Book Design Decisions for Your Memoir or Family History II
Nan Barnes
In our last post we looked at decisions self-publishing authors must make about book covers and binding. Today we’ll focus on decisions about what’s inside.
For design purposes, a book is divided into three sections. You must decide what content features you want in each section. Options include:
You may decide that all or none of these features should be part of your book.
Next you have decisions to make regarding the appearance of the books content. These begin with type font and size. Page layout involves deciding on margins, headings, and the number and placement of photos and other illustrations.
In making these decisions you should keep two questions in mind about your design choices:
For design purposes, a book is divided into three sections. You must decide what content features you want in each section. Options include:
- Front Section: table of contents, forward, preface, acknowledgements, dedication, introduction.
- Body: chapters, sections, books
- Back Section: epilogue, afterword, appendix, bibliography, index
You may decide that all or none of these features should be part of your book.
Next you have decisions to make regarding the appearance of the books content. These begin with type font and size. Page layout involves deciding on margins, headings, and the number and placement of photos and other illustrations.
In making these decisions you should keep two questions in mind about your design choices:
- How do they complement the stories you are telling in the book?
- How do they enhance the experience of the person reading your book?