BookZenDesign · Illustrate · Publish
Full book cover wrap with front, spine and back designed together

Book publishing services

Getting a manuscript to press involves more than a cover. Text has to be typeset to a grid, images placed and captioned, front and back matter assembled, and every file checked against the printer's specification before the run.

What this service covers

We handle the design and production side of publishing, working either with established publishers or directly with authors taking a title to print themselves. Editorial and distribution stay with you; the visual production sits with us.

Books arrive in every state of readiness, from a clean edited manuscript to a folder of chapters and scanned images. Both are workable, though the first is cheaper.

Included in every project

Anything outside this list is quoted separately rather than assumed.

Interior typesetting

Page grid, typography, running heads, folios and chapter openers set across the full text.

Image placement

Figures, plates and captions positioned, sized and colour-checked for the chosen stock.

Front and back matter

Title pages, copyright, contents, index layout, appendices and acknowledgements.

Cover and jacket

Full wrap design with spine calculated from the final page count.

Ebook preparation

Files structured so EPUB conversion keeps the hierarchy intact.

Press-ready output

PDF/X exports checked against your printer's template before release.

Why clients commission this work

One supplier through production

Cover, interior and artwork handled together rather than stitched from three vendors.

Proof rounds that are planned

Correction stages are scheduled, so proofreading does not derail the print date.

Reprint-ready archives

Source files kept so a second edition does not mean starting again.

Printer-specific output

Files built to the template of the press actually printing the book.

From brief to final files

Each stage has a clear approval point, so nothing large gets built on an assumption.

  1. Manuscript review

    We assess the text, image count and structure, then quote against the real scope.

  2. Sample pages

    A designed sample spread is approved before the full text is flowed.

  3. Full pagination

    The book is set, proofed and corrected through agreed proof rounds.

  4. Release to print

    Final files delivered to your printer, with sources archived for reprints.

Typical clients for this service

Briefs come from single projects and from teams commissioning at volume.

Independent publishers
Self-publishing authors
Academic and institutional publishers
Corporate and non-profit publishers
Publishing services providers

A sample of this kind of work

A sample of studio work in this category.

Before you brief us

Anything not answered here, ask directly and you will get a straight answer.

Ask a question

No. We are a design and production studio, not a publisher. We do not acquire titles, hold rights, distribute or sell books; we make the files that your printer and retailers need.

We can, but it costs more and risks late changes. Typesetting a text that is still being edited means corrections flow through the whole book. Copy-edit first where possible.

Usually two, stated in the quote. Additional rounds are quoted rather than absorbed, because late corrections repaginate the book.

No. We leave correctly sized space for the barcode and set the imprint page properly, but ISBN registration and distribution stay with you.

Ready to brief this project?

Send the details and a scope, schedule and fixed quote come back within one working day.