A Peek at Our Book Cover Review Service

Some of you may already know that 1106 Design offers a comprehensive book cover review service. This service is for any author or publisher who would like an objective, outside opinion about the suitability of their cover design…in essence, a review before publication, when there’s still time to fix any problems.

We thought you might like to see an actual transcript from a recent review: The text under the headline in each of the 10 “mistake” categories details the book industry standard requirement(s) for that category. Our evaluation is below the asterisks.

First, here are the front and back covers:

Dear Charlette,

Thank you for the opportunity to review the book cover design for
Peace in the Heart and Home. Following is our review of your book cover.

1. COVER DESIGN MISTAKE #1: THE BOOK COVER DESIGN DOES NOT FIT ITS
GENRE.

Buyers, distributors and retailers favor books that “belong” in
their genre. A history book should look different than a cookbook or a
spiritual book. Most of all, the book cover should look like current
bestsellers in its category. Does this cover look like it belongs in
its genre?

***

The beautiful type and the lotus image are very much in keeping with
self-help books.

Your cover rating: Excellent

2. COVER DESIGN MISTAKE #2: THE BOOK COVER DESIGN IS NOT APPROPRIATE
FOR THE TARGET AUDIENCE.

A book cover should be designed to appeal to those most likely to
buy it. A book that contains fashion advice for teenage girls should
look different than a book targeted to CEOs. Is this cover appropriate
for the intended audience?

***

The cover is excellent in this regard as well. The overall design
does say “peace” to the prospective buyer.

Your cover rating: Excellent

3. COVER DESIGN MISTAKE #3: THE BOOK COVER ELEMENTS ARE POORLY
ORGANIZED.

A book cover is like a billboard. It must communicate its message
to the buyer quickly and efficiently…in less than 7 seconds, in
fact. A book cover that contains too many elements can confuse the
prospective buyer and fail to communicate any message at all. The
elements should be arranged so that the buyer’s eye moves logically
from the most important to the least important information. Is this
cover properly organized so that it “reads” quickly and effectively?

***

The cover elements are well organized and easy to read. The eye moves
methodically from the title, to the subtitle, to the lotus image. The
dark-colored tile at the bottom anchors the design, and makes the
reader focus first at the top.

Your cover rating: Excellent

4. COVER DESIGN MISTAKE #4: THE BOOK TITLE AND/OR IMAGES DO NOT TELL
THE BUYER WHAT THE BOOK IS ABOUT.

As the author, you know all about your book. But the buyer
doesn’t know anything…yet. We have to tell the buyer, in an instant,
what the book is about. Is the title of this book informative? Does it
encourage the buyer to learn more?

***

The lotus image is a perfect representation for this title.

Your cover rating: Excellent

5. COVER DESIGN MISTAKE #5: THE COLORS USED ON THE COVER ARE NOT
APPROPRIATE FOR THE SUBJECT MATTER OR THEY CLASH WITH ONE ANOTHER.

Color communicates a subliminal message to the buyer. Blues and
purples convey a sense of peace and stability, honesty, royalty and
devotion. Reds and oranges convey power, energy and love. Greens evoke
nature, growth and life. Yellows convey happiness, cheerfulness and
warmth. Are the colors on this cover appropriate for the subject
matter? Do they harmonize well with one another?

***

Gold and black feel a bit jarring for this genre. Self-help books
often use blues, pinks, and purples to connote calm, healing,
well-being and other positive emotions.

Your cover rating: Fair

6. COVER DESIGN MISTAKE #6: THE FONTS CHOSEN GIVE THE COVER A
SELF-PUBLISHED LOOK OR THE TYPOGRAPHY IS NOT SKILLFULLY EXECUTED (THE
SPACING BETWEEN LETTERS, WORDS AND LINES IMPEDES, RATHER THAN ASSISTS,
COMPREHENSION).

Fonts, like colors, send a message to the buyer. Serif fonts are
serious and authoritative. Sans Serif fonts are more casual, yet still
easy to read. Scripts and other decorative fonts convey formality,
levity, or a host of other emotions. Do the fonts in this book cover
evoke the desired buyer emotion about the content? Is the typography
skillfully rendered?

***

Excellent use of typography. The font is very appropriate for this
title and this genre. The typography is executed with the utmost
skill; the elements are perfectly spaced and proportioned.

Your cover rating: Excellent

7. COVER DESIGN MISTAKE #7: THE COVER DESIGN IS NOT VISIBLE FROM A
DISTANCE.

A cover should be clearly visible from a display table or a shelf
to attract buyer attention. A book cover that fades into the
background is a sales opportunity lost forever. Is this cover visible
from a distance?

***

The gold and black background would be clearly visible from a
distance, say to folks strolling in a mall, but the title may not be
visible from 15 feet away, due to the light weight of the fonts used.
Up close, when the buyer is standing at the shelf or display table
this is less of a problem, but please see the response to #8 below.

Your cover rating: Fair

8. COVER DESIGN MISTAKE #8: THE COVER DESIGN DOES NOT CONTAIN ENOUGH
CONTRAST TO BE VISIBLE IN SMALL SIZES ONLINE OR IN BLACK AND WHITE IN
CATALOGS OR ADS.

Colors that are opposite one another on the color wheel are most
visible in any design. But care is necessary to make sure the chosen
colors are still visible when the cover is converted to black and
white or displayed online in small sizes. The best way to test this is
to print your cover at 25% or less of its full size in both color and
black and white. A red title on a black background, for example, will
look very dramatic in actual size, but disappear in smaller sizes or
black and white. Does this cover contain enough contrast to be visible
in black and white and small sizes online?

***

The tiles in the background are quite busy. This makes the reader
“try hard” to read the text, even up close. I would recommend ghosting
back the tiles, or perhaps making them half as large, so that the
mosaic concept remains but doesn’t distract from the title. If this is
done, then the colors of the text will be fine. If not, then I’d
consider making the text a bit darker so it stands out better than it
does now. Also, if the dark tiles at the bottom are meant to depict a
tabletop, floor, or other surface on which the lotus is reflected,
then some perspective should be added to these tiles and the
reflection of the lotus. There would be no reflection otherwise.

Your cover rating: Fair

9. COVER DESIGN MISTAKE #9: THE SPINE IS POORLY DESIGNED AND WILL
NOT STAND OUT WHEN DISPLAYED SPINE OUT ON A SHELF.

Sometimes, the spine of a book is very small and there’s very
little that can be done to create an eye-catching design. But if your
book doesn’t fall into that category, then adding color and/or visual
elements to the spine, in addition to the title and author name, will
go a long way toward helping it stand out when it’s shelved spine-out
with many other books. Is this book spine the best it can be, given
its size?

***

No spine was submitted as of this writing, but I’ll be happy to
review it when it’s available.

10. COVER DESIGN MISTAKE #10: THE BACK COVER DOES NOT CONTAIN THE
ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS NEEDED BY THE BUYER OR THE BOOK TRADE.

The back cover text should be as short as possible, preferably
with bullet points that quickly summarize the content. Buyers are
busy, and we have all be trained by the web to expect our information
in small portions. Back covers that contain too much text, or text
that doesn’t quickly get to the point, will simply not be read.

In addition to the text, every back cover should contain a bar
code, ISBN, and sales price in U.S. Dollars and in other currencies if
applicable, as well as the publisher’s name. The back cover should
never contain an offer to sell the book directly to the buyer, as book
stores will not then carry it.

The back cover should also contain an official subject heading from
the Book Industry Study Group (available at www.bisg.org) so that book
store employees will know where to shelve your book. Creating your own
heading is not recommended. Does this cover contain effective text and
all the recommended elements?

***

The back cover is excellent, though I would repeat the concern about
the busyness of the tiles as on the front cover. All the elements are
in place (assuming you’ll place the barcode in the space indicated).
Regarding the subject code, here’s a link to the latest listings from
Book Industry Study Group:

http://www.bisg.org/what-we-do-0-136-bisac-subject-headings-list-major-subje

cts—2009-edition.php

I don’t see the specific category you have used
(Psychology/Relationships) under Psychology, but Self-Help seems to
contain useful descriptions. It’s important not to invent categories
because book store employees won’t be sure where to shelve your book.

Your overall cover rating: Excellent

I hope you have found this review helpful, Charlette. All the
suggestions are optional, of course. Please let me know if you have
any questions.

If you would like a review of your book cover, similar to the example above, please visit http://covers.1106design.com. The cost is just $75.

ABPA Hosts “Speed Publishing” for Self-Published Authors Event

If you need to get “up to speed” fast to publish your book, consider attending this event, hosted by Arizona Book Publishing Association in Phoenix:

June 30, 2010

Radisson Hotel Phoenix Airport North
427 N. 44th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85008
Phone: 602-220-4400
North of Van Buren; south of 202. For the the exact location, visit Mapquest.com

Program (includes dinner) 5:30 p.m.–8:00 p.m.
Early Registration (by June 24): $25 members $35 non-members
Late and at the door: $35 member $45 non-members
Advance payment is required for registration; no refunds after June 24, 2010.

“Speed Publishing for Self-Published Authors”

Need to know all about publishing fast? Want to know what steps a self-published author needs to take to get a book done? Worried about how to find the experts you need to help you? Join us on June 30 for “speed publishing.” Like speed dating, you sit at your table, and the experts come to you in rotation to discuss what you need to know fast. It will be fun, plus information packed. Be sure to mark June 30 on your calendar as a cannot-miss event!

Featured will be the following topics:
Writing and editing – how to get started, how to prepare and format your manuscript properly both for the editor and for the next step
Book layout – the key things to remember when working with a book designer on the interior layout and structure of your book
Cover design – basic design elements that can make or break the success of your book, from the spine to the front cover and back cover copy
Printing – finding and working with the right printer and how to determine the number of copies to print and type of paper to use

Meeting Format

The format will be similar to the popular “speed dating” setups, in which participants will remain seated at a table while the experts rotate every 20 minutes. Participants will be encouraged to follow up individually with the speakers after the conclusion of the meeting if they have additional questions.

Experts

In a Sea of Sameness, Quality Book Design More Important than Ever

Competition is good. It keeps us on our toes. The prospect of winning a job from a field of qualified competitors keeps us from becoming lazy, sharpens our wits, and urges us to improve our skills every day, right? Yes, but suddenly there’s a new challenge to that philosophy.

In my wildest dreams, I couldn’t have predicted that at this point in my career, I’d have to spend so much of my time fighting off mega companies who have completely abandoned the standards of quality book editing and design. Companies who tell…no, encourage…authors to upload unedited, self-designed files and sell their books directly to the public.

Now, I’m all in favor of freedom. But with freedom comes responsibility. When we spend money, on anything, we want to feel SAFE. When a publisher hires a team of experts to craft a quality book, they do so not just because it’s the right thing to do for themselves, but because it’s the right thing to do for the buyer. That’s why, in the sea of sameness ushered in by the template approach to design, it’s more important today than ever before for serious publishers to invest in quality.

Many of us have adopted a new attitude about money and spending since the “meltdown.” Let’s face it, the ground underneath us just doesn’t feel as solid as it once did. And that’s exactly why the concept of quality, in book design and in every other area of commerce, should be revisited, not abandoned.

Why? Because we’re all being careful with our money now. Time was, I’d hear about a product and impulsively purchase it. Not now. Today, I want to be convinced that I’m getting value for my dollar, that I’m spending my money wisely, and I believe a lot of other people feel the same way.

No matter how much self-esteem an individual author may have, the plain fact is that without the help of editors, proofreaders, and designers, the resulting book will not be as good as it can…and should…be. No matter what the mega companies say. That’s not just an unsupported opinion. It’s backed up by our experience working on more than 1,000 books.

Book buyers look at a cover for only a few seconds before deciding to buy, or not. In that quick flash of time, a publisher must send a strong subliminal message…”this book is good, this book has information you can count on, this book is what you need, this book is going to help you, this book is worth the money.”

While it may be tempting to bypass quality book cover and interior design, editing, and proofreading in this financial environment, publishers do so at great risk. A book cover that looks ordinary and text that is poorly crafted will not send the right message to your prospective buyer. It will say, instead, “I’m just another book, nothing special, better hold off on spending for now.”

Would any publisher who hopes to succeed willingly communicate that message?

What do you want to know? What topics should we explore together? How can we help you along your publishing journey? Everyone here at 1106 Design wants to help. Post your comment here or email us at office@1106design.com

Michele DeFilippo, owner, 1106 Design

Common Book Cover Design Mistakes: Part 3

In this last post in this series I’ll cover the third cover design mistake often made by self-publishers. Read more

Common Cover Design Mistakes: Part 2

In this second post in the series,  I’ll discuss another cover design mistake often made by new publishers

Cover Design Mistake #2: Creating a cover that is too busy. This mistake happens when you try to tell your entire story on the front cover of your book. Often, the result is a mish-mash of so much “stuff” that nothing stands out to catch the buyer’s eye.

It sounds logical: Tell the buyer everything about your book, and they’re bound to be interested in something. Unfortunately, busy covers have the opposite effect…they just confuse people, and when people are confused, they buy something else.

Compare the self-published book below to the bestseller beside it. See the difference?

The cover at left contains too many elements: international flags, an oyster, a map, a photo, an image of  Jesus. The images are randomly scattered all over the cover, so that the eye doesn’t know where to land first. There is no style to the title or subtitle type, nor are there any strong colors to attract a buyer’s attention. The title tells us that this may be an adventure story, but unfortunately, the subtitle does not elaborate to help us learn more. Why was this pearl so important?

By contrast, the cover on the right offers immediate and strong impact. Because the author is well-known, his name is set larger than the title. Even though the title is set in a smaller size, its brighter color makes it stand out almost as much as the author’s name.  The contrast between the bright orange background and the silhouette of the bird immediately draws our eye and sets an ominous tone. Without being told, we understand that there’s something sinister about this scarecrow.

Your book cover has one job—to make people look. In just a few seconds, the cover has to stop the buyer and make him/her want to know more. To grab and hold your buyer’s attention, the cover should have very few elements…a title, an engaging graphic, the author’s name, a subtitle. Most importantly, just one of these elements should dominate and serve as a “stop sign” to catch the buyer’s eye.

In most cases, if you believe that additional information is crucial, then consider placing it on the back cover, or on the first inside pages of your book.

Part 3 of Common Cover Design Mistakes is coming soon. Stay tuned.

Is your cover free of the Top 10 Cover Design Mistakes? Find out at http://covers.1106design.com. Post your comment here or email us at office@1106design.com

Michele DeFilippo, owner, 1106 Design

Common Book Cover Design Mistakes: Part 1

Long ago, someone said “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” This is especially true in cover design. All of the Top 3 Cover Design Mistakes can actually be grouped under one category: creating a book that looks self-published.

Self-publishing can be a personally rewarding and exciting endeavor. The problem is, you don’t want your book to LOOK self-published. If it does, then reviewers, retailers and buyers will pass it by, and your content will remain undiscovered.

Cover Design Mistake #1: Creating a cover in isolation. This mistake occurs when authors, and sometimes designers, begin the cover design process by focusing on what they “like”. This can be a favorite font, a color, a graphic…almost any aspect of the cover design.

The problem with this approach is that it’s really risky. What you’re doing, in essence, is creating a product, presenting it to the market, and hoping that the market agrees with you. What if they don’t? Now you have a book cover that isn’t selling your book.

It’s much safer to begin the design process by learning what buyers want, and then giving it to them. Fortunately it’s easy to find out what buyers want; all we have to do is look at what they are buying.

If you start the design process at Amazon.com and click on Bestsellers and New York Times Bestsellers, you’ll find the types of book cover design in your genre that people are buying now. Not only buying, but buying in great numbers.

When you look at these books, you’ll begin to see patterns. You may find, for instance, that the current trend is to use muted colors, rather than bright colors. You may find that other books in your category are primarily typographic, or primarily photographic. You may find that the current trend is simple and stark design, rather than ornate and busy. You may find more than one pattern.

Whatever you find, you’ll be certain that a lot of other people have responded favorably to it, and you can use this knowledge to guide the design of your own book cover.

Compare the self-published book at left to the bestseller beside it. See the difference?

(Click on the covers above to see the larger full image.)

The book at left is is evidently a cookbook, but no effort has been made to show….drum roll, please…FOOD. Even if the chef depicted on the front cover is well-known, surrounding his picture with a dark shadow does nothing to bring out his portrait.  Showing his full figure, in fact, makes it less likely that we’ll focus on his face. The solid yellow background communicates nothing. The designer of this cover missed the point entirely. When buyers look for a cookbook, they want abundant, delicious food and the instructions on how to prepare it.

By contrast, the book at left makes full use of color, type and imagery to communicate the subject matter of the book, even before the viewer has had a chance to fully interpret it. The flag in the background, the red, white, and blue type instantly tell the viewer that this book is about America.  The author of this book is very well known. Since he is the “product”, his image is prominent. In this cover, all the elements work together to create a powerful, unified image and message.

By emulating the look of bestsellers, you’ll give your book instant credibility. You’ll tell the buyer that it’s safe to take a chance on an unknown author, and you’ll give your book the very best chance to sell.

Is your cover free of the Top 10 Cover Design Mistakes? Find out at http://covers.1106design.com.

Need cover design help? Check out our portfolio at the links above and contact us today at  office@1106design.com

Michele DeFilippo, owner, 1106 Design

E-Commerce Book Design: Challenges and Opportunities

Could anyone have predicted, even ten years ago, that the bulk of our work and social lives would be managed through electronic devices, some small enough to fit in the palm of our hand? I know I couldn’t. As with all advances, we’re presented with challenges and opportunities in equal measure.

On the one hand, it used to be a lot easier to own a design business. I’d join the local Chamber of Commerce, advertise in a few local newspapers, place a few phone calls to businesses in need of my services, make a few appointments, and pretty soon I’d have a sizable and loyal customer base.

Competition was generally limited to others in my own community, so pricing was based on the local cost of living and local client expectations. These expectations, in turn, were shaped by the condition of the local economy at that point in time…or, to state it another way, the playing field was relatively level.

Not so today. Now, with the prevalence of subsidy publishing sites, and heaven help us, freelance contest sites, book designers are hard-pressed to explain what we do, and how we do it.

The Internet has ushered in opportunities that couldn’t be imagined a few years ago. I welcome the  opportunity to work with people from other states, and other countries, who need book design services. But there’s something…well…impersonal about the experience now.

Once upon a time, I met my prospective clients face to face. When they asked a question, and I answered it, there were actually facial expressions involved. Now, they can come and go with a simple click. I don’t have an opportunity to find out anything about their book or their needs. In a world of hyper-communications, I can lose the opportunity to work with someone before I even know they’re looking.

Like everyone else, I look for the best price when I buy retail products…the supermarket that has Oreo cookies on sale this week is more likely to get my business than others that don’t. But products and services are two different things, and they shouldn’t be shopped for in the same way. This message has been lost in our new, online world.

Products are identical from one store to the next. It’s easy to compare package size and features, then conclude that the cheaper price makes sense. Services, on the other hand, are intangible. A determination of quality must be made before purchase, including how well the human beings who offer the service will treat you, how quickly they will respond to your questions, how quickly they will produce your book, and how competent the book design will be.

Asking for a price before understanding these intangible, but crucial, factors doesn’t provide enough information. Services offered at the same or lower prices cannot be objectively compared — they must be experienced. Choosing a service provider with the lowest price can easily disqualify the best designer for YOU.

Low prices usually correlate with low experience. Higher price usually means that the designer has been around the block a few times and will spend much more time creating a truly unique book cover instead of cutting corners and using a template.

An experienced book designer  understands that a great deal of collaboration and communication is necessary to arrive at a cover design that works, and they build this time into their estimate. A beginner may not anticipate this and quote a price that covers the design time alone. When you exceed this amount of time, the beginner may get cranky, or abandon the project entirely.

An experienced designer also knows what NOT to do. We’ve fixed book covers for clients who chose a low-cost designer who didn’t understand that creating a file for print is very different than creating a file for the web.

An experienced designer knows that next month, or next year, or the year after that, they’ll be spending big bucks for new computers and software. Beginning designers who charge low prices often use outdated equipment or software that will cause problems at the printer.

An experienced designer incurs the expense to archive your job safely, so that two years from now or seven years from now, when it’s time to reprint  your book, the files will be available. Beginning designers who find that their low prices do  not provide an adequate living may move on to another career, taking your precious files with them.

You’ve spent a lot of time writing your book. When it’s time to shop for the good design you need to help it sell, my recommendation is to buy experience…after you TALK with the person who will provide it, and determine if they are the partner you need. Yes, experience costs more, but you will receive true value for every dollar spent, and the process will be enjoyable rather than a nightmare.

Have questions about self-publishing or book design? Ask us! We’re happy to help. Learn more at http://www.1106design.com

Michele DeFilippo, owner, 1106 Design

Why is Professional Book Design So Misunderstood?

When aspiring publishers search the web to begin their education in the complex field of book design, they will find an astonishing amount of information. The problem is, most of it is downright wrong.

“Do-it-yourself” book layout and book cover design advice and software packages abound. You’ll be told it’s OK to lay out your book in Microsoft Word. (It’s not.) You’ll be told that all you need to do is buy a software package, and for about $100 you will be able to create book covers that are as good as those produced by pros. (Not even close!) You’ll be told that there’s no need to hire an evil book designer who will take advantage of you and charge you thousands of dollars to design your book when you can do it yourself for free. (Which means that the millions of clients who use book designers on a regular basis are all fools, right?)

The problem is, most of this bad advice and these products are offered by people who have never designed a book or been trained in the principles of cover design and typography. They may have good intentions, but they just don’t know what they don’t know. Or they do know, but they have no problem misleading you to make money.

Here’s a bit of truth: If you have written a memoir and you only want a few bound books for your friends and family, then go ahead and follow their advice. It’s the cheapest way to proceed. But if your goals are more serious, and you want a good-looking book to promote your business or you want your book to be accepted by the public, then your book design must adhere to the publishing standards that reviewers, distributors, retailers…and the public…demand, and that requires a very different approach.

Most people think that laying out a book is as simple as can be. Just open Word or a page layout application, set the margins, choose a typeface, and presto, it’s done, right? Nothing could be further from the truth.

Designers must follow scores of design, typesetting and page composition rules in the course of creating a book. Attending to these details is time-consuming and sometimes tedious work, but the result is a book that will capture a buyer’s attention and convince him or her to spend money. A book that is easy on the eyes, and text that allows the reader to better comprehend your message. Isn’t that the whole point of writing a book in the first place?

I’ll soon write a series of posts that explain what book designers do, so that the professional way to lay out a book will have at least a small chance of coming up in search engine results. These posts are not meant to be a “how-to” course, though I suppose some of you will use them in just that way. But I really hope you’ll think twice about that. Successful book design isn’t only about what designers do. It’s about what we don’t do, and about what we know and how we came to know it. It’s about the decisions we make moment by moment as we process your cover and text, and about how our experience informs our decisions. An eye-catching and beautiful book is never achieved by following a recipe. It’s about creativity. And creativity is what grabs the buyers attention and leads to a sale.

Stay tuned…

Does Your Book Cover Make the Grade?

I hired another designer to create my book cover, but now I’m having second thoughts. Can you look it over and tell me if the design is good enough?

We’ve heard this comment a few times, and as it happens we DO offer a book cover evaluation service that will help you answer this question. More importantly, our evaluation will help you identify and fix problems before publication, before some cranky reviewer or blogger has the chance to tell the world otherwise.

Our evaluation is not just one more opinion. It’s a comprehensive and unbiased evaluation on the SCIENCE of book cover design  from our team of top book design experts. If your cover is terrific, we’ll let you know. (We love great covers, too!) If it needs a tune-up, our 10-point critique will tell  you (and your designer) exactly what to fix and why.

As it happens, these 10 points exactly match the criteria used by book distributors, book retailers, and book reviewers to determine whether your book is “ready for prime time.” These criteria are also used by the judges in book design contests nationwide, and by buyers (subliminally) when they look at your book.

You owe it to yourself to get a second opinion before you spend big bucks on printing or release your book to a marketplace where people can now share their opinions with millions of others in an instant.

Our evaluation is available for just $75. Get yours today at http://covers.1106design.com

What do you want to know? What topics should we explore together? How can we help you along your publishing journey? Everyone here at 1106 Design wants to help. Post your comment here or email us at office@1106design.com

Michele DeFilippo, owner, 1106 Design

Ink, Toner, or E? What’s Best for Your Book?

Book printing has its own jargon which can be intimidating if you’ve never worked with it before. And the complications are increasing every day, with the current buzz about e-books dominating the news.

As technologies evolve and options increase, it’s getting more difficult to figure out exactly which printing (or rather, dissemination) method is best for your book. Having an expert on your side before you take this important step can make a world of difference.

There are presently three ways to get your book into the hands of consumers: Offset printing (ink on paper); digital printing and print-on-demand (ink or toner on paper); and e-books (nothing on paper). The best choice depends on how you sell books, who your target audience is, and how they (not  you) prefer to read.

(1) Offset Printing (ink on paper): this method offers the lowest unit price possible when manufacturing books. To achieve the savings though, it’s necessary to print 1,000 to 3,000 books and arrange for storage until they are sold. Once the only method of book printing, today this choice makes the most sense for anyone who knows they will sell a large quantity of books in about a year. (If your time frame is longer than that, the cost of storage and the time value of money begins to erode the savings.) For example, authors who sell books at the back of the room during presentations, authors who have signed up with a distributor, or authors who have a substantial number of pre-publication orders waiting will benefit most from offset printing. The quality of ink on paper printing (assuming you have chosen a competent printer) is excellent. There are virtually no limitations on the type of design that can be accurately reproduced using this method.

(2) Digital Printing and Print-on-Demand: Here’s where the terminology gets a little muddy. Digital printing can mean ink-on-paper printing in small quantities, or it can mean toner-on-paper printing in small or one-at-a-time quantities. Printers don’t often explain the difference, so it’s important to ask which method is represented on any quote you receive. Either way, these methods cost more per unit than offset printing, but the publisher can order books in smaller quantities or even one at a time as they are sold. If cash-conservation is your primary concern, these methods are worth considering. The ground is always shifting on price, but generally speaking, 500-700 digital books cost the same as 1,000 offset books, so once a steady stream of sales is established, another look at offset printing is warranted. The quality of toner-based digital books is almost indistinguishable from ink-on-paper books…if your book is the typical black and white interior with a color cover. Full color photo books are best printed with ink on paper. If you plan to print with toner, be sure your designer knows this up front. Solid black text will reproduce well, but large areas of  light-gray (such as sidebar boxes) may not print evenly and should be avoided if possible.

(3) E-books: You thought you were confused before? Well, join the club. The field of e-books is changing so rapidly that it’s difficult for everyone to keep up. With about a dozen file formats and just as many devices on the market (some that will be extinct in as little as 18 months), what should an author do? Don’t listen to the buzz…listen to your readers. At present, e-books are about 2.5% of all book sales, and this figure is expected to rise to 5% by 2014. A surprising statistic, given all the attention devoted to e-books. For this reason, it doesn’t make much sense to release a book ONLY in e-book format, no matter how much the perceived savings may be. No business that hopes to survive can lock out 95% of its potential market. One way to make your book available in all the e-book formats is to post  your title on Smashwords.com. They will convert your book to all of the common e-book formats for free and take a small commission on every book sold. Apple just signed an agreement with Smashwords to offer their books on the iPad, which is just icing on the cake. After all, it’s not very useful to have an e-book file without a sales outlet. Unfortunately, Smashwords doesn’t protect e-books. Their point of view is that DRM (digital rights management) reduces sales. This may be true, but if you’re concerned about piracy, then it may be better to work with e-book conversion services who can make sure your book is only readable to those who actually buy it.

Our advice: For most new self-publishers, the way forward is to keep abreast of new technology while remembering that old habits die hard. Most people still like to curl up on the sofa with a book, even if they do sometimes read on electronic devices when they are on the go. Releasing your book in print and e-formats will satisfy everyone. When your e-book begins to outsell  your print book,  you can always stop printing.

What do you want to know? What topics should we explore together? How can we help you along your publishing journey? Everyone here at 1106 Design wants to help. Post your comment here or email us at office@1106design.com

Michele DeFilippo, owner, 1106 Design

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