The first goal of book interior design is to make absolutely certain that the design does not interfere with readability – and this is more complicated than it sounds. But design can accomplish more than just a professional look that will please the eye of potential readers.
Book interior design can actually maximize profits by cutting production costs, can fundamentally improve the reader experience, and catch the eye of new readers considering buying your book. In other words, it is an essential book design step, part of a broader effort that shouldn’t end with the cover design.
Many authors may not realize this, but print-on-demand services will sometimes charge about 1.2 cents per page, in addition to a fixed cost per book. In one example, Izzard reduced the page count 24 pages from an earlier version, and saved $0.264 per book, even with the addition of a 26-page index. This adds up quickly when printing a lot of books, and when you’re trying to make your business plan work, every little bit counts.
But the first concern for any author going into the book interior design process is how their book will look when it’s finished.
A professional designer will be able to offer a range of looks for your book’s interior, from traditional to modern to minimalistic, all without letting the design get in the way of the reader’s experience. A professional will have a range of time-tested best practices at their disposal.
Best Practices For Book Interior Design
For example, design professionals will use a small number of simple and compatible fonts to keep the book readable and avoid an over-designed appearance. When choosing fonts, they will err on the side of boring and conventional. Readability is more important than style here. Certain fonts, like Garamond, Janson, Caslon, and Minion, were designed specifically for books.
These are often the best choice. Choosing the right size text is key as well. While 11-point is the standard, it’s best to aim for 10 to 15 words per line. Designers will also consider the relationship between the size of the type and the column width, as well as the size of the space between lines of type.
Roomy margins, and a wide enough middle “gutter” space so the book can be opened easily, are key to ensure readability. The first line of paragraphs should be indented.
This is not an exhaustive list by any stretch – just a short sampling to help you understand the sorts of concerns interior design deals with, and the pitfalls of trying to do it all yourself. Book design is an entire profession unto itself, and for a professional-quality book, you’ll want to leave this step to someone who has made a career out of book interior design.
Common Interior Design Mistakes
In fact, interior design mistakes are one of the hallmarks of amateur, mediocre self-publishing. Many self-publishers think book design is a great place to save money, and they take a do-it-yourself approach.
Much of the vast quantity of mediocre self-published work contains telltale mistakes that result from this strategy, such as odd-numbered pages placed on the left-hand side, margins that are too small for readers to hold the book without obscuring text, omission of a copyright page or other front matter, not hyphenating-text and leaving gaps and spaces, and using running heads on chapter opening pages.
Widows, which occur when the first line of a paragraph is left by itself at the very bottom of a page, and orphans, when the last line of a paragraph is pushed alone onto the top of the next page, should both be avoided.
These kinds of mistakes will ensure your book stays in a league with the many lower-quality self-published books that hit the market each year. If you want a chance to publish a bestseller, and to compete with high-quality, traditionally published books, you need professional, expert help with book interior design.
Izzard’s Interior Design Process
After your cover design is complete, Izzard’s book design professionals will offer an interior design concept that complements your cover design choice, with one revision available.
Right before it’s time to publish, Izzard’s book quality checklist will look for common mistakes, to ensure your final publication is a high-quality product that bookstores will want to sell and that readers will want to read. We also ensure that your book is properly formatted and ready to print for whatever printer you’ve chosen.
Cover design is glamorous and hard to ignore. But in the long run, interior design can be equally vital to sales, reviews, and the long-term success of your book. After all, it won’t go far if readers have trouble making it to the end thanks to design errors.
Izzard will offer you the help of professional designers who will use time-tested design strategies to make sure your book looks professional, and stays enjoyable for the long-haul while taking into account your own preferences for the look of your book’s interior. This is a crucial step to publishing a book of bestseller-quality.
