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You are here: Home / Archives for 2024

Archives for 2024

Self-publishing services compared

October 7, 2024 By Glenna Collett 15 Comments

Self-Publishing Services: image of an open book.Are you ready to find a self-publishing service for your masterpiece? In this article we hope to help you discover the right one for your needs, whether it’s a full-service shop, simply a printing press, or an ebook conversion. Even though—as we always say—you can do it yourself, everyone needs at least a little help getting their book out there.

Possibly the majority of new publishers go straight to KDP, but many folks prefer to avoid Amazon for their own reasons. We will focus here mostly on other well-known self-publishing services. Aside from the ones we mention, there are many more to be found online and even advertised on television. Please read our words of caution at the end of this article about all self-publishing services.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Publishing Tagged With: Amazon, book marketing, book printing

Book edge treatments

July 8, 2024 By Fiona Raven 2 Comments

Painted fore edge by Joyfully Tessa Studios.

Fore edge painting: JoyfullyTessaStudios

Book edge treatments include anything that is applied to the edges of a book’s pages. This includes paint or gilding, or even patterns cut into the paper. Some treatments are done during a book’s production at the printer or bindery, and others are applied manually after a book is printed and bound.

We’ve compiled some ideas to inspire you about creative and fun ways to jazz up your books. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Book Design Tagged With: book binding, book printing

Creative book cover treatments

April 8, 2024 By Glenna Collett 9 Comments

Four examples of special book cover treatments.Does your printed masterpiece deserve a special creative book cover treatment? Maybe some silver or gold, or the book title sticking up? How about the title pressed below the surface of the cover? Or some parts of the cover design being shinier than other parts?

We’ll explain how the printer produces all of these creative book cover treatments, and more, for hard (casebound) covers, book jackets, and paperbacks. We’ll also mention how you could actually fake some of these effects yourself. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Book Cover Design Tagged With: book binding

Designing book running heads

January 8, 2024 By Glenna Collett 1 Comment

Running heads in book design.What are running heads, anyway? And running feet? And should you care about how they are designed? Yes!

You might know a running head as a “header,” and a running foot as a “footer.” In fiction books, the running heads announce the author and book title on each spread. In nonfiction and anthologies, they help readers find their way around. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Book Page Design Tagged With: typesetting

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  • Book Design Made Simple: Closing in 2026 May 11, 2026
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