Book Cover Design by Brion

New product!

Brion — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 21:19:37 +0000

Introducing…paperback book cover templates!

Self-publishing a book can get expensive fast – even through a free service such as Lulu, CreateSpace, or Cafe Press, because while it’s relatively easy enough to format your books interior by yourself with MS Word or the like; it’s an entirely different challenge to create a decent cover to go with it for most people.

Assuming you have pre-press level image editing software installed on your computer and have invested the time to learn to use it, plus you’ve calibrated your monitor so that the final printed product approximates what you see on the screen, and you have the proper fonts installed, calculated the various measurements for spine, front & back cover, bleeds, and purchased the high resolution stock images you’ll use, and have the ability to export it all in a format your printer can use – you may just find that the ‘artistic’ part maybe isn’t as easy as some like to think.

The process can quickly turn into quite a chore…but up until now your choices have been extremely limited unless you were ready to invest a lot of money to have a pro do your design. Your solution is easy, get a nifty paperback cover done right the first time for $95…with a cover template from Book Creatives.

A self-published success story in-progress

Brion — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 16:26:42 +0000

First-time novelist Leinad Zeraus (a pseudonym for Daniel Suarez) didn’t let rejection decide his books fate; getting nowhere after submitting his novel Daemon to dozens of literary agents, he shifted gears and formed his own imprint then self-published through print-on-demand leader Lightning Source.

Here’s a link to the full story in Wired Magazine: Daemon

By courting bloggers and influential techies like Joi Ito, Stewart Brand, and Craig Newmark — demonstrating that if you can get the geek grapevine on your side, you don’t need Random House.

Lesson: Figure out a way to get your book in front of an audience that gets it.

The New Rules of Marketing and PR

Brion — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 15:50:07 +0000

A free 34 page eBook from David Meerman Scott that explains how some smart marketers are using ‘word-of-mouse’ marketing to promote their products instead of spending a fortune on traditional advertising. A good read for authors brainstorming ideas on how to promote their book too: Viral Marketing: Download PDF

A small press with a big idea

Brion — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 01:28:45 +0000

At a time when the prospects for independent publishers hasn’t been very rosy, along comes Dzanc Books with a simple philosophy that may reverse that trend:

Dzanc Books is looking for literary fiction that takes chances and does so with great writing. We do not mind books that do not fill a marketing niche. We are looking for absolutely fantastic works to fill those slots. It really is all about the writing to us.

Dzanc prints ink-and-paper books, but that’s about the extent of the traditional aspect of their operation. Founders Dan Wickett and Steve Gillis, along with their staff, work virtually online and conduct most of their business by email; employing internet-based strategies to promote their titles that relies heavily on viral marketing, and avoiding expensive traditional advertising.

Links:

The Future of Publishing?
From Old to New Media: Blog Begets Publishing House
Emerging Writers Network