Basic Book Design

Welcome to the Wikibook on Basic Book Design or How to Make Your Book, Document, or Newsletter Look Professional.

Contents

Introduction

1. Documents

1.1 Software Applications
1.2 "Art" vs. Readability
1.3 Font
1.4 Leading
1.5 Justification
1.6 Page Size
1.7 Margins
1.8 Headers, Footers, and Page Numbers
1.9 Number of Pages

2. Chapters

2.1 Headings and Subheads
2.2 Master Documents

3. Paragraphs

3.1 Indentation
3.2 Word Division
3.3 Widows And Orphans
3.4 Quotations and Extracts
3.5 Captions and Legends

4. Sentences

4.1 Spaces Between Sentences
4.2 Examples and Rephrasing
4.3 Punctuation in Quotations
4.4 Spelling and Grammar Checkers
4.5 Reading Grade Level

5. Words

5.1 Emphasizing Words
5.2 Writing Out Numbers
5.3 Gender
5.4 Me, Myself and I
5.5 E-mailspeak

6. Characters

6.1 Straight Quotes vs. Curly Quotes
6.2 Foreign Language Characters
6.3 Dashes
6.4 Ellipsis
6.5 Ligatures
6.6 Small Caps
6.7 Bullets

Front and Back Matter

Capitalizing Words in Titles
Table of Contents
Indexes
Footnotes
References

Graphics

Ornaments
Charts and Graphs
Illustrations

10. Covers

10.1 Graphics Software
10.2 Hardcover vs. Paperback
10.3 Title and Subtitle
10.4 Front Cover
10.5 Back Cover
10.6 Spine
11.1 Copyright
11.2 Right of Publicity
11.3 Right of Privacy
11.4 Libel

12. Before Sending Your Book to the Printer

12.1 Copyeditors
12.2 Asking for Feedback
12.3 Pre-Printing Checklist
12.4 Recommended Newsgroups and Websites

Appendix

A. About the Authors