If you’re new to typesetting it can be very overwhelming. But it doesn’t have to be. I’ve recently been asked by several student designers to elaborate a bit more on Typesetting procedures and best practices.

Overview:

• All books should be typeset and gathered using InDesign’s “Book” feature. (No books that contain “chapters” (including Slims and Minis) should be set up as a single flowing document).
• All books should follow a standard “style” labeling schema for both Paragraph and Character styles as detailed below.
• All elements within a document SHOULD be utilizing paragraph styles.
• Master pages should be utilized as much as possible.

File Name Standards:

• Before you can utilize the “book” feature in InDesign you must first have a set of documents to work with. Ideas for naming these book Documents would include the following file names:
  • FrontMatter.indd (Include Title pages, Copyright, Table of Contents)
  • Acknowledgement.indd
  • Introduction.indd
  • Preface.indd
  • Foreword.indd
  • Chapter1.indd
  • Chapter2.indd . . . and so forth until the end of the book
  • Appendix1.indd . . . and so forth as needed
  • AboutTheAuthor.indd
  • Ads.indd

  Creating A Template
  To create the appropriate “design” of the book. You will want to start designing with Chapter 1.

  • Create a new document (apple + n)
  • Set document page count (just guess at this point)
  • Set document margins (remember to allow thumb room and interior gutter)
  • Set document bleeds

  

  Screenshots from CS4 but the process is the same

  Number and Section Options:
  Number and Section Options are found under the “Pages” panel flyout menu:

  

  Numbering and Section Options

  For each document set the “Number and Section Options” to “automatic page numbering”. Front matter will be set to “Roman Numerals” styles, but all others will be set to “Arabic Numerals”.  When this is set up, the page numbers will automatically update throughout the entire book as pages are added or subtracted to a single document.

  

  Tip! Use this document to set up your master pages, paragraph styles and character styles. When finished save it as a “template” for the rest of the book.
  
  Using Styles:
  To maintain consistency, I often use a specific naming scheme to be used when creating my paragraph styles.

  Paragraph Styles Naming Standards:
  Chapter Number
  Chapter Title
  Chapter Opening
  Body Copy
  Scriptures
  Pullouts

  Opening Your Paragraph Styles:
  Window  > Type and Tables  > Paragraph Styles

  

  From the Paragraph Styles panel click the flyout and select “New Paragraph Style” or from the bottom of the panel window click the “New Style” icon.

  
  

  Creating the Style:
  When creating a new style there are really only 4 of the Paragraph Styles option panels you need to deal with:
  1.    “General” you will name your new style (one of the names above) and be sure to set your “Based On Style” to “No Paragraph Style”. Why? If your style is “Based” on another style and the other style changes it will alter this one as well. That is something you do NOT want to happen.

  

  2.    “Basic Character Formats” you select your typeface, weight, size and leading height.

  

  3.    “Indents and Spacing” choose your alignment (normally left justify for body copy) and extra spacing. i.e. First line indent for body copy, space after and before for subheads or scripture text, etc.

  

  4.    “Hyphenation” Set your hyphenation options as seen below:

  

  Now your new style is complete.

  Tip! To apply a paragraph style to an entire paragraph it’s not necessary to highlight the entire paragraph, you can simply click within the paragraph and select your style to alter the entire thing. Also try clicking with the formatting eyedropper tool for a quick fix.

  When to Use a Character Style?
  Character styles should be used anytime an “override” needs to take place for a paragraph style. For instance a bold word, a bold number, etc.

  Opening Your Character Styles:
  Window  > Type and Tables > Character Styles

  From the Character Styles panel click the flyout and select “New Character Style” or from the bottom of the panel window click the “New Style” icon.

  Creating a character style is the same process as a paragraph style but with more selective options. And applying them requires that you click within the WORD or highlight the character that you would like to change.
  
  Master Pages:
  Your master pages will need to include:
  •    Page Numbers
  •    Running Heads
  •    Chapter Opening Art
  •    Any other graphic elements that are consistent chapter to chapter

  Adding Your Content:
  As long as you have created your margins and columns within your InDesign document, you can flow all the text in for your first chapter automatically. To do this, choose File > Place and then select the document you’d like to flow in.

  Your cursor will change showing you that there is content to place. You can flow this content in with several different options. The quickest and most efficient way is to “auto-flow” the text throughout the document. Using this option will automatically place the text for you, allowing you to go back in and fine tune the layout and add your paragraph styles as needed.

  

  
  

  Creating the “Book”:
  Once your main document is set up you will want to use the template you saved to create each subsequent chapter.
  
  To create the “book file:
  File > New > Book
  1.    Name the book as needed. This creates a new “book” panel in your workspace.
  2.    Click the “+” to add documents to your book.

  

  3.    Load all your documents into your book panel.
  4.    Your page numbers will auto adjust and you can now edit each document by simply double clicking it to open make your changes and then save the documents.
  5.    When you’re finished with the book file, you can save and close the book panel, export the entire book to digital additions (more on that later) or package the book for printing!

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Each day it seems technology changes. For the professional designer these changes must be embraced or your profession will soon move on without you. Lets think for a moment about the eight track tape. Depending on your age you may not even know what I’m talking about. and let me assure you they were before my lifetime as well.

Chances are you’ve at least heard of the over-sized cassette tapes. Cassette tapes? Oh yeah. That was next and finally in my lifetime. I remember as an elementary student when those flat Frisbee looking discs came out for music looking proudly at my cassette collection and thinking happily, “No, those things will never catch on. I’ll be fine.”

How wrong could I be? Now years after CDs finally became popular our newer way to listen to music are intangible MP3 files. We buy them, but we can see them. We can’t feel them. And yet we think nothing of it.

Hopefully by now you catch my drift. As a designer a lot of the mediums we’re used to are being replaced. Direct mail is often substituted by email campaigns. Newspapers are replaced by interactive and user driven Web content. And now with the introduction of Amazons Kindle and Apples iPad devices we know that traditional books will soon be going the way of the buffalo.

So what do we do about it? How do you handle seeing pieces of your job security being transferred to intangible prices of technology?

the answer is simple. You LEARN and EVOLVE or head for home. There really isn’t another option. While I’m not preaching doom on those of us that love the smell of a new ream of paper I do think it’s important to learn WITH the changes rather than struggling against them. As such I have embarked on becoming an expert at eBook conversion.

For the past six months I have read every article, every trend forecast and every bit of information I could grasp to be ready for the revolution.

In the next few weeks as my busy work and client schedule allows I will begin to write yips for ebook and typeset beginners that I’ve picked up along the way! See you on the other side of technology!

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