It's time to talk design! Recently we’ve discussed the beginning stages of creating a new product and working with Vervante. In Part 1 and 2 of this series, we discussed the first steps of defining and content creation for your new product. Now we’re ready to talk about design.
When it comes to designing a book or product, it's important to pay attention to the details. For example, you can have a gorgeous cover design for your book, but if when you look inside the words are cut off in the margin, or holes are punched in the wrong places, it can ruin the whole experience. Things like margin width and print file formatting are very important. Whether you are doing the design yourself, or you use a graphic design professional, attention to these technical details is crucial.
How to prepare your files for printing
We know you’re excited to get your new product printed and we want to expedite the process as quickly as possible for you. All files must be submitted as print-ready PDFs using the "Upload Files" link on your Author Dashboard. When you upload your PDFs, our team downloads your files and reviews them to ensure that they are set up properly for printing. Many of our customers create their own print files using applications such as Canva, while others hire a professional graphic designer. Both methods are fine, just remember that your PDFs must contain bleed and crop marks in order to be considered print-ready.
Tips for designers who use Canva
If you use the online design program Canva to create your products, you’re not alone. Many of our customers use Canva with great results for creating planners, journals, card decks, calendars and more. If you have your Canva designs ready to send to us, be sure to check out this blog article filled with tips to insure your files are correctly set up.
Why margin width is important
If you are designing a new planner, journal or book, attention to margins is crucial. For example, you can have a gorgeous eye-catching cover, but if you open the book and the words are cut off in the margin, or holes are punched through them, it can ruin the whole experience. In general, for spiral or wire-o bound products we recommend 1/2" margins to be safe. However, if space is an issue, you can follow these specific guides:
Holes for spiral binding are smaller and only require 1/4" of the binding edge.
Wire-o holes are larger and require 1/2" margins
Bleed and crop marks
Missing bleed and crop marks are one of the most popular reasons for rejected print files. If your PDF has edge-to-edge printing, then you need bleed. This means the image should be slightly larger than the finished page size so that when we trim to the crop marks, we will cut through the image so that the printing actually prints edge to edge. Without bleed, your page/cover/document will have a white border all of the way around and the color will not print to the edge of the sheet. Be sure to download our free expert guide for more information about bleed and crop marks.
FREE RESOURCES
Our Help Page offers a variety of free resources including product videos and guides on everything from design to step-by-step instructions. Below are links to just a few available:
(Coming Soon to our Expert Guides Page) Guide for Using InDesign
In this section of our special 5-part series, we hope we shared information that has inspired and motivated you to move forward with your idea for a book or special product. Next week, we will focus on important facts about publishing and printing your products, including tips for how to imprint as an author, pricing your products, listing on Amazon, online sales, and more.
(Part 2 of our "How to Create a Product From Start to Finish 5-part series)
How to Create a Product with Vervante: Part 2
In the second installment of this special series of articles, we will guide you through the next steps once you’ve defined the product you want to create.
How to get printing cost quotes
Once you've defined exactly what you want to create, you can reach out to our team to find out what it will cost to print it. We provide free quotes, all you need to know when requesting a quote are general specifications. Here are a few examples:
Books: Size of book, number of pages, cover type, binding method
Card decks or greeting cards: Size of cards, number of cards, packaging
Planners or journals: Number of pages, page size, tabs, covers, binding, etc.
To request a quote, go to the Vervante website and click on “Get a Quote” in the top right-hand corner. Fill out the required information and you will receive an email response with the quote information.
Create a Vervante author account
To upload files and order products, you need to create a Vervante author account. It’s free, quick, and easy. Just go to our website and click on Sign Up. Once you’re set up, you can access your Author Dashboard, which is where you can upload files for printing, place orders, and access everything from sales reports to invoice details and everything else you need to manage your account.
Writing and creating content
No matter what kind of product you are creating - books, planners, card decks, children's books, coloring books, etc. - it's guaranteed that you will need some amount of written content for that product. Content is just as important as design when it comes to creating a product that is both attractive and functional. Here are a few of our tips to give you a head start as you create content for your product:
The importance of copy editing: Nothing can be more damaging to your products and your reputation than publishing a book or other written product that is filled with typos, errors, and incorrect information. A few mistakes here and there aren't that big of a deal, but consistent misspellings, grammar errors, and incorrect information will distract your reader and leave them with a negative perception of you, your expertise, and the message or information you share. Check out this article to learn more about the different types of editing and how important it is for the success of your product: "The Importance of Copy Editing."
Understanding legal issues: Understanding how to protect your unique work and the rules you need to follow is an essential part of being an author and entrepreneur. We've published several resources and multiple blog articles about the most common issues, answering many FAQs that our customers send our way. We've included links below to articles and free guides you can access that will give you a good working knowledge of the do's and don'ts as you create your new product.
What to put on your book copyright page: The copyright page is found at the front of the book, usually right after the title page. The format can be varied as there is no single accepted template for copyright pages. Generally, they will contain things like: copyright notice, ISBN, publisher information, contact information, rights and permissions, country book is printed in, author website, credits and disclaimers. Follow the link to this story, "What to Put on Your Copyright Page," and you'll see lots of examples you can use for inspiration.
FREE RESOURCES Our Help Page offers a variety of free resources including product videos and guides on everything from design tips to copyrighting. Below are links to just a few of the many guides available:
In this section of our special 5-part series, we hope we shared information that has inspired and motivated you to move forward with your idea for a book or special product. Next week, we will cover what you need to know about designing your product, with insider tips to help you through the process.
As part of our mission to help you have the best publishing experience possible, we’ve created a special series of articles to take you through the process from inspiration to creation to completion. Whether you're new to Vervante or have worked with us in the past, we think this will be such a valuable series for clarifying everything you need to do, step-by-step, to make your big ideas into reality. (If you miss anything, just check the links at the end of the article.)
Creating a New Product: Getting Started
One of the most important steps for any project is the first step. Decades of experience in the publishing industry has taught us that just the act of gathering your thoughts and ideas and defining what exactly you want to create can be one of the hardest things you do. We’ve been there and helped thousands of customers get started, so here are our best tips:
FIRST: Define your product
A great place to start is to look at other similar products like the one you want to create. Determine what you like about them and start writing down details such as: size (physical dimensions), number of pages, fonts, colors, type of binding, and any special treatments.
NEXT: Watch product videos
A great place to get ideas and see how things look in real life is by watching the videos on our Video Vault web page. These videos spotlight a variety of products close-up and in action, narrated by our CEO, showing ways to create and elevate your products. Currently there are videos for binders, planners, journals, card decks, calendars, custom printed boxes, greeting cards, stickers, book cover treatments, and more. We’re always adding something new, so be sure to check back often for lots of ideas and inspiration.
THE NEXT STEP: Order samples
Holding a sample product in your hand is one of the best ways to decide if you’re choosing the right specifications. We have a Samples Page on our website filled with products you can order to help you make your final decision. One of the most popular samples is our Paper Sample Notepad that includes eight of our most popular paper options – a great way to test the look and feel of the type of paper you’ll want to use. We also offer samples for books, book binding, calendars, card decks and greeting cards, posters, binders, printed boxes, pocket planners, newsletters, notepads, certificates and more.
DOWNLOAD: Product catalog
We do books ... and so much more! From books to other products such as daily planners, card decks, calendars, notecards, journals, CDs, and DVDs, we've got you covered. Get to know the wide variety of products, packaging, and publishing solutions we offer by downloading our detailed product catalog. (Just go to our home page and click on "Catalog" in the top menu.)
FINALLY: Explore our extensive free resources
EXPERT GUIDES: Free downloads for everything from how to get started to how to sell and even in-depth technical advice for setting up print files and shopping baskets.
BLOG: Hundreds of articles, updates and even highlights of other customer stories that will inspire and assist.
FREE BOOK: On the Expert Guide page, you'll find a link to download our free book "How to Self Publish." It's a complete guide for printing and publishing books and products and gives you everything you need in full detail for your next project.
We know we’ve given you a lot of information, but this moment where you’re just getting started really is that important. Here’s a final thought…
The most important move you will make right now is to choose the right company to work with. After more than 30 years in the publishing industry, we’ve seen up close and personal what you need – and what you don’t need – in order to pick the right company to help you. And we know that no matter if you choose to work with a large corporate publisher or specialized boutique organization, these are universal truths that will help you make the right decisions to ensure that your publishing experience is valuable, productive and, above all, stress-free.
So click here to download “The 7 Things You Must Look For in a Publisher,” and be sure to reach out to us if you have any questions. In the next few weeks, we’ll be publishing more articles and information, so soak it in and get ready to create the amazing, inspiring, and business-building products you’ve been dreaming of.
It's time to talk design! Recently we’ve discussed the beginning stages of creating a new product and working with Vervante. In Part 1 and 2 of this series, we discussed the first steps of defining and content creation for your new product. Now we’re ready to talk about design.
FREE RESOURCES
How to Create a Product with Vervante: Part 2
Our 
As part of our mission to help you have the best publishing experience possible, we’ve created a special series of articles to take you through the process from inspiration to creation to completion.