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What’s the difference between design and formatting?
Design involves putting together the visual aspects of a book. Book designers consider how the tone of a book will inform its visual style and how the content (text and image) can be arranged to work in cohesion. They take into account layout, typography, text flow, reader experience, branding, accessibility and marketability.
Formatting is more technical: it involves creating the right file type for each printer or online distribution platform. Formatting considers file size and everything necessary for the book to print or display correctly (resolution, bleed, margins, etc).
Why hire a professional book designer?
You should consider hiring a professional book designer if:
• You intend to sell your book to the public. If you would like people to pay money for a copy of your book, what you have is a product that needs to compete with similar titles in the marketplace – including those from traditional publishing houses and other independent publishers. It’s a crowded market out there – whether on Amazon or the shelf of your local bookstore – and people absolutely do judge a book by its cover. Your story might be fantastic but a potential reader may never make it to the first sentence if you can’t catch their attention with a great visual first.
• Your illustrator is not a graphic designer. Here’s the thing: while illustration and graphic design are both visual mediums – and there’s a whole lot of overlap – they have their own respective skill sets. Yes, there are many talented people who can do both but it’s not the norm. If the illustrator’s goal is to create a beautiful piece of art, then the book designer’s goal is to make that piece of art work alongside other elements on the page in a functional and marketable context. We have some neat tricks up our sleeves involving typography, composition, colour theory, visual hierarchy and user psychology principles. It breaks my little designer heart every time I see a book cover with great illustration but a nearly-illegible title, or a book page where the text has been placed haphazardly on top of the artwork. If your illustrator doesn’t know what a gutter is or how to correctly use a ligature glyph, it might be time to hire a graphic designer.
Can you publish my book / can you help me get a publishing deal?
This is not a publishing company and I cannot help you get a publishing deal.
The standard way to be traditionally published is to submit query letter to a literary agent or directly to a publisher that accepts submissions. You might want to hire an experienced editor to review your manuscript before submitting. Reedsy has some good information here: How to Publish a Children’s Book: A Guide for First-Time Authors
Note: a legitimate publishing house will never ask an author for money. However, there are predatory companies that ask authors for payment in exchange for “publishing” their book. The packages that they offer are extremely expensive and generally produce low quality products – and no real marketing. If a company’s all-in-one publishing package looks tempting, take a moment to reach out to their previous customers for honest feedback. It’s also a good idea to compare it to quotes for individual services (editing, illustration, design, marketing) from trusted professionals – you may find that it’s more cost effective and the quality much higher.
It’s worth familiarising yourself with common publishing shams and scams:
• Writer Beware
• Book Publishers to Avoid (and Other Shady Author Scams)
• What is Hybrid Publishing? Expectations vs Reality
I want to submit my book to a publisher. Do I need to hire a book designer?
If your goal is to secure a publishing deal, you don’t need to hire a book designer or illustrator.
When publishing houses develop books, they hire their own designers and illustrators to work directly on them. (That’s what I do when I’m not working with indie authors – I design books for publishers.)
How do I find an illustrator for my book?
I like to use Behance, Reddit and Instagram to find new artists. Keep in mind that some art can be technically well done but isn’t suitable to use as children’s book illustration.
When you approach artists, let them know your artwork budget, proposed schedule, how many pages of artwork will be needed, the trimmed page size and who will be retaining the copyright (expect to pay more if you are). If they have more than one style of illustration, be clear on which style you were interested in. Make sure you and your illustrator have a solid, signed contract that outlines both of your expectations and usage rights.
Pricewise, illustration can cost between $3000-$8000 for a 32 page book by a mid-range artist. Spend what you can, as your book’s artwork is one of the biggest factors in its sellability. Artwork takes time: expect your illustration to take anywhere from 3-6 months to be completed.
I’d like to self-publish but don’t know where to start. Where do I find information?
Fortunately there’s a wealth of information online about how to self-publish a children’s book, both free and paid. Here are some that I recommend:
• The Children’s Book Authors and Illustrators: Publishing, Marketing and Selling Facebook group is a fantastic resource and lively community. Make sure to use the search function to see if a question you have has already been answered.
• The Self-Publishing Made Simple with April Cox YouTube Channel