Book
Covers
If
your goal is to make a profit from the sale of your book, then you should
consider a full-color cover. Covers help sell books, and an attractive,
eye-catching cover will attract more buyers.
We
have already discussed choosing a title that grabs the reader’s attention. For
non-fiction books, a subtitle that further explains your book’s topic is also a
good idea. Example: The Secret
Ingredient: Tasty Recipes with an Unusual Twist.
You
have just a few seconds to capture a potential buyer’s interest. Make sure that
every word on the cover of your book is working to make that sale. This
includes a catchy title, informative subtitle, back copy that clearly states
the benefits or solutions your book offers, plus the author’s credentials and
reader testimonials or book review comments if you have them.
The
average cost of a professionally designed book cover can range from $500 to $2,000.
Since our goal is self-publishing on a budget, you will probably need to
consider other options.
Conduct
some careful research at your local book store. Study the cover designs of books
in the same category as yours. Take notes about a few that you like: colors,
font styles, layout and anything else that appeals to you.
Pay
particular attention to the back copy to compare what benefits or solutions the
other books offer with what you plan to present. Also check the table of
contents to make sure your book will be better or different. It must stand out
from the crowd in order to sell.
If
you aren’t artistically inclined, enlist the aid of a talented friend or check
into hiring an aspiring art student from your local community college to design
your cover. Arm him with your research notes so he can translate your vision
into a final design.
Be
sure to have this person sign a “Work for Hire” agreement which states that you
retain exclusive rights to all artwork completed specifically for your book.
Any time you pay for services, such as writing, editing or artwork, have the
person sign such an agreement, which prevents them from claiming ownership and
demanding a share of the royalties after the book is printed. You can find samples of these agreements on-line.
Simply type “Work For Hire Agreement” into your search engine.
Many
book printers offer cover design assistance with prices ranging from $50.00 to
$300.00. They also offer full-color templates to which you can add your title
and other cover information.
CreateSpace.com
offers a free “cover creator” program that you can use to create your own cover
when you use their printing service. You can upload photographs and choose the
cover background color and font styles to customize the appearance. The program
will automatically size the cover for the book trim size you choose and the
number of pages in your book.
The
cost of printing a full-color cover varies widely from one printer to another. Some
offer a free color cover with their printing services. Compare the prices and
services of several printers before making your final decision.
Your
book’s cover is extremely important. Give it the time and attention it deserves
to help make your self-publishing venture a success.
Bindings
When
choosing the binding style for your book, consider the function it needs to
perform. For instance, the pages in a cookbook or instruction manual need to
stay open and lay flat while in use, therefore you might choose a double wire
or plastic coil binding. A few binding style choices are listed below:
Perfect: This is the most economical and the most common
style of binding for paperback books, where the pages are glued together along
the spine and a one-piece cover wraps around the entire outside of the text
pages. Your book must have at least 24 pages for perfect binding. If it has at
least 100 or more pages, most printers will print the book title on the spine,
which helps potential buyers find your book on the bookstore shelves. (Only best-selling
authors get the privilege of having their book covers facing out.) Many
printers offer perfect binding for no extra charge.
Saddle-stitched: This type of binding is used for booklets, where 8.5”
X 11” sheets of paper are stacked and folded in half, forming a 5.5” X 8.5”
booklet, and then stapled together along the fold. The number of pages must be
in multiples of four because two pages are printed side-by-side on both sides
of one sheet of paper. This binding can accommodate 8 to 64 pages (2 to 16
sheets of paper) and works well for books that need to lay flat when open.
Plastic Comb: This binding style also works well for cookbooks and
manuals that need to lay flat while being used. It usually requires a minimum
of 40 pages and can accommodate up to several hundred pages. The combs come in
a variety of colors, and some printers will print the book title on the comb,
which offers better visibility when the books are shelved with the spine facing
out.
Double wire: With this type of binding, the book is held together
with a continuous spiral of wire, which allows it to lay flat while in use. The
spiral wire is less visible than plastic combs and can hold up to 350 pages.
The disadvantage is that the wire can be crushed during shipping or can become
entangled with the other wire bindings in the same carton.
Plastic Coil: This binding also allows the book to lay flat when
open. It is more visible than the double wire binding because the coil is
thicker, but it is more durable because it is crush proof. Plastic coil
bindings can accommodate up to about 350 pages and come in several colors.
Hardback (or Case Bound): This is the most expensive of all the bindings but
it is also the highest quality. The pages are usually stitched together and
then glued between two heavy cardboard pieces. The production time is longer
than that of paperback bindings. Case bound bindings can accommodate up to about
400 pages.
Get more publishing tips from Self-Publishing On a Budget, available in these 2 formats:
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