What to Expect During Interior Design at Atmosphere Press

At Atmosphere Press, interior design is one of the final major steps before your book moves toward physical proofing and production. By this point, your manuscript has already moved through earlier editorial and preparation stages. Now, the focus shifts from the words themselves to how those words appear on the page.

This includes much more than “formatting.” Interior design involves the visual layout of your book: fonts, margins, page numbers, running headers, chapter headings, title pages, image placement, section breaks, blank pages, and the overall reading experience.

A good book interior should feel natural. Readers may not consciously notice the spacing, margins, headers, or paragraph indents, but they will feel the difference between a book that is easy to read and one that feels crowded, inconsistent, or unfinished.

This guide explains what to expect during the Atmosphere Press interior design process, what to review in your proof, and how to submit corrections clearly!

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

– Quick Overview: What Happens During Interior Design?
– What Interior Design Is—and Is Not
– What Should Be Ready Before Interior Design Begins?
– What Should You Review in Your First Interior Proof?
– Why Do the Margins Look Uneven?
– Why Are There Blank Pages?
– Why Do Some Paragraphs Look Different?
– Why Are Some Pages Missing Headers?
– How Should You View Your PDF Proof?
– How Do Corrections Work?
– What Changes Are Simple, and What Changes Are More Complicated?
– How Does the Cover Affect the Interior?
– Final Approval: What Happens Next?

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Quick Overview: What Happens During Interior Design?

During interior design, the Atmosphere Press design team turns your manuscript into a professional book interior.

This may include:

➜ Laying out your manuscript in professional design software

➜ Applying fonts, margins, spacing, and page styles

➜ Designing title pages and chapter openings

➜ Adding page numbers and running headers

➜ Formatting front matter and back matter

➜ Placing images, charts, tables, or other special elements

➜ Creating a PDF proof for your review

➜ Making approved corrections before physical proofing

Interior design is both creative and technical. The goal is to make your book look beautiful, readable, and professionally produced.

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What Interior Design Is—and Is Not

Interior design can be confusing because it happens after editing, but before your book is fully ready for print. Here is the simplest way to think about it:

Interior design is…	Interior design is not…
The visual layout of your book	Another full round of editing
The stage when your manuscript becomes a designed PDF	A time for major rewriting
A review of how the book looks on the page	A developmental revision stage
A professional design process based on readability	A replacement for proofreading
A chance to give layout and design feedback	A place to keep changing the manuscript

Once your book has been designed, text changes can affect the layout. Adding or deleting even a few sentences may shift page breaks, affect the table of contents, move images, change running headers, or alter the total page count.

A few lingering typo corrections can be handled. But interior design is not the ideal time to rewrite chapters, reorganize sections, or continue revising the book.

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What Should Be Ready Before Interior Design Begins?

Before your book enters interior design, your materials should be as complete and final as possible.

1. Your final manuscript

Your manuscript should be fully edited, proofread, and ready for layout.

Interior designers work with the text they receive. They are not editors, and they are not re-proofreading your manuscript during layout. If you request text changes during interior design, you are responsible for making sure those changes are correct.

2. Front matter and back matter

Make sure all front matter and back matter you want included are ready before design begins.

Common front matter includes:

➜ Dedication

➜ Table of contents

➜ Foreword

➜ Preface

➜ Introduction

➜ Author’s note

Common back matter includes:

➜ Acknowledgments

➜ Author bio

➜ Bibliography

➜ Appendices

➜ Discussion questions

➜ Additional resources

If a section should appear in the finished book, it should be included before the book reaches interior design.

3. Images and special files

If your book includes images, illustrations, charts, tables, or an author photo, please provide the original files separately. Images embedded only in a Word or Google document may not preserve the quality needed for print.

For best results, image files should be:

➜ High resolution, ideally 300 DPI

➜ Sent as separate files, such as JPG, PNG, TIFF, or SVG

➜ Clearly labeled

➜ Large enough for the intended placement

➜ Accompanied by placement notes, if you have preferences

For example, let us know whether you imagine an image as a full page, a two-page spread, placed within the text, paired with a caption, or used with text overlay.

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What Should You Review in Your First Interior Proof?

When you receive your first interior proof (as a PDF), it can be tempting to reread the entire manuscript. However, this stage comes after editing and proofreading, and at this point, your main job is to review the book as a designed object.

Look for these things:

➜ Does the overall layout fit the tone of your book?

➜ Are your name and book title spelled correctly?

➜ Are chapter titles present and in the right order?

➜ Are page numbers appearing where expected?

➜ Are running headers correct?

➜ If there is a table of contents, do the page numbers match?

➜ Are dedication, acknowledgments, author bio, and other sections included?

➜ Are images placed where you expected them?

➜ Do images look clear and high quality?

➜ Are scene breaks or section breaks showing correctly?

➜ Is there any odd spacing that seems unintentional?

Try not to focus on these things:

➜ Rewriting sentences

➜ Reworking paragraphs

➜ Adding new sections

➜ Changing the structure of the book

➜ Reading the manuscript as though it is still in editing

If you find a typo, of course, let us know. But the interior proof stage should focus mainly on appearance, layout, and final presentation.

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Why Do the Margins Look Uneven?

One of the most common interior design questions has to do with margins.

In a printed book, left-hand and right-hand pages are not identical. They are mirror images of each other.

The inner margin is called the gutter. This margin is larger because it accounts for the binding, where the pages meet at the spine. Without enough gutter space, text could appear too close to the spine or become difficult to read.

The outer margin is usually smaller.

This means that if you scroll through your PDF one page at a time, the block of text may look like it is shifting back and forth. That is usually intentional. The design is accounting for how the book will look when printed, bound, and opened!

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Why Are There Blank Pages?

Blank pages are common in professionally designed books. They are not automatically mistakes.

Many major sections begin on a right-hand page. If the previous section ends on a right-hand page, a blank left-hand page may be needed before the next section begins.

Blank pages may appear before:

➜ The start of the main text

➜ A new part

➜ A major section

➜ Back matter

➜ Special front matter sections

This is part of standard book design and helps the finished book feel organized and professional.

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Why Do Some Paragraphs Look Different?

In most professionally published books, the first paragraph of a chapter or new section is not indented. Paragraphs after that are indented.

This is intentional. The chapter opening already signals a new beginning, so the first paragraph does not need an indent. After that, paragraph indents help guide the reader through the text.

This is also why extra tabs, spaces, or manual indents in a manuscript can cause problems. At Atmosphere Press, paragraph styles are applied during design, so extra hidden formatting from Word may interfere with the layout.

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Why Are Some Pages Missing Headers?

Running headers usually appear throughout the main text. They may include the author’s name, the book title, or section titles.

However, running headers are commonly removed from certain pages, such as the first page of a chapter. This keeps chapter openings clean and visually balanced.

Poetry and highly specialized books may follow different conventions, but for most books, running headers are a normal part of the interior design.

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How Should You View Your PDF Proof?

Your interior proof will be provided as a PDF. This is the format used for review and, eventually, for print-ready files.

For the most accurate viewing experience, download the PDF to your computer instead of opening it only in Google Drive or a browser preview.

If you use Adobe Acrobat, you can view the file in two-page spreads. This helps you see the book more like it will appear in print.

To do this, look for page display options such as:

➜ Two-page view

➜ Show cover page

When these settings are selected, the first page will appear on the right, as it does in a printed book.

If you are viewing the PDF in a browser and cannot use two-page spread view, remember this simple rule: odd-numbered pages are right-hand pages, and even-numbered pages are left-hand pages.

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How Do Corrections Work?

If you have changes after reviewing your interior proof, the best way to submit them is through the Atmosphere Press Corrections Form.

Using the Corrections Form is important because it sends your notes directly to the interior design team. Sending corrections separately by email or to another team member can slow the process down.

Corrections typically take up to one week per round. Atmosphere Press allows up to three rounds of interior design revisions so the process can keep moving toward publication.

How to Submit Clear Corrections

Clear corrections help the design team make updates quickly and accurately.

You may submit corrections by commenting directly on the PDF or by uploading a Word document with your requested changes.

For text corrections, please be as specific as possible. Include:

➜ Page number

➜ Paragraph or line location

➜ The exact current text

➜ The exact corrected text

➜ A clear note about what should change

For example, instead of writing “add comma,” write something like: “Page 42, second paragraph: add a comma between ‘that’ and ‘or.’”

Even better, highlight the relevant text in the PDF and add your comment there.

Avoid vague notes, paraphrased text, or single-word references when the word appears more than once on a page. The more specific you are, the less room there is for confusion!

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What Changes Are Simple, and What Changes Are More Complicated?

Some changes are easy to make. Others can affect the whole layout.

Usually simple:

➜ Correcting a typo

➜ Fixing a missing comma

➜ Adjusting a small spacing issue

➜ Correcting a header or page number

➜ Replacing an image with a better-quality version

More complicated:

➜ Adding or deleting paragraphs

➜ Rewriting sections

➜ Changing chapter titles throughout the book

➜ Adding new images or sections

➜ Changing trim size

➜ Changing font size

➜ Changing margins or spacing

➜ Making major design-direction changes

More complicated changes may affect pagination, page count, table of contents, image placement, and production timing.

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How Does the Cover Affect the Interior?

At Atmosphere Press, we want the cover and interior to feel like a cohesive package.

When your cover is finalized, the interior designer may use it as inspiration for the inside of the book. That might include echoing a font, adapting a visual motif, or choosing chapter heading styles that complement the cover’s tone.

If your cover is not finalized by the time interior design begins, that is okay. Your first interior draft may be more basic at first, with certain design details added once the final cover direction is available.

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Final Approval: What Happens Next?

Once your corrections have been made and you are happy with the interior design, you will approve the interior so the book can move toward the next stage, including receiving a physical proof copy.

Final approval means the interior is considered ready to move forward. That is why careful review matters. Changes requested after approval may be more complicated and may affect your publishing timeline.

Interior design is an exciting stage because it is often the first time authors see their manuscript truly look like a book. By coming prepared, reviewing your proof carefully, and submitting clear corrections through the proper form, you can help the process move smoothly—and help your finished book look as polished and professional as possible!

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