Book Design Made Simple: A step-by-step guide to designing and typesetting your own book using Adobe InDesign Paperback – January 17, 2016

The book is easy to read and informative

This is an amazing piece of work but it's impossible to review without addressing InDesign, which is so fantastically complex that it taints any creative endeavor. At least, it did mine. The good news is that, with InDesign, your book will look professional. Type, in particular, looks gorgeous and it's a small miracle to watch ID handle your leading, kerning, tracking, etc. The bad news is, there is no "lite" version of InDesign; it's all or nothing.And there is nothing you cannot do with InDesign! As is typical for Adobe, there are at least three ways to accomplish the same thing (Adobe calls this "Do any one of the following" and they think it's a plus.) And, with each version of ID, Adobe moves the goalposts, so a lot of solutions you'll find online won't quite resemble your version of InDesign.What this wonderful and necessary book does is provide starting points. InDesign has hundreds of boxes to check or un-check. Every measurement can be defined to thousanths of an inch or point or pica. You can even enter negative numbers to "fool" InDesign into doing what you want. Into this world of unlimited options comes Book Design Made Simple, with answers to questions you didn't even know enough to ask.Long story short, working slowly and carefully, I put together a great looking 184 page book with hundreds of illustrations and captions, in just over 13 months. I found my complexity tolerance maxed out at four hours a day, so if you really love software, you might finish much sooner. There were things I would have done if I could have gotten them to work, but I found suitable workarounds or compromises pretty easily. If I had to give advice (and I shouldn't) I'd say, keep it simple. Like web design, anything's possble but not much is easy.I learned more from this book in one evening than I ever got out of the 800-page, Real World InDesign, and that massive tome doesn't even address the "after" stuff like marketing and pricing your book.I hope this is a fair review. I am truly indebted to Fiona and Glenna, without whom my book would not exist. But I don't think I would use the word "simple" when addressing InDesign.

Invaluable tool in learning about both book design and InDesign. I picked it up in the middle of typesetting my first book, while I was trying to figure out InDesign with the help of youtube videos. My problem was I didn't know enough publisher language to search out the right answers to my questions, and I didn't have a good overview of the book-building process using InDesign. This book is an excellent reference that filled in both of those gaps. On my next project I started out using the step-by-step process in this book and it took me thru without a hitch. It's a great platform to launch from, to become familiar with the process at the basic level, and from there you can branch out and try different looks and settings. At some points during the process it was just like following a recipe--holding the book in one hand and clicking settings with the other. Then I'd set the book down and work for awhile, picking it up for reference when necessary. I marked places that described certain processes that had to be repeated periodically, and I'm sure I will continue to use this book as a reference for a long time. I came away with a good understanding of book-building from start to finish, and I was able to work all the InDesign processes even though I was using a different version of the program than that referenced in the book. I will just add that a thorough (and desperate) search of Amazon did not produce any other books that covered this specific topic of book design with InDesign. I have given it a place of honor on the reference book shelf!

As a first time author, I was fortunate to have Glenna Collett personally guide me through the complex book production process. Her savvy business sense and quick decision making provided me with invaluable suggestions and resources including cover design, interior design and even my overall branding image. She immersed herself in my book project to make sure every important detail was taken care of, and I am grateful to have consulted with her. I am proud of my book, and if the visual aspects of a book alone truly propel a book into bestseller status- then mine is sure to be a success! Although Glenna is no longer personally consulting with authors and their book projects, her multiple-award winning book co-authored with Fiona Raven: "Book Design Made Simple, 2nd Edition" is the next best thing! This resource not only gives you the step-by-step process of designing your book, it also includes important advice as to why you should do each step, and the pitfalls to avoid. At the end of the book is a beneficial "Self-Publishing Process" to use as a guideline for your overall book production. I highly recommend this award winning book which was a great resource as I designed my second book!

So many books address the craft of WRITING the book, yet almost none address PUBLISHING. It's a huge component of the process that so few address, so a book like this- chocked full of invaluable information and useful tips- is simply a must-have for every indie author.

This book guided me as I formatted my first book this year. I started with the softcover version, and then did the ebook/EPUB version. If I did not have this book, I would have had WAY more trouble. This book still matches the current version of InDesign, excepting a few minor details. I really want to thank Fiona and Glenna - what a beautiful, thorough, and helpful job you did! I plan to use this book for all future books.

v useful info

I purchased your book, "Book Design Made Simple," and it is a game-changer. I have an InDesign manual but it was written by an experienced InDesign user. I'm a novice. This book made learning InDesign so much easier. Because of this book, I'm getting work designing book covers (I've designed 3 book covers, including my own). I am in the process of converting a second book into an epub, and what's most satisfying, I have self-published my own novel, "TheUnravelling". I loaded my manuscript in InDesign and formatted it and created the layout, and I created the front and back covers using my illustrations. My thriller novel "The Unravelling" is now on Amazon.I would not have been able to do any of the above if it hadn't been for your book. Thank you so very much.Joanna

This is a great book for anyone wanting to learn Adobe InDesign to design their own books. Not only does it provide clear instruction on how to use InDesign but it also includes guidelines regarding industry standards in book publishing so your book comes out looking professional!

At last a guide that I can use and make sense of Adobe InDesign with. Easy to use and follow and use as a reference. Some things have changed with InDesign since the publication of this book but not enough to confuse. I am so glad I purchased this book it has helped me so much!

Um livro tanto pra quem quer começar na diagramação quanto pra quem quer se aprofundar, com muitas dicas. Muito bom pra quem quer aprender um sistema bom e organizado pra seus estilos. Indispensável.