Tag: self-publish

Book Cover Design: DIY

Posted on by Sonya Dalton

Previously we discussed two possible options when it comes to book cover design for your self-published book. The first option proposed was the DIY option, where you design the cover yourself. This option is more complicated and time consuming than hiring a designer to create a book cover for you. While it certainly isn’t impossible to create a great cover yourself, it is probably best to steer clear of this option if you have never dabbled in any kind of design at all or if you’re unwilling to spend time doing research. With that disclaimer out of the way, let’s dive into the DIY option. 

Step One: Brainstorm Ideas for Your Book Cover Design

The first step is brainstorming ideas for what your cover should look like. You may have a strong idea already or you may be entirely clueless. Either way, I urge you to take time and study other book cover designs of best-sellers that specifically match the genre or tone of your book. If you wrote a murder-mystery thriller, look at other books that are traditionally published within that genre.

Angel Wings Book Cover DesignPay attention to the general style of fonts used, the color palette, and the overall feel. These will vary widely between book subjects. A self-help book cover will be different from those of romance novels. Even if you do have a strong idea of what you’d like to present on the cover, take into consideration what other novels are doing. Remember, the main point of the cover is to bring in an audience that wants to read what’s inside. Your cover needs to quickly convey what kind of book it is through its visual language.

Step Two: Find a Graphics Program

The second step is finding and familiarizing yourself with a graphics program that suits your skill-level and needs. If you have access to Adobe Photoshop or InDesign, then those are the preferred industry standard for designing graphics and you should be all set. However, these can be expensive options for a single project. It is worth considering other options, since there are many programs out there that are cheaper or, better yet, completely free! 

If you have experience with design and using image editing software, try programs like Clip Studio Paint, GIMP, Procreate, or Krita. You may need to supplement these programs with things like stock photos or fonts. However, you need to keep an eye on their usage rights.  

If you’re less experienced with design, it might be preferable to choose a program that comes pre-loaded with tons of templates, fonts, and stock images that make designing a cover less of a headache. Try programs like Canva, Adobe Spark, BookBrush, or Placeit. These are only a few of the available options and a quick search will lead you down the path to finding the best fit for you.  

However, most of these programs, aside from InDesign, are not suited for typesetting. If you’re planning on working with the interior of your book yourself as well, InDesign may be worth the investment.

Step Three: Consult with Your Publishing Platform

Doug Wood Book Cover DesignOnce you’ve come up with the idea for a design that is both aesthetically appealing and tells people about your book at a glance and you have a program of choice that you plan to use to bring it to life, it is important to consult with your publishing platform. Wherever you choose to publish and sell your book from, whether it’s solely digital or from a print-on-demand publisher, these platforms usually have specifications that you will need to follow concerning image dimensions, file size and type, and color profile. Keep these in mind when creating your design. 

Best of luck on your journey designing a brilliant book cover if this seems like the right path for you! However, if all of that was entirely overwhelming and you’re considering exploring the second option of hiring a designer instead, we will be talking about that in-depth soon as well!   

Designing a Book Cover: DIY vs Hiring for Self-publishing Authors

Posted on by Sonya Dalton

If you’re familiar with the concept of self-publishing, you’re also probably familiar with some of its criticisms. It’s not uncommon for someone to scoff at a self-published book on sight and label it as unprofessional, or a work in progress- even if that isn’t true at all. If you’re planning to self-publish a book, those kinds of reactions might make you nervous. You most likely don’t want to invoke that kind of disdain from potential readers. So, how do you keep an audience open-minded when they can be predisposed to making assumptions about self-published books? Design a professional book cover.

Designing a Book Cover

The key is to make your self-published book look professional at first glance. The old saying, “don’t judge a book by its cover” is great advice when it comes to the metaphor for how we should treat other people, but when it comes to actual books, people do judge them by their covers. That is why it’s so important to get your cover right. In a world where tens of thousands of new books are self-published annually, there’s no faster way for people to make the snap decision to swipe left or right. Your book cover’s quality needs to reflect the quality of its contents, so you can attract the audience who will enjoy all of your hard work.

When you begin thinking about your cover, there are essentially two options: you can give yourself a DIY project or you can hire a designer to make the cover for you.

You may know yourself well enough to already have an idea of which one will suit you better, but there are pros and cons to both when you’re considering your options for designing a book cover. This is just a quick and dirty guide to helping you make the initial choice.

The DIY Option

This option is more complex. You will need to find a graphics program that suits you- there are plenty out there that are low-cost or free. Some web-based services even provide premade templates to follow that can make the process simpler. Making your own cover will involve a lot more of your time. You will need to handle all of the steps from doing the initial design thumbnails to formatting the image properly for print. On top of that, these things will require research, especially if you’re a total newcomer to digital design. However, there is a positive side- the result will be a lot more cost-effective and it is completely customizable. If you have a strong vision for what you want your cover to be and are willing to do the legwork, this could be a very rewarding option.

Hiring a Designer

The initial step for this option might take a little time, but once you’ve found a designer that fits your budget and style, the rest of the work will fall on them and you can focus on other things. All you need to do is message them, discussing the project and their rates, until you find someone who meets your needs for designing a book cover. Expect to pay a minimum of $750 for an original design that doesn’t follow a template or use stock photos. Despite the downside of being more expensive, this option can save time and stress, leaving you with a more professional, eye-catching book. 

If one of these options interests, you- great! We’ll be going more in-depth into both of them in future blog posts, so keep an eye on this space! Until then, please check out our Not-so-Sexy Side of Book Publishing blog to learn about the technical parts of publishing that will help prevent you from missing out on opportunities. 

“Buying Local”: It Counts in Public Relations, Too

Posted on by Keely Flanagan

local bookstore-pixabayWhen indie or self-published authors are releasing their new novels they always shoot for the brass ring: a review or feature in/on The New York Times, USA Today, The Today Show. When it comes to readings and merchandising of their books, they ask about the bookstores that they love: McNally Jackson’s, Politics & Prose, Powell’s, and of course, Barnes & Noble.

If you’re a self- or indie-published author, you’re a David trying to become a Goliath. And you aren’t the only David out there. Your local media and independent bookstores are most likely Davids too, hoping that you’ll turn the channel to watch your local news, or purchase a book from them instead of Amazon.

While we think its important to think big, and always include national media in a public relations campaign, it’s necessary to remember that your town can be one of the most fertile places to start.

Here are some reasons why you shouldn’t brush off the word local so fast:

Your local bookstore is the first place to stock your book. We recently worked with an author who was published by a small publisher. The book was beautifully designed, and she herself is a lovely person and a fantastic writer. She stopped by her local bookstore with her book in tow, and they ordered five copies after having a conversation with her. The books sold out shortly after, and on several occasions since then they have requested more copies of the book. At this point, she has probably sold 50 copies of her indie title from her city’s bookstore alone.

Local isn’t just limited to where you live now. One author we work with lives in Ohio and she had a bookstore reading in her own town, but she also held a reading event in a city an hour away from her home. Even better, she had family in New Hampshire and was able to book an event at a well-known bookstore in the area because she had a built-in audience that would attend her reading. Sometimes you can think outside the box when it comes to the word “local.”

Local media can lead to bigger things. More often than not, major television networks are not going to book you—or even consider you—on their morning show unless you have proof that you can work well on camera. Your local TV station is a great place to get tape that you can use later.

You’re all in this together. If a local author can get a number of their family and friends to attend their reading at an indie bookstore, those friends are more likely to purchase other titles at that store too and may realize they just found their new favorite hangout. And if you get an interview in your town’s paper, more likely than not all of your friends are going to share that article across Facebook and give that paper some love—in fact, one author we work with had a great interview in her local paper, and her Facebook friends shared that link over 200 times. It was amazing!

Have you had success with local media or would like to give a shoutout to your favorite bookstore? Tweet us @McKinneyPR!