There is more to a book than just the words and images that make up the content of the book. Publishing a book is not done in a bubble. It is not a one-person process—usually. The best books have teams of people behind them: editors, proofreaders, marketing people, sales reps, project managers, publishers, book designers, cover designers, distributors, social media teams, etc. The author is like a book’s quarterback. We often see a quarterback as the “primary” position of a team. They lead it, get the most screen time, and often are the face of the team publicly. But an author needs the other positions filled out to be successful, unless you choose to self-publish and take on all or some of those rolls along with writing and creating the content. If that is you, you’re in for a lot of work. If that excites you, it may be the perfect fit for you. If you have no clue where to begin, the best thing you can do is acknowledge what you can and can’t do and find support to help you cover what you can’t do. This may mean paying for services and help. Count the cost and assess your expectations and goals. We’re going to focus in this new series of posts on one very important element of a book outside the content—book design. Good book design is the difference between a pleasurable read for your audience and a loss of a potential reader. You’ve heard, “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” but in a world with so many books and so much content, that adage doesn’t quite hold up anymore. Book design will make or break your book’s chances.
Step One: Book Specifications
The first step to producing a book is its specifications (spec.). Below is an example of a sample specification sheet for the book Grom (andersonhousepublishing.com/products/grom).
trim: 8” x 10” portrait
extent: 200pp text + ends + case with tip-on
text: 4c x 4c on 157gsm matte art paper + spot gloss varnish throughout
ends: 3c x 3c on 140gsm woodfree paper
case: cloth (SKU 1903215) with 1c screen printing on the front, back, and
spine + debossing + tip-on printing 4c affixed to front over 3mm boards
binding: hardbound, round-back spine, separate ends, H&T bands, paper grain
running parallel to spine, screen printed edge of book block to match screen printing blue color on case, individually shrink wrapped
quantity: 1,500 copies
shipping: Ex Work
Budget inclusive of one set of digital, one final eBook/PDF for approval of books to print, one set of F&Gs mailed to AHP for approval of printing before binding, six advances mailed to AHP for archival reference for use.
In the upcoming posts, I will break down what these things mean as we use it as our primary example for book specifications and the beginning of our new series on book design. Tune in to learn more.