ABOUT BOOK DESIGN AND COST

All Book Design Projects Include

  • Page layout to format your nonfiction, novel, poetry, or children's book for printing using Amazon KDP or Ingram Spark.
  • Page layout for your book using text in your final, complete, proofed manuscript.
  • Finalized and in-progress layouts provided for review and approval.
  • Most simple format adjustments or corrections are included in basic price.
  • Information and assistance with uploading your book to Amazon KDP or Ingram Spark.
  • Note - substantial revisions, such as changes to the manuscript text after page layout has begun, will involve extra cost.

"Book design is the art of incorporating the content, style, format, design, and sequence of the various components and elements of a book into a coherent unit."  From the Wikipedia page on book design

No Surprises Book Design Pricing

While not all costs can be accurately estimated in advance, most can.
A defined basic cost and clearly outlined extra cost items let you know in advance what you will be spending for your book.

Novels or other similar books.
Basic Cost $425.00

Black-and-White interior text-based book for printing with Ingram Spark or Amazon KDP

Professional page layout using your edited text.

- changes to your text after page layout has begun .75 per word

Training and remote assistance to help you upload your book to Ingram Spark or Amazon KDP

Interior page layout cost: $425 for first 275 pages

- Additional pages at $2.00 per page

- Image Cost: $2.50 per image for resizing, and other manipulation of author supplied digital images.

- Cover design for printing with KDP or Ingram Spark using your image or stock image graphics - add $150.

- Create an e-book from finalized book: add $150.

Poetry or other 24-50 page book.
Basic cost: $175.

Black and White interior text based book for printing with Ingram Spark or Amazon KDP

Professional page layout using your edited text.

Simple cover design at no extra cost using stock graphics or your own picture

Training and remote assistance to help you upload your book to Ingram Spark or Amazon KDP

- Additional pages at $2.00 per page

ebook only
Basic Cost $250.00

ebook in KDP or epub format

formatting your edited text in KDP or epub format

add $75 for Cover design using image you supply

Full color interior graphic book
Minimum cost: $425.00

Full color interior illustrated book, childrens book or graphic novel formatted for printing with Ingram Spark or Amazon KDP

Professional page layout using your edited and proofed final text for interior text and using graphics supplied by author.

- Changes to your text after page layout has begun .75 per word.

Cover design using author supplied graphics

Training and remote assistance to help you upload your book to Ingram Spark or Amazon KDP

- Page cost for up to first 100 pages included. additional pages cost $4.00 per page

- Image Cost: $3.50 per image for resizing, and other simple manipulation of supplied digital images.

How does payment work?

We bill via PayPal ( You can pay with a credit or debit card even if you don’t have a PayPal account). We’ll send you an initial invoice for half the anticipated cost of your project before beginning your book design, and we’ll send you a second invoice once the work is completed. Making the final payment is your approval of the project and all its products.

Assumptions, Requirements and extra costs.

Computer and online literacy. We do book and cover design work primarily for printing using Amazon or Ingram Spark. These services require the author to create online accounts, download and upload files. We provide training and assistance for new authors in using Amazon and Ingram Spark, but the self published author must maintain their own relationship with the service that prints and distributes their book.

Manuscripts will be provided as Microsoft Word or LibreOffice files. To keep prices low and quality high, your final complete and proofed manuscript will be used directly in the page layout process, it virtually eliminates introducing typos in the page layout process.

Prior to project beginning the author will supply the complete interior manuscript. This should include any introduction, dedication, about the author, or other page to be included in the book. It is also assumed if a cover design is included in the work, the Author will supply any pictures the author wishes to be used on the cover and complete and proofed text to be used on the back cover.

Editing text after page layout begins is both time consuming and introduces a potential for errors. Starting on projects started after 5/8/2024, such changes will be charged at .75 per word. Should the author wish substantial changes after page layout begins, the author can submit a new complete and proofed chapter for replacement chapter or section. Replacing an entire chapter text will be charged at no more than $10.00

Covers

Many self-published authors contract with a cover designer for their book cover.

If you don't have a cover designer, we can provide cover designs using your art or purchased stock art and your back-cover text. The starting cost for a simple cover design is $150.00. Final cost may be more or less depending on the design, number of revisions, and cost of any purchased stock art.

What About formatting Covers for both Ingram Spark and KDP?

While the interior design requirements are basically the same for Amazon and Ingram printed books, The cover requirements are different between printers and cover types.

Our standard cover pricing includes formatting a cover for printing using Ingram Spark or Amazon KDP. The cover formatting for paperback and hard cover are also different. You will require a separate cover file for each cover type and printer. As a general rule, formatting for extra cover types will add $75 each to the cost for the project.

Pricing updated 05/08/2024