Self Publishing - Design and Layout

Self Publishing - Design and Layout

An important aspect of publishing your book is how it will look. Here are the main areas of design and layout you should give some thought to:

	Format (size and shape of the book) There are various standard book sizes. Most books you see on book stands are demi-octavo (216mm x 138mm) format.
	Cover design The cover is the first thing your readers will see. It must look striking and reflect the subject matter of the book as closely as possible. Unless you have a gift for art, you should use a professional (a graphic designer) to design a cover for you. This may cost you more than you had anticipated, but it will be worth it.
	Page layout Things to consider here are: typeface (style of lettering); point sizes (height/width of letters) used for the main text, chapter headings, sub-headings; width of margins, etc. Your printer or, if you are using one, graphic designer will be able to advise you on this and talk you through the terminology.
	Graphics The use of graphics (illustrations, photographs, etc.) will greatly enhance your book, especially if you are dealing with facts. If you do use any, make sure you have good artwork (a master copy that the printer can use directly) for each graphic used.

Some other words used in publishing

Landscape: a page shape in which the width is greater than the height

Portrait: a page shape in which the height is greater than the width

Prelims: the introductory pages of a book

Title page (or half title): the first page of a book, with the title and name of publisher

Title verso: the reverse side of the title page (usually acknowledgements page)

Setting

Typesetting (or setting) is the process that turns the text into the way it will look when it's printed. The result of this process is known as artwork (or camera ready copy) from which the printing plates are made. You have two options for setting your book:

1. You can do it yourself, using a desktop publishing (dtp) package, and following the design/layout specification you have worked out.

2. You can send your word-processed text on disk to a company that will do this for you and see your job through to the finished printed book.

Doing the setting yourself

You will obviously save a lot of money by setting the book yourself. It may take a little practice until you get the hang of it, but there are some very user-friendly packages on the market.

By using a dtp package you can produce artwork on paper, provided you have a good quality printer (laser or bubble jet). Some printing firms will work directly from paper artwork.

To get the best possible quality of print, however, your dtp files will need to be processed by an image setter (a machine that makes a photographic image of your text prior to printing). For this you must find a printing firm that can work from your disks.

Before committing yourself to a printing firm, make sure they know what dtp package you are using and what graphics/illustrations you will be supplying. There may also be information you will need from them, such as how to save your files on disk so that they can be processed in the most efficient manner.

Professional setting

You may prefer to opt for a company that can take your job through to the print stage from your word-processed copy. All you need to do is to provide a disk containing the files and clear instructions about how you want the book to be set. Depending on how much help you need, the company you use will advise you on layout and design, quantities and so on. It's up to you and your budget how much use you make of them.

Important!

Make sure you see page proofs (photocopies of typeset pages for you to check) before you get anything printed.

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