You would think that ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to books. Having recently attended the London Book Fair, I know that this is absolutely not true!  I think the problem is that authors do not realise the options that are available to them. As a result, they simply ask for a gloss finish or a matt finish.   Doh!

When it comes to the way your book looks and feels there are over 40 different options to choose from. Why settle for a basic finish when there are so many more to choose from?  It is down to the author to ask for something different. If you don’t, then you will end up with your book looking like everyone else’s. It deserves better!

Aren’t fancy books more expensive that plain ones?  What is the advantage of adding to your costs?  Good question!  Here is a strategy which can make financial sense – and make you more money!

First a question. Which book sales make you the most money?  It is not a trick question. With every book you sell through bookshops or Amazon, you need to surrender a discount of around 60%, so you only receive 40% of the cover price – and you still have to pay for the printing out of that!

However, the books that you sell direct to your fans and followers, on your website, social media or events,  you receive the full price without giving a discount. Putting that extra margin to good use, you can easily afford to pay a little extra for book enhancement and still make more money than from a book trade sale.

AND there is also no reason why you cannot charge more for a limited edition than for a standard edition.

What are your options?

What different options do you have to enhance your limited edition? For starters you could extend your book cover and fold it inwards to create flaps. Simple but effective.

Another very simple idea is to go for a Duplex cover. This means that the inside of your cover is printed, instead of just white.  You could have a solid colour, a full-page image or a repeating pattern. Whatever you choose, you could extend it onto  the first facing page and, indeed, the next left-hand page. It looks really good and makes the book look and feel special, with only pennies of an extra cost.

Now here is something you don’t often see . Edge Printing!  The edge of the book block, on all three sides, can be fully printed in colour. This doesn’t just have to  be a solid colour, it can be a picture or a design.  Edge printing really makes a book stand out. Another version of this is to use gold on the edges of the book.

Does every book need to have simple black text?  Only on the standard international version. On a limited edition, printed in colour, the text can be any colour you like!

Does the paper need to be white – not if you don’t want it to be!  Providing the book is printed in colour, you can use a light tint to cover the page to give the impress of coloured paper. You don’t need to print on coloured paper to achieve this effect.

Many limited edition books will have a hard cover. Once again, you have choices!  A printed paper Case (PPC) is a hard cover book where the cover artwork is wrapped around the boards and glued to them.  This is attractive, durable and very common.

Alternatively, you can have a hard cover book with the cover artwork printed onto a dust jacket. The book itself would have a canvas finish in one of a large number of colours. The title of the book is usually printed in gold foil on the spine. This is a very tradition finish.

Cover embellishments

With some cover finishes, such as printing with Spot UV varnish, and also with embossing or debossing, metal plates would be required to be created to achieve these effects. The cost of producing the plates would need to be spread over the quantity ordered.  Very often a printer might have to outsource this process if they don’t have that type of machine available. This can add addition time for printing. You might need to place a minimum order of 250 to 500 to ensure that the unit price is acceptable.  The same applies to adding foil printing to a book cover, in gold of silver.

My advice is to spend a happy hour or so in a good bookshop and be inspired but what other creative authors or their publisher have done. Everything you see is possible for your book.

In order for the cost to be low enough for a mass market book, the printing is very often done in China or the Far East.  The prices can be surprisingly low, but to get low prices, you would need to order a substantial quantity. This can take a few months to print and then you need time to ship them to the UK. Not a fast option.

Finally, you have spent an enormous amount of time writing and researching your book, in the future it will be your legacy, so you want it to be the best it can be.  Instead of rushing to get the book out there as quickly as possible, take a moment to explore all the printing and design options available to you. You only have one chance to get it right.

Chris Day