When you’re so close to your book, sometimes you need to “murder your darlings” in the cover design process, as well as in the writing of it. Check this handy list to make sure you’re not guilty of any of eight common pet hates in the covers of your books.
This is the self-publishing advice blog, written by members of the Alliance of Independent Authors. We cover the seven processes of publishing – editorial, design, production, distribution, marketing, promotion and licensing publishing rights – here week on week, together with writing advice and how to run an indie author business.
Can you tell your recto from your verso? Know your serif from your sans serif? Make sure you’re familiar with these essential typesetting terms that all indie authors need to know to make their books look the best they can – by professional typesetter Amie McCracken
Shoshonna Gabriel, co-founder of Self Pub Book Covers, and sponsor of our cover competitions prize, offers tips and tools for making sure your cover delivers your book to its readers.
Ever struggled to write a book blurb? Struggle no more! Just follow this simple advice…
As an indie author, it’s your prerogative to do things your way, including choosing the cover design for your self-published book. While trade-published authors often dislike the covers picked by their publishers, that doesn’t mean their publishers have got it wrong. Though it may seem that all book covers in a particular genre start to […]
Sarah Juckes of ALLi partner member CompletelyNovel offers some answers for those in search of the best software to design their own print book, including CompletelyNovel’s own ratings on various criteria. As well as the price (UK rate, as she’s UK based), she’s given a rating for how easy each tool is to master, plus a rating […]
Book promotion expert Ben Cameron always says “writing the blurb is the hardest 100 words you’ll ever write”, and many authors are also stumped when it comes to writing the front and back matter – another task that usually falls just when you’re feeling least like writing another word, after completing your book’s final edit. […]
Australian book designer Scarlett Rugers makes a compelling case for investing in more targetted book covers to boost sales of your self-published books. You’re lacking in sales, you’re not reaching new readers, and you’re running out of promotional steam. What’s one thing that could make all the difference in boosting sales and getting you onto […]
Today American screenwriter Tom Rogers shares his experience of developing an appropriate cover for his children’s novel, Eleven, which is based on the response to the 9/11 disaster of a young boy living in Manhattan, and who happens to turn eleven years that day. Churchill (or Shaw, or Wilde, depending on whom you ask) famously described […]