Small Book Publisher
Low-Stress, Pain-Free Book Cover Design for the Small Book Publisher
Author: Melody Clark
The standard belief is your book cover draws the reader in and your back cover makes the sale. Most book sales, however, are not made in brick-and-mortar stores any more. But while the kind of cover you require for your book depends upon many factors (including “Where and to whom are you selling it?”), it’s still the best idea to put your best foot forward when it comes to cover design. Who doesn’t want to make a really good first impression?
The self-published author cannot compete financially with larger publishing concerns so he/she will need to curtail expenditures on different design aspects of their first book. The quality of the cover design is one thing that shouldn’t be rendered too cheaply. If you cannot afford to have a cover designed, expend some time and effort researching how to design it yourself.
There is free cover design content to be found on the Internet. Before using it, take care to examine the rights being released in the download-able agreement. One such location is http://www.sxc.hu Most of the agreements clear the user for book cover use, but still take care to read the agreement.
There are myriad places where you can find low-cost book cover design or cover art help. http://Elance.com is but one. You do get what you pay for, but not all self-publishers can afford to pay for everything they need.
If you have a good artistic eye (or if you have a friend with a good artistic eye), and use a template available from one of the print-on-demand companies, a royalty free photo, and some persistence, you may arrive at acceptable results for your book cover. Remember to always abide by all the technical requirements for every market you’re after. Book stores require certain trim sizes while Amazon does not. Research, research.
Good software, although some of it is expensive, can also be a great investment. Book Cover Pro is a good example.
Learn more about publishing a book. Stop by Melody Clark’s site where you can find out all about new book publishing.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/self-publishing-articles/low-stress-pain-free-book-cover-design-for-the-small-book-publisher-2569772.html
About the Author
Melody Clark has been writing professionally for twenty-five years. She has been publishing for thirty years. Her blog is http://newpublishblog.com
Tagged with: book publishing • business • home business • online business • self publishing • writing
Filed under: Uncategorized
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They would have to hire for me a personal attendant to handle my shopping and laundry. Hire a secretary to juggle my phone and computer terminal. A maid to keep my office warm after hours.
Then, they would have to send me lots of fan mail to inflate my ego. Get me appointed as the coach for the local little league team, get me fired to start my story.
After a bout with the bottle I would have to have a High-definition Tv so I could watch Oprah and get tips from her Book of the Month Club. I would learn to let my imagination go and then make a lot of money for the publisher with the ensuing scandal. Who ever heard of selling a book of fiction while claiming it to be a hardware manual!?
I think it depends on what you want to publish, what you want to get out of it and what your skills are.
Consider what a traditional publisher offers: Final editing, layout, affordable printing and distribution. If you wish to self publish, you need to ask yourself: “Can I do these things as well or at least adequately?”
Many of the vanity presses do these things, but everything I’ve read indicates they charge you a lot to do these things minimally. Their prices are generally not cheap and getting a book listed on Amazon, does not in my mind constitute adequate marketing. If you do choose to self publish, I really recommend you stay away from these vanity publishing packages. Many people not only don’t make money, they loose most everything they spend.
People are generally best able to market a book themselves when it is a niche market they are a part of so they have contact with their potential audience – A hobby, special aspect of a trade, local history, etc. may meet this requirement. In my case this was a book of local photography and history. Getting the book into regional bookstores and on Amazon was easy. Offering it at a competitive price is not so easy. Publishers can get books printed in volume at a fraction of the cost of POD services. As mentioned in the previous two answers, self publishing is a lot of work.
A couple negatives people frequently point out about self publishing that I have found to not be true, or at least do not need to be true:
“You have to spend a lot”: No, if you self publish, you do the work yourself and it need not cost you much at all. I just paid for a few proofs and order the books to fill orders, so basically don’t risk or tie up any money at all.
“Bookstores won’t carry self published books” – They are more hesitant to, but if it’s a speciality book or of regional interest they can’t get elsewhere, many will sellself published books. I sell mine almost exclusively through retail outlets.
“Self-publishing isn’t real publishing and readers won’t buy self published books” – By definition it is publishing. Who the publisher is matters little the reader. I have many self-published books on my bookshelf and didn’t even consider who the publisher was when I bought it. Most people buy a book based on the content, availability and price, not the publisher.
Bottom line: Publishing houses specialize in publishing books. They are able to judge a book’s marketability, do editing, layout and distribution. They are generally the way to go. If you publish yourself, you still need quality content and need to be able to do ALL these steps yourself. Most often this means a niche book which will have limited sales.
When Harry Potter was published Bloomsbury was a “small” publisher. Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._K._Rowling#Harry_Potter ) says so.
Publishers thrive on books. SO if the book can attract large market then the publisher will grow accordingly. Even large publishers can squeeze to a small size if their books are not attracting enough markets. Its all about the Market.
TW K
This is your first book go with a small publisher if they are the ones banging on your door.
Can they sell your book like the big publishers, possibly but probably not. However remember the best advertising is word of mouth, and if you have been with a small publisher getting your foot in the door of the bigger houses is so much easier.
But word of mouth is the best way to sell books, and that won’t happen if you aren’t with any publisher. Also the smaller house may get it into print quicker, in which case the promotion machine of word of mouth will be going for perhaps 6 months to a year before it would if you held out for what might not happen.
What would it take for a small new publisher to convince you to write a full length book?
What is the difference between a small and a large publisher?
Does small automtically mean less sales? Can you name a small publisher whoose published many books successfully?
Is it better to self publish or go with a small publisher for your first book? the pros and cons?
Help, how do I search for a book published before 1994 by a small provincial publisher in Malawi?
I know roughly what it was about (not being materialistic and how that life can be more fulfilling)
and the demographic of who wrote it (a while priest) though I don’t know his name
It probably doesn’t even have an ISBN.
It inspired me so much and I would love to re-read it, but I don’t know how to search for it….I wish the CIA could use their resources to help me as then I’d be bound to track it down…. any advice anyone?
Should I go with a small publisher… or wait for a bigger one to reply?
I wrote this romantic thriller… I’ve sent, whatever they asked in guidelines, to several publishers.
Now, can someone please explain to me the merits and demerits of going with a small publication?
Can they sell a book like a big publication house does?