Book Interior Layout and Design

Don't judge a book by its cover — the interior is where the manuscript into which the author has poured his or her love is put on display. A well-designed interior layout eliminates distractions and allows the reader to enjoy every word and picture of the story. I work both with publishing houses and self-publishers to provide professional interior design and typesetting for books in these categories, and more! 

• Cookbooks

• Christian Books

• Journals

• Children's Books

Non-Fiction Books

I cut my book design teeth on non-fiction book layouts and have taken on non-fiction book layouts of increasing complexity over the past fifteen years. The more complex your book, the more important it is to work with a true professional for your book design. I help my clients reach #bookdone, whether it takes two months or two years to get to the end of their project. They reach the finish line with a book interior that we can both be proud of.

Print-On-Demand Books

A popular option for those who are self-publishing has become printing on demand through an online printer like Amazon KDP or IngramSpark. When the budget is tight, it's tempting for authors to try to format the interior of their books on their own. After all, Amazon KDP says authors can format in Word, right? But the difference between a professionally formatted book interior and an amateur attempt at formatting is instantly obvious. After so many months or years of effort putting together a manuscript, it's worth paying for professional formatting for the book you're publishing through Amazon KDP or another print-on-demand provider.

Memoirs and History Books

Sod houses, snow up to the window-tops and horse-drawn wagons—memoirs have it all. Family memoirs and history books are some of my favourite projects, as they mean so much to the clients. Pulling old documents, photos and stories together to share with generations to come is always a privilege. Because of my background working with a commercial printer who created many history books, this is one of the genres in which I have the most experience.

One family history book client says: "I was really impressed with Julie's diligence, speed and skill. She was also willing to give advice on subjects indirectly related to the project at hand, which helped to create a better result!"

Full Color Books

Full color books feature beautiful photography, artwork or typography.

Interior layouts for full color books usually begin with a variety of layout design concepts, and once an overall style is decided upon, I give careful attention to each spread, designing it to make it harmonious with the whole book, but featuring the imagery and text in the best way possible. Consistent styles and repeating elements lend a cohesive overall feel to image-heavy books, while each new spread still provides a delightful new visual experience.

It is especially important to hire an experienced print designer to make your image-based book both aesthetically pleasing and technically successful.

Business Books

There is no "one size fits all" interior layout design for business books. Business books cover a wide range of subject matter and reflect many different attitudes. When I work with publishers or self publishers on their business books, I gather ideas for their custom interior layout from their cover design, the subject matter, and of course from any business books they provide as samples. Professionally formatted business books give their authors the boost of credibility they need in a competitive market!

Cookbooks

Food or cooking websites are some of the most popular on the internet, and often their creators want to capture their best recipes in a print format. Whether it’s a short paperback cookbook or a traditional full-length hardcover cookbook, it’s always a treat getting inspired by so many delicious recipes while I create your cookbook!

Christian Books

Christians are people of The Book, which naturally makes them both readers and writers. I work with Christian publishing houses or Christian self-publishers to create interior layouts for their books. I love creating layouts that communicate visually and reinforce the ideas behind the words.

Journals and Planners

Journals are often a product that professional communicators like speakers, bloggers or influencers add to their product line. I love making custom journal interior layouts that match your branding beautifully and print perfectly at press time. For more about journal interior layout design, see the “Producing a Journal” section of my articles page. If you’re early in the brainstorming phase of journal creation, you may benefit from a brainstorming session to plan your journal and learn more about all the options for printing, binding and finishing.

Photos copyright Shoal Projects Limited and One Hundred Day Devotional

Children's Books

Picture or chapter books for children have a special place in their creators' hearts and should be laid out in a way that best highlights the author's words and illustrator's images. Whether the author is preparing a children's book for wide distribution or creating a story that is only intended as a gift for a few family members, it's an honour to take the text and images that my clients have so lovingly put together and create a professional design and layout for print.

Ebooks

Most printed books that I design also need to be adapted for print. I have been partnering with my colleague Luca for over five years to maintain the unique features of your print book, yet adapt it to work well on screens of any shape or size.

Ready learn more about working with me on your book interior layout? Read about the next step here.