theBookDesigners

Even before you are done with your book, we can get started on the design. When you send us your rough manuscript with your key points, we will use our 3-round process to deliver a design that you love. We utilize a 3-pass approach for every phase of the process. Starting with the book cover, we present you with a range of design ideas (typically 3-6 initial concepts), then refine them in 3 rounds of back-and-forth feedback. Once a cover is approved, we go back and forth another 3 rounds to further polish it. This thorough and efficient process allows us to give you a cover even better than you imagined.

When we design sample interior pages, we base them on the approved cover aesthetic. We present you initial samples of a table of contents, introduction/preface/foreword, and a first chapter as well as any other pages that might need special treatments. This way, you get a feel for the design throughout the book before we begin the design of the entire book. We will choose appropriate fonts and text sizes for the body text, headings, chapter pages, etc. We then refine the chosen sample over 3 rounds to come to a final design template for the interior. We can also design several options (usually 3) at an additional cost, but generally, we design one sample design that we feel works cohesively with your book cover.

Sometimes a book interior may need many images or tables/graphs/charts and other elements. We generally ask that those be supplied to us, ready for usage. If any of those need to be created or adjusted, we can include the cost in our initial quote to you.

Before incorporating your final manuscript into the design, you’ll want to make sure it’s as clean as possible. A copy editor can help you sift through your ideas on a higher level, while a proofreader will help catch the smaller spelling and grammar errors and typos. We can refer you to our qualified team of editors and proofreaders. 

When your book design is complete, a final proof is necessary to catch any typos and errors that have inevitably popped up. You can either review it yourself or hand it off to our proofreader at an additional cost.

We go through 3 rounds of review to resolve any editorial issues and make design adjustments before the final proof. Your approval of the final book interior is needed before we proceed to print.

Once we have designed all of your books interior pages, we will confirm with you about your printing solution. Some folks use Amazon KDP or Ingram Spark or similar self-publishing solutions. We will need several pieces of information before we design a full cover (front, spine, back and flaps):

1. A final page count of your book.
2. The paper thickness/type that you will print on.
3. All final copy/text to appear on your full cover. This can be testimonials, author bios, book description, publishing information etc)

Once we have that we can know the thickness of your book and either request a template from your printer of choice that has the proper spine width.

You already have a great front cover—now, we’ll develop and integrate the back cover and spine (as well as flaps if needed). Depending on your project, we can also provide designs for dust jacket flaps, a case cover, endpapers, or any specialty bookbinding needs. After review, the full final cover will be ready for the printer.

Typically we will have a cover concept for you to review 3–5 days before starting the project. After that, we will go back and forth a few times to try to achieve the desired result. Once we have approval on a cover, we will create a sample interior design for your review. This typically takes 3–5 days. Once again, we will go back and forth with you a few times before continuing on to the full layout, which typically takes about 1–3 weeks depending on a number of factors (e.g., design complexity and extent of feedback/changes). Most simple, text-driven books will be a 1- to 2-month process from start to finish.

But generally, the cover design process takes about 2-3 weeks depending on feedback and complexity. Usually, we deliver initial concepts for a cover and sample layout within about 3-5 days of quote approval and receiving all the information we need from you. A general, full book design (including a cover, and 200-300 pages with modest image usage throughout) takes about 4-6 weeks from start to finish. This can be sooner based on design complexity and efficient feedback.

Our general design rates would apply, so starting at $750 with additional fees depending on the inclusion of certain options and services. To be clear, we are not printers. However, we work with many printers, and while we'll look for a perfect printer for you, most of them won't handle small print runs. The cost of printing is not included in our basic fee structure. It is quoted from one of our trusted printing vendors. If you are looking for a small run, your best bet is using a POD (print on demand) service like Ingram Spark, Lulu or Amazon's KDP. They will be able to accommodate a small print run, and we are more than capable of getting your files ready for POD printing. Companies like Blurb may also offer options for smaller custom print runs. We do work with Edition One Books, who specialize in high-end custom printing, binding, and small print runs.

Occasionally a project goes beyond our estimated parameters and the need arises to expand the initial budget to cover our additional time. This scenario is rare, as we take necessary precautions to ensure it doesn't happen. It is possible, however, though you would be notified of any additional fees well in advance. Other costs that may be incurred relate to the licensing of images (often photography or illustration) from outside sources such as stock-image agencies or commissioned independent artists. If the need arises for such work in your project, we'll consult with you and present a revised estimate before proceeding.

We generally request that it be provided to us. Bowker is a good resource from which to obtain ISBN numbers with barcodes.

Yes. In most cases, professional book cover design fees start at $1,500. But the general range is $800–$1,500 for a book cover, and about the same for a simple text-driven layout design. While there are many companies and freelancers that may offer significantly lower rates, it's usually very apparent in the final product. With nearly 20 years of experience in publishing, we pride ourselves on a thorough knowledge of the publishing industry. We work with many of the top publishing houses and have helped countless indie publishers get the exposure they deserve. Many of our indie clients take advantage of our other services as well, as they find it's convenient and results in a more consistent visual tone for all of their various marketing needs. We'd love to discuss your specific needs and see how we can work together to create something we're all proud of.

Of course! Our clients are from all over the country and world. We can easily communicate via email and phone and share files online. In fact, both Ian and Alan live in Oregon and California respectively.

A printer is in charge of the physical manufacturing of your final printed book. So, they do the printing and binding. A publisher takes on many tasks in getting a book to the public—editing, design, legal, marketing and distribution. Our part in the process is primarily in designing your book, but we also offer some other services at an additional cost. We are happy to consult with you about many aspects of both printing and publishing at additional cost, but in general we are happy to answer general questions and concerns as part of the process when you are working on a project with us. We will guide you through the process and explain things as we move through your project and questions arise naturally.

While we focus on design, we can offer additional services along the way—just ask us and we can either take care of it or point you in the right direction. We provide editorial and indexing services, as well as manuscript review, at an additional cost. We do not offer web design or printing services in-house, but we can refer you to reputable solutions and work with those outfits to create appropriate designs. We do offer design for logos and marketing/promotional materials for your book or publishing imprint, just let us know!

Once we both agree on an estimate, you will sign and return a copy to us. This becomes our Master Service Agreement. We require 50% down to start, and the balance due at the finalization of the project. We accept checks, bank deposits, and credit cards (with a 3% fee).

We do have a "boilerplate" attached to most of our service quotes. This is often a few pages of "legal" language that protects us and describes in more detail what our final offerings are and commitment/responsibility to you. This is largely a bunch of legal language we hardly understand (in all honesty) and in 25 years have not had a reason to refer to it or do much with it. Read it over. If you have a problem with any of it we are happy to adjust it or put your mind at ease. We are super easy to work with and quick to communicate to answer any concerns.

When designing the interior of the book, we use a two-part process. First, we create the page design, then we typeset. The page design refers to the overall look of the inside of your book, which includes everything from font and margins to photos and pull quotes. Once we finalize a design, you review it and approve it. Typesetting is where we apply all the design elements to each page of your book. The end result being your manuscript looking like it will when printed. We will implement any edits and changes and then ready the file for the printer.