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calimehtar · Aug 26, 2003, 01:02 PM

I've just been asked to design a book by a client I was doing web design for. I'm very excited about this - have done a bit of magazine layout, typography was my favourite course in design school etc. However, not having done this before I'm not sure what sort of an estimate to give.

It's a 100-200 page book, i believe, and of course he wants layout with footnotes as well as the cover design. The client is very easy to work with.

Basically I want to charge a flat rate for the entire project and then take my time with the work so as to do the best possible job. He says that it's a $4000 job. Can anyone give me a second opinion on this? The price sounds reasonable to me.

DMK · Aug 27, 2003, 01:05 AM

Originally posted by calimehtar:
I've just been asked to design a book by a client I was doing web design for...

hi calimehtar,
congratulations on that job by the way, I am also freelancing in the GTA (third year of graphic design.) Are you getting any royalties on the book sales? what is the extenct of your work? layout/copywritting/photography/?
I would say, depending on the load, $5000 seems like a good flat fee (keeping in mind that the amount of work is feasable)
good luck!

mydog8mymac · Aug 27, 2003, 09:31 AM

How involved is the layout? Simple as used in most novels, or complex with images, charts, etc. Footnotes or endnotes? Footnotes can be a pain.
I would place a bid for the book and one for the cover. Check out the Graphic Artists Guild Handbook for pricing and adjust it for the market in your location.

BTW if you don't already have one, get a copy of The Chicago Manual of Style. It is invaluable when laying-out a book. (Most of us think it's a must for any designer).

calimehtar · Aug 27, 2003, 09:46 AM

thanks for the reply. I'm not going to do photography, and I don't think I'll be expected to do copywriting though I do plan to read the text and modify typographical characters (e.g. hyphens and quotes) as I catch them. I often end up noticing grammatical errors and typos when I'm reading stuff like this... I'm confident I can provide what my client expects, as I said he's very personable and would certainly tell me if he needed me to do something specific that I wasn't doing. I would be a little more intimidated if I were doing work for I client I don't know.

Also I haven't asked about royalties. Is this a common thing to do in book design?

I'll get the Chicago Manual of Style as you suggest. What do you think of Robert Bringhurst's "The Elements of Typographic Style?"

calimehtar · Aug 27, 2003, 09:48 AM

Oh, mydog8mymac, it will be plain text - no illustrations or charts as far as I know - but with footnotes.

And where would I find the Graphic Arts Guild handbook?

DMK · Aug 28, 2003, 12:02 AM

Originally posted by calimehtar:
where would I find the Graphic Arts Guild handbook?

I bought mine at Chapters, just south of the City TV/Much Music building- amazing investment.
you will read all about book design there, very helpfull.

himself · Aug 28, 2003, 08:07 PM

Originally posted by calimehtar:
...What do you think of Robert Bringhurst's "The Elements of Typographic Style?"

�The Elements of Typographic Style� is a must-have book as well. Keep that beside you on any typography-intensive project. (You might want to spend a few days just reading throught the book first)

I haven't heard anything about designers getting royalties on their book designs (maybe the cover design), but I suppose that all depends on the agreement you and your client come up with.