We are lucky enough to work hand-in-hand with a lot of authors on their books from start to finish. Our creative team have vast experience in book design and thrive at enhancing and immersing themselves in the written word. Working with the wonderful Clive Williams OBE on his latest title ‘The Cravens’ was a great example of this, and we thought we’d give you a guided tour of the process. If you are thinking about getting your own book produced, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
STEP 1: IDEAS PITCH
After a quick telephone call explaining his status and aims, Clive visited our Brentford office.
Loaded up with reference material, Clive supplied us his manuscript in Word format, with a healthy amount of imagery and elements to be scanned and added in to the book. After the meeting, our team worked out a likely page count, best format options, and offered up pricing options based on different amounts of copies. Our Estimators match our design team for experience, and offered up paperback and hardback options.
Clive asked us to produce his title at the ‘Pinched Crown Quarto’ size of 248x170, based on his previous publications.
STEP 2: BOOK DESIGN
The exciting part begins! Words are imported and reformatted in Adobe Indesign, photos are scanned and set up in Photoshop. A cover design is drafted, based on discussions at the pitch.
Vital style elements for the book are established at this stage:
Formatting of headings and adding folio numbers
Contents pages
Consistent typefaces and font sizes for body copy and chapter headers
all based on years of experience in best legibility and readership practices. An ISBN number is purchased (if required) and the barcode added to the cover.
Crafting a great book is a magical skill, and one that comes together based on all of these aspects intertwining. Adobe Garamond 12pt is selected for body copy and Palatino bold 24pt is the choice of headers for ‘The Cravens’. A first draft proof is created and a PDF sent back to Clive for checking.
STEP 3: PROOFING
Clive and his proof-readers go through the initial PDF, and note back any amends and quirks that need taking care of. Usually, there are 3 or 4 rounds of amends at this stage, allowing for fixing up typos, the odd misplaced comma and vital elements like making sure captions go with the right photos. At this stage, an index is plotted and added at the back of the book, so that the reader can easily find any surnames or reference points of interest.
Clive’s books also include a detailed family tree and maps that compliment the story of The Cravens. These are produced as ‘tip-ins’ that concertina out of the book, adding extra interaction for the reader and extra checking for the spelling of names and places for the proof-reader and designer!
After it is carefully checked via both electronic and a fully bound printed proof, approval for full print run is given.
STEP 4: PRINTING & BINDING
Like any great author, Clive was aware very early on just how vital the next stage was to his book, and he brought samples of titles for us to reference at the pitch. He opts for 130gsm silk paper for the text, offering a sharp and bright dynamic to compliment his hard work and adding a superior depth to the pages. Our Xerox iGen5 and its class leading print quality is put to work printing copy after copy of the 300 page title.
‘The Cravens’ is produced as a section sewn hardback, a timeless book format, offering superior binding that lays flat giving a very pleasing reader experience. Our binders spring into action - each copy is sewn in sections of 16 pages - taking great care to make sure everything is produced to the exacting standards of a 102 year old bookbinding company.
Once the hardback covers are attached, our quality control team get their glasses on and go through each copy, checking the finished book is perfect!
STEP 4: COLLECTION
Sometimes, a picture says more than words!
We offer every range of courier service to suit our clients needs, but Clive elected to pop along to say hello and collect the books himself.
Full dedication… and rather full car!
STEP 4: THE BOOK LAUNCH
All the hard work pays off. The book launch is a great success and Clive is already seeing fantastic sales on his title with more updates to follow on ‘The Cravens’ soon..
‘The Cravens’ is £30, plus £3.50 p&p. To order a copy, contact Clive Williams at 01491 671631 or 07974 314929 or email clivewilliams@gmx.co.uk.
Looking at producing your own book and not sure where to start with combining the words and pictures, or coming up with a cover design? Want to work together with a friendly professional design team who can make your ideas a reality? Email us for more info.
