HOW DO I GO ABOUT GETTING AN ESTIMATE FOR THE PRODUCTION OF MY BOOK?

Before you request an estimate for either the page layout or the printing and binding of your book, you will need to have the following information:

Finished Size: Check out the books at the bookstore or the library and decide what size would be most appropriate for your project. The most economical sizes for softcover books are 5.5 x 8.5 inches or 6 x 9 inches.

Page Count: Find a book that is a similar size and typeface to what you would like for your book and count the characters per page. Then count the characters in your manuscript (the word processing program will do this) and divide by the characters per page. Then add 7 pages for preliminaries (title, copyright, table of contents, etc.). Finally, estimate how many pages will be taken up with photographs or other graphics and add these to the total.

Is the text on disk? If the text for your book is not yet on a disk, you will have to pay for keyboarding or scanning.

Number of photographs or images: Scanning these into the computer will be part of the estimate.

Inside ink: Printing the insides in black ink only will be much less expensive than using colour inside.

Cover: Covers can use one colour, two colours, three colours or full colour. Full colour is necessary if you want to use a colour photo or illustration. Using more colours costs more money, so if you want to economize, plan to use two colours on the cover.

Binding: Softcover binding is called Perfect Binding. Otherwise, specify hardcover with or without a dust jacket.

Quantity to be printed: The more books you print the lower the cost per book, but try to estimate how many books you can sell. The smallest paperback print run that is economical is usually 500 books. Fewer copies than that will double the printing cost per book, but it may still be worth your while if you just need to break even on sales and not make a profit.