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Guidelines
Designing & Creating A Chapbook

(do a simplified version with these instructions)
or
Download a Word already pre-programmed

  1. It would be good if you could, first of all,  examine an already printed chapbook.
    This give you an idea as to  specifications and measurements and you can then
    revise and redesign how you want it.
    Consider:
     a. Is the font a readable size and style
     b. Is the chapbook format is easy to read and follow

     
  2. Choose your size:
     a. 5½" x 8½" page size (most common)
     b. 8½" x 11" page size
  3. Design pages: create your margins sizes you need
        - 1/3 inch and at least ½" to 1" margins for larger pages (or create your own size).
     
  4. Add all text to your pages to the pages. 
    Note:   page breaks so that titles are not at the bottoms of any pages.  :-)
     
  5. Create a "dummy" by counting the number of pages (text),
    also include  blank pages after title pages, contents, sections, etc.

    Take the total number and divide by 4.

    If there is any remainder, add blank pages to the total number of pages
    (and it to the end of your book) so that your number is evenly divisible by 4.

    This number equals the number of sheets of paper (with text)  for the finished book.

    Make an actual dummy, folding them just as  you would do in creating your  chapbook, and add a sheet for the cover.
    Then number and mark each page as it will appear in the chapbook
    (including blank pages).

    When you take the sheets (dummy chapbook) apart,
    these sheets will show the arrangement of the pages necessary to print the book.

    Note the example below:
               based on a 12-page book with a coloured cover.

     

                 

 


A 12-page chapbook dummy will have
-a cover
          -3 sheets of text
and pages arranged as shown (diagram)

Now, on to the Stitched Binding!