Book publishing help

Open book showing how book structure is organized

How to structure a book

The parts that make up a book, from front matter to back, and how to order them so it reads well.

Illustrated book scene representing image creation for books

Creating a set of book images

How to source, prepare and place the images in your book so they look right in print.

An open book surrounded by the elements of formatting, from typography to margins to images

What is book formatting?

Turning a finished manuscript into the designed pages a reader sees, and the decisions behind it.

Book printing example showing color and grayscale choices

Choosing color or grayscale

Whether your book should print in color or grayscale, and what that means for cost and quality.

Equation artwork representing mathematical content in books

Including equations in books

Preparing equations, from inline symbols to full displays, so they typeset cleanly.

Open reference book representing book indexing

Do I need an index?

Whether your nonfiction book needs an index, and your options for building one, from a professional indexer to doing it yourself.

Printed book held up to show book trim size

Choosing a book trim size

Picking the right page size for your book, and how genre, content and printing shape the choice.

Close-up of book pages showing paper choice and finish

Choosing book paper

How paper color, weight and finish change the feel of a book, and how to choose well.

Book binding options shown with different book spines

Choosing a book binding

The main ways a book can be bound, from paperback to hardback, and which suits your book.

Promotional book graphics for websites and social media

Promo book graphics

The graphics that help sell a book, from 3D cover images to posters, flyers and social media.

A book cover laid out as a full spread on a printer's template, showing front, spine, back, bleed and safe areas

How to create a book cover template layout

How to fit a cover design to the printer's template: trim size, spine width, bleed, the back cover, barcode and a print-ready file.

A copyright page and back cover showing the same ISBN as a number and as a barcode

What is an ISBN?

What an ISBN is, whether you need one, how it differs from a barcode, and how to get one.

A self-publishing author at her desk with the finished book, a proof and a publishing dashboard

What is self-publishing?

What self-publishing really means, and whether it suits your book, from doing it all yourself to having it handled for you.

Print-on-demand book production and retailer distribution

Print-on-demand (POD)

How print-on-demand works, what to expect, and why small differences between copies are normal.

Metadata guide

The details that describe your book to retailers, from title and author to keywords and categories, and how to get them right.

Book pricing guide

How to price a self-published book, from list price and print cost to wholesale discount and regional pricing.

Reviewing a digital proof

Checking your digital proof properly, and what to look for before you approve it.

Reviewing a printed proof

What to look for on your first printed proof, including the things that only show up on paper.

Ebook review on a digital reading device

Reviewing your ebook

Reviewing an ebook conversion, and why it will not, and should not, look exactly like the print book.

A novel shown as a printed paperback beside the same book on a Kindle, a phone and a tablet

Do I need an ebook?

Whether your book needs an ebook, what a reflowable ebook is, and when fixed-layout or an ePDF suits it better.

An open hardback book on a desk showing a copyright page, with the copyright notice, rights statement, ISBNs and publisher details

What goes on a book copyright page?

What to put on your book's copyright page: the copyright notice, rights statement, ISBNs, disclaimers, credits and publishing details.

Book distribution through Ingram, Amazon and online retailers

Where your book is sold

The places your book can reach readers, from Amazon and Ingram to your own website and local shops.

Book marketing ideas for self-published authors

Marketing your book

Practical ways to get your book in front of readers, from your own networks and events to social media and PR.

PDF comments being added to a book proof

How to add PDF comments

How to read and add comments on a PDF in Acrobat Reader, the simplest way to mark up a proof.

An ePDF of a recipe book open on a tablet beside the same page in the printed book

What is an ePDF?

A fixed-layout, screen-friendly PDF of your book, how it differs from a print PDF and a reflowable ebook, and when it is the right choice.

A book layout on screen beside a marked-up printed proof on a print factory floor

Can AI format my book?

How far AI can take a manuscript toward a finished, print-ready book, and where a formatter's judgement still makes the difference.

A book cover explored as several variants on a designer's screen, beside a notebook of cover ideas

Can AI design my book cover?

What AI has changed about cover design, where it is genuinely powerful, and why the designer still matters.