Poetry is the hardest kind of book to typeset well and the easiest to get wrong. A poem’s line breaks and stanza spacing are part of its meaning, so they must survive exactly as written. Lines are usually set flush left rather than justified, long lines need a consistent way of wrapping, and a poem should not be split across a page turn at an awkward point.
Most poetry collections and novels need only our Basic Layout at R12 per page, which covers chapter or section headings, indentation and drop caps. A 96-page poetry collection at R12 a page comes to R1,152.
Layouts for Randburg’s writers and churches
The books we typeset for Randburg authors are as varied as the area: poetry collections, first novels, devotionals and Bible studies, and community books for schools and clubs. Each has different needs. A devotional may need a dated entry on each page with a scripture reference set apart from the reflection; a novel needs nothing more than calm, readable pages.
Our studio is in Fourways, next door to Randburg, so you can bring your manuscript in and talk through the layout, or handle everything by email and WhatsApp.
Books we typeset for Randburg authors
Poetry collections
Line breaks and stanza spacing kept exactly, with poems placed so they read well across page turns.
Devotionals and Bible studies
Consistent daily entries with scripture references clearly set apart from the text.
Novels and short fiction
Clean, readable pages with consistent chapter openings and drop caps.
Layout packages and what you receive
- Basic Layout
- R12 per page: chapter headings, paragraph indentation, drop caps and basic formatting
- Standard Layout
- R13 per page: adds running headers with author and title, bullets and numbering, images and bleed images
- Premium Layout
- R20 per page: everything in Standard plus tables, structured content and ebook conversion
- What you send
- Your final manuscript as a Microsoft Word (.docx) file, plus any images, fonts or references
- What you receive
- Print-ready files for your printer, with the Word source file included
- Review
- You check the typeset pages and we make requested adjustments before final files are delivered