Book Design Questions

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Self Publishing

Questions? Comments?

How to design a book with Word

Question) I read your book design article and would like to hire you to design my book. What do you charge?

Answer) It's something I do for myself, but I don't hire out. I do really simple covers using Microsoft PowerPoint. If your subject is non-fiction and you're selling direct (no store stocking), then I really don't think that the cover matters two bits, as long as it's not a major turn-off. Some people just do a text cover (the title of the book) in Word and leave it at that.

Q) How do I do a Table of Content for my book in Word?

A) The basic TOC works great, and it's just a question of styles. I learned how to do it by guesswork, and I think I have a pretty easy way. Just make your chapter names all "Heading 1" (the pull-down menu at the left of the Word toolbar that says "Normal" by default, and make any subheadings that you want in the TOC, "Heading 2". If you want to nest further, make less important subjects "Heading 3", etc... Then, when you do "Insert TOC", Word will prompt you what headers to include (Heading 1,2 and 3 are the default) and Walla! Instant table of contents. Just don't forget to update it or do it again if you repaginate or the page numbers will bee off. The index function is also great, better than most typesetting programs offer. You just highlight the terms you want in the Index, add them, and when you "Insert Index", it all comes out right. Again, if you repaginate, you have to refresh or do it again.

Q) I was quite taken with the style you used for this book (layout, fonts, line spacing - and the paper). Would it be possible to have a copy of the settings (or the Word template file if you have it to hand)?

A) I got the whole design out of my friend Aaron Shepard's e-book, "Books, Typography & Microsoft Word." I didn't actually use a template, just selected a body font of 12 point Georgia, used Veranda for the headings, and selected "use WordPerfect 5.1 Justification" under tools. Line spacing is 15 points, 3 points above the type size. Since my printer Lightning Source (they have a UK branch also) wanted the text block centered on an 8.5x11 sheet, I set the top, bottom and inside margins at 2" and the outside margin at 2.25". Both the header and footer are at 1.5" and the pages are mirrored. The problem with Word is always keeping your headers from getting away from you. Make sure you use section breaks between chapters and start new sections on odd pages. Save the headers for last, and as you go through the book putting them in (the even pages use the same header all the way through), keep checking the previous chapter to make sure the new header hasn't migrated backwards, and save every time things look good.

Q) Is it worth paying the high prices of a New York Editor I saw advertised in the back of a magazine?

A) I always figured if they have time for moonlighting, they can't be in great demand, so I always hire locals. A New York address means nothing, a list of books an editor has edited and contact information for the authors so you can get their candid assessment of whether or not the editor was worth the money are essential.

Q) I'm writing a dissertation on how book cover designs contribute to sales and I'd appreciate any feedback you could give me.

A) If you look at my book cover designs, you'll see that I'm the last guy to believe in the importance of covers. I used a scan of a brown paper bag for my first business book and did the covers for my next two books in. The first two lead their categories in sales on Amazon, beating out books by the well heeled publishers with professional designers, and I still have hopes for the third:-)

Q) How can I use Ghostscript to create a PDF from Word, when it requires a PostScript file?

A) It works the same way Acrobat actually works, which is converting PostScript to PDF. When you use Acrobat directly from Word, you're actually using PDF writer, an Adobe plug-in, bt it's not recommended. Adobe distributes (free) a Postscript driver for all Windows version, etc, that you use to produce Postscript files which can then be converted to PDF. There are various other Ghostscript interfaces that can automate the process, but why bother?

See http://www.fonerbooks.com/print.htm

Q) I would like pricing for your services on designing my children's book, both the cover and the text layout. I have all of the original artwork and text prepared.

A) I do not sell cover design services, I simply write about my own experiences. if you want me to suggest somebody, I'll ask around.