Self-publishing offers many advantages to writers, such as independence during the creative process and the freedom to set up the price that you think it is worth your work. From the technical point of view, though, there are a couple of aspects that you cannot work on the run, but should be managed by professionals. This is the case, for instance of typesetting, an important element in the overall success of your book.

Regardless of your book support – online or print – the quality of the typesetting affects the success of the book. Definitely, the quality of the writing is very important, but a bad cover or improper typesetting choice can significantly affect the success. The typesetting is a very important stage of the book development process, and not just a simple technical operation everyone can learn to deal with. Rather, it can be considered an art that requires long years of practice and learning on the job.

If you do not have the time and availability to start learning yourself about typesetting, Agora Publishing is offering to writers from all over the world that precious assistance needed to make your books sold in more than 100 copies. Based in Canada, but with an international outreach, Agora Publishing has expertise in delivering various high-end services for writers, as well as a platform for confirmed and new authors. The domain covers are as diverse as environment, politics, economy or non-fiction, among others.

What is typesetting?

It is usually considered that typesetting represents for a book what the background music is for a film: you might not instantly notice it when it is almost perfect, but when it has important shortcomings it can create a dissonant note that affects negatively your own experience.
 
Once the design stage of your book is finished, the manuscript, accompanied by the specific design requirements, is becoming the main responsibility of the typesetter who is in charge with the choice of the text format and the illustrative material needed for preparing properly the book for the printing.

Since the Guttenberg printing revolution when typography was for the first time included as part of the editorial process, dramatic changes took place in the industry. At the beginning, for instance, typography was assigned the stages related to the design, while the typesetting was limited to the choice of the type of writing. Following the digital revolution of the last decades, other forms of type setting were introduced, and the process entered an online stage, especially due to the complex possibilities offered by the Desktop Publishing (DTP). New digital fonts were introduced, as well as laser printers using the Postscript programming language, or the mark-up languages of XML. The page layout changed dramatically and so did the typography, with new designs being introduced regularly. The standardization of all the world different alphabets diversified the area of possibilities covered by the typesetting services, opening the market to a variety of non-European publishers and published content.

A high-end professional layout makes the text clear and accessible, outlining the quality writing and style. The choice of the right fonts and the proper setting of a text on the page contribute significantly to the overall success of a book on various traditional or alternative markets. Although many authors may be tempted to use the freelance, low-priced services for typesetting needs, in reality there is a risk of working with someone that is not familiar with a specific book market. The guarantee of working with professionals is that you will delivered from the very beginning an integrate package of services that includes various recommendations that suit your work, Therefore, it must be taken into account the fact that for each market, and type of book, the typesetting differs. For instance, the layout of a children book may differ from the layout of a science or economics book. Some cultures may be more visual than the others and this difference is reflected in the preferences for specific typesetting.

It might not be always easy to find the right persons that can deliver high end services, but working with the professionals will always be in your advantage, saving a lot of time and additional costs.