The design of your book is almost as important as its content. After all, aesthetics matter! The entire layout of the book partly determines whether people are initially drawn to it. By this, we mean factors such as paper type, size, and options like a bookmark, but most certainly also the design of your book.
Layout programs
You can format books in countless ways. 3 of the most commonly used programs are:
- Adobe InDesign: We can safely say that InDesign is best suited for book layout. However, this is a fairly complex program that is primarily used by professionals. The program offers countless possibilities and provides a great deal of creative freedom.
- Microsoft Word: A program that most people have on their computer and are easy to use. It is primarily intended as a “word processor.” So, if you are writing a novel, you can easily do so in Word. However, it is not very suitable for books that consist mainly of images and contain bleed pages. You can read more information about formatting a book in Word here.
- Pages (Apple): Pages is comparable to Word but is the Apple version. The programs are very similar, so the same advice applies to them. A book with a lot of text is easy to format in this, but it is not very suitable for highly creative projects with many images.
Book cover
I don’t think we need to tell you that your book cover is incredibly important. It is the first calling card your eye falls on (or not…). It must align with your book’s message, stand out, and be technically sound. This is truly a specialized field and is therefore often outsourced by writers to professional designers. So think carefully about what the cover should look like and ask yourself if you want to enlist the help of a professional.
How do you design the cover?
The cover of your book consists of a back, spine, and front. You submit these as a PDF file as a spread.
The spine thickness is determined by the specifications of your book, such as the number of pages and the paper type. The required spine thickness for your book is displayed in our online price calculator.
You can read more information about the submission specifications here.
Need help?
In our price calculator, we offer you the option to select “cover design”. For €60 excluding VAT, we will design your cover professionally. We will discuss your requirements, and you can provide any images or text that we will then incorporate.
Need help with the interior of your book? Contact us and we will discuss the possibilities together.