Book Layout & Design

A beautifully designed book is important to your success as an author. With a professional design, it will not only make reading easier for a buyer, but a professional layout will stand out among the competition and let people know you are a serious author.

As a professional book designer, I love taking the manuscript into which you have poured your time and energy and returning to you a beautiful book you can be proud of, one that reflects your talent and the importance of your story.

Fiction

With a professional design, the layout will not only draw your readers into the story, but a beautifully created layout will stand out among the competition.

Memoir

With personal stories and family history, we can create a book that is both stunning and professional with how the text is laid out and the design of photographs.

Children's

Children’s books have vastly different styles of design to fit with their stories and the design of your book should reflect the imaginative adventure you’re inviting the child to take.

Non Fiction

As a professional book designer, I love taking the manuscript into which you have poured your time and energy and return to you a beautiful book you can be proud of.

Poetry

Each poet has a different style and way of sharing themselves with the world. The design of your book should match that style and reflect what you’re trying to say as a writer.

Photography

Well-designed photography books show off the pictures inside and the person, family, or project that created them. With headings, text, and captions, I'll create a book beautifully displaying your work.

Creative Design

Every book is unique and the interior should be as well. For each book I design, I start from scratch, creating graphics, setting the type, and creatively presenting all the information to grab your readers' attention.

Fast Turnaround

As an author myself, I know how tight publishing deadlines can be, especially when it comes to self-publishing. One of my specialties is working quickly to get your cover to you so you can start promoting the book's release.

Personal Attention

I am always here to work directly with you on your book and to answer any questions you have about the self-publishing process. Reachable by phone, email, video conference, or in person, I am always available to talk.

Frequently asked questions

To design your book, I’ll need the entire manuscript from beginning to end including all the front and back material such as the introduction and acknowledgements. In addition, I need information including the title, subtitle, author, publishing company, copyright information. Lastly, I need the book cover to incorporate into the design.

I am a self-publisher just like you! I learned how to layout a book, code ebooks, and design covers through working on my own five books as well as designing for other authors. It is truly my favorite work to do. When publishing this way, you are own publisher, keeping all the rights and royalties, and you hire me for the services you need to create your book such as cover design, ebook coding, and page layout. I can even upload your files and work with your printer.

Once we’ve talked and you’ve sent me all the material, the signed contract, and the deposit to start the project, I will create three possible designs for you to look at and give feedback on. I’ll then create one design based on your choices and once we agree to the look, I will then lay out the entire book in Adobe InDesign and send the a PDF file for you to go through with a fine tooth comb for any last editorial changes. After two rounds of changes, I will send you the final packaged files. As my guarantee, I always make sure you are thrilled with the results!

Whenever I design an interior or code an ebook, I design it to match the cover so it is all one cohesive look.

Once your book is complete, you’ll receive all the PDF files so you can upload them to online distributors. I’m also a firm believer the author should have all the design files for archival purposes and for any changes down the road so I package and deliver everything you’ll need. I will also keep all the files in my own archives so your design is never lost.

I do! I love working on book covers! For more information, please see my cover design page.

In addition to designing print books, I would be happy to code a matching ebook for you as well. Each format has its own design requirements and formatting needs. If I know you would like both formats, I will first design the print book then the ebook so they can be uploaded at the same time. 

Yes, I can certainly upload the book for you on whatever websites you would like. All you will need to do is open the account and send me the login and password. That way you are the only one handling your bank information. Thus, when Amazon sells your book, they will send it to the buyer and deposit the money in your account. I also have a lot of experience working with printers and am happy to oversee your book through their proofing process.

Having a book professionally designed makes a world of difference in how seriously people will take you as an author and how much attention they will give to your book. Though most people can’t name them, professionally designed books have certain qualities that, unfortunately, many self-published authors don’t know about much less know how to design. From graphic details incorporating your cover, to spacing, font choices, and layout, I know how to make your book look fantastic and easy for people to read.

Yes, I can absolutely include images in your book along with any captions. I can even make sure all the images are sized correctly with the right color type for a printer.

The amount of time to design a book depends on the details of the manuscript. A layout with a lot of headings, subheadings, section breaks, and images will take longer to lay out than a simple fiction book with a chapter number and text. For a quote on your specific manuscript, please see the investment section below or contact me and I will be happy to provide you with a quote.

I would love to talk with you about your book project. Please contact me via the contact form, phone, or email and we can start the conversation.

The Design Process

Step 1

We’ll talk about your ideas for the book cover and sign an agreement to start work.

Step 2

I’ll create three different designs for you to look at and give me feedback on.

Step 3

Based on your feedback, I’ll create one new design with two rounds of changes.

Step 4

You approve the final design and I upload your finished book.

Portfolio

Investment

The amount of time it takes to design and layout a book, and thus the cost, depends on the details of the manuscript.

A layout with a lot of headings, subheadings, section breaks, and images will take longer to create than a simple fiction book with a chapter number and text.

I understand as an author myself, though, that gaining an idea of cost is important so listed below are the costs for three different book designs I have recently completed and what was included. For a quote on your specific manuscript, please contact me and I will be happy to provide you with a quote.

 

$550

Non Fiction
Book

$940

Fiction Book

$1,370

poetry book

Authors like you have said...

"Thank you for the wonderful editing, book and cover design. I continue to marvel at how beautiful the book is and what good work you and I did together!"
Nancy Richard
Gathered in Love and Light
"Sarah made the bewildering process of self-publishing my first book of fiction less frightening and ultimately manageable. She is that knowledgeable friend we all want to help guide us through the editing and design issues to the final product. It would have been so much more difficult without her."
"I enjoyed working with Sarah on producing the interior layout. She chose beautiful fonts, headers, and spacing to best capture the tone and intention of each word within the book. Additionally, Sarah was extremely thorough and fast. As a marketing professional who works with world-class designers, I was impressed with both the accuracy and turnaround time on this project. The final product turned out beautifully."
"Sarah surprised me several times with new, useful information I didn’t have. While providing me with critical advice and information about the best toolkit for marketing and recruiting support for my book, she brought a well-informed and strategic intelligence to my planning. I feel so smart I got her on board, because she’s a great asset."
Derek Lamson
Graphic Novel

Questions?

If you have any questions or would like me to design your book, I would love to talk with you.