfort and experience with self-publishing and the level of support you would like us to provide. Taking a little time to get to know you, your objectives in writing your book, and the contents of your manuscript helps us to simplify the myriad of design choices available.
We normally allow up to an hour for this discussion, which can be via video call. Bringing a sample of your manuscript, such as a completed chapter, to this meeting can often be useful to give us a sense of its content. You may have seen some pages in other books that you like the look of. Take a photo of these on your phone so we can talk about them and the design aspects which could be incorporated into your book. We can go over the details of our self-publishing packages and any variations or special features you would like to see in your book. This is also a good time to raise any questions you might have about formatting your manuscript files or the production of your book.
There is no upfront fee for this consultation and no obligations or contracts for you to sign. After the meeting, if you are happy to proceed and we believe that we are a good fit for you, we will provide you with an invoice for the first instalment and a copy of our Terms and Conditions. We require payment of this invoice, which is typically twenty-five percent of the total cost of the self-publishing package, before we commence work on your book.
Design and layout
Our first design step is to create a few sample pages showing a potential style for the interior pages. These sample pages will follow the best-practices of typography and page layout, to ensure they meet professional standards as well as presenting your content in the best possible manner. They will include our recommendations for typefaces, heading styles and common page elements.
Once we have agreed on the general style and layout we can proceed to designing your book. We will work with you to determine the detailed layout of each section. This includes identifying any optional content, such as an Index, and any special requirements you may have.
We use our experience and knowledge of current design practices to create a consistent visual style, including the use of images and other page design elements. Design is a creative activity that benefits from collaboration — and we will always welcome your input and feedback.
During this stage, we will also talk through your ideas for a cover design. The cover includes the front and back cover, plus, in most cases, the spine. The typography and imagery used on the cover are important design elements that require skilful attention — and are best left to experts. Each of our self-publishing packages includes cover design, but if you require something highly customised or original, we will discuss options for achieving that with you.
Review and approval
When we have completed the layout of all pages of your book, we will provide you with a soft proof. This is a PDF file of your book, including any optional sections such as an Index, for you to review the layout and typography. This is your opportunity to identify instances where we may not have applied the correct layout or style – as we agreed in the sample. We will correct these at our cost.
It is possible that you also notice spelling mistakes or other issues that you did not notice in your manuscript. We expect that there will be few, and if so, we will correct them at no additional charge to you. If there are many individual corrections required, or substantial changes such as paragraphs that you want to re-write, these will be charged for on an hourly basis.
The changes will be shown in a final soft proof. We call this proof final because it is your confirmation that we have made all the changes you requested, rather than being intended as an opportunity for new changes to be made.
Your approval of this proof is required before we can progress to the next stage of our process. Your approval records your satisfaction with the layout and design of the book, and is your confirmation to us that the design work is complete.
Books with more design and layout effort required, such as in our Legacy Books package, will often require more than one soft proof. These books often have several different layouts, such as for different sections or chapters. The design of these sections may be refined over several cycles, each with a soft proof, before we provide a final proof for your approval.
Book printing and binding
Once you have approved the final proof we are ready to move into this last stage of our process. Before we arrange for your books to be produced, or the release of the final print-ready files, we require final payment in full. We will then arrange for a hard proof, sometimes called a press proof, of your book. This is a physical copy, usually made on the same equipment that will be used in the production run for your book. It is not a finished copy however – the cover will be wrapped around the text block (pages) rather than bound with them.
This is an opportunity to see how your book will look on the actual paper stock to be used, including images and colour. Paper stock and press equipment can subtly change the colour of design elements, as well as the density and saturation of images, from what you would have seen in the soft proofs. These shifts are not errors but are a natural result of the way ink and paper interact.
Our self-publishing packages include one hard proof. We have found that to be sufficient for most self-publishing authors and the packages we offer. In the unlikely event that a major change is required to your book at this late stage, additional hard proofs can be provided. However, they can be expensive to produce, depending on their type, and will incur an additional charge.
Once you have approved the hard proof, we will arrange the production of your books. The time required for printing and binding varies depending on number of pages and binding method. We would generally allow up to three weeks for this, and a little longer for Legacy Books which are typically hard (case) bound. Your books will be delivered to you directly from our commercial printers.