A 288-page handbook you leaf through like a journey
Cover, 288 interior pages, Kindle and print-ready files: a handbook split into four Maps you can find at a glance.
Where it started
Since 2018 Leonardo Alessandroni and Barbara Iandolo have been travelling across Europe, telling stories of change on their channel Story Hunters.
They had written a long book with many layers: four Maps, twelve Stages, Barbara’s personal boxes, and «Compasses» with questions for the reader. The text was a Word file.
They needed a book to sell on Amazon, in print and on Kindle, that readers could follow without getting lost.
What I did
The cover. Around Elizabeth Zefira Alessandroni’s illustration I laid out the title, spine and back cover, with the authors’ introduction on the back.
The structure. Each Map opens with a photo of the authors in its own colour. The same colour returns in the running head and in a tab on the page edge: close the book, look at the fore-edge and you already know where each part starts.
The pauses. The 17 «Barbara’s asides» and the 12 «Compasses» each have their own shape. Readers know at once whether they are following the argument, a personal memory or a question to answer.
The page. A comfortable line length and key passages in bold: anyone rereading the book finds the main ideas by skimming.
The Kindle edition. A separate version, rebuilt so the text adapts to any screen.
The corrections. Barbara proofread the pages and marked her changes on the PDF. I applied all of them and prepared the print-ready files for Amazon.
Why it matters
A long handbook is read in pieces: a chapter one evening, a Compass the following week. If readers can’t find their place, the book stays on the bedside table.
Here colours, boxes and headings work as signposts, like the maps of a journey.
The results
The book came out in April 2025 on Amazon, in print and on Kindle. In March 2026 Leonardo wrote to me:
“Lots of positive feedback, both on the content and on the format of a “travel” handbook. People really liked the design. We are very happy.”
Leonardo Alessandroni, Story Hunters (translated from Italian)
In the same message he offered me a new project to lay out.
Writing a book for your business?
I work on the cover and the interior with the same method, at a fixed price.
Leggi questo caso studio in italiano: versione italiana →
