Of course there are printers who can lay out and print a manuscript for you, but effective publishing involves far more than that. The retail market today is obsessed by format. The impact of design and lifestyle programmes on television and features in the media has made us all much more style-conscious than was the case even five years ago. Attractiveness of format now plays an increasing role in our decisions as consumers.
Commercial publishers have experience in choosing an appropriate format for each product under consideration. Sometimes, relatively minor product adaptations may make something accessible to a much wider market: for example, adding more illustrations or a more appealing cover may vastly increase a title’s saleability. For professional books, aimed at a specific market, format considerations may be less important, and it may be effective just to match the format to an existing style. In the case of a book being bought for its illustrations, the main product considerations would be the quality of the photographs and the comprehensiveness of the volume’s content. The size of the book is less important and could just be made to match other photographic compendia on the market.
If you feel that the style of the book you want to produce is a crucial part of its overall appeal, you may either decide to run with the professionals or employ the services of a book
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