Graphic Design Stage

After my illustrations were complete, my book as moved into the graphic design phase in October.  My designer started with the cover first.  She sent me 3 different ones and said to keep in mind my customers. So I decided to take all three to my 2nd grade class and let them vote on the one they liked.  They were divided between two.  I asked them what they liked about both and then sent an email to my designer asking her if she could combine the two.  She did and so the cover was finalized. 

The next phase was the Initial Proof, which is the layout design.  She took my manuscript and made it look like a book.  She integrated the illustrations.  Once she was done, I had to ok it. I needed to make sure the visual experience matched the tone of the book.  This is the time when I needed to pay attention to fonts, font size, formatting, and the spread - what the book will look like on the inside.  I was so excited to see this part.  It was the first time I saw all the illustrations.  I showed it to a few friends and they loved it.  I was impressed with my illustrator. She did a great job.

Then we went to the Final Proof phase. The designer continued to work on the layout of the inside.  She created the back cover and spine using the backmatter I created awhile back.  The backmatter is the teaser about the book.  She also put in a section about the author and a picture.   When she was done, she sent me a copy in the mail to be checked over.  I was so excited.  I brought it to school and showed it to a few people.  I even read it to my class and had them write down their favorite part and illustrate it.  I then took it home and looked over it trying to find any mistakes.  If I had found any, I was suppose to mark directly on the book with red ink and visit a link to get a correction form.   I was fortunate that I didn't need it.  My book was fine.  So I had to mail back the book, so they could use it as a color match for the final product .  I really wanted to keep it, but I mailed it in as quickly as I could so that the next phase could begin.