Your 11 Step Book Layout Plan - Lulu Blog https://blog.lulu.

com/book-layout-for-print-on-demand/

Search … 

Your 11 Step Book Layout Plan

By Paul@Lulu / June 25, 2021 / Publishing / 9 minutes of reading

Your book layout can be one of the most challenging and easily overlooked aspects of
publishing. A professionally designed book is deceptively simple. But any designer who
has done the page layout for a print-on-demand book knows there are a lot of factors
and variables when preparing the print �le.

There’s no de�nitive list of to-dos and requirements for making a book layout that will
print perfectly. But this plan will help you achieve the best design for your book.

Book Layout Software

The most popular options are Microso� Word and Adobe InDesign. I’m going to avoid
speci�c instructions about how to use these tools and instead look at best practices. But

1 of 15 19/09/21, 10:06
Your 11 Step Book Layout Plan - Lulu Blog https://blog.lulu.com/book-layout-for-print-on-demand/

each layout so�ware has its bene�ts.

Lucky for you, I’ve got guides to the best page layout platforms on the market:

A�nity Publisher Review: An The Ultimate Guide To InDesign For

InDesign Alternative Authors

Libre O�ce: Open Source Word Microsoft Word: A Closer Look

Processing

#1 Finish The Book

If that �rst point made you roll your eyes, please stick with me here. It may seem obvious
that the content needs to be done before you can start creating the book.

But that’s not always the way our brains (or creative processes) work. I have to restrain
myself from tinkering with spacing, adjusting fonts, or adding margins while I write.

There’s a very practical reason to �nish all the writing, editing, and revising before laying
out your book too: each edit will change the character count in your �le, potentially
shi�ing formatting. Those shi�s can a�ect page layout, numbering, and more.

2 of 15 19/09/21, 10:06
Your 11 Step Book Layout Plan - Lulu Blog https://blog.lulu.com/book-layout-for-print-on-demand/

So the key takeaway here is: Don’t tinker with layout or formatting while you write
or edit.

#2 Create Front & Back Matter

Pick a book o� your shelf and look at the �rst few pages. You’ll see a title page, copyright,
maybe a table of contents, or some critic’s reviews of the book. That’s your Front Matter.

Now take that same book and go to the end.

You’ll probably see some acknowledgments, an about the author page, and maybe some
advertising for the next book from that author. That’s your Back Matter.

The front and back matter bookend your book (I’m sorry, publisher humor is nearly Dad
humor).

Your front and back matter need to be part of your content. I suggest creating a new
version of your �nished manuscript and labeling it ‘print’ in the �lename. That’s the �le
you should add the front and back matter to.

Most importantly: be aware of blank pages in your front matter. Most books will have a
blank page or two, particularly in the front matter. We usually do this to set up the spread
layout for the rest of the book.

#3 Research Genre & Style

You’ve written a sprawling historical romance. There’s passion and drama and deception.

Then you publish it with a cover depicting two robots attempting to salsa dance. Despite
your Danielle-Steele-level romance writing, the book doesn’t sell.

When you’re writing and publishing, there’s a �ne line between being original and
meeting expectations. You need a book that visually and physically meets the reader’s
expectations of your genre, while the contents are unique and engaging.

Fortunately, this exercise is relatively easy.

First, write down �ve books you’ve read that are thematically similar to your book. Then
search those books and look at the genres they’re in across a few online bookstores.
Write those genres down and look for repeats among the �ve titles.

Somewhere in there is your genre.

3 of 15 19/09/21, 10:06
Your 11 Step Book Layout Plan - Lulu Blog https://blog.lulu.com/book-layout-for-print-on-demand/

Last step; search your genre and look at best practices for layout, font, and cover design.
You’ll want to hold to those standards to create a book that looks like your genre to
readers.

#4 Create A Style Guide

I love guides and templates. It’s an easy way to ensure long-term consistency. For your
books, that’s akin to branding. You don’t see brands like Nike or McDonalds �ippantly
changing their logos or fonts, do you?

A style guide for your book is helpful for your formatting and doubly useful if you hire a
designer for the interior or cover. Here’s a basic style guide template I like to use:

Fonts

Heading 1 (Title) – Style / Weight / Size

Heading 2 (Chapters) – Style / Weight / Size
Body – Style / Weight / Size
Header/Footer – Style / Weight / Size
Title/cover #1 – Style / Weight / Size
Title/cover #2 – Style / Weight / Size

Page

Size –
Trim size –
Margins –

Colors

Primary color – #hexcode

Secondary color – #hexcode
Black/text – #hexcode
Title/cover – #hexcode

Your guide can be as simple or as detailed as you’d like. Once you’ve got your style guide
ready, you’ll have a document on hand to reference as you layout your book.

#5 Set Up Your Pages (Master Pages)

Open up your preferred layout tool. Create a new, blank �le (or open a template from
Lulu). If you wrote your book in Word and you’re using Word for the layout, you still

4 of 15 19/09/21, 10:06
Your 11 Step Book Layout Plan - Lulu Blog https://blog.lulu.com/book-layout-for-print-on-demand/

should open a new document to begin the page layout.

You’ll need to know your page size (informed by your genre research, naturally). I
recommend downloading the appropriate template bundle and using our single-page
template to start your project.

You need a book that visually and physically meets the reader’s
expectations of your genre, while the contents are unique and
engaging.

Open up the page and verify the dimensions. Yes, even if you use a template, you should
still check the page setup specs to be certain everything is right. You’ll have some preset
margins too; you may need to adjust those based on your book design.

If you’re in A�nity or InDesign, you’ll want to prepare Master Pages. I usually have a
Master for the front/back matter and another Master for the body. That makes it easy to
apply a running header/footer (with title/chapter/author and page numbering) to just
the body of your book.

New User Guide

Jump start your publishing journey

with our free guide!

Get the Guide

#6 Add Your Content

I like to add my content in sections. First the front matter, then I grab a chapter or two
and go from there. As I add content, I do little �xes and set up my page breaks. That’s
about it though.

If you’re using A�nity or InDesign, you’ll want to check that none of your text boxes are
over�owing. With a Master for the body pages set to include page numbering, you should

5 of 15 19/09/21, 10:06
Your 11 Step Book Layout Plan - Lulu Blog https://blog.lulu.com/book-layout-for-print-on-demand/

check on that too. Your so�ware and templates will get most everything right, but you
should still double check to be sure.

It’s very important to note that you do not want to fuss with page numbers if you are
using MS Word. Not yet, at least. Save them for last, right before you export the PDF.

#7 Page Vs. Spread Setup

This can be tricky. For most of us, it’s easier to layout a book in Spreads, but print-on-
demand printers want �les in Pages.

Here’s an example:

Pages Spreads

When you’re viewing a �le as Spreads, the pages are paired just like they would be when
you’re holding a book open. It’s incredibly helpful to see the book the way a reader will
see it when you’re doing the layout and design.

But once it’s time to print, you need those individual pages. You could work in Pages, but
that creates the risk of mis-aligning your �nal PDF pages. InDesign and A�nity make it
easy to choose ‘pages’ when exporting to give you a spreads view of the book while
designing and a PDF of individual pages.

6 of 15 19/09/21, 10:06
Your 11 Step Book Layout Plan - Lulu Blog https://blog.lulu.com/book-layout-for-print-on-demand/

#8 Respect The First Page

Here’s that Spreads image again with the �rst page included:

This is important: The �rst page of printed books is always on the right. And because that
right-side page is opposite the inside of the cover, there’s no le�-side spread.

Tedious, I know.

The solution, when viewing your book layout as a spread, is to isolate the �rst page as
you see it in the image above.

If you’re doing your layout in Word, you won’t have any options to view your book with
this ‘book view’ layout. I don’t know why.

You’ll need to be very careful and conscious of page placement if you’re doing the layout
with Word. Other tools like InDesign will isolate the �rst page from other spreads
automatically.

7 of 15 19/09/21, 10:06
Your 11 Step Book Layout Plan - Lulu Blog https://blog.lulu.com/book-layout-for-print-on-demand/

#9 Apply Styles
You’ve got a book �le that is nearly ready for exporting. The last major hurdle is to apply
all your styles (from the style guide we covered earlier).

When I add my content, I like to clear all the formatting �rst. Since I do most of my writing
in Google Docs, I simply select all, go to Format > Clear All Formatting, and you’ve got a
clean unformatted text. Word and other word processors will have similar features.

Now you need to create (or update) the styles in your layout so�ware. Refer to your style
guide. A�er that, I like to break my content into text blocks to apply the styles. Here’s an
example:

8 of 15 19/09/21, 10:06
Your 11 Step Book Layout Plan - Lulu Blog https://blog.lulu.com/book-layout-for-print-on-demand/

A�er the Heading 1 / Heading 2 text, the rest of the chapter uses the Body style.

#10 Export Your PDF

Export that PDF! Check all your speci�cations to be sure layers are being �attened and
fonts are embedded. You’ll also want to look for image compression to be sure any
pictures or graphics are rendered properly.

Fortunately, we’ve got three exceptional tutorials on our YouTube channel to help you
export your PDF for printing.

9 of 15 19/09/21, 10:06
Your 11 Step Book Layout Plan - Lulu Blog https://blog.lulu.com/book-layout-for-print-on-demand/

Interior and Cover File Setup using Adobe InDesign | Tutorial

Interior and Cover File Setup Using A�nity Publisher | Tutor…

10 of 15 19/09/21, 10:06
Your 11 Step Book Layout Plan - Lulu Blog https://blog.lulu.com/book-layout-for-print-on-demand/

Exporting an Interior File with Microsoft Word | Tutorial

Once you’ve got your PDF, you’re ready to print!

#11 Print And Review

Note that I said ‘print’ and not ‘publish.’ Go to your Lulu account and create a new book
project for printing. Don’t publish it, don’t put it in distribution, don’t assign an ISBN. Just
upload your �les and order one copy.

You will �nd something that needs editing. A stray misspelling. An orphaned line at the
bottom of page 39 throws o� the balance of the page. That �rst printing is NOT your
�nished book. It’s the test to get those last improvements and corrections in.

Go through that �rst printing carefully and edit your �le.

If time allows, do all this again for the second printing. With a little luck and thorough
editing, that second run copy will be your �nished product. It should be very near to
perfect.

And if it’s not? Just revise again!

The Advantages Of Print-On-Demand

Turning a manuscript into a book is an art. The most well-designed books are rarely
�ashy though. It’s a bit of a hidden art; when the design is working, you won’t notice it.

One of the biggest bene�ts of print-on-demand is your opportunity to iterate your book.
That could mean designing a new cover, creating a hardcover edition, or just cleaning up

11 of 15 19/09/21, 10:06
Your 11 Step Book Layout Plan - Lulu Blog https://blog.lulu.com/book-layout-for-print-on-demand/

formatting as you learn more.

Now you’ve got a solid plan for laying out your book and plenty of resources to help you
design like a pro!

Share This Post!

Share Tweet Save 1

Related

How to Make a print-ready PDF Self-Publishing Basics For New Understanding Full Bleed
July 5, 2019 Authors Printing
In "Publishing" May 5, 2020 July 12, 2019
In "Publishing" In "Publishing"

← Previous Post Next Post →

7 Thoughts On “Your 11 Step Book Layout Plan”

SUSAN VANCE
JULY 25, 2021 AT 8:10 PM

I need to scan typed poems that my father in law wrote. I am using a scanner and saving
to a Mac. I would like to edit some of the pages to remove certain lines of print. Can you

12 of 15 19/09/21, 10:06
Your 11 Step Book Layout Plan - Lulu Blog https://blog.lulu.com/book-layout-for-print-on-demand/

suggest what I should do next?

Thanks.

Reply

PAUL@LULU
JULY 26, 2021 AT 11:47 AM

Hi Susan,
Editing scanned documents is a challenge. InDesign and A�nity Publisher are my go-
to for PDF editing, but you’re going to struggle to match the typesetting of the
scanned document. If you want to make any substantial edits, you’ll probably want a
clean �le of the copy and to design the book from that �le rather than page scans.

JOE
JULY 10, 2021 AT 9:12 PM

Thank you for posting this article and for the tutorial video for using A�nity Publisher. I
wish you would follow that video up with another that focuses more on the setup of the
interior of the book because this one seemed to focus more on the book cover.

Reply

JULIE LEE
JUNE 28, 2021 AT 4:37 PM

I created a 23 page children’s book in 8X10, and Lulu wouldn’t allow me to print it as a
hardback. I sent a message to customer service asking what I needed to do/change in
order to print in hardback, and got no response. I hoped this article would give me
answers to that problem, but since it didn’t, maybe someone can tell me what has to be
done?

Reply

13 of 15 19/09/21, 10:06
Your 11 Step Book Layout Plan - Lulu Blog https://blog.lulu.com/book-layout-for-print-on-demand/

PAUL@LULU
JUNE 28, 2021 AT 8:08 PM

Hi Julie,
Sorry to hear you didn’t get a response from our support team. De�nitely worth
checking your spam/junk folder, our support emails get caught in �lters sometimes.
8×10 isn’t a standard book size we o�er. The nearest size is 8.5×11 (US Letter) or 8.27
x 11.69 (A4) – these are both standard ‘full page’ sizes for a book and both have
hardcover options.
The best place to get started is our Product Page, where you can �nd all our product
speci�cations. You should also check out the Book Creation Guide on our Guides &
Templates page. That’s the best way to get the details about how to prepare your �le
for print-on-demand.
Hope that helps!

L SMETZER
JUNE 28, 2021 AT 1:16 PM

We had done family history books for years with no problem. Wonderful! Then for my last
one, creating a cover became a nightmare!! Process almost impossible.

Reply

PAUL@LULU
JUNE 28, 2021 AT 1:31 PM

Hi L,
Sorry to hear you’ve been struggling with your cover! I’m not sure if you mean you had
trouble uploading your cover to Lulu or if you were struggling with creating your cover.
But we have a ton of articles about both!

Join The Conversation

Enter your comment here...

14 of 15 19/09/21, 10:06
Your 11 Step Book Layout Plan - Lulu Blog https://blog.lulu.com/book-layout-for-print-on-demand/

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

About Lulu | Post Archive | Guest Post | Support

Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2002-2021 Lulu Press, Inc. All Rights Reserved

15 of 15 19/09/21, 10:06