Going from an eBook to a Paperback

For a great deal of authors who are about to enter into the world of indie publishing, the first manuscript they release will hit the stores as an eBook, many choose this route because it is a great way for an author to see how their targeted audience will accept their work.
 
Writers choose the eBook route to publish because it’s also very quick, you can be published and ready for sale in a matter of days (this of course will vary depending upon how much time you dedicate to formatting). Some may require a little help with the layout, but if you follow the guidelines it is very straightforward to create a great looking interior to your eBook.

The other reason will be the cost of publishing or investing in your work, now I choose the word investing wisely, this is because if you are serious about the public finding and then buying your book you need to ensure that it is well represented. So what does that mean? Well, it means that you’re going to have to take the fine tuning, promotion and representation of your book just as seriously as you took in writing it in the first place.
 
This cost will be in the editing, proofing, the book cover design you have to represent your title and the advertising you use to promote it, you don’t have to spend a fortune but your work does need to be professionally represented with every service and touch point that you use.
 
However, once your book is launched getting it published as a paperback or hardback is the next logical step, this doesn’t have to be a headache either. The services you engaged whilst creating your eBook will be able to help you once more, the two most important at this point will be the formatting and the book cover design you choose to represent your book.

Your book will need to be formatted so that it is ready for print, with the pages laid out in such a way that allows for the gutter and appropriate margins of the book to work within the confines if a printed design, to be fair to the major print on demand services many of them have very helpful guidelines which can make this easier for you (if you’re set on doing it yourself), or you can always get in touch with us and we can help.

For the book cover design it is best to get some help from your designer, a cover which has been used only for an eBook will have several factors which will need to be changed in order to get it ready for use as a printed paperback or even as a hardback cover.

The first element to consider will be the resolution of the image, now for a cover which has been used as an eBook it will have been created at 72 ppi (pixels per inch), this is due to the resolution of most digital screens, they tend to show a maximum of 72 ppi, so eBook covers are exactly the same. However, for a printed book this is just not sharp enough so the minimum requirement for most printing services will be 300 ppi or dpi (dots per inch). Basically, your initial eBook cover will need to made a lot sharper in order to be used successfully as a printed book design.
 

The next element will be the color model of your cover design, your eBook will have been created using RGB (Red Green and Blue), again this is done because of the product that the book will be read upon. For printing the color model may need to be changed to CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black), in some cases you’ll see a color shift within the design because of CMYK’s smaller color range in comparison to RGB. This isn’t always the case though and services such as Createspace print using RGB, however it is worth pointing out that some other services such as Ingram Spark or Lightning Source (among others) will not only want your cover in CMYK but they’ll reduce the ink levels down to 240% too (this is where your designer will be able to help you).

Now you have the actual layout of the design, the book cover will need to be delivered as a print ready PDF with the font’s used within the design embedded, it should also be created slightly larger than the actual ‘Trim’ size of the book (this is to ensure that you don’t get unwanted white lines to the outside four edges of the cover when it’s trimmed to the actual size of your book).
 
After you’ve taken care of the technical aspects of the layout, resolution, format and color your next goal is actually creating the design. Most designs for paperback, hardbacks and dust jackets are created in one piece with the back page on the left leading into the spine (in the center) and front page on the right. Your artwork should normally start with the focus upon the front page (right hand side of the complete layout) and then drawing off through the spine and in to the back page upon the left.

Designing a spine and back page from just the front cover takes creativity, get it right and your viewers will assume that the book cover was designed as one piece from the beginning, get it wrong and it will look disjointed, unprofessional and even confusing, it’s worth taking time and giving it the respect it deserves.
 
So for most authors this transition from eBook to printed paperback marks a significant steppingstone in their careers as published writers, having a hardcopy of your book certainly makes it easier at book fairs and signings too. It should also be a proud moment and one which is a pleasure to achieve, seeing your book in print for the first time always brings a smile to the face.