Publishing Services

In this exciting and constantly changing world of publishing, we have the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver creative and professional solutions for self-publishers.

DiZign has been working with publishers and independent authors (self-publishers) for 25 years, and we offer wide-ranging publishing services including cover and page design and layout, editing and proofing, indexing, printing and special assistance for first-time authors.

Publishing Services

As part of our full book production service, we provide exceptional book design, page layout and publishing support. Book design is about the reader, and over many years DiZign has perfected the process of book design to enhance the reading experience and to streamline book production. Typography, fonts, colour and other page elements are carefully chosen and designed to enable the reader to navigate the pages with ease. DiZign also offers a range of publishing services, including assistance with editing, indexing, permissions and copyright, prepress and printing. These services may be particularly helpful to first time authors and self-publishers.

If you are writing a book and need our expertise, we will organise a meeting to discuss your requirements. This will include a discussion of the formats available, size, cover and binding types, and suggestions on how best to present your material. We will also discuss what you are likely to achieve based on your budget and timing. A production schedule will be drawn up once we have received your completed manuscript.

My association with DiZign began with the first draft of the Field Guide to the Kokoda Track in 2002 and still continues with every edition. Not only have they provided the highest standards in their fields of expertise, but they have encouraged and supported me in every facet of the work. Bill James

Design & layout

The cover is an essential part of any publication. It needs to grab one’s attention and entice the reader to pick up the book. Following a discussion of your ideas for the cover, we will provide three different draft concepts of the front cover from which you can choose. After developing a finalised front cover, we design the back cover and spine.

The text design is developed based on the book’s cover and the length of your manuscript to optimise the number of pages and trimmed size of the book. We will provide sample page layouts to ensure you are happy with the typeface and layout of your book.

Once your manuscript has been edited, we format and layout your manuscript according to the page design. Photographs can be presented as prints or in high-resolution digital format. For images you supply us, we can scan them, enhance and/or repair them if required, and then incorporate them into the text. Please contact us prior to scanning your own pictures for information on best practice.

Di and her talented team from DiZign have been involved in the three books that we have published through a leading publishing house in Australia, Bennelong Publishing a division of the very successful Bennelong Group International. Her team have put ideas to us about the visual look of the content and two covers that are still turning heads in the bookstores. I recommend Di and her team to anyone wanting to publish a business book that will be a hit. Stephen Kozicki

Editing, proofreading, permissions & indexing

Spelling or grammatical errors invariably creep into a manuscript, and can detract from the quality of a book. To ensure that your book is the best it can be, we can provide both editing and proofreading services.

You can choose which service you want. A professional editor can advise you about the structure of your book or simply edit for grammar, spelling and punctuation. Awkward syntax or inconsistencies in your manuscript can be highlighted for your attention. A sample edit of a few pages of your manuscript will be provided with the quote so you can be sure that the editor is editing at the level you require. You may also choose to ask the editor to advise you about obtaining copyright permissions for text and images.

Once you have agreed on the quote and supplied your final manuscript the editor will make corrections in MSWord with Track Changes implemented. The file is then returned to you with all corrections or recommendations highlighted, so you can accept or reject these changes. You will have direct contact with the editor. Once the MSWord file is finalised this becomes the manuscript which will be used for the production phase.

Alternatively, you may choose to forgo the editing stage and use a proofreader instead. A proofreader will only check for spelling and punctuation. Traditionally proofreading is done after typesetting, so uniformity of formatting will also be checked.

Publishing & Printing

DiZign can organise printing in Australia or offshore depending on cost, time and requirements specific to the project. We can also organise the shipping, including customs clearance, taxes and delivery. Your print run can be as small as a handful of copies through to several thousand copies.

Samples and proofs are provided every step of the way to avoid any disappointment. Our aim is to deliver above your expectations on every project. Communication with our clients is of the utmost importance.