Self-Publishing Without Looking Self-Published
Tips on Making Your Book Look Professionally Designed
Aug 24, 2008
Whether we realize it or not, everyone has a sense of what makes a book feel and look right. Inexperienced self-publishers often make design mistakes that scream "amateur" to a book buyer - and in this business, books are judged by their covers. Don't give a bookshop a reason to turn down your precious volume. Pay attention to these details that are often overlooked by first-time self-published authors.
Designing Your Self-Published Book
The simplest way of getting a better understanding of what makes a book feel and look professional is to spend half an hour at the library. Libraries are better than bookstores for this exercise since you will want to spend some time feeling the book covers and flipping through the pages - and librarians may be more sympathetic than a bookseller who is worried you're roughing up the book and making it potentially unsaleable.
Take five or six books from major publishers off the shelves, preferably ones that are on the same topic and about the same size as your own. Methodically look at the front, spine, and back cover.
- Cover stock. While there is the tempation to go with the cheapest cover stock available, one that is too thin instantly feels wrong in a bookbuyer's hand. If you're in doubt, ask for samples from your printer.
- Cover varnish. You may never have heard of this, but you want it. It provides that slick protective surface over the cover and books without it instantly feel cheap.
- Front cover. Are there photos? How are they arranged? What kind of font are they using for the title and author name? How far is the text positioned from the edges?
- Spine. How are the letters positioned? Is there a publisher's logo at the base of the spine? How big are the letters in relation to the thickness of the book? How close are they to the edges of the spine?
- Back cover. What's included? Are there testimonial quotes? Look at the ISBN box and price label. How close does the text go to the edges of the cover? How large a font are they using?
- Front-end material. See how the pages run. Many books duplicate title pages. The publishing information is usually on the back of the main title page. Are there sections, usually a preface, numbered with Roman numerals? With several examples in front of you, decide what would be best for your book and make a list of the pages you want to include. You may be surprised how many pages you flip through in the average book before geting to the real "first page". You may not initially think to include them, but you'll notice when your book arrives without them - and so will your potential purchasers.
- Interior pages. What font is used for chapter headings? What size font is used for the text itself? How do they handle page nunbers? Many self-publishers choose a standard or bolded "schoolbook" type font in a larger size- and this is almost never used by traditional publishers.
- Back pages - is there an index? Appendices? Note about the author?
Finally, take full advantage of every proofing opportunity your printer offers. There is often the temptation when working with printers to save an extra $50 or $75 by skipping an extra proof step, trusting that all the typos and blurry images have been caught, but you don't want to have a thousand books in your garage all with the same embarassing mistake. If cost is an object, tt's better to go with a smaller initial press run and take every step to make sure the book is as near perfect as you can make it.
