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Writing In InDesign
It is a radical update with 150 more pages, a short course on typography, techniques for creating ePUBs, Kindle books, covers, and graphic within InDesign CS6
There's a FREE Preview at Scribd
There's a Kindle version also. There'll be an ePUB version out in late July. I thought I'd give KDP a shot at it.
________
This is a step by step personal sharing of the process of self-publishing using InDesign. It is written by a man with over 40 years of writing, graphic design, art direction and book design experience.
The purpose of the book is to help you publish a professional book which will communicate clearly with your readers and attract new readers.
There's a FREE Preview at Scribd
There's a Kindle version also. There'll be an ePUB version out in late July. I thought I'd give KDP a shot at it.
________
This is a step by step personal sharing of the process of self-publishing using InDesign. It is written by a man with over 40 years of writing, graphic design, art direction and book design experience.
The purpose of the book is to help you publish a professional book which will communicate clearly with your readers and attract new readers.
380 pages, Paperback
First published August 23, 2011
41 people are currently reading
46 people want to read
About the author
David Bergsland
126 books49 followersI've been a compulsive reader since I was eight years old. It's not uncommon for me to read a book or more a day. I became a fine artist during my hippie days from 1967-71. After graduation from U of Minn, I almost immediately got into publishing, first as an illustrator, then as a graphic designer, then a typographer, art director, instructor, program director, author, font designer, online teacher, self-publisher. All the while I did some art, wrote a lot, and kept myself busy.
My main blog and Website is The Skilled Workman which covers resources for publishing books and ebooks with InDesign, plus training for designing fonts.
These days it's primarily a solid food believers site.
The spiritual blog is
Reality Calling which covers my Christian writing and books, plus the books of authors I represent and/or design for.
I sell my fonts at MyFonts.com for the most part, but also at fonts.com
My main blog and Website is The Skilled Workman which covers resources for publishing books and ebooks with InDesign, plus training for designing fonts.
These days it's primarily a solid food believers site.
The spiritual blog is
Reality Calling which covers my Christian writing and books, plus the books of authors I represent and/or design for.
I sell my fonts at MyFonts.com for the most part, but also at fonts.com
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 16, 2013
I received this book as a gift from the author. David Bergland has challenged me to think beyond the writing, editing, and cover design of a book. He has written this book to explain how an author can create a whole package, a whole presentation, step by step, in easy to follow lessons, with plenty of room for beginners and experienced InDesign users to gather around and get better. Many authors talk about the challenges of just getting their books into print. But think it through for a moment. You wrote and polished the book. Do you just hand it over to someone who doesn't understand, perhaps doesn't even care, about its content and how you want the world to receive it? Consider acquiring the tools and skills David carefully explains in this book to design your presentation, your first impression, if you will, as carefully as you worked to create your story in the first place.
February 9, 2019
This was an all-around ok book. My only complaint is that it really wasn't what was promised by the title "Writing In InDesign."
If you are looking for a book that gives you the ins and outs of using InDesign as your software, there are other books out there that can better satisfy that need - "InDesign CS5 For Dummies" (or similar offerings in the For Dummies series of books) and "InDesign CS5" (by Sandee Cohen which is in the Visual Quickstart series of books) to mention just two. The "Writing In InDesign (WII)" book is not really helpful for actually writing in the software. Yes, it does give a few generalities on how to accomplish that, but it is not a how to book on InDesign. But that is not to say WII is of no use.
This book is more of a primer on self-publishing. The book touches on typography, book design, becoming your own publisher, cover design, marketing your book, graphics, ePUBlishing, fonts, document setup, character styles, body copy, heads and subheads, front and back matter, ISBNs, and a host of other things - all helpful and concerned with putting your book together and self-publishing it but only distantly related to actually writing in the software. So, the book earns points for providing a background on self-publishing but loses points on not being titled most effectively.
If you are looking for a book that gives you the ins and outs of using InDesign as your software, there are other books out there that can better satisfy that need - "InDesign CS5 For Dummies" (or similar offerings in the For Dummies series of books) and "InDesign CS5" (by Sandee Cohen which is in the Visual Quickstart series of books) to mention just two. The "Writing In InDesign (WII)" book is not really helpful for actually writing in the software. Yes, it does give a few generalities on how to accomplish that, but it is not a how to book on InDesign. But that is not to say WII is of no use.
This book is more of a primer on self-publishing. The book touches on typography, book design, becoming your own publisher, cover design, marketing your book, graphics, ePUBlishing, fonts, document setup, character styles, body copy, heads and subheads, front and back matter, ISBNs, and a host of other things - all helpful and concerned with putting your book together and self-publishing it but only distantly related to actually writing in the software. So, the book earns points for providing a background on self-publishing but loses points on not being titled most effectively.
July 20, 2012
A review from Amazon written by Pastor Dean Williams:
I purchased the 1300 dollar InDesign program and found that I didn’t have a clue how to use all the power. Mr. Bergsland has made it his personal purpose to introduce anyone who is in this fix to the techniques and art of typography, while at the same time encouraging writing and publishing.
The subtitle for this book might be “A Philosophy for Writers In Service to Readers.” Although the primary purpose of this manual on the use of the InDesign program from Adobe is to instruct the reader in the use of its features, the overall effect is to instruct writers generally about improving communication. The material is couched in a set of principles encouraging a writer to serve his fans with a pleasant look that is easy to read. This book is primarily for writers who produce non-fiction books, but will work for fiction, who want control not only of the content, but also the look, feel, and profits of the publishing process.
Writing in InDesign is divided into two sections. The first part is concerned with using the program as a writer: how to go about writing content directly into a formatted book. Personally, I still prefer to use a text editor or word processor first, then loading the text into InDesign, but I am keeping an open mind about making the leap to putting the words directly into InDesign. I have found that Adobe has made it fairly easy to make this transfer, but the process is not covered in this book.
This first part of the book is filled with writing tips, encouragement, time management advice, defining an audience, and an approach to the reader. He integrates this with the processes needed to accomplish and enhance both the pleasure and the utility of the reader. There are numerous illustrations of the program, the fonts, and the print options available to a writer.
Mr. Bergsland also includes methodologies he has developed over his forty years in the business of making books and teaching others to be efficient with new technology. He shares the kind of work habits and set ups that will make for more efficient production. And although the author is a Macophile, I have installed CS6 on a windows platform and the material is easily applicable on a PC.
The second half of the book consists of five appendices that are of a more technical nature. The subjects covered are placed in separate standalone sections so that a writer may focus on the area needed at the time, or skip those areas already familiar to the writer. He covers effective typography theory and application to the modern era. His knowledge of the history of the art is apparent. Other appendices cover graphics, how to approach designing a cover for a book, working with suppliers, and how to make a conversion to electronic media without sacrificing control of the work.
At the end the user of this book is inspired with a sense that with time, hard work, and a willingness to learn, he or she can find success in service to readers. Many thanks to David Bergsland for providing a book that gives hope to writers and small publishers. We can serve our niche audiences without big names and big budgets.
This book is important in the changing environment that surrounds most writers. I was at a Writer’s Conference not long ago. On one of the panels of publishers, nearly every one of the representatives recommended that writers, particularly new writers, market test their ideas and styles through electronic publishing. This is an odd development in the publishing world. David Bergsland tells you how to get it done.
I purchased the 1300 dollar InDesign program and found that I didn’t have a clue how to use all the power. Mr. Bergsland has made it his personal purpose to introduce anyone who is in this fix to the techniques and art of typography, while at the same time encouraging writing and publishing.
The subtitle for this book might be “A Philosophy for Writers In Service to Readers.” Although the primary purpose of this manual on the use of the InDesign program from Adobe is to instruct the reader in the use of its features, the overall effect is to instruct writers generally about improving communication. The material is couched in a set of principles encouraging a writer to serve his fans with a pleasant look that is easy to read. This book is primarily for writers who produce non-fiction books, but will work for fiction, who want control not only of the content, but also the look, feel, and profits of the publishing process.
Writing in InDesign is divided into two sections. The first part is concerned with using the program as a writer: how to go about writing content directly into a formatted book. Personally, I still prefer to use a text editor or word processor first, then loading the text into InDesign, but I am keeping an open mind about making the leap to putting the words directly into InDesign. I have found that Adobe has made it fairly easy to make this transfer, but the process is not covered in this book.
This first part of the book is filled with writing tips, encouragement, time management advice, defining an audience, and an approach to the reader. He integrates this with the processes needed to accomplish and enhance both the pleasure and the utility of the reader. There are numerous illustrations of the program, the fonts, and the print options available to a writer.
Mr. Bergsland also includes methodologies he has developed over his forty years in the business of making books and teaching others to be efficient with new technology. He shares the kind of work habits and set ups that will make for more efficient production. And although the author is a Macophile, I have installed CS6 on a windows platform and the material is easily applicable on a PC.
The second half of the book consists of five appendices that are of a more technical nature. The subjects covered are placed in separate standalone sections so that a writer may focus on the area needed at the time, or skip those areas already familiar to the writer. He covers effective typography theory and application to the modern era. His knowledge of the history of the art is apparent. Other appendices cover graphics, how to approach designing a cover for a book, working with suppliers, and how to make a conversion to electronic media without sacrificing control of the work.
At the end the user of this book is inspired with a sense that with time, hard work, and a willingness to learn, he or she can find success in service to readers. Many thanks to David Bergsland for providing a book that gives hope to writers and small publishers. We can serve our niche audiences without big names and big budgets.
This book is important in the changing environment that surrounds most writers. I was at a Writer’s Conference not long ago. On one of the panels of publishers, nearly every one of the representatives recommended that writers, particularly new writers, market test their ideas and styles through electronic publishing. This is an odd development in the publishing world. David Bergsland tells you how to get it done.
December 4, 2012
Where do I even begin with this one? Yes, there are a few useful things about the technical details of InDesign and epub, but there are other places to find out about that. No, what really rankles is the fact that, for a book on layout and typography, the layout and especially typography in this book are awful. As in, "endorses using Papyrus and causes eye strain" awful.
Sure, part of it is that, this being a book on book design, you pay attention to the book design—the book itself should be an exemplar of good design principles. To be fair, if a book this poorly designed were on any other topic, it might be that I'd only notice the difficulty I had in reading it or the oddly placed graphic elements. This isn't a book on any other topic, though.
There are many other books on design and typography on the market. Many, perhaps most, of them are at least good. I hate saying this, but this one isn't.
Sure, part of it is that, this being a book on book design, you pay attention to the book design—the book itself should be an exemplar of good design principles. To be fair, if a book this poorly designed were on any other topic, it might be that I'd only notice the difficulty I had in reading it or the oddly placed graphic elements. This isn't a book on any other topic, though.
There are many other books on design and typography on the market. Many, perhaps most, of them are at least good. I hate saying this, but this one isn't.
July 23, 2014
Hard for a book on computer software to be a fascinating read but this one by David Bergsland certainly is. You not only learn what to do but also why, including in some case historical context. Great read for learners.
January 8, 2013
This is the latest edition of this book bringing it up to date with InDesign CS6, the most recent versions of Amazon's Kindle KF8 export plug-in, and including Kobo Writing Life.
September 14, 2014
What a great book for pro.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews