Publish your book with style!

Epigraph’s professional designers will give your book the competitive edge it needs. Now offering seven different ways to use our design service. Remember, your book’s marketing begins with its cover.

Not sure which Epigraph design service is right for you? Hit our chat button or email us.

Largest Selection Available

Epigraph’s wide selection of formats and trim sizes is at your disposal  Let one of our publishers or designers help you select the format and size that is right for your next (or first) book…..

B&W paperbacks with four-color covers

Black and White Paperbacks with Four-Color Covers

‘Standard’ paperbacks (traditional American sizes) with matte or gloss finished covers in either 55lb crème or 50lb white interior pages: 5x8, 5.5x8.5, 6x9

‘Non-standard small’ (prints at same price as standard though design costs may vary) paperbacks with matte or gloss covers, available with white 50lb paper: 5.250x8, 5.5x8.5, 5.83x8.27, 5.06x7.81, 5.250x8,  6.14x9.21,6.69x9.61, 7.5x9.25, 7.44x9.69

‘Large’ paperbacks with matter or gloss cover and 50lb white interior pages: 7x10, 8x10, 8.25x11, 8.268x11.693 (A4), 8.5x11

B&W hard-covers with four-color covers

‘Standard Hardcover’: Available with 4-color laminate without jacket, or cloth with foil stamping with or with jacket in matte or gloss. Choice of 55lb crème or 50lb white interior pages: 5x8, 5.5x8.5, 6x9

‘Non-standard small hardcover’ sizes: Same choices as above but on white 50lb paper: 6.14x9.21, 6.69x9.61

‘Large hard-cover’: 4 color laminate cover on 50lb white paper: 7x10, 8.5x11

Color Books

Trim Sizes for Color Books on 70lb white paper

Paperback or Hardcover (cloth with or without jacket) available in most sizes

Your choice of Saddle stitch for books of 4-48 pages or Perfect bound (with spine): 24-480 pages

Small Color: 5.5x8.5

Medium Color: 6x9, 6.14x9.21, 8.5x8.5 (in paperback only)

Large Color: 7 x 10, 8 x 10, 8.5 x 11

Don’t see the exact specifications for your book here? Our Creative Plus design service may be right for you! We can design books to (nearly) any specifications, though the sizes here are the ones designed for print-on-demand distribution.

Included in Basic Publishing Package

Working closely with you and our professional book designer we will match your book’s content to its intended reader’s aesthetics in a way that reflects well on you to readers and reviewers. If you remember that self published books are still at a disadvantage in today’s highly competitive book market, you will understand the importance of our Basic design premise: your book shouldn’t look self-published. It needs to have all of its industry-standard parts in their right place and done properly, including your copyright page. There are actually a lot of ‘rules’ to book design. (‘Conventions’ is perhaps a better word today.) It turns out that following the rules enhances most book designs; it not only lends a certain gravitas by connecting to centuries-old literary practices and patterns, it insures read-ability. At the least, an Epigraph design will insure that your book will not be rejected on the basis of design (flaws). This is more than can be said for many self publishing companies. At the best, you will have a design that makes you proud every time you look at your book.

Ready to Dazzle?

Some books or authors merit high-concept design (see chip kidd…link to Basic page). This kind of design doesn’t just endear itself to fans, it dazzles the eye and mind. In this category of design a creative process is engaged (with you) that might involve, for example, extensive art research and acquisition or commission; more than 5 iterations of basic design concepts; unusual or specific sizes, materials and/or formats; illustrations; photography; conception.

Quoted upon request

For Larger than Life Projects

For books that are either too long or too complex to qualify for Epigraph’s Basic design service. Generally speaking, our Complex service is for books over 400 manuscript pages or with more than 25 graphics (photos, tables and graphs, table of contents, indexes, glossaries, maps, illustrations etc).

Quoted upon request and examination of manuscript and collateral materials; no job too large.

Jobs in this category can also be combined with Creative Plus.

Design Like the Pros

Ready-to-market means not only spectacular design, but design that sells. It includes not only visuals but proper sizing and formatting of your book so that it can be competitively priced. It includes market and competitive research as well as front and back cover copy. Ready-to-market design is the result of collaboration between the author, the designer, the marketing director and the publisher. The author maintains full control of creative decisions, while her publishing team delivers her facts and recommendations. Ready-to-market design is done in tandem with marketing plan creation.

Do it Your Way!

We will translate your designs from Word docs and JPG to fully printable and distributed books. Quoted upon request. Applicable to cover alone or full book design. Front cover-alone submissions are eligible for Basic service rate.

Retain Your Own Designer

Want to retain your own book designer and still have access to Epigraph’s other publishing services? Then My Designer may be right for you. Only one proviso, your book designer must be able to meet Epigraph’s certification standards in producing final files for print/distribution. If your retained provider is already a professional book designer meeting or learning the certifications should not be a problem and might actually enhance their future earning potential. (We may offer interested Epigraph-certified designers opportunities to work on future projects). On the other hand, this program is not designed for graphic designers without previous book design experience and Epigraph reserves the right to withhold My Designer services if we feel they are not in the author’s or Epigraph’s best interest.

Fastest design gun in the West!

For free quote and timeline, send us your manuscript with timelines requested.  

You supply the text and illustration and we design, from $899

We supply the illustration and design, from $4795 …more content to come about Epi partnership with July Group…

Color graphic novels are quoted upon request.