Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from January, 2013

Self-Publishing - Choosing the cover design

Image courtesy of Kittisak at FreeDigitalPhotos.net In keeping with my promise to up date you on the elements of the self-publishing process as I am experiencing it, I thought today I would focus on the critical cover design. This is (or should be) the lynchpin to your entire process. Without a great cover, you don't have an image to draw people in when you're doing your PR and marketing for your book . It has to stand out among not only the myriad of other independent authors who have decided to 'go it alone' but also those who are traditionally published, all vying for the fickle eye-balls of potential readers. A cover has a split second to grab the buyer's attention and draw the reader into the next phase - reading the summary if you're selling online, or the back cover if they're standing in a book store (which is a subject for another blog) and finally to purchase. Hire a Professional Designer Many indie authors choose to go with a self-publishi

Self-Publishing Step 1 – The Timeline

  Image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net - David Castillo Dominici I’ve discovered that the most important thing to do first, once one decides to self-publish (other than writing the darn book) is to put together a timeline starting with the desired launch date and working backwards to the current date showing on the calendar.   It’s a real eye-opening experience to realize how many moving parts there are to the process. Making sure you have everything slotted on the timeline is critical otherwise that deadline is going to whizz by while you're staring wild-eyed at the ever-growing ‘To Do’ list. This really shouldn’t have been such an earth-shattering revelation for me since it’s what every good event planner or communications strategy developer does every time a new project presents itself.   Since that’s my background, it should have been a no-brainer! It’s now been a little more than a week since I’ve made my pronouncement that I’m going to self publish my