Book Design Made Simple

Book Design Made Simple gives DIY authors, small presses, and graphic designers—novices and professionals alike—the power to design their own books. It’s the only book of its kind, explaining every step from installing Adobe® InDesign® right through to sending the files to press.

Book Design Made Simple explains WHAT book design is, and HOW to do it. It guides the novice designer through the process of leasing and installing Adobe® InDesign® and then shows how to place the author’s text into real book pages right away. From there, the look of the text is refined, one element at a time, until it develops into a coherent design that complements the text. Every imaginable kind of text is shown, and meticulous instructions are given. Examples include chapter openings, part openings, headings, lists, poetry, tables, math, extracts, table of contents, and index. Multiple choices are offered for each design element so that the reader can decide on a look and learn how to achieve it.

Stressing their conviction that a front book cover attracts but it’s the back cover that sells, the authors devote an entire section to cover design—front, back, and spine—for paperbacks, dust jackets, and hard covers. With examples and illustrations, the reader is guided through decisions about typefaces, images, colors, and layout, and is given many choices as to what to include on the back cover. Setting up an Adobe® InDesign® document to meet printers’ specifications is explained in detail. The result is a cover that will look professional in the marketplace and attract readers.

Although print books are emphasized, ebooks are also considered throughout. Some design features that work well in print might not translate in an ebook, so cautions and instructions are given in each instance.

Together with thorough design instruction, all kinds of publishing advice is offered along the way, guiding the reader through some of the tough decisions that self-publishers face concerning trim size, what printing method to use, and how and why to get an ISBN and copyright, to name a few.

In short, Book Design Made Simple is a semester of book design instruction plus a publishing class, all rolled into one. Let two experts guide you through the process with easy step-by-step instructions, resulting in a professional-looking top-quality book.

DOUBLE GOLD MEDAL WINNER—Independent Publisher Book Awards and Next Generation Indie Book Awards. WINNER—New England Book Show.

“Regardless of design background, anyone who wants to design and produce a professional-looking book should find everything they need in Book Design Made Simple.” —Clarion Reviews

Fiona Raven and Glenna Collett are book designers with a combined 60+ years of experience. After collaborating on designing books for self-publishers, they joined forces to write Book Design Made Simple, a 500-page comprehensive guide to designing and typesetting books for non-designers and designers alike. Fiona has designed hundreds of books for self-publishers, small presses, and first-time authors since 1995. Glenna has designed more than 100 textbooks for large publishers, dozens of self-published books for individual authors, and also taught workshops on self-publishing.