While hiring a cover or interior layout specialist from a professional service provider is always recommended if book design is not part of your expertise, we understand that not every author has the funds to do so. Your book design matters, and although we’re all cautioned not to determine a book’s worth based on its appearance, initially, we do. Make sure yours helps your book make a positive first impression by considering some of these tools.
Create files that automatically meet IngramSpark's file requirements, regardless of your design experience or skill level, with IngramSpark’s free book-building tool. The tool is conveniently available through your IngramSpark account, free to use for all IngramSpark authors and publishers, and allows for a seamless title upload process from book creation to file submission.
For your book’s interior, there are many predesigned layouts from which to choose, and you can type and format your manuscript directly into the tool or simply upload a preformatted Microsoft Word document. Once your interior is ready, you can pick a cover from one of our design templates and customize it to meet your needs, uploading images and formatting text to best suit your book. Developed by IngramSpark, this tool allows you to create a customizable cover and interior for print books and ebooks that automatically meet IngramSpark’s file requirements without purchasing expensive software or hiring a designer.
IngramSpark requires that you submit your cover in a single PDF file combining its front, back, and spine. If you are not sure how to submit your cover, we recommend using our above mentioned book-building tool from within your account or our cover template generator. You can submit your covers to bleed size, but this is not part of our cover basics (nor is it included in our cover template generator), so if you submit according to bleed size, your cover’s dimensions will need to be calculated manually.
Professional design takes years to master, but these tools will at least help you create an effective design from professional platforms.
Premade covers are ready-made covers that are sold only once and then removed from the website. Some are customizable, others are unique creations, usually made from several images combined. Premade covers are affordable and are an exciting way for authors to self-publish books.
There are many other “premade” cover companies now on the internet. Check their terms before payment, and double check that the file is available for a printed cover—many only offer it for an ebook cover, which will not help you if you wish to have a printed copy.
These unique tools make interior book formatting and interior book design achievable for the DIY author with professional guidance built into the programs.
If you want to hire a cover or interior designer, consider crowdsourcing sites.
We recommend that you never rely solely on technology. Technology over technique can produce commonplace design and cannot develop a relationship with your reader. Review other books on retail shelves and get feedback from professionals and your prospective readers…in other words, take the time to design well.
Considering converting your print book into an ebook? Offering your book in multiple formats is one of the easiest ways to reach more readers. Many authors and publishers take advantage of the EPUB conversion service offered through IngramSpark. The conversion charge is $0.60 per page and takes about 15 business days to complete. We can convert your print PDF files to an EPUB file once your print title is in production on your IngramSpark account and you are satisfied with your content in your print file. IngramSpark conversions ensure your newly created EPUB will validate to the latest standards.
We encourage you to follow the tips laid out in this course when determining the formatting, and interior and cover design of your book. Your book’s appearance is a key indicator of its professionalism and one of the most effective marketing tools you can hope for. Our goal at IngramSpark is to demystify the self-publishing process, and we work very hard to make the process of creating and printing a book as simple and efficient as possible. Free courses such as these and innovative technology such as our book-building tool are how we attempt to do that—because your publisher education and experience matters to us. We hope this course gets you one step closer to accomplishing your dream of publishing a book, and that you’ll consider checking out our additional resources for independent authors and publishers.
This chapter was compiled from the following posts on the IngramSpark blog:
Self-Publishing Services: The Best Tools to Publish a Book on a Budget by Julie-Ann Harper, founder of the Pick-a-Woowoo Publishing Group
IngramSpark Ebook Conversion by IngramSpark Staff
