Typesetting and book production

The typesetting process takes your text and lays it out on the page. This involves placing the text, selecting an appropriate font, choosing colours and positioning any images that sit with the text. This will set the tone and style that will be carried through your publication.

Clear, well-designed text layout is an essential component of your overall book design. Professionally laid out words and images will establish authority and quality. It will also ensure your book is easier to read and create a more engaging reading experience for your intended audience.

We will agree format and font style before we begin the layout process so you’re happy from the get go.

Cover layout, design and imagery

Attractive eye-catching cover design is fundamental to your books’s success and credibility.

We can design your book’s cover, using either your own artwork and assets, or sourcing and commissioning professional quality photographs or illustrations.

We can provide a number of cover design options for you. For our bronze and silver packages you supply usable assets (photos or illustrations), we agree a font and we layout your cover.

For our gold package we can source an existing image or commission a specific picture or illustration to be created. We would work in close consultation with you so we get the right creative treatment. The advantage here, of course, is that you get an original and professionally produced cover design to your own specifications.

Copy editing and proofreading

We can provide a copy editing and proofreading service in addition to our packages.

The copy editing process involves an editor checking through your manuscript to look for things like sense, spelling, grammar, consistency, repetition – and correcting them. This ensures your publication is of the highest quality.

You can also opt for proofread of your typeset proofs. A proof reader is looking for errors alone, they will not comment on things in a typeset text that are confusing, poorly written, repetitive or unclear.

We also give you the option to read through your typeset proofs before you sign off the file.  Once you have proof read your book, we amend the typeset and return it to you to check we have carried out the required alterations. Our bronze and silver packages allow for one set of revisions, our gold package gives you two.

ISBN and barcode services

This is if you want to sell your books in shops. All books sold in UK book shops must have an ISBN (International Standard Book Number). An ISBN is your book’s unique identifier. We can supply an ISBN for your publication with a co-ordinating barcode or you can source it yourself.

Print On Demand

Print on demand allows you to print as many or as little books as you wish, this is great for niche publications and gives you the option to re-order your title when you sell out.

Of course you will pay a little more for this flexibility. If you choose this option we will set up your book online via our print on demand supplier and print your publication. It will then be available for you or your customers to re-order at any time.

One to One Feedback Session

Sometimes you need a sounding board and some guidance along your creative journey. Switched On have contacts with a plethora of writers and creative mentors that can provide you with feedback on your writing and development of your work. This would typically be a 45-minute Zoom session where they could look at your text and offer you some advice.

Social Media Asset Generation, Flyers and Posters

Do you want to promote your book on social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok? We can use your book design to create some social media friendly images and reels for you to use on your channels. We can also use your book design to create promotional flyers and posters, which we can get printed for you. We normally do a minimum order of 50.

British Library Legal Deposit

We can register your publication with the British Library. They will have it as part of their listings and will hold five copies of your publication.