The Process

Our commitment is to provide support and guidance every step of the way. The Book Studio prides itself on offering an experienced, reliable, and personalised service.

  • Free consultation

    Call us on (07) 5446 6995 or simply visit our Contact Page. Fill in your details and a brief description of your project. We will phone to discuss your concepts and answer any questions you may have.

  • Free quote

    After initial consultation we need to view your manuscript and discuss any other elements involved in the project, in order to give you a firm quote. We understand that you have a budget and don’t want any surprises along the way! Together, we’ll determine the physical size of the book and any design specifications you would like to introduce, ensuring they merge with industry trade standard expectations. The Book Studio guarantee your manuscript, and any other matter related to it, remains confidential and will be used only for quoting purposes. We are happy to arrange a meeting (where possible) to discuss your ideas and requirements, otherwise correspondence by phone, email, or post, is more than sufficient.

    Your written quote will be supplied along with our Terms and Conditions of Trade. On acceptance of the quote, we’ll commence production.

Do you require an ISBN for your book?

If you intend to sell your book (printed version or e-book version) to the public, you will require an ISBN number. If you don’t own the ISBN number, you don’t own all the rights to your book. We will use your assigned ISBN number (if you have one), or we are happy to purchase it for you, in your name! This ensures your protection as a self-published author.

Step-by-step Process

A brief description will help you understand the design and pre-press process, step by step. It’s important for you to know what we do. Our structured plan helps to avoid costly pitfalls in production and ensures your book gets to press (or web), on time and on budget.

  1. Editing and Proofreading

    A well edited book means that it can be read smoothly and has a solid, consistent voice and message. A well proofread book means that your book won’t have spelling and grammar issues. Editing and proofreading is an essential process, one which needs to be carried out by a professional. Having your manuscript edited prior to formatting is cost-effective in the long run and crucial to your book’s success in the marketplace. Should you require the services of a professional, we are happy to make a recommendation for you.

  2. Internal Layout

    Professionally laid out book pages are an essential part of publishing. A reader knows instantly if reading your book will be a pleasure or a chore. The essential factors are: appropriate font selections, margin and column widths, and the ideal amount of space between sentences and paragraphs. If a book contains photos and/or illustrations, their presentation and positioning are a fundamental part of the book’s interior structure.

    We work with you to determine the ideal layout for your book. If you already have a clear idea of what you want, we will follow your brief as closely as possible. However, don’t feel as though you need to submit specific information, you can simply leave it to our designer to produce a layout for you. After discussing your vision for the book, we generate sample layouts of up to 10 interior pages for you to review. This allows you to give feedback on the layout and request any changes. It is important for us to know that you are happy with the direction the designer is taking in the early stages of the design process.

  3. Formatting and Proofing

    On approval of the layout pages, we format the book completely, based on the approved style. This includes chapter pages, frontmatter, backmatter, graphics/diagrams, charts, photos, illustrations, and any other elements specific to your book.

    We provide a complete proof of the internal pages for you to comb through. The proofing process is critical. Finding errors and making changes are all part of the process. We encourage you to have someone (other than yourself) to proof the book, and suggest you run the proof by your editor again. This takes extra time, but if a mistake is found after the book is printed (or uploaded), it’s too late to correct it!

  1. Cover Design

    You shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover, but… if it doesn’t look great on the outside, consumers are much less likely to take a peek inside. In fact, they spend most of their time reading the back cover. Therefore, the front of the book grabs their attention, and the back cover clenches their decision to purchase the book.

    The cover design should appropriately reflect the content of the book in a creative and appealing way. If you already have an idea for the cover design, we will take your concepts and develop a cover to achieve the desired result. If you’d prefer to leave the creative decisions to us, The Book Studio will produce a unique cover to suit the tone and style of your book.

    Standard cover design includes front cover, back cover, spine, and barcode generation. We supply a proof for you to review and make any changes.

  2. Pre-press Files

    Your book’s internal pages and cover design have been approved, so we’re ready to go to press! The Book Studio prepares your electronic files in accordance with each printer’s specific pre-press requirements. The files are then uploaded and print production commences. If you choose your own printer, we will liaise with them and deliver the files according to their instruction.

  3. Book Printing

    The Book Studio work with local and overseas printing partners and utilise both digital and offset production. There are numerous factors to take into consideration when deciding which printer and method is most suited to your book. We discuss all options with you and offer very competitive printing rates.

Can I have the book’s files when the job is finished?

Yes, you’ve paid for them and you own them. All native files (InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop) are supplied, along with all supporting graphic files, fonts, edited photos, illustrations, etc. The Book Studio charge a minimal fee to upload all relevant files to a USB memory device, which is then posted to you.

We archive all work for 5 years, should you wish to make changes, updates, or a complete new edition of your existing book.

E-book Design

You may wish to bypass the print process entirely, and simply offer your book in digital form. The design process, for the most part, remains the same as that of a printed book. The main difference lies in the preparation of the files, which are treated differently for web distribution. We are committed to delivering a professional and problem-free e-book.

E-book Conversion

We also offer conversion of your book’s print files, for all digital environments. E-book conversion requires numerous modifications in order to be compatible with various digital platforms. Therefore, additional costs are required to produce revised e-book files.

Marketing and Distribution

Creating awareness of a product (your book) is essential to selling it. There are numerous ways to promote your book: social media, a book launch, or the development of a simple website, to name a few. It’s amazing how little marketing it takes to become a successful self-published author.

There are also various companies offering professional marketing and distribution channels for self-publishers. They assist with Australian retail distribution and global online distribution, for printed books and e-books.

If you would like further information, or to discuss any aspect of production, please don’t hesitate to ask.