The types of books produced by Virtus include instructional or “how-to” books, autobiographies, historical texts, fiction, and poetry, for all age groups and audiences.

Our default print versions are paperback, but casebound (hard cover) titles can be accommodated.

Our design services include both the interior text and the cover. All design work is performed by certified creative professionals using Adobe InDesign.

At the start of the product, the Virtus art director (AD) will hold an online cover launch meeting with the author. The AD will review 10–12 samples of competing covers with the author, to establish an appropriate direction for the cover design. This is intended to meet the expectations of the target audience. You can read more about covers in our Author Resources section here.

Authors may submit ideas, suggestions, or an actual image to be used on the cover. A suggested cover image may be modified, enhanced, or replaced, depending on the quality and appropriateness of the original.

During the cover launch the color palette and fonts to be used will also be discussed.

Based on this discussion, the AD will determine the cover requirements for each title, including any author preferences. These will likely include the preferred fonts, color palettes, and suggested images. The Virtus AD will subsequently provide written guidelines to the designer.

The designer will create and submit no fewer than three options, preferably five, which will be shared by Virtus with the author. Once a front cover image has been approved, work on the back cover will begin.

All covers will include back cover copy (BCC), to be provided by the author. The managing editor (ME) can work with the author to prepare this content. The BCC will be edited by the ME, then provided to the designer. The BCC may include a biography and photo of the author, “praise” submitted by a reviewer of the manuscript, and/or text highlighting the key points of the book.

Once the front and back cover have been approved by the author, the designer will then finalize the cover as per comments provided to the designer by the AD.

For the interior, at Virtus our objective is to provide professionally designed, balanced page proofs, which are suitable for the target audience.

Virtus will present 3–5 sample interior text templates that are deemed appropriate for the content. Similar to the cover launch meeting, the ME will meet with the author to select a template to be used for composition (page makeup).

The author will have the opportunity to mix and match various aspects of the templates to create the final template. Once the final template has been approved, the page makeup process will begin. You can read more about interior design in our Author Resources section here.