Upon the Wings of Greater Things

The creative endeavours of Starla Huchton

Making Your Self-Published Book Look Good, Part Five: Building the Cover (Print)

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Welcome to this post series! If you’re unsure what this is or where I’m going with it, I’ll refer you back to this post for all the intro stuff. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover, so let’s jump right in!

So your ebook cover is complete and ready to knock the socks off of readers. It’s possible you’ll decide to stop there, but… why? It doesn’t make a lot of sense to invest time and money in editing and cover design if you’re going to ignore the huge segment of the literarily-inclined population that EXCLUSIVELY read print books. If you want to see a return on your investment in this endeavor, you want to make your novel available in as many formats as possible. So how do you go from ebook cover to print spread?

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Making Your Self-Published Book Look Good, Part Four: Building the Cover (eBook)

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Welcome to this post series! If you’re unsure what this is or where I’m going with it, I’ll refer you back to this post for all the intro stuff. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover, so let’s jump right in!

So you’ve decided to DIY your book cover. You’ve nailed down your visual genre markers and collected the elements you need to assemble the idea floating around in your head. Now what?

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Making Your Self-Published Book Look Good, Part Three: Stock Imagery

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Welcome to this post series! If you’re unsure what this is or where I’m going with it, I’ll refer you back to this post for all the intro stuff. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover, so let’s jump right in!

Now that you’ve figured out what you’re aiming for with your book cover, it’s time to put the plan in motion. Where do you start?

Unless you’re a highly skilled artist or photographer, it’s likely your next step will be locating stock imagery to match the vision in your mind’s eye.

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Making Your Self-Published Book Look Good, Part Two: Beginning Steps for DIY Covers

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Welcome to this post series! If you’re unsure what this is or where I’m going with it, I’ll refer you back to this post for all the intro stuff. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover, so let’s jump right in!

A good book cover will take a combination of money, time, consideration, and effort. Either be prepared to invest money in a knowledgeable designer, or time and effort (and maybe money, too) in developing a LOT of new skills. When it comes to design, you should know your limitations and your budget, and plan appropriately with them in mind.

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Making Your Self-Published Book Look Good, Part One: Introduction

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For events all around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced gatherings to be in one of two states: cancelled, or virtual. Balticon 54 was no exception to this. For the past decade, Memorial Day weekend has been spoken for on my calendar because of this convention, and this year was no different, thanks to a lot of hard work from a lot of volunteers. I was again an invited guest, and Zoomed my way through different online events, which will all, at some point, be available to view on YouTube.

However, one of them simply didn’t have enough allotted time for me to get out all of the information I’d prepared to present. It’s an enormous topic, but folks were really interested in what we offered, and so I decided to compile a blog post to share the notes I’d originally intended to deliver verbally. But what was planned to be done with that singular panel, I’ll be breaking up into a few different posts, because… well, it’s A LOT of stuff, and the whole goal was to offer good advice and resources for people seeking information from those who’ve been doing this for a while.

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Remember When…

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SAH Contemporary logo

High school tends to be a mixed bag. Some of us look back on those years with fondness, others try to forget it as much as possible.

These days, I fall somewhere between the two. I’d never go back and relive that time, but I can glance over my shoulder now and pick out the best parts. And it’s those parts I hang onto, the memories that shine the brightest and bring a small sense of wistfulness the present often lacks.

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Closing Out October…

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It’s become apparent I’m really bad at keeping up with the blogging thing. How is it already Halloween???

There’s always new things popping up for me, so if you’re not already following me on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, that’s the best way to get the news as it happens. :)

Anyway, so what am I up to these days? Well, a few things. Fun things, of course!

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Books, Podcasts, and Balticon! An Update.

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Well, it’s certainly been a while since I last posted here. Whoops.

If you aren’t following me on social media, you could be wondering where I went and what I’m up to. Short answer: nowhere and stuff n things. I’m here today to update after months of nothing here on the blog. So let’s get down to the new stuff you can go seek out and explore!

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Milestones and Reflections

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Two of my minions had checkups today, and as I was chatting with the doctor amidst her typing in medical things, she asked what it is I do. I gave my usual answer of freelance graphic designer and author, as that’s become my knee-jerk reaction rather than stuttering, self-conscious response, at which point she asked me if I’d published anything.

This is what gave me pause, not because I was asking myself if I should give the “self-published disclaimer” (this is not a post about that because I am OVER that discussion), but I couldn’t remember what number to fill in for the “I’ve published ____ books” part.

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