Nonfiction book formatting service

Should I edit before formatting?

Your manuscript should be as accurate as possible before design begins. Small corrections at proof stage are fine, but major edits once the layout is complete take more time and add extra cost. You will save both time and money by finishing your main edit first. This is also a good stage to think about the sequence of your material, including your front matter, acknowledgements, appendices, and any photographs, diagrams or illustrations you plan to include. See how to structure a book and creating a set of book images for more help with this.

Can I request changes?

Absolutely, feedback is part of the process. We begin with a short sample, and you can request as many design tweaks as you like. Once you are happy, we complete the rest of the book. At the review stage we fix anything that does not match the approved sample at no charge. Other edits are billed at our standard rate, from £0.75 each if added clearly as pdf comments. All changes subject to a £30 minimum fee. After we have supplied the final print-ready file, further changes are still possible but they will cost more, as the files must be regenerated and resubmitted to your printer.

What about a book cover?

Our book formatting service covers everything for the inside pages. The cover is prepared as a separate file, created through a design process to blend illustrations, titling and color work to capture the essence of your story across a single artboard to wrap around the front, back and spine of the book. If you already have a cover, we'll ensure your interior works with that. If not, please visit our cover design service page.

Can I get an index?

A proper index can only be created by a professional indexer once your book is fully typeset, so it adds a few weeks at the final stage. For shorter books it may not be necessary. There are also do-it-yourself alternatives such as using Word's XE fields or creating a concordance file. However it is created, our designer will set the index in a multi-column format at the back of your book. See how to include a book index for more information about different approaches and when an index is worth including.

What about equations?

Technical and academic books often contain equations prepared in different ways: as images, as normal text, through Equation Editor or using MathType. To typeset your book in InDesign, all equations need to be prepared consistently in MathType. The amount of work depends on how your equations were originally created. See including equations in books for more information about different equation formats and how we prepare them for professional typesetting.

Is an ebook included?

Our book formatting service prepares your book for print. Many authors later decide to publish a digital edition as well, but this is a separate product. An ebook is made by taking the text from your press-ready PDF, converting it to HTML code and packaging it as an epub file. This produces a version that displays correctly on e-readers such as iPads and Kindles. For more please see our ebook formatting services page.

Can I have the source files?

Your project will be delivered as a print-ready PDF. Source files (such as InDesign or Photoshop files) can be provided if required, but they are not straightforward to edit, require specific software, and may rely on licensed fonts and imagery that cannot be included. Changes made without the correct setup can affect layout or print compatibility, so we generally recommend that any updates are handled by us. If you still require your source files, we can package these for £30 per file.