You’ve written your book, published it, and are ready to set up a book launch. But one crucial element is missing from the equation — a book designer.
You may think that a book designer is only for the big publishers, but this couldn’t be more wrong. Whether self-publishing or working with a publisher, a book designer can take your book from amateur to professional.
Book designers don’t just focus on layout and design but also have expertise in typography and other formats.
So if you are still thinking if you should hire one, this post will give you five ways a book designer will improve your book.
Make it Readable
Your content is king, but the organization is queen. The reader should not have to struggle with your book.
A well-designed book should be easy for readers to navigate, whether they’re flipping through pages on their Kindle or finding their way through an ebook version on their phone.
It should be a pleasure to read. So, a book designer will ensure that the words on the page are easy to read and flow well with each other.
In addition, the designer will ensure that the font size is appropriate for the content and adjust line spacing accordingly so that there is enough white space between lines of text but not too much to make reading difficult.
They will also ensure that there are no awkward gaps between paragraphs or pages and that everything flows from one chapter to the next without any jarring transitions or jumps in thought or sentence structure.
Book editors will ensure that all images are the correct size, so they don’t overpower or distract from the text.
They may even suggest adding captions between chapters or sections to make it easier for readers to navigate your book without getting lost or confused about where they are or what’s coming next.
Attention to Detail
Book designers have an eye for detail. They will look at every sentence in your manuscript and decide if it needs to be changed or edited.
A good book designer will ensure that everything is consistent throughout your entire manuscript and looks professional and consistent when it comes time to publish the finished product.
So, if there are spelling or grammatical errors, they will correct them before sending the final version back to you for approval. The same goes for layout issues such as widows and orphans.
Widows and orphans occur when single words or short phrases appear at the top or bottom of a page by themselves. They result from uneven formatting, where a paragraph’s first or last line is left hanging at the bottom of a page.
This usually happens because there isn’t enough content on the page to fill it up and keep it balanced. A designer will ensure that every page has enough text so that these things don’t happen.
The Right Look and Feel for Your Book
You may have an idea in your head about how you want your book to look. But chances are, it’s not going to look exactly like that.
The good news is that there are many different styles, and it’s worth exploring them all before deciding.
They know how to use imagery and text to make your story come alive on the page. They understand how to use fonts, colours, and imagery to convey moods and emotions in ways that will engage your reader.
A great book designer will help you choose the right style for your story so that when readers pick up your book, they’ll feel right at home with its look and feel — even if it’s very different from anything else they’ve read.
High-Quality Covers
An excellent designer will help you create an overall visual theme that connects readers.
A good cover design draws attention. It should convey what’s inside in just a glance. It should reflect both the content of your book and your brand as an author.
For example, if you’re writing about cooking, you might want to use vibrant colours in your cover design. But a muted colour scheme may be more appropriate if you’re writing about psychology or science.
So if your book looks like it belongs on the shelf next to other books in its genre or category, then you’re on the right track.
For example, if you’re trying to sell your book as a thriller or romance novel, having a dramatic or romantic image on the front will encourage people to pick it up and see if it’s something they might enjoy reading.
If you’re writing a nonfiction business book, having an image of someone standing behind a desk or sitting at a computer could help convey this theme more quickly than text alone allows.
Organization
How often have you read a book that was hard to follow because the chapters were out of order? Or did the author jump around too much, and the reader didn’t know where they were headed?
Having a capable book designer on your side will help you organize all of your content before they even start designing anything. In addition, they will be able to manage your manuscript so that it flows well and makes sense to readers.
This means using headers and subheads, bulleted lists and numbered lists, and other tools that make the text flow easily from one point to another.
They’ll help you figure out what stories go where in the book and decide which ones should be cut, making the text easier to read and understand.
This is especially important if multiple authors share their expertise in different parts of the book.
For example, suppose different people wrote different chapters of a book. In that case, each chapter should be categorized. This lets readers know where to look for information on specific topics. As a result, they don’t have to read through everything to find what they’re looking for.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, a book designer will ensure that your book’s container has an excellent shape and feel.
Anyone can design a book cover, but few can create the overall package. Your book designer will ensure your type is readable and your page layout is conducive to reading.
Spend some time figuring out how you want your final package to look, what fonts work well with your topic, and who could produce the best end product for you.
Remember that book designers are professionals and have their creative vision for what makes a great-looking book. So work with them on getting there, rather than dictating specifics from the outset.
