How beautiful can books be? How interesting, stylish, trendy, elegant and classical they look with the right book layout. Before you start writing your next novel or non-fiction book for personal or professional use, read this post on the best-book-design-software. And don’t forget to choose closely related book cover design software.
Here are the best softwares for you!
Adobe InDesign – Our Choice
Handles print and e-books
- Top-tier interface and instruments
- Integration with other Adobe products
- Lots of downloadable fonts
- Customizable layouts
- Agile even on weak PC’s
- Not found
Verdict: Adobe InDesign is a go-to tool for many designers and printing experts, who are interested in producing page layouts. It is equipped with all sorts of purpose-built tools that can satisfy both average and professional users.
The program is helpful when you need to create print or interactive documents, which significantly expands the scope of its application. Adobe InDesign can function as book cover software and it offers the necessary features for handling the inside pages. Choosing this program, you can precisely control the size of pages, typography aspects, and enjoy numerous export options.
QuarkXPress
Flexible layouts
- Intuitive palette and styles
- Amazing typography features
- Platform-optimized page layouts
- Handy extensions
- Remarkable customer support
- High price
- It is impossible to open multiple projects simultaneously
Verdict: Though QuarkXPress doesn’t top this list, it is still a worthy InDesign alternative, which you can rely on if you want to design a book.
It can assist you whether you need to work on the filling or external side of a book. The most notable feature of this software is “Flex Layouts”, which provide a graphical “WYSIWYG” interface that you can use in an efficient manner without learning HTML and CSS coding.
You can easily change the size or shape of the Flex Layouts, thus automatically affect the text and graphics on the page. This is a really helpful option, making it possible to see how the page will look on different devices with varied screen sizes.
QuarkXPress has been considered as an Adobe InDesign alternative by many experts. This application features “Flex Layouts” which can help design your book without having to learn about HTML and CSS coding. When the user changes the size or shape of the layout, all the text within the pages is automatically changed. This feature was designed to check how your book would appear on different-sized screens.
Features:
- Provides different typography features
- A choice between Various palette and styles
- Customer support is available
Affinity Publisher
Another popular book design software is Affinity Publisher which is used by thousands of people across the globe not only to design books but also to design newspapers, magazines, and other printed media. This application has a simple User Interface but is laden with many features to accomplish user’s needs. Some of these features are image frames, text wrapping. Inserting tables, grids, etc. users can also integrate other applications of Affinity Suite and perform editing and creating vector art.
Features:
- Helps with publishing books
- One time low-cost purchase without a subscription
- Can manage large scale documents
- Includes paid fonts.
Click here to visit the official website
Adobe FrameMaker
If you are looking for the best book design software which is suited for long and complex files, then your search ends with Adobe FrameMaker. This application is used by people who create non-fiction books and technical documents. Different publishing options can be optimized and the final creation can be in the form of PDF, responsive HTML 5, or Kindle extensions. It allows users to automate settings for headers and footers as well as shift content from one paragraph to another.
Features:
- Facilitates quick transfer of content from MS Word
- Allows users to use rich media to create engaging content
- Easily create a Table of content and indexes
Click here to visit the official website
FlipHTML5
Another book design software for creating flip books is FlipHTML5 which has many book templates to choose from. The application contains online editing tools which enable users to add videos, text, links, audio, hot spots, and different elements. It also facilitates an online hosting service that allows you to host and share your books for free.
Features:
- Multimedia elements can be added.
- Free hosting service
- Supports multiple devices and platforms.
Click this link to download now
Blurb BookWright
Having reached halfway through the list of best book design software, we have Blurb BookWright which can create EBooks for free. It contains a text formatting tool and allows users to edit templates as well. Users can create a printed as well as an electronic version from one file. It is one of the best applications for beginners and supports plug-ins as well.
Blurb BookWright’s easy-to-use features allow anyone to publish custom photo books, magazines, and novels in either print or ebook format. This program includes ISBN numbers for free, as a nice bonus.
BookWright enables authors to design and publish print and ebooks from the same file, at the same time, all in one place. It’s actually the only free software tool that allows this, giving users both value and design flexibility.
Blurb also provides plugins for Adobe InDesign, Adobe Lightroom, and apps for iPhone and iPad, allowing you to access and edit blank book cover templates across a range of programs and devices.
Pro
Blurb BookWright and Blurb’s Adobe plugins are not only free and intuitive to use, but also link fluidly across to Amazon distribution. Within the space of a few hours, you can create print books or eBooks and start selling them on Amazon.
Con
Blurb has thought of everything that a budding self-published author would ever want or need. Bookwright is an excellent app for first-time cover designers, while the InDesign plugin allows more experienced cover designers to integrate their designs seamlessly with the book production and sale process.
Best for: Authors who want to easily create professional book covers for EPUB and print, and start selling the results on Amazon straightaway.
Features:
- Provides Unique ISBNs for every book
- The alignment process is simple
- Advanced color management
Click here to visit the official website
Shutterstock Editor (FREE)
Shutterstock Editor is a multi-purpose layout software, that allows you to create professional-looking content for print and online.
This entry-level design tool Shutterstock Editor is great for budding cover designers or self-publishing authors. With built-in templates for creating a range of media, including eBook covers, Shutterstock Editor allows you to choose from millions of images from Shutterstock’s library and customize typography and color to create a completely unique and eye-catching result.
Compared to other publishing software like InDesign, Affinity Publisher, and QuarkXPress, Editor is much more intuitive and easy to use for beginners. Editor is hosted online and also completely free to use. So, you can save work in your Shutterstock account and come back to it later.
Pro
It’s simple, quick and easy to us, with a broad range of templates and images to choose from.
Con
For more sophisticated print editing, users might find Editor a little lacking. But it allows a very quick and easy eBook cover design process for time-strapped authors.
Best for: The intuitive and simple interface makes Shutterstock Editor a great choice for beginner cover designers, especially those looking to publish eBook covers.
Lulu (FREE)
Lulu is a one-stop shop for independent authors and publishers looking to get their book created, distributed, and sold with next to no initial investment.
In the past, Lulu users had to upload their book designs as a pre-designed PDF file. But Lulu’s new Cover Wizard allows users to create their own cover design through the site by choosing from a range of pre-loaded themes. Designers can create a more unique flair through adding their own images.
The Cover Wizard is geared towards creating decent covers for both eBooks and print books. But, the lack of flexibility in the wizard means that creative cover designers might find the program a little limiting.
Once you’ve created your cover and inside pages, you can upload the book to Lulu’s online marketplace. Distribution for eBooks is free, but print books are charged per unit, with some small discounts for large volumes.
Pro
An easy-to-use, low-cost, one-stop software-and-distribution offering that allows you to get your cover created, printed, and out in the marketplace.
Con
Although it’s free to create both print books and eBooks, distribution costs can quickly turn your budget-friendly project into an expensive endeavor.
Best for: First-time eBook authors looking to get their work out for sale as quickly and cheaply as possible.
Conclusion
Although most people think that book layout software is only useful for creating covers and book layouts. However, there are many other uses for these programs that can help with improving the productivity of writers, publishers, and marketers. Even if you’re not working on a printed book, there are still many reasons why software should be utilized in the process of self-publishing an ebook or creating a product that makes use of page layouts.