In our Publishing in the 21st Century workshop on August 7, 2010, several interesting questions were asked about the publishing process. One question that dominated the discussion focused on art preparation – the creative (front/back cover) and the production (text layout & design). One thing was clear – utilizing the services of a professional graphic artist has many advantages:

1. They’ll create a book cover that will give it a professional look and avoid the pitfalls that many self-publishers make when doing it themselves – the “homegrown” look

2.  That same artist will provide production-ready files that will process through a printers process without incident, thereby saving time and budget.

3.  The knowledgeable graphic artist will know how to work with design software to shorten the time for text layout and eliminate glaring aesthetic errors like “orphans” and “widows” without compromising the look on the page while creating files that will process harmoniously at the factory.

I have the honor and good fortune to have several graphic artists on our team who have created professional looking book covers and clean text layout and design. If you have a manuscript that you’re thinking to self-publish, consider signing up for the September 12, 2010 workshop and move your  manuscript forward.

Til next time…

—Lowry McFerrin, Proforma Mactec Solutions

Hot Flashes2 cover art by noted graphic designer Jim Shubin, Shubin Design