Services

Studio E Books can do whatever is needed to turn a manuscript, however rough, into a finished book ready to read. Our services fall into three categories: editing, book design and layout, and printing.

Editing

Editing can be anything from routine copy-editing for grammar, punctuation, and mechanics (which most manuscripts could use); to organization of material, development of plot and characters, writing titles and captions, and even inventing a joke now and then. We can also help select and prepare photographs and other iillustrations.

Book Design

Book design is the centerpiece of our work. Every job is a custom job, as our Portfolio shows. Our first goal is to help the author communicate with the reader, enhancing his or her message but without showing off. Our ideal is a page that is not only easy to read but inviting, calm yet lively, well-balanced, and with a clear hierarchy. We also like asymmetry!
Our second goal is to design a book that does what it needs to do as economically as possible. That means designing with the printer’s costs and capabilities in mind, as well as helping our clients make wise decisions about how best to present their text and illustrations.

If you're considering an online publishing service, avoid the fatal flaw of looking like a self-published "vanity press" book. The templates offered by such services are usually substandard, and the book trade and media outlets shun books that look self-published. Fortunately, these services also accept professionally typeset files, which Studio E Books can provide.

Book design should not only suit but enhance your work. Your work deserves the same care and artistry in production as you gave it when you wrote it. Please compare our Portfilio with those of other services, and you'll see the difference.

Printing

Studio E Books brokers printing for hardcover and paperback books, and/or provides print-ready PDF files for traditional offset printing, digital printing, print-on-demand, and e-book conversion. Our printing partners of more than a decade give us great books and good prices. Please see the Specs page for details.
If you're considering a print-on-demand service, be aware that these are not considered trade-quality books by media outlets and the book trade. Traditional printing offers a much higher quality book at comparable prices for print runs of 250 and up. Your work deserves the same confidence in printing as you gave it when you wrote it.

Publishing

Please note that Studio E Books is not a publisher; we do not offer marketing, promotion, or fulfillment. We do, however, offer sound advice to new publishers to set them on the right track. We do not provide ISBNs, which are available from R.R. Bowker. We do provide bar codes.

Advice & Opinions

Part of the baggage of 20 years in book-making is that you tend to have an opinion about everything: whether or not to use the serial comma, whether Adobe Garamond is superior to Stempel (it is), or whether the bar code should include the price. We offer plenty of advice and opinions, if they will improve the book or save money. But we only suggest, we do not insist.