Phillip Gessert - Designer
Over ten years experience in typesetting and formatting books for print and ebook, with hands-on experience in press environments.
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Overview
I’m a book designer, typesetter and print/ebook formatter in Madison, WI. I began building books full time in 2011, and am especially passionate about page typography. I pride myself on building books to the highest standard of quality, both aesthetically and functionally.
I provide fully validated ePub files, suitable for publishing on the Kindle Store and other retailers. All ebooks are created using hand-coded HTML & CSS, and take the unique considerations for different devices into account. The books are built to be flexible and render predictably across a range of e-readers. And I use traditional and classical typographical principles to give the books an appealing look.
I also provide PDF files suitable for print. I’m happy to build to KDP or Ingram Spark specifications, or simply build to industry-standard print-readiness. I use my prepress experience to preflight and prepare PDF files that most any print service provider would be delighted to receive.
Why Choose Me?
Value. I pride myself in finding high-quality, low cost solutions to common design problems. I aim to find a good nexus between beauty and price. This means I am not the cheapest book designer, but I do deliver the best bang for your buck.
Quality. I do not treat your book as a rote technical task. I am a designer, first and foremost, and strive to create tasteful and elegant designs.
Honesty. I aim to be candid and frank with you about your project, alert you to potential issues as quickly as I can, and never obscure anything about the process. This means I immediately alert you to anything that could possibly affect your project. There may be occasional false alarms, but I think it is better to be safe than sorry.
Tenacity. I work tirelessly to correct any issues you may encounter. If you have any sort of problem with your files, at any time, I will do my level best to help.
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Please note that I'll typically ask to review a copy of your manuscript in order to prepare your quote. It is used only to get a count on various formatting elements and to assess scope. Feel free to send it in MS Word format with your quote request!
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"Phillip is a pure delight to work with. He’s meticulous, professional, punctual, and highly capable. He’s met my exacting demands time and time again, even when under pressure of timeline and budget. He’s my only choice when it comes to laying out a book, and I plan on using him for many more projects to come."
--Ben Dutter, Sigil Stone Publishing
"Phillip and I have worked together for a few years now and with each project he has devoted himself to the task and will not quit until the job is done to satisfaction. Very personable and detailed-oriented, I recommend him highly!"
--Kwasi Konadu, Diasporic Africa Press
I provide fully validated ePub files, suitable for publishing on the Kindle Store and other retailers. All ebooks are created using hand-coded HTML & CSS, and take the unique considerations for different devices into account. The books are built to be flexible and render predictably across a range of e-readers. And I use traditional and classical typographical principles to give the books an appealing look.
I also provide PDF files suitable for print. I’m happy to build to KDP or Ingram Spark specifications, or simply build to industry-standard print-readiness. I use my prepress experience to preflight and prepare PDF files that most any print service provider would be delighted to receive.
Why Choose Me?
Value. I pride myself in finding high-quality, low cost solutions to common design problems. I aim to find a good nexus between beauty and price. This means I am not the cheapest book designer, but I do deliver the best bang for your buck.
Quality. I do not treat your book as a rote technical task. I am a designer, first and foremost, and strive to create tasteful and elegant designs.
Honesty. I aim to be candid and frank with you about your project, alert you to potential issues as quickly as I can, and never obscure anything about the process. This means I immediately alert you to anything that could possibly affect your project. There may be occasional false alarms, but I think it is better to be safe than sorry.
Tenacity. I work tirelessly to correct any issues you may encounter. If you have any sort of problem with your files, at any time, I will do my level best to help.
---
Please note that I'll typically ask to review a copy of your manuscript in order to prepare your quote. It is used only to get a count on various formatting elements and to assess scope. Feel free to send it in MS Word format with your quote request!
---
"Phillip is a pure delight to work with. He’s meticulous, professional, punctual, and highly capable. He’s met my exacting demands time and time again, even when under pressure of timeline and budget. He’s my only choice when it comes to laying out a book, and I plan on using him for many more projects to come."
--Ben Dutter, Sigil Stone Publishing
"Phillip and I have worked together for a few years now and with each project he has devoted himself to the task and will not quit until the job is done to satisfaction. Very personable and detailed-oriented, I recommend him highly!"
--Kwasi Konadu, Diasporic Africa Press
Services
Languages
English
Non-Fiction
Biographies & Memoirs
Business & Management
Education & Reference
History
Fiction
Cultural & Ethnic
Literary Fiction
Mystery & Crime
Science Fiction
Work experience
Book Designer
Self-employed
December, 2011
–
Present
(over 11 years)
I design custom interiors for indie and self-published authors, suitable for Createspace, IngramSpark, Kindle, and others.
Graphic Designer
Data Print
December, 2007
–
December, 2011
(about 4 years)
Graphic design and prepress.
Portfolio (25 selected works)
After your spouse dies, how do you go forward? This beautifully-written memoir faces the realities of a loved one dying.Following a long fight with breast cancer, Tracy's death ended their 13-year marriage. In the months after his loss, Frederick Marx wrote about their time together (falling in love, their shortcomings, her illness, and how they made each other better). Marx recounts his relat... read more
Eisenstein's Monster
A.V. Bach
"One of the most exciting debuts of 2016," --Richard Peabody, Editor GargoyleA novel in montage, Eisenstein’s Monster is a wild romp through the terrains of our consciousness. A man with terminal cancer in the language centers of his brain meets a young woman he hopes will facilitate an existence beyond the dwindling limits of his body. What follows is a psychedelic odyssey exploring conscious... read more
No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service
Steve Cox
The true story of two teenagers who were determined to ascend some of Colorado's tallest peaks. A broken down car turned it into an adventure they hadn't anticipated.
BloodLight: The Apocalypse of Robert Goldner (Eve of Light Book 0)
Harambee K. Grey-Sun
Deep down, Robert Goldner knows he's a mistake. His mother told him so when he was just five years old. But he never found the courage to ask just what she meant before she was murdered under mysterious circumstances on his eleventh birthday. Now, on the eve of his seventeenth birthday, Robert is dead set on becoming a Virginia high school state wrestling champion in order to redeem himself on... read more
The Chimera Sequence
Elliott Garber
Cole McBride makes a chilling discovery while investigating a mysterious disease causing the deaths of endangered mountain gorillas in war-torn central Africa. When a humanitarian aid hospital nearby diagnoses a disturbingly similar human case, the former Special Forces veterinarian knows he must figure out how to stop this outbreak from spreading--before it blows up into a global pandemic. Ha... read more
The Black Terrorist
Tierno Monénembo
The Black Terrorist is a fictional account built around the true, extraordinary, but little-known story of Addi Bâ. Addi Bâ was born in Guinea about 1916, brought to France in the late 1930s, and became a riflemen in the Twelfth Regiment de Tirailleurs Sénégalais (African soldiers from French colonies) fighting for France during World War II. Captured after the Battle of the Meuse, Addi escape... read more
Finding the Elephant: Subspace, the Mega-phenomenon
David Reginald Burfoot
It is no secret that modern knowledge has become specialised into increasingly narrower ‘silos’. While this has had its advantages, more are becoming aware that important connections are being neglected.What if our universe does not care to comply with the separations we have created? What if there are ‘mega-phenomena’, phenomena so broad in nature that they are concealed from the narrow view ... read more
We see it everywhere: at the park, in restaurants, and inside our homes and cars—kids connected to handheld devices and disconnected from the world around them. According to the latest research, the average thirteen-year-old spends eight hours per day, seven days a week, glued to a screen. Yes, this is problematic, but for every problem there is a solution. In Disconnected, renowned psychother... read more
Remember Me
Yola Dunne
Betrayed, Carmen saw her life come crashing down. Her world would never be the same. But in the midst of chaos and suffering, she discovered her most powerful ally… “I am Carmen Agnes Sirota. If you had told me one day I would write a story like Remember Me, I never would have believed you. But here it is. And here I am. There isn’t a moment that goes by that I don’t think about it. Sometimes ... read more
Spectrum: Book 1 of The F.O.K. Series
Sheila M Sullivan
Frances experiences three major life changes that led her to new-found freedoms allowing her to explore the Spectrum that makes up life. Frances did all society expected her to do: Married a handsome, sexy man, secured a high-powered corporate job, and honored her Irish Catholic parents. However, the only unconditional love she found in her marriage was with their amazing dog. When the dog die... read more
TRUE Influence
Tim David
Times have changed and it's harder than ever to build influence. The world is getting better at ignoring you and your message is being smothered by all the noise.That's why influence is no longer about convincing people, but rather, connecting with them. In today's high-tech, low-touch world, human connection is the fundamental shift you MUST make if you want people to listen when you speak, b... read more
Why The Lotus Blooms: Choosing To Stand Tall
Tara Anand
A string of shattering experiences results in Tara, putting her ambitions aside to marry her college sweetheart at twenty-five. She wakes up as a wife, numbingly empty, but for the next nine years convinces herself: marriage is about compromising. Meeting Aadi, a married man seven years younger, tears her identity and secure world apart. It’s impossible to restore the equilibrium, so she takes... read more
The Assumption Code (The Danu Series)
Melodee Elliott
A body is no match for an idea. Esteemed NYC anchorwoman, Margi Hall, spends her days reporting on the lives—and lies—of others. When the studio cameras show her imperfections, she seeks out a scientist who extolls his secret technology using nanobot implants. Instead of capturing her youth, she finds herself in another woman’s body on another planet. And no one must know. Margi begins her new... read more
Admit it. You dont have much time. You love God, but sometimes your prayer life is virtually nonexistent. Guilt keeps you away from it even longer. And that distance leaves you feeling spiritually disconnected from God. It s okay you re safe here. Too Busy, Too Bored for Prayer is filled with resources and ideas to help you and a friend reconnect with God over seven days. Each day presents a u... read more
Galloway's Justice (Red's Mountain Series Book 1)
Melodee Elliott
A rural community in southeast Tennessee is tested when a teenage girl goes missing. Deputy Galloway suspects his girlfriend's husband of foul play and launches an investigation.Nestled in the nearby Smoky Mountains, a bluegrass tavern may hold clues to the teen's fate. Yet the hills don't talk. Galloway's suspect's worst crime may be in allowing circumstance to determine reality, leaving othe... read more
An anthology of writing by members of the Maryland Writers' Association's Teen Writing Clubs.
Little God Blues (The Jim Shalabon Playlist Book 1)
Jeffrey M Anderson
The breakup of his San Francisco rock band is a hard shove that has Jim Shalabon struggling to stay on his feet. What he needs is balance. What he gets is an earthquake. His best friend and former band mate is found dead in a London alley. Unable to make sense of his friend's supposed drug overdose, Jim goes to London and slips into an amateur detective role. With a style and technique that he... read more
Actually, It's Not Easy
Nicholas Cohen
Fake news. Alternative facts. Ideological agendas. How do you tell the difference between true and false? How do you know what it all means? In Actually, It's Not Easy, novices and experts alike can grow their ability to understand complex topics in today's world. A consistent, analytical approach results in an understandable context useful for solving problems. Timely subjects like health ref... read more
Falling Through Blankets of Stars
Keith Marcotti
Discover what dreams are made of . . .Ten-year-old twins Ashlynne and Julian share a special ability: the power to enter each other's dreams. They call it 'sharing' dreams. It's usually a great time; playing together in a dream is way more fun than playing in the boring real world . . . until one night, when the twins find themselves stuck inside a dream that feels all too real. The pair must ... read more
AngelFire
Luke Valen
Fairytales, we’ve all been told them.Witches and warlocks,Vampires and werewolves. Myths made to keep you awake at night. Children stories.But what about the stories we’re not told?What about the stories that are still being written? The real danger that lurks in the night,that crawls in the shadows blacker than black.Evil in every corner, living among us. And the ones who stand against them, ... read more
Unlock the key to building successful businesses in challenging international markets.Why do so many investors fail in frontier and emerging markets? How can entrepreneurs increase their odds of success in developing economies?In The Culture Key, Curt Laird explores the idea that entrepreneurs and investors in these markets struggle not because they lack business acumen, but because they do no... read more
Ryan's Story: A Father's Hard-Earned Lessons about Cyberbullying and Suicide
John P. Halligan, Emily B. Dickson
Are you struggling with decisions regarding social media and smartphone access for your child? The middle school and teen years are now more challenging than ever. Bullying and suicide are on the rise – an increase that has been linked to social media and smartphone use. John Halligan, international bullying prevention speaker, and Emily B. Dickson, professional middle school counselor, are al... read more
The Gods Who Chose Us
Michael J Roy
THE GODS WHO CHOSE US (hard science-fiction) is a reimagining of global mythology from a science fiction perspective. Various established mythos have been transformed into unique civilizations that interact with one another, with the story centered on characters from the Norse (Aesir) and Greek (Olympians) pantheons. The book is peppered with scientific explanations for fantasy-based phenomena... read more
Fine Until Kindergarten: A Parent's First Guide to Learning Differences
Catherine Mikkelsen
"This is a great book. Any parent, teacher, grandparent, or anyone else who wants to learn about learning differences, run, right now and buy this book. Concise, yet comprehensive; reader-friendly yet not dumbed down; upbeat and positive, yet inclusive of the struggles involved -- and wise. A brilliant and stunning contribution."&mdashEdward Hallowell, M.D., New York Times Best-Selling Author ... read more
Phillip has 162 reviews
Professionalism
Professionalism
Quality
Quality
Value
Value
Communication & Punctuality
Communication & Punctuality
Phillip responded to my emails promptly, did a beautiful formatting job, and was amazingly patient and supportive about my technology limitations. My PDF and epub look outstanding and his fee was quite reasonable for this fledgling author. I will request his help on my next book and highly recommend him!
Lee Reinecke, March 2023
Phillip did a wonderful job. He produced exactly what I wanted. I would definitely work with him again.
Margaret Williams, March 2023
Phillip was very responsible and did a beautiful job formatting the book. He was a pleasure to work with.
Bill Harris, March 2023
Phillip is very accomodating and easy to work with. He has fomatted two books for me and they both turned out great. He comes highly recommended.
Jimi Fritz, March 2023
Excellent.
indy Perro, February 2023
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