World Famous Comics: Publisher: Aeonix Publishing Group Book Design and Production
Publisher: Aeonix Publishing Group Book Design and Production
By: Pete Masterson Publisher: Aeonix Publishing Group Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Aeonix Publishing Group Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 320 Publication Date: June 15, 2005 Release Date: June 15, 2005
Product Description: 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.
Excellent reference, but . . . This book has a lot to recommend it, up to a point. It has solid, detailed information on fonts, working with publishers, etc. I was surprised and disappointed, however, that he didn't go into interior design in terms of layout, etc. The last chapter, which was about choosing a designer, made the book seem that his goal was to attract clients. After all he has mentioned in previous chapters, which would be useful for people wanting to learn how to design a book themselves, he recommends hiring a designer and giving them an unformatted manuscript to work with! Huh? What he did include was well-written and informative, but he left out so much. It's a useful book, but, as some other reviewers mentioned, a surprisingly unattractive one.
Technical, full of useful information, a little boring in it's style For a book on book design, it seems like the book itself would be more visually appealing. With that being said, the book has a lot of useful information and is superior to others in it's class. It covers several areas that I haven't seen in other books like Word vs Adobe Indesign, scanning pages, etc.
If you want to self-publish a book, then you need to read this! You may have heard that you should outsource the layout, production, and typography of your book to the professionals, and that self-publishing will cost you thousands or tens of thousands of dollars!
Well, times are changing. Masterson along with Poynter provide two must read books on how to get started in publishing your book.
Here's what you will learn:
The Pros and Cons of using MS Word for your layout: Page 95
An comparison of professional layout software packages: Page 88
Why the backcover is the most important writing in the book: Page 163
Key questions to ask BEFORE you hire a designer: Page 190
And much, much more.
Whether you decide to self-publish, use and author service, or aim for a traditional publisher, you owe it to yourself to get educated on the design and production process.
Highly Recommended!
Cheers!
A Valuable Source If you are planning to self-publish a book, this book is a must. It goes into detail on all aspects of setting the book up for publication, including what type to use, what programs are best for setting the book up, selecting printers, artists, covers, and it even has a short section on children's books. It's interesting that the author is against using microsoft word for setting up a book, nevertheless he devotes a chapter showing you how it is done. He suggests quite strongly (and I agree with him) that it is much better to use a professional program such as Indesign, and he includes a chapter on how to use it. I found this chapter particularly valuable, even though I have used Indesign several times. He explains the difference between offset printing and POD printing, and makes suggestions on how to decide which is best for you. Strangely, the latter third of the book is a huge glossary, but I have found it to be an excellent reference. This is a book you will be referring to again and again if you go into the business of self-publishing. Highly recommended.
Book Design and Production - Pete Masterson This book is, definitely, worthy of a good review. The book is well made and the content offers the information needed in book formatting to produce a good looking manuscript for submitting to a publisher.
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