When you create book cover designs for self-publishing authors, you get to work with a lot of very creative people, which is always an enjoyable experience, taking the synopsis for their book and developing a cover design which is something that we love to be involved with.

Over time we have created countless book covers for all genres and for print on demand services such as KDP Publishing, IngramSpark, Lulu and many others (both big and small).

When creating a cover there are things that we look for, in the design, layout and requirements of both the project and the required format (whether that’s in print as a paperback or hardback, or as just an eBook cover design). You’ll also find that the print on demand service being used will also have different specifications for the book too.
​
So, here are some of our favorite book covers with a little detail on what went into the design and where you can find the book too.

For authors, writing is not just a hobby, it’s a way of life, so if you are passionate about writing and want to make some extra money, or even cultivate a full-time career from your passion, here are 10 ways to make additional income from your craft.

1 – Writing a blog

Starting your own blog may sound like an obvious option for many writers, as it enables you to select a topic that you are passionate about and then give your opinions and thoughts on that subject, over time you should be able to grow your audience/visitors which will help you to make money.

There are several ways to create an income stream from your blog, but the first one will be from advertising, signing up for a Google Adsense account will allow you to place adverts within your content that will be of interest to each visitor to your site, when they click on the ad, you get paid.

You can also look at affiliate products and services advertised within your blog, again, when one is sold using the unique link from your site to the seller’s page, you will get a commission.

Do you want creative ideas for your book? You can start by looking at the latest trends in the publishing industry.

Publishing consultant Ruediger Wischenbart reported that global trends have popped up in the industry, such as the rise of interest in e-books and audiobooks. The publishing consultant also noted that readers are shifting from traditionally popular genres like romance and mysteries to children’s stories, young adult titles, and even nonfiction books. The consultant notes that this shift may be due to the changes in the digital marketing strategies of publishers and authors themselves.

So, if you want your book to attract the attention of publishers and readers, here are some trends that you need to watch out for:

If you’re publishing a book with a print on demand service, then you may well have decided to use Amazon KDP (formerly Createspace) for your new title, after all, being a part of Amazon, they have one of the biggest platforms in the world for online retail and offer a great free to use service for authors.

Using their platform for self-publishing is fairly straightforward and we have written lots of articles showing you how to upload books, tweak your KDP account and even promote your book on Amazon with their own advertising options for authors & sellers.

But an important part of your publishing journey with Amazon KDP will be your book cover design.
​
The first thing to remember is that you will likely publish your book as both an eBook and in print, the eBook will be sold via Kindle and the cover has to be created to certain specifics to work with their book readers, whereas the book cover design for print will need to be created specifically for your paperback and/or hardback (taking in to account the spine width based on the page count) and a different set of specifics.

Getting your manuscript ready for publication can be a complex task, and this is why many authors use a professional formatting service to get the job done. Prices for this can be from $50 up to $1500 and above (depending upon the complexity and the experience of the person working on your book of course).

So, if you are looking for a formatter, where do you start?

Well, there certainly is a lot of choice available for self-publishing authors, and if you feel like going on a bit of a learning curve, you can always opt to do the formatting yourself, however, if you do decide this, it will take time and patience, but in this article, we’ll take a look at services who will format the book for you.

Here are our top five formatting services that you should be aware of

We all understand that a great book cover design is essential when it comes to catching the eye of your potential reader, ensuring that your book stands out upon the page, looks professional and is readable as a thumbnail.

But what do you need to consider when creating an eBook cover?

The first thing that you’ll need to look at will be the actual dimensions of the eBook, because when it comes to publishers, they do require different sizes for the eBook cover.

If you have ever looked at your favorite author’s books on Amazon, you will see that on each book’s page there’s a section a little lower down which reads ‘From the Publisher’, here you’ll see banners, promotional images, graphs, details about the author, technical information, and other elements to help you sell the book.

Creating content for A+ is certainly worth doing and will enable you to present not only a professional image to your reader, but it also allows you to add further information that will help to explain important contents within your book (and this is great for non-fiction books, guidebooks and manuals).

So, how do you add A+ Content to your book’s Amazon page?

Many people have dreamed of becoming a published author, and they do say that there is a book within us all, but for those who may not have either the time or the skill to write a book, there are people and businesses who offer ghost writing services to help you reach that goal of having a book in print.

Now, for many authors, this is a sticky subject, is it right to see someone become a bestselling author for a book they did not pen themselves? Maybe, maybe not, but ghost writers will still work with clients, and we’ll still see books in the stores that won’t have been written by the name on the cover.
​
A big area for ghost writers is in ‘auto-biographies’, here you’ll have a person of interest to the public who will work with a ghost writer to ensure that their life story is written well and makes an enjoyable read.

Getting your book proofread is a vital step that every author should take prior to hitting the ‘publish’ button on their work, and regardless of how you are approaching your publishing journey, there are great ways (and services) to ensure that your book is checked thoroughly before launch.

For some authors the first option is to do this themselves, for many others they’ll use the services of friends and family, and for a larger portion of publishing authors, they’ll use a professional service to get the task completed.
​
All options have both pros and cons, whether you’re looking to save money or time, you can still get the job done and in a way which works for you. So, here are some great ways for you to get your book proofread.

We have all heard the old saying not to judge a book by its cover, meaning not to take things at face value, and try to look a little deeper, the only trouble with this is that we’re subconsciously predisposed to make quick decisions based on how something looks. This is something that we have kept within our subconscious minds for millennia, and as such, we all make assumptions about a person or product based on looks all the time.

From this, the world of advertising has developed and pushed boundaries to ensure that what you look at when you walk into a store has the best chance of grabbing your attention, this goes for the online stores too.
​
Now, you may say ‘well advertising doesn’t work on me’ and if that truly is the case, that’s great, however, it does work on lots of other people, and if you want to give your book the best chance of being considered by a potential reader, then you should think about the design you choose for your book.