If there’s one job that we really enjoy being involved with, then it’s helping a budding author realised their dream of printing and publishing their book.
We offer a full support service, from advising on how best to supply your files, to a full design service. We print books of all sizes and descriptions, from autobiographies to coffee table books for Royal households! We can advise on how best your project might be printed, whether you want a compact paperback or a super-size glossy hardback photobook.
We can advise on ISBNs and, if you wish, can even publish your book for you under the auspices of our publishing arm, Close Publications. For full details on the services we offer, please read below.
You’ve finished writing your book, now let us assist you in getting it printed and ready for your audience to buy, read and enjoy. Here at St Andrews Press we have long been associated with the production of quality printed books. Our book printing service starts from 10 copies up to mass production! We offer both digital (more cost effective for shorter runs) and offset litho (better for larger print runs) book printing in black and white and colour on a wide range of papers with no restriction on book sizes. Whether you are looking to print a standard paperback or a hardback with all the bells and whistles we have the right solution for you.
We specialise in providing you with expert advice on all aspects of the production of your book. We are renowned for our friendly and helpful customer service. Self-publishers and first-time authors find us very approachable and ready to guide them through their book publishing journey. We offer:
Print solutions for every budget;
The highest quality print;
Free paper samples;
No minimum quantity;
Expert advice on and assistance with file preparation;
Expert advice on professional page layout;
Inspiring cover design;
Provision of ISBNs and barcodes;
Assistance with ePublishing;
Assistance with editing.
Page layout
Our design team will take your raw manuscript and turn it into a readable book. Most of our customers will have typeset their book in Microsoft Word or a similar software package. We will take your Word file and transform it into a professionally laid-out book. Many of our self-publishing authors hope to sell copies of their books, and so it’s essential that the page layout be created to a professional standard. Even those who are only printing to fulfill a lifelong dream and only intend to distribute their books to friends and family will want their book to look as good as it possibly can. Consideration needs to be given to text tracking, leading, font size, style, chapter breaks, contents, front matter pages, index, glossary, footnotes and not to mention photographs, illustrations, graphs, and diagrams, where necessary. What may seem like a simple case of changing the page size to a standard paperback format, is actually a complex project in its own right.
COVER DESIGN
Despite what they say, most of us do judge a book by its cover!
Whatever your genre, if you want to sell your book you will be competing for sales and since your book cover is your shop window, it absolutely must be eye-catching. Whether on Amazon, iBooks or in Waterstones, your book cover will be seen before a reader even gets to page one, so it needs to look like a best-seller. Again, even if you're only giving it away to family and friends, you'll want your hard work to look good! You ought to think of your cover as page one of your book and it needs to resonate with your potential readers at a glance.
The design of your book cover is one of the most important elements of your self-publishing project. When you’re not there to explain to someone how good your book is, it’s your cover that will be speaking for you and telling your potential readership whether you’re a serious author or a half-hearted dabbler. It often amazes us how many budding authors sabotage their own success by choosing not to have their book cover designed professionally. Authors are not necessarily marketers and will often overlook this essential item. After months, if not years of creating world class content, it’s the cover that then conveys the nature and quality of this content. Without it, you create a ‘dead-end’ in your marketing. Browsers are turned into buyers when a cover engages and inspires, and it’s at this crucial point that a well designed book cover should do it’s work.
We are passionate about the art and application of cover design and will aim to interpret your content in a way that is specifically designed to reflect the nature of your book and, if necessary, to sell your book to your target audience. We will create a cover that accompanies and compliments your work, engaging your potential customers at a glance.
Choosing your paper
We will happily assist you with the choice of paper for your book and can show you previously printed sample books to help you choose the best material for your project, including the different finishes and options for the all-important cover. Different paper types are right for specific situations. Our production team know their paper and will be very happy to advise you.
Types of Paper
Paper types refers to the finish and weight of the paper. This affects the look of the pages, as well as the feel and finish of the printed page.
Uncoated - This produces a flat matt finish. The majority of books that you read have an uncoated finish. Perfect for: novels, poetry books, anthologies, short stories, biographies, etc.
Silk / Satin - Paper with a silk/satin finish has a low sheen coating. A good choice for books with coloured headings, maps, photographs and images. Perfect for: photo books, posters, leaflets, brochures, etc.
Gloss - Paper with a higher gloss coating than silk, again a good choice for books with coloured headings, maps, photographs and images. Perfect for: children's books, colour inserts, photo books, recipe books, etc.
We will of course provide you with samples of all our stocks and advise you on your choice.
isbns and barcodes
ISBNs and barcodes are essential basics for any self-publishing author. ISBN stands for "International Standard Book Number," which is a number that uniquely identifies published books. Linking into a system introduced in the early 70s, an ISBN is your book’s unique identifier and it allows you to take advantage of the internationally recognised cataloguing system. It’s easy to get one with St Andrews Press.
An often overlooked item, this 13 digit number is your ticket to retail accessibility, so it’s important that you allocate one for each of your print editions and of course your eBook versions. It may not seem too important to begin with, but as your book sales grow, your ISBN will be used by the book trade and public to identify and differentiate your books in all of their editions, check stock levels at retail outlets and perform library searches. Your ISBN is linked to all of your book data, making it a useful piece of information to help catalogue and map your products and presence as an author. You may already know that ISBNs are also used to generate the barcodes for each of your printed editions. Even if you don't intend to sell your book widely, you may still want to think about obtaining an ISBN as it ensures that the existence of your book is recorded with the British Library and other major libraries and a copy will then be held in the British Library Collection.
If you intend to print and publish a number of books then we can help you register as a publisher in your own right and obtain your barcode(s). Alternatively, if you're only intending to print one or two books then it will be easier and more cost-effective for you to publish under our in-house publishing arm, Close Publications. In this case we will provide an ISBN for you from our allocation and register the book with the necessary bodies.
E-Publishing
To bring your book to the widest possible audience, you may want to convert it to an eBook and make it available to the online Kindle and iPad markets and beyond. Our team will assist you in the often bewildering process of ePublishing! The conversion of text manuscript files into error-free, beautiful eBooks for Kindle and other eReaders is a process that requires specialist software, an eye for detail, and a thorough quality control process. Readers are used to viewing eBook titles prepared by publishers for professional authors and so it’s crucial that your eBook is up to that same high standard.