DAD is a collection of raw and deeply moving stories about the challenges of modern fatherhood. The book covers a variety of experiences, including gay fatherhood and surrogacy; childbirth trauma and PTSD; widowhood; stillbirth; postnatal depression; divorce; being a single dad and black fatherhood. The team at Music.Football.Fatherhood(MFF) hope to challenge gender stereotypes by starting an open and honest conversation about what it means to be a dad today. As Elliott Rae, the founder of MFF, has said: ‘This is a ground-breaking book. Never before have a group of men come together to bare their souls and speak so openly and honestly about their fatherhood experiences.”

The publication journey of DAD started with a successful crowdfunding campaign in November 2020 and found its way to Easypress early in 2021. Our team were delighted when we were approached by MFF and worked closely with Elliott Rae to decide how best to layout DAD.

The first stage of typesetting involves determining the genre and discussing industry standards for books of this kind. Of course, our clients have the final say, but it’s important to consider best practice when choosing the right book size and font. For example, Elliott chose a Royal template for the first print run, which works particularly well for memoirs and hardbacks, such as DAD.

Deciding on a font is another big topic when it comes to book design, and there is plenty of information around the subject online. It’s important to find a font that’s both comfortable for your readers and “on message”. It’s highly unlikely that anybody will notice a suitable font. By contrast, everybody will notice a poor choice. After getting a feel for the style of the writing in DAD, the team selected Minion Pro, a versatile and easy-to-read typeface that works especially well in non-fiction.

Once the typesetting was complete, Easypress worked with John Pettigrew using Futureproofs to undertake the proofreading stage. Futureproofs is a great tool that assists the smooth transition between proof and print-ready PDFs. The software ensures that any queries between the editor and proofreader are quickly addressed and resolved, removing any delays. The ability to collate editorial comments alongside its digital mark-up system meant that the content of DAD was finalised within a week.  In the case of DAD and many other multi-author titles, the proofing stage involved maintaining consistency, whilst respecting each author’s unique voice.

Atomik ePublisher ensured that the finalised files and images were used to create the print-ready PDF and eBook. They were created with ease and sent back to the MFF before their target deadline and print date.

Since typesetting and proofreading DAD, Easypress has closely followed thesocial media campaign of Music.Football.Fatherhood. and has seen it rise fromstrength to strength. With their clear message of “opening conversations aroundFatherhood”, their online platforms have exploded with support. Elliott hasalso commented on the shift of parenting roles during the pandemic in The Guardian, available to read here: Covid and the shift of parenting roles – The Guardian

Copies of DAD will be available to purchase from Waterstones, WHSmith, Amazon and Foyles from Tuesday 1st June 2021. Pre-order is available here: Pre-order DAD by Music.Football.Fatherhood

To find out more information about MFF, show your support or pre-order a copy of DAD, please visit: www.musicfootballfatherhood.com

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