Book Design
One of the most intimidating steps of self-publishing is designing the book that you’ve worked so long and hard to write. Some authors think about the way their finished product might look long before their book is finished, while others will not think about it until it becomes absolutely necessary. Whatever your starting point, this article will give you the resources necessary to get your book noticed, bought, and read.
Book design includes not only the graphic design of the front and back cover, but also the layout and typographic design of every page within your book. So it is the responsibility of your book designer (or you, if you choose to design your book yourself) to ensure that the details of your book lead your future readers to your book, give off a professional impression, and don’t your interrupt readers from enjoying your masterpiece. To ensure that your book will conform to the industry standards of professional book design.
Seeing your book’s cover is often the first and only chance your audience has of finding and reading your book. So while it is clearly very important for a book’s cover to be striking, it is even more important that the title of your book is legible and the cover’s design conveys to the reader the genre and tone of the book.
Authors who design their own covers often run into trouble because their close connection to their books lead to covers that confuse readers rather than invite them. For this reason, many authors wisely choose to hire a professional book cover designer for their valuable industry experience.