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Services

Studio E Books can do whatever is needed to turn a manuscript, however rough, into a finished traditional book or e-book ready to read. Our services fall into four categories: editing, book design and layout, printing, and e-book creation/conversion. These four may be combined in any way.

Editing

Depending on a book’s needs, we can provide developmental editing, line editing, copy editing, and proofreading. Each has its own goals and uses different skills, although there is some overlap. They are best done separately, in order.
   We can also help with “art manuscript” planning, acquisition, and editing of photos, illustrations, and other art.

Developmental editing looks at content. Plot, characters, and themes. Suggestions might include adding, omitting, or combining chapters or characters; shortening and streamlining, writing headings, captions, or cover copy; or helping to create a bibliography or index.

Line editing looks at expression. Paragraph and sentence structure, word choice, clarity, etc. Suggestions might address wordiness, metaphors, clichés, naturalness of speech, or punching up jokes. Most manuscripts would benefit from line editing.

Copy editing looks at mechanics. Compliance with The Chicago Manual of Style. Suggestions address spelling, compound words, grammatical errors, capitalization, italics, bibliographic listings, etc. It should be done after all other editing. All manuscripts would benefit from copy editing.

Proofreading looks for unintentional errors. Typing and layout. Suggestions address misspelling, transposed letters, missing periods or quotation marks, words or paragraphs set in the wrong style, missing fonts, etc. Proofreading is done after the book has been laid out in page form, and should not be omitted.

Art manuscript acquistion and editing. Photo/image research, review of candidate images for the cover and interior, commission or purchase art, and hands-on editing of digital art.

Book Design

Book design is the centerpiece of our work. Every job is a custom job, as our Portfolio shows.
   Our first goal is to help the author communicate with the reader, enhancing his or her message. We use type settings and design elements that reflect the book’s style and subject—historically, artistically, nationally, etc. No two of our books are the same. Yet our ideal is always a page that is not only easy to read but inviting, calm yet lively, well-balanced, and with a clear hierarchy. We also like asymmetry!
   Our second goal is to design a book that does what it needs to do as economically as possible. That means helping our clients make informed decisions about how best to present their text and illustrations; it also means designing with printer’s costs and capabilities in mind.

If you're considering an online publishing service, avoid the fatal flaw of looking like a self-published “vanity press” book with substandard design. The templates used by such services are often inferior, and are not customized for you. The book trade and media outlets ignore books that look self-published.
   Fortunately, the same online services also accept professionally typeset layouts in PDF format, which Studio E Books can provide. That's starting to become the norm nowadays.

Book design should not only suit but enhance your work. Your work deserves the same care and artistry in production as you gave it when you wrote it. Please compare our Portfolio with those of other services, and you'll see the difference.

Printing

Studio E Books brokers printing for hardcover and paperback books, and/or provides print-ready PDF files for traditional offset printing, digital printing, print-on-demand, and e-book conversion. Our printing partners of more than a decade give us great books and good prices. Please see the Specs page for details.
   If you’re considering a print-on-demand service, be aware that some of these are not considered trade-quality books by media outlets and the book trade. Traditional printing offers a much higher quality book at comparable prices for print runs of 250 and up. Your work deserves the same confidence in printing as you gave it when you wrote it.

E-Books

E-books are a great way for new writing to be published at minimal expense, and also for older titles to find new life in a new market.
    We offer both e-book creation for new books, and e-book conversion of existing books. We use Mobi fromat for the Amazon Kindle and ePub2 format for everyone else, meaning our e-books are readable and functional on any device. Our e-books are carefully formatted to be fully compliant with the latest specifications of this fast-developing field, and scores of our e-books are already being sold online.
    For more information, please see the E-Books page.

Individual Consultation

More than 25 years experience in all kinds of publishing means we can offer valuable advice on most aspects of any project, including how to self-publish, how to find a publisher, how to prepare your manuscript and illustrations, the plusses and minuses of traditional versus self-publishing channels, costs and practical considerations for printed books versus e-books, design and layout help, and general publishing questions. We're excited to hear about your project and anxious to help you make it all it can be. Consultation rates are affordable and are partially refundable if the consultation results in a book production contract within a year. Personal consultations can take place in person at Studio E Books (Santa Barbara, California), or by telephone.
    Contact Eric today to enquire about your book and to schedule a personal consultation.

Publishing

Please note that Studio E Books is not a publisher; we do not offer marketing, promotion, or fulfillment. We do, however, offer sound advice to new publishers to set them on the right track. We do not provide ISBNs, which are available from R.R. Bowker. We do provide bar codes.

Advice & Opinions

Part of the baggage of 20 years in book-making is that you tend to have an opinion about everything: whether or not to use the serial comma, whether Adobe Garamond is superior to Stempel (it is), or whether the bar code should include the price. We offer plenty of advice and opinions, if they will improve the book or save you money. But we only suggest, we do not insist.

 

Without writing and without books there would be no history;
there could be no concept of humanity.
—Herman Hesse