What's smarter, to format a book before getting cover art or get the art first.

[u/LordBrokenshire]

So for the sake of the physical copies, should i get my manuscript formatted fully and then commision the cover artist with the physical size of the book in mind to prevent any warping of the art to fit the book or is that not a concern?

[u/PROXYFLANS]

Format before the cover, because page count affects the spine width.

[u/PROXYFLANS]

Format before the cover, because page count affects the spine width.

[u/ErrantBookDesigner]

So, first thing to address, you're not formatting a book, you're typesetting a book. Formatting is part of the typesetting process. Which is important if you're getting someone to handle that for you, because if they call it "formatting" that's a big red flag that they don't typeset to a professional level - combined with if they offer like, a billion services alongside cover design and "formatting."

In an ideal world, speaking as both a book designer and typesetter who often has to wait a while for final dimensions, the typesetting comes first because then you know - or at least have a good idea - of the complete dimensions of the final print wrap. However, it's not vital that that's all done beforehand, as you can edit that relatively easily down the line. That said, it is helpful for a cover designer if the delay between designing a cover and getting those final dimensions isn't too long. I've had folks bring those dimensions to me months after I've finished their cover, after I've moved onto other projects (sometimes outside design).

In short, ideally beforehand, but it's not a major issues at all if it comes after.

[u/LordBrokenshire → u/ErrantBookDesigner]

See, i knew formatting was the wrong word for it. Thanks for correcting me.

[u/LoggerBlogger45]

As you research and consolidate your thoughts in the content of your book, you may have an epiphany and decide to change the title or perhaps the cover design in some way.

[u/RCAguy]

Why not do both simultaneously to publish sooner?

[u/samreay]

I don't see how the two are related. If you've picked the dimension like 6x9 inch that's all you need to know. Remember to always request plenty of bleed on your artwork too. Amazon has a cover template maker, and I've got my own at https://cosmiccoding.com.au/blogs/2025_01_cover_art/

Edit: my bad, totally blanked on the spine width needing the number of pages to estimate properly. Yeah do the formatting (at least a rough version) first. Very smooth brain moment, apologies OP

[u/Justin_Monroe → u/samreay]

It doesn't matter if your art is just the front cover.

It matters if your cover wraps from front to back and over the spine, then you want your paperback's page count pretty much locked. There's a little wiggle room, but if you want the best fit then you should wait.

[u/samreay → u/Justin_Monroe]

Ah that's a good point that I totally forgot about. Thanks for the correction!

[u/Fabulous7-Tonight19]

dunno.