the most powerful ways to make sure your book is taken seriously and seen as a “real” book. We wouldn’t skip this step if credibility is a key goal of yours. DESIGNING THE PRINT INTERIOR WHAT SHOULD A GOOD INTERIOR LAYOUT LOOK LIKE? This is not an easy question to answer. Like we said earlier, very few people notice the interior layout—unless it’s wrong; then it’s a huge problem. Earlier in the chapter we included an image comparison with major elements of interior design, and then an explanation of some of them—not because we expect you to learn them, but for two other reasons: 1. So when you hire a professional interior designer to lay out your book for you (which we highly recommend), you have a list of things you can discuss with them. 2. So you know what good versus bad looks like. MAJOR INTERIOR DESIGN ELEMENTS Page Margins One of the main elements in all design is what’s called “negative space.” That is the space with nothing in it. For your book interior, that is margins between the words and the edge of the page. Look at the Bad Design use of margins, versus the Good Design use. You see how, without even knowing why, each of these margins are important, and serve a purpose? The outside margins give room for the reader to hold the book with- out covering the words. 298 · ThE SCriBE METhOD