Now that you have chosen an editor, it’s time to find a designer for your book. You will be looking for someone to do the layout of the edited manuscript, design your cover, and manipulate/format any other graphics that will be included in the book. Once again, the more research you put into your search, the better your end product will be.
Desktop Publishing
Desktop publishing (DTP) refers to the professional art of laying out publications for print—and sometimes Web—media. DTP platforms vary from the most basic (Microsoft Publisher) to more advanced. The first thing you will want to know in choosing a DTP professional is find out what platform they use to compose and design publications.
The most widely used program in the modern book publishing industry is the Adobe Creative Suite, with its flagship print design program, InDesign. Other programs include Quark Xpress, Adobe PageMaker, and Microsoft Publisher. Most designers work on a Macintosh platform, as opposed to PC. This is typically because Mac applications and operating systems cater to designers in ways that PCs don’t. Please keep this in mind if you are a PC user. The files you submit to your designer may have to be reformatted when transferred to a Mac-based program.
Specifications
You will want to inform your DTP specialist of the specifications of your book. If you are intending to self-publish for wide distribution, you will want to familiarize yourself with the standard book sizes for hard cover and paperback books (there will be more discussion on this in Part IV: Fees and Registrations for Self-Publishers). Inform the DTP specialist about what book size you have chosen, what type of paper, and whether it will be hard cover or paperback.
Any artwork that you send to the DTP specialist should be in a camera-ready format and sent as separate image files that are clearly marked in the text of your Word file. (DO NOT place graphics into your Word document; instead, follow the directions in Section I on how to alert the DTP specialist as to where graphics are to be placed in your book).
The DTP specialist will be creating a new version of your manuscript with encoded styles for paragraphs, fonts, and special inserts. Ask your DTP specialist for a mock-up of a sample chapter so that you can see what he/she has come up with. The best time to address formatting issues is at this time; anything that happens much later in the process will only cost you more money.
Make sure that all of the parts of your book are included in the files sent to your DTP specialist. This includes:
· Front Matter (table of contents, list of illustrations, copyright information, ISBN, dedication)
· Body (all chapter files for your book, clearly labeled)
· End Matter (Index entries, glossary, bibliography)
· Graphics (tables, charts, pictures, illustrations)
Graphic Design vs. Desktop Publishing
As mentioned before, DTP refers to the layout process for your manuscript. If you need someone to design or manipulate graphic images or pictures, you will more than likely need to seek out a graphic designer. In some instances, the DTP specialist may have the necessary skills. In others, you may need to seek an alternate person out for those tasks.
Proofreading Your Typeset Manuscript
Whenever possible, it is recommended that you seek out a professional proofreader (someone who reads over the “proof” of your typeset manuscript) to go over the files once they have been completed by the DTP specialist. Authors will typically over-critique their own work; a professional proofreader will look for the most important errors that need to be fixed prior to publication.
When looking for a proofreader, it is as important to follow the specifications listed in Section II, just as you would for editors. You are looking for someone with book experiences and who can conform to the editing style used by your editor. Proofreading and editing go hand in hand. But, whereas the editor is looking for stylistic issues in your writing, the proofreader is concentrating on the overall presentation of the typeset manuscript. They will be marking up the hard copy or PDF of the typeset manuscript. If your editor created a style sheet for your manuscript, you will want to hand that over to the proofreader.
The proofreader will resubmit the manuscript to your DTP specialist for corrections. After the corrections are made, you may involve the proofreader in another round of proofing.
In Section IV, we will learn about what you will need to do to register your book, upload your files, and prepare for printing.
