Once you’ve written your book, getting the publishing process started is surprisingly simple.

Because laying out a book can be time-consuming and potentially expensive, we encourage our customers to provide us with digital files that are virtually ready to go to press. This means that your book is laid out on your screen exactly how you want it to look in print (see section xxxxxx for a basic guide to setting up a book as well as some hints and tips to make the process run smoothly), and done in a format that is compatible with digital printing.

Almost anyone with access to a computer has the necessary tools available to them to do this well. Most high-end desktop publishing software have professionally designed templates that make layout a breeze, and we encourage customers with access to these programs (such as QuarkXpress, Adobe Indesign, Adobe PageMaker, etc.) to take advantage of them. However, many new authors either don’t have access to these programs and don’t wish to spend a minimum of several hundred dollars on software that will be used only rarely.

Almost every modern pc has either Microsoft Word or Microsoft Publisher pre-installed. Both of these programs are more than capable of providing you with a professional layout. There are myriad other programs available, both off the shelf and customized, that can be used to lay out a book. Unfortunately, the more obscure or customized the program, the less likely it is that we will be able to use it in it’s native form. Still, many of these can convert their files into more common types.

The best way to provide your work to us is as a .pdf file. A .pdf file is the most stable, least problematic of virtually any multi-page document file. There are none of the problems inherent with some other files types. By sending a .pdf, you can be assured that what is printed will be identical to what you see on your screen.

Your book cover has three primary parts; a front cover, a back cover and a spine. Each piece must be made a specific size depending on the size of your book. Using precise measurements to create your cover is vital to the cost and final output of your book.

For example, a typical 51/2 x 81/2 150 page book printed on 60lb white offset paper requires a front and back cover sized 51/2 x 81/2 with 1/4 inch bleed on the three trimming sides and a spine of 1/2 inch width.

A cover can be created in any of a number of programs; Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw, QuarkXpress, Adobe Indesign, etc., and, in a pinch, even in MS Word. We can accept digital cover files in any of the above files types as well as pdfs, .tif, .eps, .jpg, .bmp, and many others. Your files need to be at least 150 dpi; anything less will produce grainy, blurred, or generally poor quality print. For maximun quality 300 dpi is preferred. Also, it is important to remember that one you provide the files to us, we will be unable to increase a low dpi document. The dpi must be set on the machine on which the file was created.

Templates

Addtional Information