By Tammy Hopf

Books were a big part of my life as I was growing up. My mom’s family has been running a bookstore for three generations. My mother read to us kids constantly and we had books coming out our ears! So I grew up being a voracious reader.

But when I started as a project manager with WinePress, I was surprised at all the details in a book I had never noticed before—even after all those years of reading!

Ever wonder why there are blank pages in a book… sometimes in the text of the book and sometimes at the end?

This can happen for two reasons:

Grab any non-fiction book off your shelf. You’ll notice that the first page is necessarily on the right (recto) side of the book and the first chapter starts on the recto as well.

If a chapter ends on a recto page, then a blank page on the left (verso) is introduced to “force” the next chapter to start on the right—hence, all those odd numbers listed in the table of contents.

Even though there is no number on a blank page, it is still counted as a page and the pagination continues normally.

Chapters in a fiction book typically start on both the recto and verso sides.

Blank pages at the end have to do with printing signatures. A signature is one unit of a book comprised of a group of printed sheets that are folded and stitched together. Depending on the kind of press used, the number of pages in a signature can vary widely; 32, 16, 8, and even as few as 4. The blank pages at the end of a book serve to complete the signature.

Here’s another important typesetting tidbit:

Royalty publishers use The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th Edition as a guide for typesetting their books, and not surprisingly, so does WinePress Group. Affectionately known as CMOS, it shows not only how to professionally typeset a book, but gives valuable information about grammar, title treatment, correct usage of capitals, how and when to spell out numbers, proofread marking tools, and much, much more. It is a “must have” for any writer or publisher serious about producing quality books.

As a project manager, Tammy Hopf is the first port of call for everything concerning the actual production and printing of your book. She also directs authors to any other department they may need.

Tammy has worked with WinePress Publishing Group since 1999 and has been a project manager for seven years. As the liaison between authors and the design, typesetting, editing, and other production departments, she helps coordinate all the different aspects that transform a manuscript into a beautiful book. She enjoys working with authors to make their dreams a reality.