How long is a piece of string?

The short answer is that it all depends on you – if everything is in place at the start of the project and everything goes according to plan it could take as little as four weeks from word doc to seeing your book on a bookshelf. On the other hand – being realistic most projects take 2-3 months.

The book size, paper, colour, etc. must be decided at the start of the project. Print quantities can be decided later. Cover design and details can be decided during the project.

At the start of production, a sample of the layout will be sent to the author for approval. Once approved the layout cannot be changed, although small ‘tweaks’ to word spacing, leading, font size can be made.

Once the initial production stage is finished, an A4 print-out will be made available for the author to proof prior it going to print. The author must accept responsibility for the manuscript at this point and only sign off approval once everything is checked and double-checked. Once this is checked, it must be signed off before it will be output to print. A hard proof copy can be obtained for the author to make a final visual check before multiple quantities are produced if required.

During production, communication is encouraged, and the designer is happy for the author to arrange ‘hands on’ sessions to sit with him at the computer to advise the layout of images if required.

Social distancing is of course practised in the office and Government COVID guidelines are adhered to.

Please submit the manuscript in electronic format (Word Doc or similar) and available on a memory stick, CD/DVD, or Cloud service.

For handwritten manuscripts, typesetting fees will be discussed before commencing.
For copies of books already in print, proof must be shown that copyright is owned by the author – if no electronic copy is available then scanning or re-typesetting fees will be discussed.

Here’s a simple way to calculate your book’s approximate page count using the word count of your manuscript.

1. Find your word count
In Word, simply click anywhere in your document, and the word count will appear at the status bar’s bottom left corner, between the page number and dictionary language.

2. Pick a trim size
First, choose a starting point size for your book based on: Fiction: 5” x 8”, Non-fiction: 6” x 9”. For larger format books with illustrations, estimating the final page count may be trickier; however, you can choose either of these sizes as an initial reference.

3. Figure out the number of pages
Using a formula below and your current word count, you can predict your finished book’s page count: 5” x 8” book = Word count ÷ 390.
(For example, 50,000 ÷ 390 = about 128 pages).
6” x 9” book = Word count ÷ 475
For example, 50,000 ÷ 475 = around 105 pages.
Notice how smaller trim sizes produce more pages for the same word count while larger ones yield fewer pages.

These calculations assume a standard typeface (Garamond / Helvetica), an average font size (11 pt), typical margins, and regular spacing.

4. Calculate additional pages for front & back matter (e.g., title page, copyright page, content lists) – add half a page for each chapter as well. Also, consider the number of pages needed for images by dividing them into rough full-page, half-page, or quarter-page sizes.

Finally, add up the total number of pages from your: Word count + Front & Back Matter + Images

You might be shocked by your final page count! Your book could be thinner or thicker than expected. Adjust your page size or formatting to achieve the perfect thickness. Sharing these details with your book designer can help enhance your book’s overall appeal. They can assist with making your book thicker or minimising your page count to reduce costs.

Click here for a handy auto ‘ballpark’ calculator

Images are preferred in electronic format however a limited number of hard copies will be acceptable to be scanned and converted. Basic ‘clean up’ and adjustments of the images are included in the production costs quoted, but excessive manipulation requirements (e.g., restoring ‘or photoshopping’ of old images) will be evaluated before commencement.

Artwork

If supplying Artwork from an illustrator please ensure the following:

• Images to be supplied either on memory stick, via on-line transfer service or as an attachment
• The images must be supplied at a minimum of 300dpi
• Files are preferred in PSD, TIFF, PDF, EPS or AI format. JPEG is acceptable but be aware it is a ‘lossy’ format so quality can deteriorate when the file has been opened and re-saved.  We can’t accept PNG or GIF files for print work.Unfortunately we can’t accept Corel files (CDR) as we work on Apple Macs.
• Do not include any text in an illustrated file – this will be added later (let us know if this will be an issue and we can see if there is a way to work around it).
• Images will be converted to CMYK at output stage by default.
• Unless otherwise advised the images will be used on white paper stock, hence it is up to the artwork supplier to ensure the work is fit for printing – this means the removal of any smudges, fingerprints, dust marks or other artefacts. These things are often highlighted more following scanning so please check your artwork carefully on screen before sending it to us.
• if the artwork is intended to place on the page without a border and has been produced on off-white art paper then the backround must be cut out or ‘whitened’ to blend in with the page.
• If the artwork need extensive cleaning to prepare for print this will be discussed at the time.
• Line drawings can be supplied as greyscale, bitmap, vector.

Photographs

• Images to be supplied either on a memory stick, via on-line transfer service or as an attachment
• The images must be supplied at a minimum of 300dpi
• Most formats are acceptable
• Please don’t put captions on the image – these can be added during production stage.
  Please note, captions for photographs must be supplied in electronic form in a Word Document or similar – referenced to the photo they apply to.

By the time you are ready to give us your manuscript for book production, we expect you to have thoroughly proofed and edited the work. Any minor, infrequent errors spotted during the book production process will be corrected at no extra charge.

A proofing service is available at a per-page cost if required. This would include proofing for spelling mistakes, typos, punctuation problems, capitalisation errors and awkward grammar.

Once the initial production stage is finished, an A4 print-out will be made available for the author to proof prior going to print. The author must accept responsibility for the manuscript at this point and only sign off approval once everything is checked and double-checked. Once this is checked, it must be signed off before it will be output to print.

When the Print on Demand is set up with Ingram, along with the option to order a quantity of books there is an option to supply outlets directly. This is called dropshipping

From this point – whenever an order is made on-line, Ingram will fulfil that order via a book wholesaler on behalf of the client, hence the term ‘printing on demand’.

As an example – when a customer orders a book from Amazon the book order is made to the wholesaler and they request the book from Ingrams who fulfill that order.

Each party takes their own handling fee so a book that retails for £10 may yield an actual return for the author of £4 (after print costs and Amazon and wholesaler fees are deducted). The profit from a £10 book bought directly from the printers maybe £6 or less.

Buying a stock of books in bulk direct from the printers then self-distributing (via a book launch & signings, direct to shops, from an author’s website or through local media) yields by far the better return on investment but the Amazon route is a good way of getting your book out into the wider world.

If the author decides that they would rather not use the print-on-demand service, it can be cancelled at any time however it may take some weeks to get out of the system.

From this point, Ingram will cease supplying (dropshipping) or fulfilling orders to Amazon, Waterstones or wherever. They are like the milkman – they will only deliver until asked to stop!

The original ‘placeholder’ listing that was put in place when the ISBN was registered remains. This is the listing that was made when the ISBN was registered with Nielsen. If the author wants to sell on Amazon himself he may find that the original listing takes prime place.