Please give a warm welcome to Deena Rae Schoenfeldt from Ebook Builders

Tell us a bit about yourself…

I’m a stage 3 cancer survivor, mother of 3. I have started doing ebook adaptation for my Mom’s publishing business in 2009 then opened up to independent authors and publishing houses. I have taken over all of the book – print and ebook – design of my mother’s business.

How long have you been a book designer?

I have been doing ebook adaptation – aka ebook building – for almost 12 years and have book doing the complete book design – paperback/hardback typography/layout and ebook adaptation for 7 years with a 2 year break while I underwent cancer treatment.

Have you always wanted to be a book designer?

Heavens, no. I wanted to be a lawyer, a dictator, a serial killer….anything at all to be different than my mom. But I am good at making a book fit with the author’s vision. Plus, I have a really bad temper and if I was a lawyer I would end up punching the opposing side.

What do you do as a book designer?

I take the author’s manuscript and flow it into InDesign. If the author wants the book to be branded to the storyline, I add page graphic backgrounds, images, etc to make it stand out from the majority of other books being sold. I then export it to epub (ebook) and tweak it so that the ebook and print editions are as similar as possible.

Do you have any quirks while working?

I cannot work in silence. Usually I have Fox Business on (during stock market hours since I also swing trade the market). But I have been know to work while I stream Law & Order. I also do not read the manuscript as I am doing the design. If I did it would add hours to the time it takes me to do the layout.

What are your hopes for the future?

World domination, always. I will settle for staying busy.

Do you have any advice for new book designers?

For people wanting to do what most people call ‘formatting’ learn the industry specifics. Know about rules to paragraphs and headings.  Nothing irritates me quite as much as seeing a book that has been ‘formatted’ by someone who is just out to make a buck. Chicago Manual of Style is your friend. Always be learning more and improving your skills so your clients are thrilled and don’t get ‘dinged’ in reviews on the finished product. My advice for authors and really everyone is to have a tribe of professionals you can go to for advice or help. I have a group of people involved in publishing – authors, cover designers, book designers, editors – that I go to when I need help, advice or to bounce ideas off of.

Are you available for new work or booked solid.

My schedule is flexible. I can usually have 10-15 book projects in the various stages of completion during a week. I can do up a draft for an author then send it to them for approval then immediately start on another while I am waiting to hear from the previous author. I usually have no problem working in a rush job.

Deena and Tiffany M. Fox created these awesome notebooks for authors.

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Now Pantsers Can Benefit From Simplified Plotting

Whether you are a bestseller or an aspiring author, this planning workbook will help you keep your characters, plot, and timeline straight.

With pages to detail your locations, characters, scenes, plot points, etc., this workbook organizes all the prewriting, writing, and post-production aspects of getting a book into print.

110 pages of plotting worksheets to help flesh out your characters, keep your timeline straight and keeps your book consistent and flowing

Each workbook contains:

• 4 2-page spreads Main Character worksheets;
• 6 2-page spreads Secondary Character worksheets;
• 10 2-page spreads Location worksheets/visual ticklers;
• Space for up to 84 scene breakdowns;
• Book budget to track payments to each of your publishing team members and miscellaneous expenses;
• Project production / publishing schedule;
• 2 2-page spreads to list beta readers and reviewers for feedback tracking;
• Lined pages for notes and ideas.

Contact E-BookBuilders if you have suggestions to make this better for your specific genre.