Your book has been professionally edited. What's next?
It's almost time to send it to the printer...but not yet! Now it needs to be typeset so that the interior looks like a book. This should be done using an expensive page layout software package like PageMaker, InDesign, or Quark.
Don't try to do this yourself using a
word processing program like Word!
You and your readers would not be pleased with the result. There are certain things that need to be done to make your work look like a real book. We use PageMaker or InDesign3 (both Adobe products) to determine the page sizes, lay out the margins and gutter, select the fonts and styles, decide where page numbers will go, place the headers, put in drop caps, and layout chapter headers, and insure there are no widows or orphans. All this can quickly make one's head swim.
We provide this service through our sister company, Sharp Spear Enterprises-- www.sharpspear.com
Poorly designed books don't get bought by bookstores either. Skipping this process should not be an option. A poor book layout screams Amateur as loudly as a poor job of editing. Furthermore, many printers require certain formats, which only page layout programs can provide.
Details and cost.
Our designing fees are as follows:
$6 per typeset page (including necessary blanks)
Process:
Once we have received your ms in the form of a plain Word file attachment to an email, we will go through it and create a style sheet for the various type paragraphs and headers. Please don't try to lay it out in Word and send us that, as it will only get in the way. We will suggest a book size, fonts, and layout, providing a few sample pages. We have found this process to be an evolutionary one, requiring an open dialogue between us and the author/publisher to insure agreement and timely reactions.
The final product will be in a pdf format (much prefered by printers.) We will then provide it to you and or to your printer. We will also work closely with your cover designer, providing that person the information needed to size the front and back covers and spine correctly.
Bob Spear
Publisher and Chief Reviewer
Heartland Reviews
CEO, Sharp Spear Enterprises
