If you plan to publish a print book through Amazon KDP, professional book design and typesetting will help ensure your interior meets print requirements and provides a polished reading experience. We can also create a custom book cover designed to meet KDP specifications and stand out in Amazon’s marketplace. If you’re also publishing an eBook, we can prepare a separate, validated eBook file for digital distribution.

Yes. Once your project is complete, you’ll own the final book files we create for you and can use them with the printer or publishing platform of your choice. We’ll provide the final print-ready PDFs and other completed deliverables included with your project. Native design files can also be provided upon request for future use or safekeeping.

No. Mayfly does not farm out book design projects to subcontractors or offshore production teams. Your project is handled directly by our U.S.-based team of designers and project managers, giving you consistent communication, accountability, and continuity throughout the process.

Yes. We prepare professional book files for Amazon KDP and IngramSpark, including print-ready interior and cover files that meet their technical requirements. Because you own your final files, you can also use them with other printers or distribution partners as needed.

Complete our intake form as thoroughly as possible, including details about your manuscript, book format, design needs, publishing goals, and any additional services you may need. The more information you provide, the more accurately we can prepare a custom estimate for your project. We will get back to you within a day or two.

Absolutely. Most of our clients are located outside Minnesota, and we regularly collaborate by email, phone, and video meetings. Cover concepts, page designs, proofs, and other project materials can all be reviewed digitally, making it easy to work together wherever you’re located.

A printer is responsible for physically producing your book. A publisher oversees the broader process of bringing a book to market, which may include editing, design, production, distribution, marketing, and other publishing responsibilities. Mayfly is a book design company at its core, with additional publishing support services such as ISBN and title registration, Amazon KDP and IngramSpark setup, and printer sourcing.

If you decide to move forward, we’ll send an Estimate outlining the scope, pricing, and payment schedule for your project, along with our Mayfly Client Terms. Payment terms are typically 50% to begin the project, with the remaining balance due at completion. We accept payment by check, ACH/bank transfer, and credit card. Credit card payments include the applicable processing fee.

On average, the lifespan of a typical project is roughly 2–3 months, depending on the length and complexity of the book, the services included, and how quickly feedback and materials are provided. Projects that include publishing support may require additional time. Your Estimate will outline the anticipated timeline, and once the project begins, a detailed schedule will keep everyone aligned with milestones and delivery dates.

Page design establishes the visual system for your book’s interior. This includes trim size, margins, body text, headings, chapter openings, lists, photos, captions, tables, charts, pull quotes, sidebars, and other recurring elements. Once you’ve reviewed and approved those design decisions, we move into typesetting.

Typesetting is the process of applying the approved page design throughout the full manuscript, page by page. At the end of this stage, you’ll receive a first typeset proof that closely reflects how the final printed book will appear. Any corrections identified during Author Review are then incorporated before the interior is finalized for print.

That’s a helpful starting point. You’re welcome to share sketches, reference images, mood boards, or AI-generated cover concepts through our Design Form before the project begins. We’ll use those materials to understand the direction you’re drawn to, but we generally treat them as inspiration rather than finished artwork.

AI-generated images can present challenges with originality, image quality, typography, composition, and print production, and they may not translate cleanly into a professional book cover. Our job is to evaluate the concept, identify what’s working, and develop it into a polished, original cover design that fits your book, your audience, and the technical requirements of your printer or publishing platform.

For most book design projects, we work with licensed stock photography, public-domain resources, or images provided by the author or publisher. Depending on the needs of the project and our initial creative discussion, we may also use AI to generate a custom image or individual image assets that can be incorporated into the final design.

When a project calls for something more specialized, we can also explore custom illustration or photography and, when appropriate, bring in an illustrator, photographer, or other creative specialist.

Yes. If your front cover is complete and ready for production, we can build the remaining cover components around it, including the back cover, spine, jacket flaps when needed, and the final print mechanicals required by your printer. We can also add the barcode and make sure the completed cover file is properly sized and production-ready.

Mayfly does not provide copyediting services, so your manuscript should be fully copyedited before it is ready for our design process. If proofreading is still needed, we can offer that service through one of our trusted editing partners.

Your manuscript should be fully copyedited and proofread before book design and typesetting begin. While our designers may flag obvious errors they notice along the way, proofreading is not part of the design work itself. Our process does include proof-review stages after typesetting, giving you an opportunity to review the formatted book and identify any remaining corrections before final approval.

Please provide all final, high-resolution images as separate files and use clear placement callouts in your manuscript to indicate where each image should appear. If captions are needed, place them directly after the corresponding callout. Our Manuscript Prep Checklist includes detailed instructions for preparing images, captions, design notes, headings, and other manuscript elements before production begins.

Yes, most books should include a copyright page. We can provide a template you can customize with the information appropriate for your book, such as copyright ownership, ISBNs, Library of Congress Control Number (LCCN), publisher information, credits, and ordering or contact details. Our publishing support services can also help with ISBN and title registration, LCCN applications, and other publication setup needs.

An ISBN, or International Standard Book Number, is a unique identifier assigned to a specific edition and format of a book. If you publish your book in multiple formats, such as paperback, hardcover, and eBook, each format typically requires its own ISBN. If your book is intended only for private distribution and will not be sold or distributed through retail or library channels, an ISBN may not be necessary. We can help determine what your project requires and obtain and register ISBNs as part of our publishing support services.

There’s no need to purchase a barcode separately. If you’re publishing through Amazon KDP or IngramSpark using print-on-demand, we recommend using the barcode supplied by the platform as part of its cover template. If your book is being printed elsewhere and requires a barcode, we can generate one using your ISBN and retail price and incorporate it into the final cover design at no additional charge.

For a typical 6 × 9″ book, roughly 250–300 words is a good target for back cover copy, though the final amount depends on the design and whether you’re also including endorsements, an author bio, photos, a barcode, or other elements. For books with a dust jacket, approximately 150–200 words per flap is usually a good starting point. We’ve also created a helpful guide here for several common book sizes to help you see how different amounts of copy fit on the page.

If your book qualifies, we can help you apply for a Library of Congress Control Number (LCCN) as part of our publishing support services. We’ll guide you through the information needed and handle the application process so the LCCN can be included on the copyright page before publication.

Yes. To publish a book on Amazon, you’ll first need an Amazon KDP account. As part of our publishing support services, we can help set up your title, prepare and upload the final book files, review platform-generated proofs, and guide you through the steps needed to make your book available for sale.

You own the final book files created for your project, and native design files can be provided upon request. Mayfly does not provide long-term file archiving, so we recommend keeping your own secure backup of all final and native files after the project is complete. We cannot guarantee that project files will remain available indefinitely.