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Page Edge Design Inquiry Form ~ Custom Edges
To explore the design options available for your project, please fill this out to the best of your ability, and we'll get back to you with ideas and an estimated price range!

If you haven't read our updated FAQ/info sheet, we recommend checking that out here.

~WE RECENTLY UPDATED OUR FORMS. The new forms will save you time and prevent confusion by eliminating unnecessary questions that don't apply to all design types across the board.
YOU MAY NEED TO FILL OUT THE BELOW LINKED FORMS INSTEAD OF THIS ONE:
Solid/Ombre Edges (no patterns/designs)
Premade Edges (Painted Wings Publishing designs)
BYOD Edges (Bring Your Own Design)
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~~~AUTHOR & BOOK DETAILS~~~
Pen Name *
Legal Name (if different)
*Legal name required for contract. It will not be shared.
Your email address 
* Please add paintedwingspublishing@gmail.com to your address book to avoid our emails going to spam.
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When do you estimate your manuscript will be ready? *
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Deadline for your work to be completed (Assuming you want to order a printer proof and/or need a few days for the printer to review and accept the document.)
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Anticipated publishing date
*We always recommend allowing enough time to order a proof copy before your release date to ensure the final result is to your liking.
**Unless you request otherwise, your book design will be shared on our website portfolio and with our reader newsletter the first of the month after this date.
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Book Title *
Page Count (including front and back matter)
*Please also add word count if you're ordering our formatting services.
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Book Size (e.g. 5x8, 5.5x8.5 etc)

The finished design can be used for both paperback and hardback versions of the same title, assuming they are the same size. For different sizes, we have to do the work on each file separately to avoid distortions.
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Which printer(s) will you be using?

*Please note that 48HourBooks has limitations on what they will allow. More information can be found here.

Unsure of which printer you'll use? Our recommendations are found here.
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Paperback or Hardback? (As mentioned above, you may be able to use your finished PDF for both, but this helps us know which template to use for a graphic mockup.) *
Please note we may adjust your PDF to meet printer requirements for bleed/trim space. If we have to extend the pages to meet these requirements, unwanted borders may show. Please review the necessary page sizes here.

If you're looking for a formatter and would like to make sure everything is set up properly, you can hire us to format as well! Check out our services here.
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Required
If you haven't already, please review our guidelines/FAQs and mark to indicate your understanding. Since this isn't a service most people have dealt with before, we want to make sure you understand what we're offering before we both commit to detailed discussions on designs.
Also, we don't like 'surprising' people with revision fees once work is started or completed, so please make note of our policies (linked on the FAQ Sheet)
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~~~APPLICATION METHOD~~~

Application Preference: Vellum self-application or in-house application?

We’re proud to announce our collaboration with Vellum!

Painted Wings Publishing was approached by Vellum and allowed an exclusive beta testing opportunity. We’re excited to say that after months of discussion and testing, Vellum’s new ‘backgrounds and borders’ feature (rolled out in their free 3.9 version update) is optimized to apply our edge design files.

—Vellum-compatible files are customized by us for the purchasing author to apply themselves within the Vellum formatting program. They come with easy and clear instructions, and eliminate waiting time and the extra expense of having us reapply your edge design to a new file each time you spot and fix a stray typo!

—In-house application is still available for authors who want us to apply the edge design for them on already formatted PDFs. (The ‘OG’ way of doing things)

*Licensing and pricing for both options are essentially the same, except for revision costs. For more information, check out the pricing area on our info sheet.

**While the vast majority of our designs will be compatible with both application methods, some may not be ideal candidates for use within Vellum due to specific complexities and necessary precision that Vellum is not designed to handle. If you choose Vellum-compatible files but your design is not ideal for that, we’ll discuss your options.

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~~~DESIGN PREFERENCES~~~
This section will help us draft a design for you and prepare an accurate quote.
To see different options and how they look, glance at our visual menu.
Design Preferences: color or b&w?
We charge the same either way, but there are important factors to consider.

Things to note about B&W:
*Can be used with either cream or white paper.
*The more affordable option with printers.
*The black ink will be sharp when the book is open, but medium grey when the book is closed. With this technique, we can't get a true deep black on the closed book edges. [Example Picture]

Things to note about color:
*Can only be used on white paper. If your book was previously printed on cream paper, the thickness of the paper may change, requiring adjustments to your cover. (50# white and 50# cream paper are not exactly the same thickness, despite the assumption they would be.) Changing paper types may also require a new listing and ISBN with the printer.
*Like with black ink, any color printing will be vibrant when the book is open, and more muted when it's closed.
*Color will inevitably cost more with the printer, but don't assume it's prohibitive. Each printer will give you an estimate on their site. Depending on the page count and quality selected, it may be more affordable than you think. Before selecting color as an option below, please use the provided links to get an estimate on pricing. The printing costs do discourage most authors from going this route, so please take an extra minute to see if it's feasible for your goals first.
*This is one of the most affordable options we can offer within our scope of services, depending on the design. A simple, no-frills colored edge or ombre edge with no pattern doesn't require us to license graphics and takes less time to apply to your manuscript.
*If you go this route, you can go the whole nine yards. Since you're paying the printer for color interior printing already, we can make those chapter headers and that map in full color for an extra premium touch!

~These can help you compare~

KDP’s pricing calculator: kdp.amazon.com/en_US/royalty-calculator

(If you use another printer, you’ll need to check on their site to compare prices.)

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Design Preferences: edges/surfaces
Do you only want the long edge done? Or do you also want the tops and bottoms done?

It's important to note that full-coverage top-to-bottom edges will have a lip on the top and bottom edges. [See explanation here.]

*Top & bottom edges are only offered in solid & ombre.

**If the background of your long edge design is primarily white, we usually recommend leaving the top and bottom edges blank.
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Design Preferences: standard or dual edges
Would you like a standard edge design or a dual edge design?

Dual edge designs are a newer option we offer.  Like with our standard edges, they can be applied to any book, though we're partial to the paperback experience with them.

Dual edges (sometimes referred to as 'reversible' edges) have 2 designs. Each design is featured depending on which direction the pages are bent, and they merge into 1 design when the book is closed.

*For dual edge designs, you'll need to provide a specific design concept. They can be used to convey stories from your book that we can't glean by simply looking at your cover. e.g. 2 designs can represent the passage of time or seasons, or the merging of different interests or kingdoms.
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Design Preferences: internal borders
Would you like an internal decorative border?
*By default, internal decorative borders are only applied to the long edges, but they can also be added to the top & bottom for a small fee.
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Design Preferences: tabs
Tabs are especially great for books with distinctly different parts (e.g. omnibuses), allowing readers to track their progress and easily find different sections. An example can be found here.

There are 3 different layouts available for tabs:
sequential, progressive, and layered

And 3 different styles:
scalloped, rounded, and pointed
The layout and style options are found here.

***Select all applicable options***

*Tabs are automatically only added to the top of pages. If you want them elsewhere such as on a table of contents page, make note of that in the next section.

**We recommend in-house application for books with tabs. Most of our Vellum designs allow for a handful of pages higher or lower than expected, to allow for minor manuscript corrections. But Vellum's features don't allow the flexibility needed for the multiple and precise layers we use for tabs on a book. We can embed them into your file if you're able to provide exact page ranges for them, but they would always remain on those pages regardless of any changes you might make to the Vellum file that may shift what text is on which page, and it will limit the total page count *
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Design Preferences: series
Is this part of a series? Is the series complete or incomplete? Let us know how many books there are, and if you'd like a continuous pattern or themed patterns.

*For continuous patterns, it's important to note that they are not as universal with their usage. Even if a paperback and hardback are the same trim size, continuous patterns are designed to accommodate one or the other to compensate for cover width interrupting the pattern.
Design Preferences: Graphic Slice Width
Our default 'Standard' width of graphic slices that get placed on the edges of your PDF is sized to accommodate all known printers' bleed and variance guidelines to avoid misprints.

That said, 48HrBooks does recommend (a recommendation, not a requirement) a wider graphic slice, and you may opt to go with the wider option for any printer based on their allowable margin of error and your risk tolerance.

Please review this graphic and select your preference.
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Please list any additional design ideas or preferences you have:
*If you already have a design in mind, please paint a picture for us. If not, please list themes, symbols, and objects, as well as genre to help us brainstorm.
*If you already have licensed artwork you'd like incorporated, let us know!
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Licensing

How many books do you want this licensed for?

Do you want to license this for only 1 book title, or for more? If you want to use this design for more than 1 book, let us know, and we'll include the extra licensing in your original quote.
*Additional licensing for the same design is discounted from the initial title. Rates are found on our info sheet.
*If you're unsure if you want to reuse the same design, you can email us at a later time for it.
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Timeframe

Our official turnaround from the time we have an approved design, all project details, a deposit, and your final PDF (for in-house applications), is 7-14 days. While we often return files sooner than that, we cannot always guarantee quicker processing, depending on our business operation needs at the time.

If you need a guaranteed turnaround of less than 7 days, a rush order fee applies. (Pricing is found on our info sheet.) Please keep in mind we are out of the office or have limited hours on the weekends and major US holidays, so if you email us on a Saturday that you need your edges finished by the following Monday morning, that tight of a turnaround is not likely to happen.

If you *know* it will be a tight turnaround and want to opt for a rush order now, please let us know here.

If you don't know until later, please note that it may be added to your final balance if you email us that you need an extra quick turnaround.

*WE WILL NOT HUNT YOU DOWN FOR UPDATES ON YOUR PROJECT* If there's one constant about indie publishing, it's that the deadlines are always changing. Your editor/formatter took longer than expected. Life got in the way. If you're on our calendar for a project in March, we expect to hear from you in March, or April, or July... We assume you'll get back to us when you're ready. This means that the dates you gave us on this form are only estimates and we assume when you reach out again, changes to your estimated dates are still compatible with a 7-14 day timeframe, and you'll let us know if that's not the case and you need it rushed.
Similarly, if you email us and don't get a response within 2-3 business days, please email us again or reach out to us on social media. On rare occasions, emails don't make it to our inbox, and we'd hate for you to think we're ignoring you... (Emails are always more reliable and preferred, but if you've sent us 2 emails with no response, please find us on social media!)
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Where will this version of your book(s) be available?
We include free marketing, listing your design on our website and including it in a newsletter for readers, including links when possible. So we don't have to try to chase you down later, please let us know where you currently intend to sell the version we'd design for you.
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Add-ons
We offer a variety of additional services for a complete package.

Available design add-ons to select here:
*Paperback duplex covers (Available at printers like IngramSpark, 48HourBooks, & Bookvault)
*Hardback endpages (Available at printers like Bookvault & 48HourBooks)
*A high-resolution image for digitally sprayed edges (not printed, like ours, used with printers like 48HourBooks, Bookvault, and Sese)
(Not sure what these are? Check out our Book Anatomy resource!)

Additional options available on this form:
*Graphics for social media posts & KDP A+ content
*Premium digital mockups (you can order more than just the 1 free style your service comes with!)
Content disclosures
Please mark all that apply
We are asking for this information for 2 reasons:
1) We include free promotion of the books we work on as part of our services. Knowing a few more details helps us classify your book properly (i.e. we'd really rather not put a spicy book in a YA or no-spice round up, or accidentally include a closed-door romance in an explicitly spicy promo!)
2) We'd like a heads-up when dealing with NSFW artwork on in-house applications. Painting Wings Publishing is a work-from-home business, meaning youngsters may be nearby, and we'd rather know if we should take extra care when opening your manuscript ;)
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Discount/Referral Code:
If you'll be paying (in part or in full) using a Painted Wings gift card or referral credits, please let us know so we invoice you correctly.
~~~ADDITIONAL SERVICES~~~
What else we offer:
*Free author tutorials [we'll be continually adding more]
*Planners for authors
[The above can be found here]
*Free collab opportunities with us and other authors (available to our newsletter subscribers—sign up here!)
*Free marketing via our reader newsletter.
~~~LEGALITIES & TECHNICALITIES~~~
Our Promises:
*We safeguard pen names/author names.
*We won't leak manuscripts, spoilers, designs, or covers.
*No two books/authors will have the same edge design with the exception of solid/ombre edges. (Optional internal borders may be used on multiple books.)
*We source properly licensed, non-AI graphics and fonts.
*If you decide not to use our services, design concepts created for you may be made available to other authors.
*If you end up not going with our services, we'll delete our copy of your manuscript and related graphics.
*Before you submit*
Please email us
1)Your cover, so we can complement the style and create a free digital mockup (1600x2400 thumbnail/ebook-style front cover is sufficient unless you're ordering a dual edge design, and then we would also want the back cover)
2)Any licensed graphics you already have that you would like to incorporate.

Send the email to PaintedWingsPublishing@gmail.com, also letting us know you filled out this form.
If you have additional questions, feel free to include them in your email!
Sign up for our newsletter!
Every month or so, we send out a newsletter with updates on our services including newsletter-exclusive promotions & discounts! You can sign up here.

Also, we have a reader-focused newsletter that we send out monthly to show off the newest releases we've worked on, so if you want to keep up to date on our work, view your own book as we promote it to readers, and support your fellow indie authors, you can sign up here.

***Our newsletters get sent through a different email, email@paintedwingspublishing.com ~ To help keep it out of spam folders, we recommend adding that email to your address book as well***
Lastly, we'd love to know where you heard about us! *
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