Leave Book Design to Graphic Artists

Years ago, producing newspapers, magazines, books, or other printed materials took a small army of writers, proofreaders, advertising artists, graphic artists and typesetters.

Today, thanks to technological advances, one person can spit out a product that used to take at least a dozen sets of hands to prepare.

The mistake too many would-be authors make is thinking the advent of desktop-publishing (DTP) software means they can produce their own book. They can’t.

I see it regularly: books with irregular spacing, too much white space, and awkward layout (and that’s before one notices misspelled words and other mistakes).

Recently, an author asked me to look at a chapter from her manuscript. The first thing I had to do was copy the text from her ill-designed format into a plain Word file. Once I had “raw” text, I could start my sample edit.

Another time, an author contacted me to ask if I could revise his book. He had produced it on his computer and printed the book straight from a Word file.

Not only did it need to be revised and expanded, I told him once I had finished my revisions, he needed to get the copy typeset. He listened and the resulting new edition looked much more professional.

So, why should authors avoid trying to lay out their own book?

1. Authors aren’t editors or designers

I can tell when an author has produced their book without a professional edit. One time an author I interviewed for an article sent me her book later. I stopped reading around page 35 because I could never determine the point.

Plus, in those 35 pages she had used the word “Bible” repeatedly, each time spelled with a small b. Any editor worth their salt would have spotted that obvious mistake; chances are a designer would have too.

2. It makes editing awkward

When an editor goes in to change a rough draft, the addition or deletion of copy changes everything. Pages no longer have the same numbers they did in DTP format. The table of contents becomes irrelevant. Illustrations and artwork get in the way too, especially if they are set to remain static.

3. Books need a designer or graphic artists

Book design and formatting is an art. Selection of a typeface makes a huge difference in appearance. So does spacing and the placement of illustrations, tables, charts, and other elements.

It’s easy to tell the difference between a professional book and an amateur production. In a crowded market, where people often judge a book by its cover, amateurs get lost in the shuffle.

4. Books require correct sourcing and attribution

One time I edited a book where the author quoted from the mega-bestseller by Stephen Covey, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

Ironically, not long before, I had read Covey’s book. One of his tips appeared nearly verbatim in this author’s book. The author insisted it was his wording, but I warned him if he didn’t change it, he could be looking at a lawsuit.

It isn’t just knowing when to credit a source that makes a difference; footnotes (or endnotes) follow a certain format. Unless it’s an academic text, the author’s last name does not come first. I see that and many other mistakes regularly in would-be authors’ footnotes.

5. A book takes a team

The secret of a good book isn’t finding a great editor. It’s finding several sets of editors, proofreaders, graphic artists, and others who can catch mistakes and clarify confusing terms or descriptions. Tom Brady never played against opponents one-on-eleven. You shouldn’t try that either.