Putting Your Best Foot Forward: Professional Book Design

You’re in a bookstore or at an event looking at a book and it’s so poorly designed that it’s distracting to you and you choose not to buy it. I’ve had this happen so many times that I want to write the authors and tell them about our book design services before they print their books again. Whether a book is designed by a mainstream publisher or is self-published, the design needs to look clean and professional.

Image courtesy of ChangeOrder on Flickr under Creative Common

            Look at that book you’re holding in your hands. The pictures are out of focus, the type is hard to read, there are glaring mistakes, and there’s not enough white space for your eyes to rest. The book isn’t any fun to hold and it doesn’t look inviting. A good book design is like a good backstage crew in a play. They’ve created the look of the stage and are there to support the story and move things around but you don’t notice them. They blend into the background or stay behind the scenes. A good book design supports the story so well you don’t give it a second thought. The story is center stage, not the distracting blurry photograph on the cover. When a book design is done well, you assume the author is as professional as the look of the book. You assume the author knows their subject well and that it’s worth your time to give weight to their words.

            When you’re working on publishing a book, take the time to find a good, professional book designer and invest the money for a nice cover and attractive inner pages. The small touches a professional book designer will put in will go a long way toward being able to market your book once it’s printed and bookstores will take you far more seriously knowing you’ve put the time and effort into a professional design.

            For more information about creating a professional book, read our blog post, “Why a Book Designer?”