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.
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 some inexpensive services to help those of you new to self-publishing. This is a basic ‘no frills’ package for the eBook formatting of fiction books only – I do offer more advanced packages for Non-Fiction, Paperback, Audiobook Production and ISBN purchasing.
Each element can be purchased separately, or I’m currently offering a limited-time introductory offer of £200 for the total package.
eBook Cover Design – £120*
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. I will incorporate specific elements of your story/characters to create a bespoke, unique cover.
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.
I provide a high-resolution JPEG file, formatted to the correct dimensions for Kindle cover art. Take a closer look at a few of my previous designs.
*This is for an eBook cover, which is a single ‘front cover’ image. For an additional fee, I can design the full paperback version, which you will need if you plan to sell hard copies of your book. This will include a spine correctly sized for the length of your book and a back cover, with your book description and additional imagery.
Formatting your eBook – £50
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.
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.
I provide a Kindle compatible file, ready for upload to your KDP publishing platform.
Amazon A+ Content – £60
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. Multiple 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 also offer help with purchasing and registering ISBN numbers, Non-Fiction formatting, Audiobook production and Ingram Spark versions for wider bookshop distribution. Drop me a line via email or the Contact page and we can start your self-publishing journey together.