Meet the book layout designers behind bestsellers
The inside of your book matters as much as the outside. A book layout designer can help make sure that your book interior is balanced, presentable, and appealing so that your audience gets a seamless reading experience.Â
On Reedsy, meet book layout designers with years of experience at Big 5 publishers. Our designers know the mechanics of font, type size, line spacing, and margins, and they understand reader expectations when it comes to book presentation and aesthetics.Â
How to choose a book layout designer
On Reedsy, you'll find professionals who have worked with the likes of Anne Rice, George R.R. Martin, and Louise Penny. We handpick our designers for their industry experience: to guarantee the quality of your collaboration, only the top 3% of applicants are accepted.Â
Assemble your team
Request quotes from up to 5 professionals in your genre with a free Reedsy account.
Here are a few things to consider when searching for your designer.
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Pay close attention to the professional’s sample portfolio. Reedsy allows you to search by genre so that you can find designers with a track record in your niche. Remember to browse their portfolios to ensure their style is the right fit for your book.Â
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Select up to five book designers. Instead of pairing you up with a faceless professional, as many other services do, Reedsy enables you to pick your own designer. To maximize the possibility of a match, request quotes from up to five book designers.Â
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Don’t be afraid to ask questions about the process. Whether it’s before or during your collaboration, every designer will welcome your interest in their craft. The clearer you are in expressing your vision, the smoother the collaboration will go.
FAQs
What is book layout design?
Book layout design (often referred to as “typesetting”) is the art of creating a book’s interior. It balances all the ways that readers experience a printed book's content: fonts, spacing, the styling of chapter headings, margins, and more. In addition to the book’s digital presentation, a professional book layout designer can also produce a print format that aligns with the expectations of the readers of your genre.
The more varied the book in terms of content (e.g., charts, illustrations, photos, recipes, or poems), the more important the work of the typesetter becomes. Nevertheless, some authors underestimate the importance of this step. Like Erik Spiekermann, one of the world’s most respected book designers and typographers, says:
“I have seen too many books with great covers but horribly designed content. It’s like great packaging, but when you open it, the food inside looks brown and boring. It may still be nourishing, but my appetite is gone.”
Is book interior design just for print books?
No. If you’re publishing an ebook, you also need to pay attention to your book interior design. While digital formats with standard layouts reduce the scope of the work, you still need to produce a perfectly formatted electronic file (generally an EPUB).
Of course, the formatting and conversion process will change in complexity depending on your book: bulleted lists, charts, tables, and graphics need to be considered in particular so that the reading experience is not compromised. But the bottom line is that a poorly formatted file leads to an unreadable book.
But isn’t formatting something I can do myself?
Yes. Reedsy Studio, our free writing app, automatically typesets your book for you. In a few clicks of your mouse, you’ll be able to get clean EPUB files for free. With our available print templates, you can also produce perfectly typeset, print-ready PDF files of your manuscript.
However, Reedsy Studio does not yet cater to every single case scenario. If your book contains special elements such as tables or graphics, or if it requires a complex layout with text flowing around images (e.g., cookbooks or photo books), we strongly recommend you hire a professional typesetter for your book interior design.
Browse: Book layouts created through Reedsy
Reedsy professionals have created sharp, impactful interior designs for books in every genre, every style, and for every type of author. Sign up now to create your free account.
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