Book Design Made Simple

You can do it yourself.

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You are here: Home / Archives for book marketing

Book Marketing


Book marketingBelow you'll find links to all the information about book marketing that’s available on our website, book, videos, and blog.

We gained a lot of experience from creating Book Design Made Simple. You can learn from our successes and avoid our pitfalls! We’ve written blog posts about entering book award contests and publishing a second edition, as well as explained a library marketing scheme that worked well for us.

 

Excerpts from Book Design Made Simple

  • Book trim size: how to choose the right trim size
  • Subject categories: how and where to get them for your book

 

Blog posts

Below are all the blog posts tagged with Book Marketing, starting with the most recent post.

Your author website 101

July 8, 2018 By Glenna Collett 5 Comments

laptop computer for author website

Need an author website? Websites (including blogs) may be the most prevalent marketing medium these days, but the process of setting one up is still a complete mystery to most. When I teach self-publishing workshops and mention the necessity of having an author website, panic always ensues.

In this blog post, Fiona and I will explain what you need to know about author websites, how to set yours up, what costs to expect, and how to maintain it. After explaining all your options, we’ll also tell you exactly how we set up this website. Click here if you want to skip directly to that section. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Publishing Tagged With: book marketing, ISBN

Use your book to build business

May 7, 2018 By Glenna Collett 2 Comments

Use your book to build businessHave you written a self-help book, DIY book, user manual, training book, or some other book that is full of advice? If so, don’t stop when it’s published. In fact, even before you start writing, make plans to use your book to build business. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Publishing Tagged With: book marketing

Your copyright page: Everything you need to know

March 8, 2018 By Glenna Collett 56 Comments

copyright symbol arraySome people say that the first page is the most important one in any book—and that is probably true as a means for hooking a reader. Others say that the cover is the most important. But I contend that the copyright page wins the prize because it’s probably the first page that a librarian, bookseller, or distributor looks at. And that makes it an integral part of your book marketing program.

Many self-publishing authors find the copyright page to be horribly confusing. All that legal language! All those numbers! What does it all mean? [Read more…]

Filed Under: Publishing Tagged With: book marketing, copyright, ISBN

Book marketing to libraries: a scheme that really works

August 7, 2017 By Glenna Collett Leave a Comment

Book marketing to libraries - library books on shelvesBook marketing to libraries can be tricky, but here’s a scheme we tried that worked for us.

How many people can you count as friends? You will soon find out when you ask for their help with this book marketing technique that works for even the most shy of authors.

With a little work and a big ask, you will soon find your book listed in public libraries all over the country. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Publishing Tagged With: book marketing, ISBN

The Saga of the Second Edition

May 9, 2017 By Glenna Collett 8 Comments

books with "second edition" on coverBy now you all know that Book Design Made Simple is in its second edition and that we also have an ebook edition on the market. We’re going to reveal how it all came about, and we hope you can learn from some of our stumbles . . . yes, even seasoned publishing professionals can make mistakes, foul up, and generally just muddle through. Read on!

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Publishing Tagged With: book marketing

Designing a book series

April 11, 2017 By Fiona Raven 4 Comments

Bawbs Raven Feathers, boxed set, by Robert ChomanyAre you designing a book cover that’ll become part of a series or boxed set? If so, you’ll need to think ahead! There are a few design considerations to take into account when you plan your book cover design. Not only should your cover design be successful using different title lengths and images, but more importantly, it must create a look or brand that’ll easily identify all future books as being part of the same series. Sound challenging? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! [Read more…]

Filed Under: Book Cover Design Tagged With: book marketing, color

Book award contests: Are they worthwhile?

June 15, 2016 By Glenna Collett 17 Comments

award medals displayed on bookLast fall and winter, we entered Book Design Made Simple in some independent publishing book award contests. In mid-April, we got word that our book had won gold at the Independent Publisher (IPPY) Book Awards. Nine days later, we won another gold medal, this time at the Next Generation Indie Book Awards.
[Read more…]

Filed Under: Publishing Tagged With: book marketing

What your dog can teach you about book design

April 11, 2016 By Glenna Collett 8 Comments

dog on cover of Book Design Made SimpleFor some reason I never fully noticed this before. But when I helped out at two book sale events this past fall, it became all too clear: People love dogs more than anything else. Dogs are cute. Dogs attract. Dogs are cuddly and lovable. Dogs rule. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Book Cover Design Tagged With: book marketing

How to price your book

November 14, 2014 By Glenna Collett 2 Comments

barcodes showing prices on book back coversPractically every author thinks and wonders about this a lot. How do people come up with just the right price for their books? Well, maybe the prices that are printed on their books are not actually working for them, and that might be because they used the stab-in-the-dark method of pricing. Let’s see if we can figure out the best, most rational, price for your book.

There are two main factors at work here. One is to set a price that is comparable to similar books. And the other is to set one that will give you enough returns to pay your expenses. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Publishing Tagged With: book marketing

Your field trip to the bookstore

September 30, 2014 By Glenna Collett Leave a Comment

variety of books on shelfBefore you start designing your book or cover, you really need to take a trip to a bookstore to check out the competition. (Yes, you will have competition!) Visit the section of the store where your book will be placed and take notes on the following: [Read more…]

Filed Under: Publishing Tagged With: book marketing

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  • Book Design (25)
    • Book Cover Design (8)
    • Book Page Design (11)
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Recent Posts

  • Crop marks and other printer’s marks January 8, 2023
  • Advanced live index features in InDesign November 7, 2022
  • Create a live index in InDesign September 12, 2022
  • Book endpapers: A gallery of ideas July 11, 2022
  • Writing in InDesign: Why and how May 9, 2022
  • Designing a book spine March 7, 2022
  • What type size should I use? January 10, 2022

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