ome people seem to lump the terms book design and typesetting into one task. Although that is frequently the way a printer-ready book is produced, with one person taking the finished manuscript through the entire process, the book design should really be a precursor to the actual typesetting.
I think most people who handle the entire process actually split the process into the two parts, even if they don’t think about it that when they’re doing it.
Book design requires an analysis of the manuscript, its tone, and its intended audience. And a review of many other factors, such as:
- Are there graphics and/or photos that must be placed within the text?
- Are there tables, bulleted or numbered lists?
- How long are the chapter titles (and how much variation is there among them)?
- How many levels of headings and subheadings are required (and how long are those headings and subheadings)?
- Are there footnotes, endnotes, or other embedded references?
- Should each chapter begin on a recto (right hand) page?
- Is the text dense (as in long paragraphs with little to break it up or provide sort of built-in white space)?
That’s far from an exhaustive list, but gives you an idea of the things that need to be considered before placing the text into the layout software.
The answers to the above allow a designer to decide on some appropriate options for the fonts that would work well, the sizes of the fonts, the leading (space between lines in a paragraph), the margins, how best to place the graphics and/or photos, the use of decorative doodads (such as on chapter opening pages or to mark section or scene breaks).
Also, this is the time to determine the optimum trim size for the book. The designer also has to decide standards for things like hyphenation settings and limits and the limits within which the software will be allowed to adjust word and character spacing.
Once those decisions are made, the designer can then define the styles to be used throughout the book — page, paragraph, character, table, and graphic styles, as required. There also will be specific styles defined for various types of paragraphs — e.g., a drop cap and a non-indented paragraph to start a new chapter. Those styles, combined with the overall document settings (margins, trim size, bleed, etc.) form the basis for the book’s template.
Once a template has been defined and set up in the layout software, the text can be flowed into the template. At this point, actual typesetting begins. The designer (or typesetter, if the tasks are separated) then applies the appropriate styles to the pages, paragraphs, characters, tables, etc.
But that’s not the end of the job.
The designer/typesetter must then go through the book to fine tune it, making sure that it looks good. Do the pages look balanced? Are there orphan or widow lines that need adjustment (software can do this but often results in changes to surrounding lines that are less then optimum)? Are there too-short last lines of paragraphs that can be adjusted? Are there any “rivers of white” in the text (good layout software rarely produces this)?
Some self-publishers cringe at the prices quoted for book design and typesetting. That’s usually because they don’t understand the amount of knowledge and craftsmanship that makes the difference between an acceptable book and a beautifully designed and typeset book.
Buying expensive layout software will give you the tools to do a great job but won’t give you the knowledge and skill to get the most out of that software.
Good book designers spend time studying — reading the books written by the acknowledged experts and sometimes reverse engineering (even if only mentally) outstanding examples of the craft.
Good book design is much art as it is technology and tools, perhaps much more.
Hate the orphan lines…
And thank you so much – I just noticed I am in your Blogroll!!!
L. Diane Wolfe “Spunk On A Stick”
http://www.circleoffriendsbooks.blogspot.com
http://www.spunkonastick.net
http://www.thecircleoffriends.net
Of course you are, Diane! I follow your blog via RSS daily, even if I don’t post comments often (I promise to do better in future…really).
Well, said, Walt.
As someone who began as a copy editor and proofreader years before I became a layout artist and then a book designer, I find that not it’s not unusual to pick up a book where the publisher doesn’t grasp how a book’s design affects its accessibility to the reader.
Oh, sure, if you can read, you can slog through anything. But I’ve picked up many books in a bookstore, been on the fence about buying them, and put them back down because their interiors looked like they’d be fighting with my eyes the whole read long.
You made a good point about the value of reading about book design. Truthfully, I think one of the ways to tell if you’re still moving forward and growing as a book designer is to see whether you still get enthusiastic when you find a new book on the subject.
Thanks, Steve. Just something that’s been nagging at the edges of my mind for some time.
A very good read especially to self-published authors! Book designing and type setting are two important factors that should not be taken for granted. After all, most readers get discouraged reading a book whose typesetting is not consistent with the design.
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Just hoping to clarify the scope of the tasks a bit. Some people seem to think you just pour the manuscript in and let the software do whatever it does.
Great post, Walt.
I always separate design from composition in my proposals and contracts. It’s an opportunity to educate the client who hasn’t thought about it, and it provides a clean gate in the process: You’ve signed off on the design (and paid the flat fee for that); work going forward is composition and you’re going to pay per unit of work. Getting clarity with clients like this prevents all kinds of conflict over billing later.
Thanks for the comments, Dick.
I hadn’t really considered separating those tasks in the proposal and contract, but we might start doing that, too. An excellent suggestion!
Walt,
Very good article, thanks for that. I particularly liked the way you explained the background needed to actually produce a book others might want to read.
On the same theme as Dick, I’ve always separated the Design Fee from the Layout Fee not only because it helps the client understand what I’m doing with their book, but because it creates a milestone in the process (I bill on the milestones) and there are sometimes clients who will buy just the design, and then have someone else do the page by page layout. If you’re interested, check my explanation for this at: http://bit.ly/2LaOTj
Thanks for the comments, Joel. There is a lot of misinformation among newcomers to publishing on the subject of book design and typesetting. Far too many think that all they need to do is learn how to use the tools and, voilá, they’re book designers (and then there are those who don’t even think having the right tools is necessary and insist on typesetting in MS Word).