This project was challenging but also very rewarding! I was able to save this client from a predatory scam "publishing house" and make their dream of self-publishing come true within a fair budget and timeline!
The author is a teenager who had severe medical issues that were resolved by a Keto Diet. His mother was helping him turn it into a book with the intention of donating profits to charity. So this was a passion project, one they hoped would reach other familes!
The clients had hired an illustrator to create the illustrations and add text in Adobe Illustrator. However, it was clear that the illustrator did not have experience in self-publishing, so the files were the wrong size for printing and the text too close to the edge.
The clients had also hired a publishing services company that was clearly a scam and was severely overcharging them! One huge red flag was that they offered a US-only ISBN or an international ISBN at a much higher price. All ISBNs are international though you purchase them from the agency in the country where you reside. Many scam companies take advantage of the fact that self-publishing can indeed be confusing.
I stepped in to demystify the process and work the client to get their book up and running. First, we discussed the various options for publishing including KDP, IngramSpark, and ebook distributors, as well as paperback and hardcover options. She decided she wanted paperback and hardcover editions for both KDP and IngramSpark. Because this is a picture book, we ultimately decided to do an ebook via KDP and their lovely Kindle Kids' Book Creator.
The client decided she wanted some sample pages before hiring me full time, which I was happy to accommodate. Since we had been discussing trim sizes, I did the first 5 pages in two different trims and we settled on an 8.5" x 8.5" size.
From there I began the process of extracting the art from the Adobe Illustrator files, adding them to the document in InDesign and then adding the text inside textboxes. Because the illustrations were designed for pages that were 8" x 10" this meant adapting the images by shifting them, rescaling them to make them bigger or smaller, and other little tweaks.
The last two pages, which featured photos of the author in Polaroid-like frames was particularly painstaking work because I had to fit all those pictures and captions inside the margins allowed by KDP and IngramSpark.
We went through a few rounds of revision with the client before they were satisfied with the interior. From there I was able to create a paperback cover for KDP, and a paperback and hardcover cover for IngramSpark, as well as use Kindle Kids' Book Creator to create an ebook that maintained the images while adding readable text!
