The Decay Within – Production Diary, Part 7 – Layout

This month has The Decay Within moving to the layout phase of production. Now that the cover has been chosen (see below) we can really start to grind out the details of a book that I certainly never thought about before. What font should we use? How wide should the margins be? Should the headings be centered or left-justified? How do we want to format the chapter beginnings? Who knew there were so many little things to think about!



Luckily, I’m not alone in this task. Tate Graphic Designer Sarah Kirchen has joined the “Decay Within team” this month to polish off the final details. She’s going to take elements from the cover design I chose to help guide her to answer all those questions above, plus several more that I probably don’t even realize. This will help the entire book look cohesive and drive home the themes and message the book is to convey.

At the end of this month, I’ll receive a proof copy of The Decay Within in the mail. I’ll have several weeks to review and read through the book looking for those last minute errors, typos, and any other issues before I sign off on the finished product and the book goes to print. The end is definitely in sight!!

For those of you who are interested in a pre-order copy, I’ll officially start taking orders for those around the middle of December. Be watching for more information on that!

COVER CHOICE

Now, for the cover design chosen. I had several goals and objectives for this cover. I liked aspects of all the choices I was given, but in the end there can be only one cover. So, without any further ado, here’s my choice and below are my reasons:

Reasons for my choice:

1) I wanted something bold/dramatic. I wanted something that evokes emotion.
2) I wanted something that is unusual when thinking about Bible studies. I want it to jump off the shelf, as it were, when placed next to a grouping of related Bible studies. Think shock value.
3) This book is heavy on the repentance and salvation message, as such, I’m not necessarily trying to appeal only to the “churched” crowd. I recognize that some Bible study readers may be turned off initially by the picture, but by the same token, some people who would never consider picking up a Bible study might be willing to give it a try.
4) In talking to the designer, the graphic is going to wrap around the book and so the skull will complete on the back side.
5) We made the title font bolder than the original design. I think this still makes it more readable, even in a small thumbnail picture like what will be on Amazon etc.