Typesetting

 Self-publishing Typesetting Process with the Author

1. The author sends an enquiry through the Enquiries page on this website stipulating the interior typesetting category the author is interested in.
2. In response to the enquiry, Riaan asks a number of questions about the manuscript through email.
3. Riaan also requests the completion of a book interior design questionnaire.
4. Riaan requests the final edited manuscript.
5. Riaan sends a quote for approval.
6. On approval, Riaan sends the invoice for a 50% deposit.
7. Once the deposit has been paid Riaan starts with the typesetting as explained in the following section.
8. Riaan sends the file to the author to upload to Amazon KDP for review.
9. If any changes need to be made, the author informs Riaan about the necessary changes.
10. Riaan and the author work together to get the file approved by Amazon KDP.
11. On approval, Riaan sends the final invoice.
12. Riaan keeps the final files and does not share it with any third parties.

Self-publishing Typesetting Process, the Designer’s tasks

1. Researching the book genre and reader audience.
2. Identifying the book cover typography and general look and feel if designed by another designer.
3. Completing layout sketches to plan the book.
4. Working with the book feature in Indesign to create documents for each section and link that to the main book file.
5. Creating front matter, back matter and the main body text.
6. Setting up a baseline grid.
7. Working with master pages.
8. Setting up margins.
9. Adding folios (page numbers) and running headers (chapter and book title).
10. Using character and paragraph styles.
11. Creating chapter and part openers.
12. Inserting drop caps by using Indesign’s character styles.
13. Creating a clear hierarchy of headings and subheadings by using Indesign’s paragraph styles.
14. Creating a classical, modern or characteristic look and feel depending on the nature of the text.
15. Flowing text throughout each chapter.
16. Adding images, sidebars, lists and extracts/quotes.
17. Eliminating orphans and widows.
18. Adjusting the spacing between characters (kerning)
19. Avoiding word stacks which are consecutive rows of text which start or end with the same word.
20. Eliminating double spaces.
21. Preparing the file for print.