If you’re self‑publishing a book, you’ve probably heard the word metadata tossed around by distributors, publishing platforms, and industry guides. It sounds technical, but metadata is simply structured information about your book. And it plays an important role in helping
Does Your Cover Work as a Thumbnail? Here’s How to Tell
When readers browse online bookstores—especially on their cell phones—they don’t meet your book at full size. They meet it as a thumbnail — a tiny postage‑stamp version of your cover squeezed between dozens of others. That first impression matters more
How to Choose the Right Trim Size for Your Book (and Avoid Costly Mistakes)
Choosing the right trim size is one of the most important decisions you’ll make when preparing a book for publication. It affects printing cost, reader expectations, layout design, and distribution options. And if you choose a trim size that isn’t
Cover Templates Demystified: What Authors Need to Know
If you’ve ever uploaded a book to KDP, IngramSpark, Barnes & Noble Press, or Bookvault, you’ve already encountered the infamous cover template—that colorful PDF full of boxes, lines, descriptions, and warnings. For many authors, this is the moment the publishing
The Essentials Every Author Should Know About Book Covers
As a book formatter, I spend a lot of time inside the finished pages of a manuscript—adjusting margins, cleaning up spacing, fixing widows and orphans, and making sure the interior looks polished and professional. I’m not a cover designer, but
Common Children’s Book Formatting Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)
As a book formatter, most of my work involves text‑heavy adult manuscripts—fiction, nonfiction, and everything in between. Children’s picture books are a different world entirely. My experience with them is more limited, but every project teaches me something new. Recently,
Metadata – What to Gather and Why
The information below brings all your book’s essential details together in one place, helping you stay consistent across platforms and improving how readers discover your work. Every retailer requires some form of this metadata, and having it ready makes the
Authors Take Note #2 – Things to Consider When Selecting a Publisher
For authors considering submitting their manuscript to a publishing house, there are a few things to consider. For instance, some publishers might only publish romance, while others only publish nonfiction history. Maybe one wants to see your entire manuscript immediately,
Authors Take Note #1 – Select Publishers Wisely
Many authors envision writing a book and submitting it to one of the top publishers to let them take the reins—editing, formatting, creating the book cover, marketing, and distributing. Yet, the reality of that actually happening is what has made
Book Layout – DIY or Professional?
You have spent days, weeks, months, and maybe even years writing a book, and now you are ready to self-publish it. There are many steps to publishing your book (see our Checklist for Self-Publishers), including title selection, cover design, copyediting,