PUBLISHED NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021 by Diane Vallere, author — Learn how author Diane Vallere tripled book sales after experiencing IBPA’s Metadata Makeover program. Everybody loves a makeover, right? Picture Tess McGill in Working Girl: “You want to be taken seriously? You need serious hair.” The implication is simple: Success equals looking the part to the audience …

PUBLISHED JULY/AUGUST 2019 Compiled by Alexa Schlosser, Managing Editor, IBPA Independent magazine — Three IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award™ winners in various design categories discuss their process and strategies. The IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award program, which include fifty-six categories recognizing excellence in book editorial and design, are regarded as one of the highest national honors for …

PUBLISHED JULY/AUGUST 2019 by Peter Bowerman, Professional Copywriter, Well-Fed Self Publishing — The perfect nonfiction book title needs a promise. You discover a nonfiction book-in a newspaper book review, while poking around at B&N, or on Amazon. The title instantly grabs you. Obviously, it calls to some need/desire/hope you have, and it’s enough to have …

PUBLISHED JULY/AUGUST 2019 by Torrey Sharp, Principal, Faceout Studio — The right design process lays the appropriate foundation for designers to flourish and problems to be solved effectively. We all respond favorably to products and services that are well designed and deliver on their promises. We like products that work as advertised. We like it …

PUBLISHED JULY/AUGUST 2019 by Cathi Stevenson, Owner, Book Cover Express — Many books make the bestsellers’ lists with text-only covers. Not only is an image-free cover possible, it’s often preferable. Not all books, particularly nonfiction genres, lend themselves to a single image. We’ve all seen book covers with irrelevant images on them, or images that …

PUBLISHED MAY/JUNE 2019 by Karen Pavlicin-Fragnito, Publisher, Elva Resa Publishing — Overcoming content alterations, design/format constraints, a tight timeline, and a limited budget to meet the goals of a publishing partner. Elva Resa Publishing is a traditional indie publisher specializing in books for military families. While we participate in traditional distribution, more than 75 percent …

PUBLISHED MAY/JUNE 2018 by Deb Vanasse, Reporter, IBPA Independent magazine — Were your initial book sales underwhelming? Or maybe the market evolved and your book is now “outdated”? It might be time to rebrand and repackage. Every publisher wants titles that distinguish themselves in the marketplace and are packaged in ways that appeal to readers. …

PUBLISHED MAY/JUNE 2018 by Bonnie Gropp, Communications Manager, Vital Imagery Ltd. — Watch Joshua Robertson’s video recap of this article! Follow these valuable rules when obtaining images for your book to avoid copyright infringement headaches. The completion of a literary work, whether modest or ambitious, is the culmination of the author’s talent and dedication to …

PUBLISHED MAY/JUNE 2018 by Kristin Fields, Associate Editor, IBPA Independent magazine — Kristin Fields shows us how to move book browsers down the funnel from discovery to conversion and sourcing. Today’s marketplace for book buyers is overwhelmed with an amazing amount of book content. The Kindle store alone has over 6 million titles for sale …

PUBLISHED MAY/JUNE 2018 by Kristin Fields, Associate Editor, IBPA Independent magazine — You can—and should—judge a book by its cover, as book buyers do. Here are a few A/B cover options tested by the Codex Preview. Last September, in a webinar titled “Converting Book Browsers to Book Buyers,” Peter Hildick-Smith and his firm Codex-Group shared …