how to use book design templates
Book Design, Self-Publishing

Save Time (and Money) with Book Design Templates

This post is about saving time and how to use book design templates yourself. But, if you’re a professional, you’ll probably want to hire a book designer. Why? Because great book designers match the typeface to the cover and they think about the whole book’s look and feel. They can’t use a template for that, except as a starting point for size and margins. The other reason is because they are pros at it. First of all, I can’t mind-read whether you are using MS Word, InDesign, or Pages. (If you’re considering another program, like Publisher, for book design, it’s probably not a great idea). For fairness, we’ll talk about each one. Personal Fave: InDesign Yes, there are some benefits to subscribing to Adobe InDesign, and one of them is a selection of instantly downloadable ‘sort of free’ fonts. (The…
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Author Assist Packages Comparison Review

Author Assist Packages Comparison

If you’re part way into writing your book, it’s time to think about who is going to help put together your book and administrate it. This is a giant step but is often left to emotion and chance. So read our Author Assistance Package comparison review (Australian based). Check down the bottom for DIY administration + freelancers option, which is the model for intrepid independent types. Most author assistance packages leave out the most important service—editing (and writing support). Book publicity and launch planning is usually either an add-on or ‘find your way in the darkness’, but really important for you, the author. Remember, no matter how little you may know about the publishing process, you are in control of the path before you. Let’s make it a good one. Publicious: Package 3 + Editing added Gold Coast, Australia. Book…
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Book Design MS Word vs InDesign
Book Design, Self-Publishing

Book Design Knockdown: MS Word vs Adobe InDesign

Lately, a few talented writers have contacted me with their pre-press production problems. Now, most new authors want to typeset their non-fiction book in Word, but Word is designed for word processing and not so much for book design. However, some authors want to be able to access the file again — and if they are not worried about the colours (inside) not being controlled, then there are workarounds. But Adobe InDesign is the industry standard for book design, so let’s discuss MS Word vs Adobe Indesign. Remember, the interior of any book is completely separate to the cover. To dispel another myth, you can print bleed images right to the edge of your file (when setting up for IngramSpark or CreateSpace) and no, you don’t need to have a border. Bleed means going beyond the page (e.g. 3mm beyond). What you need…
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Types of Interactive eBooks
Self-Publishing

Two Types of Interactive eBooks that you can Make

You might already know there are two kinds of eBooks: Fixed Format and Reflowable. Fixed format suits grand layouts with images, whereas reflowable ebooks suits 90% of text-based books.  There are also two types of interactive ebooks:  ePub and PDF. Today I set about making an Interactive ePub from a plain fixed format, directly in InDesign. While there are many more elements to discover, I think I’ve got the hang of animations and buttons. There is a handy Adobe InDesign tutorial to learn how to add animations, slide shows, and buttons to an ePub. I noticed that their “workspace” is designated as ePub, whereas my CC 2017 version says “Interactive”. This workspace helps to bring up the right menus on the side. I find it fun to put some animated graphics on pages that were blank, or where I wanted to illustrate the words.…
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Writing Habits with AI
Self-Publishing

The Skinny on Book Formatting

Most independent authors rightly think that they have to format their print book in a classic, consistent style. But many are worried that employing a book designer will cost them plenty, with custom formatting of interiors running from $500 to $900 or more, depending upon how many images to improve and insert. Half-Price Book Formatting While you could spend many hours learning Adobe InDesign or advanced Microsoft Word, there is a third alternative. Power of Words can show you some different designs. Then, using a pre-made template and the skills to tie the front cover typeface to the interior, we’ll deliver you a well-designed book interior at half the usual design price (around $300 – 400, also depending on length/complexity). To complement this design, we suggest the services of NGirlDesign, who charges only A$220 for a simple book cover, including…
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