Why Book Layout Design is More Important Than You Think
Everyone knows that the inside of a book looks vastly different than a typed manuscript. But few people think about how it got that way. There’s actually a surprising amount of skill involved in doing this effectively. And more often than not, a book’s interior design goes entirely unnoticed when done well.
If a reader thinks about or notices a book’s layout at all, it’s usually because it’s bad (specialty books like coffee table books can be the exception). But that doesn’t mean your book interior isn’t important. It’s very important. Consider this quote from famous typeface designer, Adrian Frutiger:
“If you remember the shape of your spoon at lunch, it has to be the wrong shape. The spoon and the letter are tools; one to take food from the bowl, the other to take information off the page... When it is a good design, the reader has to feel comfortable because the letter is both banal and beautiful.”
A book interior designer knows how to lay out a book and make proper use of fonts, margins, line length, line spacing, letter spacing, hyphenation, and a dozen other factors that enhance your reader’s experience and maximize your book’s ability to look great and be read effortlessly.
Here’s another way to think of it—you have an interview for your dream job next week. You spend hours shopping and putting together the perfect outfit that is polished and professional, but also reflects your personality. You need to feel like a million bucks walking into that interview. A lot of effort and care went into this outfit. Each piece must not only look good on its own, but also compliment the rest of the outfit as a whole.
Yet, most likely, no one will notice this outfit.
Now think about if you showed up in a wrinkled old suit, or wore clashing colors because styling outfits isn't your personal forte and you didn't ask for help. That’s going to reflect very poorly on you, and it will be noticed. Putting thought and intention into the outfit will ensure it does its job, and the interviewer won't think twice about it. However, if it's clear that you didn't put care into the outfit, it becomes a detriment.
This is how you should think of your book interior. If it doesn’t look professional and intentional, it instantly discredits the quality of the content and is unappealing to readers. A poor layout undermines a book in two ways:
It casts doubt on the credibility of the text
It can be physically more difficult (not to mention unpleasant) to read
These days, anyone can publish a book. I think that’s a wonderful thing, and I’m grateful to live in a world where so many people have the opportunity to share their story. But it also means that…anyone can publish a book. There are thousands of un-edited, un-researched books floating around for sale. Without the knowledge that a major publishing house has backed and perfected a book, readers need to do a bit more work to determine the credibility of the book they’re purchasing.
The front cover is of course the first indicator. A quality cover is a green light to keep investigating. (A poorly designed cover is the end of the road for me, unless I have recommendations for the book from trusted sources.) The very next thing I check out is the book interior. If I look inside and find a poor quality design, that’s a red light. I probably won't buy the book. I don’t trust it. Not to mention, I don’t want to put my eyes through the discomfort of reading it.
You could argue that since I’m a book designer, I’m apt to notice these things where most people wouldn’t. That’s probably true, to some extent. But I’d argue that all readers have these observations, just on a subconscious level.
Your book’s appearance—inside and out—is the packaging of the content. When we shop, packaging design has a huge affect on our perception of a product and its value and quality. Companies spend massive amounts of money on branding, package design, and market research. These same concepts apply to books. The same psychological and subliminal effects are at play when readers shop for books.
If you are publishing a book and care about how much it sells, you need a book designer. Period. If you're on a tight budget and cannot afford to pay for both cover and interior design, definitely go with hiring a cover designer. Be wary of hiring a book layout designer on the low end of the pricing spectrum—an inept or inexperienced book designer can be worse than doing it yourself.
There are lots of resources and tips and tricks for formatting a book interior. Do your research and do the best you can. Also, stay tuned because I'm working on more resources for authors. In early 2022, I'll be launching a course to walk you step-by-step through formatting your own book interior. (You can jump on the waitlist here.)
If you haven't already, don't forget to download my free Author's Guide to Book Interior Layout. It's a short resource explaining the top little-known stumbling blocks when it comes to preparing for book formatting—whether you're hiring a designer or going the DIY route.