With the advent of eBooks, Mr. Sagan’s sentiment still stands. A book will transport the reader to another world, but only if they aren’t interrupted by poor formatting and navigation. Disruptive formatting can have far reaching effects. Just Google it: Bad Book Formatting. All it takes is one bad reader review and sales can plummet. When readers are disrupted by awkward formatting or poor flow, they’re prevented from getting lost in your world of literary wonder. The blemishes keep pulling them back. The Deliberate Page came about because, despite a plethora of resources for self-publishing authors, few of them really address proper formatting for the reader experience.
eBooks are a wonderful, cost effective format for wide distribution of your work, but there are literally dozens of file formats, each with its own unique requirements. Making each appear like you desire it to, and to function like a reader expects, can be overwhelming, especially across a number of formats.
Sometimes electronic formats can’t do a book justice and there’s nothing like holding a tangible manifestation of your hard work. Somehow, signing an eBook just isn’t the same. Good print formatting is easy to overlook. When done properly, it practically disappears from the page. Bad or disruptive formatting on the other hand, jumps off the page, causing your reader to stumble away from your intended path. It can subtly (on not so subtly) imply a lack of professionalism that casts a shadow on the work you have put so much time an effort into.
At The Deliberate Page, we know how to design for the reader and we’ll work directly with you to create your unique reader experience. There are no two books that are just alike; we don’t have a meat grinder, one-format-fits-all solution. We want to help you make your book unique and professional.