THE ART OF WRITING Free Course Part 8 Visual & Audio Design

8. Visual & Audio Design

Naming the feelings we want the audience to have while exploring the book can help us design the project to elicit those feelings. Every writing project has its own spirit. Feelings inspire thoughts, so the more feelings, the more thoughts the work conjures, and the more engaging the work can be. Defining the most important things we want our readers to feel and think in order of importance will assist the design process. Aligning the project with the writing’s essence unlocks its greatest power, authenticity. Beginning with asking what we want the reader to feel can give us direction on how to design the project. Colors, typefaces, text size, arrangement, empty space, photos, illustrations, and art all must support the project’s purpose.

Getting clear about what we want the audience to take away from this book will give us clarity about how the project should look. The other visuals should support the feelings we want the reader to have while reading the book. Keeping true to the writer’s intention as we make our design choices give the project harmony. Design choices that reflect the essence of the work make it more cohesive and compelling. Whether the project is meant to entertain, enlighten or empower must be determined and then shored up by the design choices. The purpose of the work is its organizing principle in designing the project’s look. From font style and sizes to how the words are laid out on the page to illustrations, photos, and graphics, all should support the work’s vision. The way we organize the writing, visuals, acknowledgments, and sources all give the audience particular feelings and thoughts. Find books you like the look of, and ask what things you like other book designers did. Ask what makes these books stand out for you. Collect a few books close to the design you want to create for your book. Use those books as a template for the default choices. Then reconsider every design choice to fit your project the best. All design choices should be harmonious and not overpower the other choices. The book should feel like one thing, with all the separate design choices supporting each other. Every selection of text font, colors, sizes, and images should be cohesive and fit into the larger hole. The cover is meant to entice you to open the book. The back cover is the secondary hook driving into the book what credible people say about it. Front matter is also about getting people to want to read the book. Choices made for the table of contents, chapter headings, and text should all fit the book’s theme without distracting from the project’s power. Everything in the design should invite the reader to read the book.

EBook formatting’s first choice is reflowable (can be read on many different devices with offering dynamic font page size changes) or static (page setup is unchanging) Best for comic books, cookbooks

The more pictures, the less profit,

must make compressed images without losing quality choices

Upload to different platforms/marketplaces like KOBO, Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble

Where are we distributing going wide means through multiple marketplaces

Giving more options of where readers can get books

every platform can look different Interrupting book files differently

Choosing one marketplace for EBook & or AudioBook author receives a higher royalty.

Read my memoir ➡️ https://www.incandescencebook.com/

See my videos ➡️ https://www.youtube.com/@The_Creativity_Show

See my art ➡️ https://clarecooley.com/shop/

This 10-week course is FREE.

Clare Cooley is a fiscal year 2022 recipient of a Creative Support for Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant
from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

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Praise for Clare Cooley’s Memoir