Book layout

Today it is impossible to imagine the world without books. The shelves of modern bookshops are filled with millions of works of every genre and format. Some authors publish a great deal and constantly, while others make do with a few copies for their friends. In spite of the apparent expense and the high prices, publishing books at one’s own cost in small volumes has become widespread today.

Especially attentive readers pay attention not only to the content of a book but also to the layout of its text. The layout plays no small part in how presentable the edition looks.

From the manuscript to the printed edition: how are books created?

Publishing books is painstaking work: from manuscript to print it goes through a series of internal publishing processes. Besides the author, a whole team of professionals works on the book.

What book layout is

When the future book has been proofread, the illustrations and the cover are ready and the author is happy with the result, it is time for the layout. Layout is the process of arranging text, illustrations and various graphic objects in the form in which they will appear in the finished edition. At this stage we also see for the first time what the book will look like, and changes can still be made here. The layout stage takes from three days to two weeks, and it is at this stage that the edition acquires its final look. There are special approved rules for book layout:

• Compositional rules
• Hygienic rules
• Unity and style

Following all three rules allows our specialists to lay out the pages of a book quickly and accurately, which guarantees a bright and colourful edition in the end.

Types of book layout

The classification is based on a single characteristic – the type of literature.

Book and magazine layout

It is based on the standard set of rules for multi-page literature. There is a special set of techniques for working with illustrated magazines.

Newspaper layout

It differs radically from the previous type. Newspapers have a different arrangement of text and illustrations, as well as free rules for word division.

Jobbing layout

It is used when designing layouts for various kinds of printed products.

Book cover layout is a separate service. Creative designers build cover layouts according to the inner content or to the customer’s brief, selecting fonts and colour schemes. Editions like these encourage the consumer to take a specific action – to buy the product.

Book layout by professionals

The staff of the Kavun publishing house follow the culture of layout and the guidelines for designing editions. Clients are guaranteed technical correctness of execution, compliance with polygraphic requirements, aesthetic appeal and convenience in further use. The layout of paper and electronic books is done in compliance with the rules of composition and of text and illustration design.

The final stages of book layout

Do you think your brainchild is already on the home straight? You are mistaken. Once the layout has been done, several more operations have to be carried out. First the layout is checked. The editor, the scientific editor, the proofreader and the translator get back to work, because errors may have appeared during the layout – for example an illogical word division or other inaccuracies. That is why the layout is reread and checked again. This is a very important stage, when all the specialists read the book layout rather than the manuscript for the first time. Every specialist takes a fresh look at the text that was laid out earlier.

Correcting the layout is also necessary. All the errors and inaccuracies found at the previous stage are corrected again in the layout of the future book.

Prices for the service

Every author is interested in the cost of book layout. As for the rates for the service, we do not have a price list, because every book is unique and has its own degree of complexity. To calculate the cost precisely, our managers need to see the document and assess the amount of work together with the typesetter. Our regular clients enjoy the privilege of a flexible system of discounts.

We do of course carry out computer typing of texts when it is needed, but if you hand over a ready electronic file with the material, the price of the book layout will be considerably lower. Wishing to save money, authors sometimes try to lay out the book themselves. It can be done, but it is difficult, because there are certain technological requirements for the parameters of the layout. So it will be better if you send us a “clean” text and we turn it into a book layout according to your wishes. We work in Dnipro, but we publish books for authors from Ukraine and from all over the world. It does not matter where you live: modern means of communication let us cooperate successfully in spite of the distance – files are sent by e-mail, payment is made through payment systems, and the printed books are transported by delivery services.