If you are a writer working with a publisher (large or small) or if you are a small or first time publisher, this book will help you understand the book production process and the principles of good cover and interior book design. It will allow you to look at a book design and immediately see the common errors and to see that a book is following the traditions of good book design that gives credibility to your message. Whether you do the work yourself or hire it done, this book will help you get your book done right. Use this book to guide you through the bookd design and production process.
This book clearly explains the art of designing a presentable and professionally typeset book. It explains what separates amateur typesetting (as so often seen of lulu and createspace print books) and what Random House put out. All things that are often hard to put a finger on but you know the difference is there when you see it. As a result, I purchased Adobe Indesign, and have typeset all my manuscripts as flawless as possible into high quality "web offset print ready" PDF form.
The most useful part of this book was it's extensive glossary, comprising about 1/3 of the entire book. As one who was completely new to self-publishing, it was there that I was able to located almost every term I needed to understand for book design and production. Other information in the book centered around specific issues of the actual book designer and thus was not as pertinent to me.
Superb resource for the author who wants to be professional about self-publishing. Right combination of history, technical, and artistic information. The finished manuscript is the easy part.