Blog
Author Branding: What’s Your Author Brand?
Do you know what “branding” means and how it applies to you as an author? In most cases, you’re the brand, while your books are “brand extensions.”
Fantasy World Building from Scratch: A Structured Approach
Ursula Le Guin has profoundly influenced what it means to be a fantasy writer. What stuck with me from her speech at the Children's Literature Breakfast BookExpo in 2004, while not directly related to fantasy world-building, defines its purpose. She believed that...
Unlock Success: Top 10 Inspiring Writing Forums for Self-Published Authors
A writer's journey can often be isolating, especially without a writer's group for support. It's great to have people to share ideas with, get feedback, or discuss story elements and character development. Self-publishing authors often need more guidance than those...
How to Make a Book Trailer: Your Step-by-Step Guide
Whether you’re choosing to go the self publishing route or the traditional publishing route, you’re going to end up doing a lot of your own marketing. Sometimes, writers can get a little offended at the business side of this job—it’s art, after all, and writers tend...
Book Cover Design Awards — Winter 2023/2024 Edition
Welcome back to the third new edition of the book cover design awards. In the early days of The Book Designer, Joel Friedlander used to present monthly book cover design awards and we’re resurrecting the series (on a quarterly basis for now) to bring attention to some...
Creative Book Cover Design: Balancing Aesthetics and Genre Expectations
Creative book cover design involves a tough balancing act. The design must communicate several things: what kind of book it is, its main themes, and what type of writer you are. At the same time, it also should grab potential readers' attention. You might be...
Achieving Consistency in Book Series Design
Is it important to maintain consistency in your book series design? Let's have a thought experiment. If someone bought one book from your series, how will they be able to recognize other books from that series in the bookstore? Of course, they can research your name...
Design Your Own Book Cover: An Aesthetic Guide for Self-Publishers
Every author who self-publishes should have a fundamental understanding of book cover design, especially if you want to design your own book cover. One of the benefits of self-publishing is creative control, so whether you hire a cover designer or design the cover...
Why Self-Published Authors Continue to Use Amazon KDP Print On Demand
Known as the world’s largest retailer, Amazon took the world by storm and offers various services that make consumers’ lives easier. For authors, Amazon’s KDP print on demand (POD) is a great option, especially if you are unsure how many copies your book will...
Thematic Consistency: Aligning Your Book Cover Art with Your Story with 5 Examples
When it comes to your book's cover design, you can take an abstract approach or pull story elements directly from your book and use them on your cover. The challenge of using pieces of your story on your cover is in the interpretation. Books are all about engaging the...
