8 Best Programs for Book Layout

La creating a book It requires a lot of planning and organization, as well as following the appropriate guidelines so that it is well structured and sufficiently attractive for sale.

La layout It is an important part of this process, because it will allow you to establish the order that you will give to the content according to the pages, the images that you will incorporate (if you do so) and more. To do this you will need to download the programs for book layout.

The 8 Best Softwares for Book Layout

Fortunately, there are quite a few options on the market, which can vary depending on the level of difficulty of use, the amount of design tools and text correction that they offer us, as well as the price of the license or if it is free.

In this article we will be analyzing some of the best free book layout programs, but we will also tell you about certain alternatives that, although they are paid, have free trial periods.

▷Read: 7 Best Programs for Magazine Layout ▷

1. Adobe Indesign

In all the lists on the web, you will always find Adobe Indesign First of all, because he has earned the title of the best best layout program on the market. It not only works for structuring your books, but also for magazines, journals, newspapers, among other formats.

The works using templates, some internal and others can be downloaded from various platforms on the web. It also includes the corresponding sizes and dimensions for the type of design you are working on.

As if that were not enough, Adobe Indesign has an interface that resembles that of other programs from the company, so if you have already used Photoshop, it will be very familiar to you, especially because It works under the drag and drop system.

The export options are very varied, accepting formats PDF or other online or print publishing, as well as a host of professional configurations. It's not free and depending on the license, it has a monthly cost.

Download it on their Website |

2.Affinity Publisher

Although Affinity Publisher It is also a paid alternative, unlike InDesign, you will only have to pay a single license fee. In addition, you will not have to subscribe or create an account to be able to use all its features.

The interface is developed with a dark mode very elegant, but specially designed to protect your eyesight when you are in the process of book layout from your PC. All essential tools are available here.

On the one hand, Affinity Publisher offers us Various formats in sizes and dimensions, so you can select the books option and several solutions will appear. However, it is possible to adapt these dimensions to your own needs.

On the canvas you can work in layers, and the way of incorporating texts or adding images is very fluid. You can set guide lines and separations between all elements, margins and more, being one of the best book layout programs that you will find.

Download it on their Website |

3.Microsoft Word

We are aware that Word It is not specifically designed for layout, but in practice and due to its ease of use, in addition to the various tools compatible with this work, it is used by many publishers for develop book structures.

And this word processor includes multiple page formats and sizes, as well as an option to choose your own dimensions, adapted to the requirements of your book.

At the same time, Microsoft Word allows you to use guide lines, select custom margins, take advantage of the rulers to separate the different elements of your book, as well as the infinite page creation.

All this without forgetting its powerful spell checking tools, you can justify and choose the line spacing of the text, apply formats, change fonts and even incorporate graphic elements such as images, figures and shapes. It usually comes within the paid package of Microsoft Office.

Download it on their Website |

4.Scribus

There are those who prefer free book layout programs, and Scribus It's pretty much the best you'll find of its kind, as it's open source and comes with a range of simply extraordinary features.

Works perfectly with different graphic elements, including images, vectors, shapes, figures, as well as the incorporation of texts, fonts, changing aspect ratios, among many other optional features.

Scribus also has the ability to work through guide lines or by activating the grid background, with the appropriate and harmonized divisions for jobs that require a meticulous layout.

It will even allow you to modify the margins, change the size of the pages, start working from scratch or by choosing some of the templates that are available in its system. Of course, the interface is not the most pleasant, but if you don't care about that aesthetic detail, it's fine for you. simple and professional projects.

Download it on their Website |

5. QuarXpress

QuarXpress It is also one of those that bet on layout tools rather than interface design, although It is a bit like InDesign, with all the function panels displayed at the edges of the screen.

This book layout software It is not widely used today, although to attract more users, its developers have added compatibility with designs created in the Adobe program, and it is available on computers. Mac and Windows.

Meanwhile, QuarXpress works with several color palettes, including Hexachrome y Pantone, which vary depending on the printing profiles you need for your own book. The pages are editable in size and dimensions, but you have some templates you can use.

As for the treatment of the elements, the app usually displays two configuration menus for treat texts and graphics individually, so you can focus on them and create a good design.

Download it on their Website |

6. Joomag

We do not forget the online book layout software, so we want you to meet joomagThis is one of the best platforms of its kind, which has a free version with export limitations, as well as a Premium version, which will even let you sell your books in its online catalog.

There are over 100 pre-made templates and layouts, which you can begin to customize and edit according to your tastes and which already have their sizes and dimensions.

If that still doesn't seem enough for you, Joomag is equipped with the option to save all your projects, allowing you to work on multiple books individually and simultaneously, as well as receive help from other designers.

The paid subscription is monthly, and has the advantage that you can export your books in PDF format. In the meantime, if you decide to use it for free, You can only share them online and send it to your subscribers via a link, which may not be very convenient for everyone.

Download it on their Website |

7. LucidPress

By the same route of action we have LucidPress, a fully online solution, but with advanced tools for the layout of books of different levels, including school, professional and scientific.

For all cases, they have a database of templates and formats, which you can choose according to your requirements and which are free, after paying for the subscription package. This is monthly and is not as expensive as installable software.

In fact, Lucidpress is often the big favorite of those who are starting out in the world of layout, as it is easy to use and its interface is one of the most intuitive on the entire market, saving you a lot of time in understanding how it works.

In addition, to adapt to the formats of eBooks, is one of the few that allows you to attach videos and audios, which not only makes the content more dynamic, but also helps improve the understanding of the book's content.

Download it on their Website |

8. Can go

We close the list with Canva, which is often recommended for getting straight to the point and being very flexible, graphically speaking. In practice, this online platform does not specialize in layout, as it lacks tools such as guide lines or book formats.

However, being a design program With millions of pre-created elements, it can be a great option when making school books, digital magazines and other similar and not so professional types of work.

In this sense, Canva works through its web platform, although it can be installed on a smartphone. Android. This comes with several formats and there is a section for books and catalogs, which you can define using thematic templates.

Another great attraction is that it has a professional image bank and free, as well as complete folders of vectors, typographic fonts, graphic elements, among other opportunities that make it stand out from others simple programs for book layout.

Download it on their Website |

Conclusions

Create your own books, structure them professionally, add graphic elements, work online or offline with book layout software. Generally, you will need advanced software with the essential tools for creating your own books. structuring your publishing projects.

Note that Not all books are the same and they are not laid out the same way either, so you even have those apps which come with their respective formats, previously designed.

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While it is important to use the book layout softwareThe most important thing is to know how to do it and why to do it. Some of these platforms include video tutorials and instructional guides, which will introduce you to the context of layout in a theoretical and technical way.

If they don't work for you, you can choose to take a layout course those offered online or simply follow other tutorials from YouTube channels or other similar services.