Mslexia

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Guidelines

TEN TOP TIPS

SELF-PUBLISH IN STYLE

1. Signpost your genre

Check out books with similar subject matter and examine the covers. Your book needs to tick the same boxes so buyers can identify its genre at a glance.

2. Imitate, copy, steal

Spend time in bookshops comparing covers, layouts, typefaces, blurbs. If you want to look like a HarperCollins book, you need to replicate HarperCollins production values.

3. Create a classy cover

Matt covers look more upmarket than glossy ones. Make sure the image ‘wraps’ around the spine. Don’t forget your logo. Invent one or use your printer’s.

4. Avoid flashy gimmicks

No bastard shapes, no hand-drawn illustrations, no fancy fonts, no reverse numbering, no random blocks of blank paper. The aim is to blend in, not stand out like a sore thumb.

5. Price it at £6.99

Regardless of your print costs, your price must match that of mass-market paperbacks. A barcode and ISBN are vital for bookshop and Amazon sales. Google ‘barcode generator + ISBN’ for suppliers.

6. Use your face

Put your photo on the back with a brief biog. This is your chance to direct punters to your website for orders and publicity. You do have a website, don’t you?

7. Use cheap paper

Thick bright white paper screams ‘self-published’ and ‘tiny print run’. Creamy, thin paper suggests you are printing lots of copies and distributing widely. ‘Bulky news’ is the paper you need.

8. Buy a decent image

Invest in a top class cover image. Good agencies are www.gettyimages.co.uk, www.superstock.co.uk, www.procorbis.co.uk. Budget around £300.

9. Get two cover puffs

Scour your address book for authors or celebs to approach for a comment. If you turn up a blank, invent someone and put your words in their mouth.

10. Use a press release

Bookshops and reviewers will expect an A4 ‘Advance Information’ (AI) sheet tucked inside. The AI has a plot summary, cover puffs, cover photo, biog, contact details. Use it to drum up publicity too.

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