Laying out the Book

The next thing I wanted to do was layout the book itself, so I could add things I need to along the way, rather than just putting it all together and deigning the layout. I did this using InDesign. I have 12 pages, including the title page, contents, etc.

I printed out my cover and decided on a more popular, and smaller size of 5.5 in x 8.5 in. This looked less like a textbook and more a novel. I also finished the chapter sample itself and put in copyrights and titles, etc. I had to fiddle with the text placing as I didn't want it too close to the edge and risk someone cropping it or not being able to read it.

I had to also keep in mind where fingers would be while holding the book. In the screenshot, you can see theres a larger gap between the bind rather than on the edge. However, after printing it, I realised there was hardly any space for people to hold the book without getting their fingers over the text. This made me make more room at the bottom, top and edge of the pages.

I've decided to print it on A3 paper and trim the edges so it fits inside the cover. I printed the book itself on matte A3, and the content on usual A3 paper. I'll staple these together to make a polished looking book.