Now that your manuscript has been edited it is time to shift your attention to what you want your book to look and feel like. In the publishing world, this stage of the process is called design and layout. There are various things you need to think about when deciding on the look and feel of your book:
- The cover
- The size
- The paper
- The interior design
Your content and its intended market will influence all of these elements.
Let’s start with some basics.
The feel of your book
Before you dive into the design and layout of your book, it is important to consider the final format (or formats) of your book. There are two formats that you need to consider: print and digital. You will need to decide if you want to publish in both formats or only one. Most authors today publish their books as both a print and an e-book, usually releasing the print book first.
If you choose to publish a print book, you need to think about the book size, paper and whether you want a hardcover or softcover book. Let’s take a quick look at these three aspects.
- Book size
You may have seen that not all books in your local bookstore are the same size. Different genres require different sizes to accommodate their content. Let’s compare photographic books and novels. Photographic books tend to be much larger so the reader can better appreciate the quality of the images. Novels, in contrast, are text only so come in a smaller format. Readers often carry them around so a large format, like one used for a photographic book, would not be suitable.
- Paper
Paper is paper, right? No! There are various paper types to choose from. The colour and content of your book will determine what paper you should print your book on. For example, textbooks and manuals tend to be printed on white bond, a standard crisp white paper. Books with photographs are using printed on matt art paper which shows off the richness of colour and texture of images better.
- Hardcover or softcover
A softcover book has a paper cover (also known as a paperback) and a hardcover has a thick cover board. Softcover is less expensive to print and it the most common book format today.
It can seem overwhelming at first to consider all of these options. We are here to guide you towards the best materials for your book. The Staging Post team can help you create a final product that you’re satisfied with.