Book Design

Do you need a good book designer?

You’ve toiled away for months, working with an editor and polishing your manuscript to the best it can be. Now you can see the end is in sight, and you’re tempted to send the book to the printer as quickly as possible… But wait! In their hurry to self-publish many first-time authors overlook a crucial step: book design. A solid design can ensure your book gets noticed—and that it’s custom-tailored for its intended audience. That includes consideration of design elements such as typeface, margin widths, headers, and chapter starts—all of which work together to capture and reflect the essence of the book.

Unlike the “cookie-cutter” book designs used by many self-publishing companies, each of our designs is unique. We think typography matters. We don’t like pixilated photographs. We hate the abundant use of clip art in books. We don’t think anyone should ever—ever—print a book if it’s set in Comic Sans font.

Instead, we believe good book design, like writing and editing, is a process that requires creativity, consideration, and attention to detail. We work with professional book designers to create books that reflect the tone, genre, and subject of each book we help publish.

Does book design really matter?

The truth is people judge books by their covers all the time. And it’s not just a book’s cover that is important. At a subconscious level, a poorly designed book is just not enjoyable to read. It can be hard on the eyes, difficult to follow, or just plain old ugly.

As poet and typographer Robert Bringhurst so evocatively describes in his classic typography manual The Elements of Typographic Style:

“In a badly designed book, the letters mill and stand like starving horses in a field. In a book designed by rote, they sit like stale bread and mutton on the page. In a well-made book, where designer, compositor, and printer have all done their jobs, no matter how many thousands of lines and pages, the letters are alive. They dance in their seats. Sometimes they rise and dance in the margins and aisles.”

Why design your book with Black Swan Services?

• Our designs dance—and then some. We work with book designers whose work doesn’t just dance…it does the tango. Our designers are happy to share with you samples of their work so you can see for yourself what their designs are like before you commit to working with them.
  
  
• A range of options. Our designers give you a choice of up to three custom designs to choose from, for both the interior and cover of your book.
  
  
• High production values. We lay out our books according to the Chicago Manual of Style, the bible of the book-production world. All illustrations and photographs are carefully scanned for maximum reproduction values, and we use font faces that are legible, elegant, and reflective of the book’s content.
  
  
• Attention to detail. Once your book is laid out you will have a chance to review the design and suggest changes to it. It will also be read by a proofreader who will catch any inconsistencies in style or formatting, while keeping an eagle eye out for any other mistakes that might have slipped by unnoticed.
  
  
• Our book designs include:
  • Up to three book cover designs for you to choose from
  • Up to three interior designs for you to choose from
  • Image placement in text (if required)
  • Image acquisition and permission fees (if required)
  • Image reproduction (if required)
  • An ISBN and Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
  • Initial layout for author’s review
  • Second layout with author’s changes (if required)
  • Proofreading
  • Third layout with final changes
  • Printer-ready files
  
  
• If requested, we can also:
  • Provide advice on which kind of printer/self-publishing company best suits your needs (based on sales projections, budget, colour-reproduction needs, and your long-term goals for the book).
  • Printing quotes from printers (based on the above)
  • Management of the printing process (delivery of files, review of proofs, delivery of books, etc.)

Rates

Book design rates vary depending on the book designer you choose to work with. Generally, our book designs begin at $1,800 (for a 200-page text-only book).

For a book design quote, please email us and let us know your book’s word count, subject matter, the number of illustrations, and desired format (hardcover memoir, coffee table book, paperback novel, etc.).

Please note that we only design books that have been edited by a professional editor to our satisfaction.