Does self-publishing your first book to the Kindle platform seem daunting? Or maybe you think it looks easy? The truth is probably somewhere between the two. In addition to my full Self-Publishing package, I now offer some basic eBook only services to help those new to Indie Publishing get their precious books out into the world. From cover design to book formatting and creating Amazon marketing content, I can help you produce a slick, professional-looking book that has the best chance of reaching the audience it deserves.
You’re in ‘Safe Hands’
As host of The Joined Up Writing Podcast, I’ve spoken to dozens of Indie authors. In 2023 I released my own book – crime thriller, Safe Hands and now I’m preparing the sequel for release later in 2024. I’ve learned so much along the way.
Getting your book onto the KDP (Kindle) platform is easy enough, but so many first time self-published authors think they can upload their manuscript, throw together some cover artwork and hope for the best. These books are easy to spot. Poorly formatted chapters, inconsistent margins and badly designed covers scream ‘AMATEUR’ or ‘POOR CONTENT’ to potential readers. For your books to sit comfortably next to the latest best-sellers from the big publishers, you have to take care of the basics. It can be a steep learning curve and after many requests from writer friends, I decided to offer some inexpensive services to help those of you new to self-publishing. These are the elements I think are essential for a successful indie book . . .
Cover Design – judging a book by its cover
Yes, people really do judge a book by its cover. Whether you would like to admit it or not, we are all making rapid assumptions based on the artwork/photography, typography and design of a cover.
The first thing we’re trying to ascertain is – what is the GENRE of the book? Is it Romance? Historical Fiction? A comedy? A Crime Thriller? Which authors or other books might it be similar to? This has to be clear to a potential reader when they’re presented with your book on Amazon or any of your promotional material. When I work with a writer, I research their target market, looking at comparable books in the genre.
When I worked with David Buckle on his upcoming comedy crime book, ‘MISS YOU’, he told me his influences were authors like Christopher Brookmyre and Caimh McDonnell. Many of these books currently have a quirky, graphic/typography style. After analysing David’s premise and blurb, I created this design.
By incorporating bold use of text, eye-catching visuals and a striking colour palette, the book’s comic tone was emphasised. The lone detective figure and cross hair reflects specific elements of David’s story and establishes the Crime Fiction genre. The cover for ‘Miss You’ will appeal to fans of the genre and attract readers of those authors David was influenced by.
Aside from ensuring your book fits genre expectations and attracts the right audience, a professionally designed cover shows potential readers your work deserves to be alongside those big budget traditionally published offerings.
Formatting your eBook
Amazon boasts that its KDP publishing platform is easy to use and, whilst this is true for much of the process, simply uploading your manuscript as a Word document can lead to a messy, badly formatted book. Your chapter headings may be incorrect, inconsistent and appear in strange places. If your book is in different parts, has any unusual structuring elements or relies on specific formatting devices, there is a strong chance KDP will mangle your text. Whilst there are advanced formatting features in Word and other software, like Scrivener to alleviate some of this, it can be a time consuming and frustrating process.
Using a variety of genre-specific options and styles, I format your book to ensure the reading experience is as you imagined it and that all your chapters, headings and sections are exactly where they should be. I’ll also make sure any web links/images – for example in the ‘About The Author’ section – are formatted correctly.
Amazon A+ Content – make your listing stand out
The final piece of the puzzle when it comes to getting your book on to the Kindle Store, is what Amazon calls ‘A+ Content’. You can find it in the promotional area of your KDP dashboard and it allows you to add imagery and a slick design with extra content – like snippets of reviews, author blurbs or anything else you think will help to sell your book. Go to any Amazon listing of your favourite best-selling book and you will find a section called ‘From The Publisher’. A series of images can be added to give potential readers more eye-catching reasons to buy your book.
Here’s the A+ Content for my book, Safe Hands.
Many self-published authors don’t utilise this free bit of promotion, which Amazon says increases customer engagement and helps to improve your sales ranking. Images need to be professionally designed and meet certain size and quality criteria. I use assets from your cover design to create engaging and consistent A+ content that will really make your book listing stand out.
Want to find out more?
Are you looking to get your precious book out it out into the world, but need a bit of help to make sure it’s as slick and professional as it can be? I want to help as many people as I can, so I’ve put together an introductory package for new indie authors here. Take a look and in the meantime, let me know in the comments what else you’d like to know about Indie Publishing or drop me a line. I’ll be putting more content together over the coming months – including workshops and video content.
These sounds fantastic! I would certainly be interested in doing it. I also want a physical book too, so, as a matter of interest (and please excuse me if it’s a stupid question), but when the book is formatted and has a cover and blurb etc, could that be used for actual physical copies (hardbacks, paperbacks)?