Once your text is finished and edited, the next step is to get it ready for the printer. The following is a step-by-step account of what happens next. It relates to book interiors; for covers, see below.
First contact us, using the form on the contact page. Provide a few details about your project, and we’ll discuss whether or not we can help you.
When your text is ready for formatting, send us the complete text, in either .doc or .rtf format, along with any graphics which will appear in the interior of your book. You can either email the material to us, or place it on a file-sharing site and send us the url.
We lay out the first few pages – the title page, the imprint page, the contents page (if there is one), and enough of the main body of the text to give you an idea of how the whole book will look. Typically this would be perhaps the first twenty or so pages.
We send you a proof in PDF format. You can request any changes in layout and design, and we send you further proofs until you’re satisfied. Once you have approved the layout, you send us payment (see below), and we proceed to lay out the whole book.
We then send you a complete PDF of the book’s interior, ready for uploading to LSI or the POD printer of your choice.
Covers. As well as book interiors, LSI-format can format your book cover as a PDF. We can design a book cover for you from scratch, or we can create a cover file using artwork that you submit. The cost of a cover file will depend on what is needed, but typically will be around $100-200.
What we DON’T do. We are not editors, or proof readers. (For proof reading, see Proof-it’s web site.) If you need a good editor — we know several excellent editors, based in the USA and Australia. Email us if you would like to be put in touch with them.
Also, we do not set up or manage your Lightning Source account. That would make LSI-format your book’s publisher! Once we’ve sent you the files for your book, the rest is up to you. Of course, we understand Lightning Source’s system very well, and will happy to give advice.
Pricing. Interior book layout costs $1 per page for straight text. If there are graphics involved, e.g. charts, pictures, or diagrams, there will be an extra charge, the amount being determined by how much work is required to get them ready for placing in the interior file. This will be determined and made clear after you have sent in your material and we have looked at it. (For more details about graphics and file formats, click here (link to come).)
Changes and corrections made after you have seen the proof cost nothing if they are related to layout or design. That’s what we’re here for, after all. However, if you see things in the actual text that you want fixed (e.g. “the castle stood on the hill” should be “the castle stood high on the hill”, then there will be a charge of $50 per hour, billable in 15 minute increments.
Payment is by Paypal, although other arrangements can be made.
In the unlikely event that there is a technical wrinkle with a file, we will, of course, fix the problem for no fee. Our commitment is to provide you with files, for either your book’s interior or cover, which can be uploaded to LSI with confidence that your book will look as good as is possible when you see it in paper.
If you have further questions, email or use the form on the contact page.