The Do’s and Don’ts of E-book Cover Design

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Jodi Baker

The Do's and Don'ts of E-book Cover Design

You worked hard to write a book, and now you’re ready to publish. Woo hoo! But, wait. Have you thought about your e-book cover yet? As an e-book author, you face unique challenges when it comes to designing that perfect cover since it will only be seen online.

E-book design is way more important than most authors realize. If your e-book cover doesn’t grab a reader’s attention, you could potentially lose a sale or even several thousand. Your design must represent the book you’ve created, draw in readers and make your title stand out from the competition.

That might sound overwhelming, so here are a few do’s and don’ts to consider as you create (or hire a pro to create for you) your e-book cover: Continue reading →

Self-publishing with Google Docs and Booktango, a first-hand Experience

Posted on February 19, 2013 by William L. Weaver, Ph.D.

This in-depth blog post about a Booktango author’s first-hand experience was originally posted on William L. Weaver’s blog, Choice Management.

The Booktango Service

In March of 2012, I came across Booktango, a service of Author Solutions in Bloomington, Indiana which is now owned by Penguin Books, that in turn is owned by Pearson, PLC. The cool thing about Booktango is that it is a freemium service that provides individuals an online website to assemble their eBook, scan it for formatting errors, register and assign an ISBN, produce PDF, MOBI, and EPUB files, and have them listed for sale at Booktango, Amazon, Google Play, Apple iTunes, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Scribd, and Sony.

All of the above services are 100% free, and there is an additional menu of packages you can purchase that currently range from $49 – $359. The add-on services for a fee include things that employ creative humans who assist in your project including editing, interior images, U.S. Copyright filing, consultation on social media promotion, custom cover design, and marketing assistance. Continue reading →

Digital Shorts: Grow your readership by keeping it short with e-book publishing

Posted on November 14, 2012 by Rodger Johnson

Did you know that a goldfish has a longer attention span than the average human? Yes. It’s true. As authors what are we to do? If we don’t grab the attention of our readers within eight seconds – that’s the average attention span of mankind in 2012, down from a whopping 12 seconds over a decade ago – then how do we expect to galvanize them through the lengths of War and Peace. Or something similar?

The answer is quite simple, really. Enter digital shorts. A relatively new format for publishers have embraced, these pieces are digital and have a shorter lead time to market. Continue reading →

Start Blogging: Lessons from author Marisa Treviño

Posted on September 13, 2012 by Kim Doty

In 2004, Marisa Treviño was working as an editor for a monthly trade magazine and was routinely published across the nation as a freelance opinion editorialist. Even though she was living off her writing, Marisa wasn’t completely satisfied. She was churning out columns more quickly than they could be published by outside media outlets, and she grew frustrated by her lack of control over the publishing processes for her writings.

The cure for Marisa’s frustration? To start a blog.

She had heard about blogs; and the more she learned about them, the more she knew this was the answer. Finally, she would be able to control how often she published and could write whatever she wanted. So, she started writing daily blog posts about issues she cared about; and now, that little blog has evolved into a full-blown news site with an ever-growing readership.

Today, Marisa Treviño is a blogging expert. She recently published an e-book with Booktango — A Simple Start to Blogging with Social Media — to share her knowledge and experience with others. We talked with Marisa to learn more about her story and the advice she has to offer fellow writers: Continue reading →

Announcing New E-book Publishing Packages: Socializer & Eye Catcher

Posted on August 23, 2012 by Kim Doty

Since starting this blog back in April, we’ve discussed a wide variety of issues on the topic of e-book publishing. But we keep coming back to two key aspects that seem intrinsically important to publishing in the digital space: online marketing and e-book design.

As we’ve come to fully realize the importance of these topics, we’ve developed innovative enhancements to our online cover design platform, and we’ve added some unique e-book marketing services to help our authors create better-looking e-books and share them more efficiently with the world. Now, we’ve taken things a step further and created two new publishing packages that are designed to help authors meet their e-book publishing goals in these areas.

Introducing the Socializer package

Social media offers one of the most exciting opportunities for online book marketers; but it can also be one of the most daunting. There’s a lot to know and learn about the Continue reading →

Is E-book Marketing Different than Print Book Marketing?

Posted on August 21, 2012 by Rodger Johnson

Marketing is marketing, right? Yes. The goal behind marketing a new book, regardless of the medium, is the same. You want to position a book so people will find it, buy it and read it. However, because of their format, there is a fundamental difference in the approach you should take for marketing e-books.

Your e-book is electronic, so people won’t be looking for it at the corner Barnes & Noble. But they will be looking for it online. Thus, the Internet is where you should focus e-book marketing.

While you may know how to write an e-book, marketing it online can be tricky unless you have a plan. Luckily, planning can be as simple as one, two, three.

One: Start with a Creative Brief

This is the starting point for any successful marketing plan. A creative brief helps you define several key points of your marketing strategy. Continue reading →

Reset and Resub: How to Make an E-book and Keep it Fresh with New Information

Posted on June 26, 2012 by Tony Cruse

“Art is never finished, only abandoned.” ~ Leonardo da Vinci

Any author knows that a fine piece of art — such as your e-book — occasionally needs some tweaking. Even when you have proofread, edited and put that final shine on your book, you may have some ideas later that would make it even better.

Perhaps you find a few lingering typos that you need to correct; or maybe you decide your cover should “pop” more, and you want to spruce up the image, colors or text fonts.

At Booktango, we respect your need as an author to make an e-book better. We understand you need to keep your book fresh and make changes based on your own review or on feedback from book buyers, family and friends. Whatever the reason, we’re here to make it as simple as we can for you. Continue reading →

Three Predictions for the Future of E-book Publishing

Posted on June 8, 2012 by Chris Bass

Perhaps you’ve heard: At Booktango, you make the most money from your e-books. Period. Our online editor has made it easier than ever for authors like you to identify errors and make corrections, which makes it the most efficient platform to get your book published. Writing and publishing an e-book is about finesse, creativity and flexibility — among other things. Since announcing Booktango, not only have we made creating an e-book easier, but we’ve also given you access to tools like the DIY Cover Designer, which allows you to create elegant book covers with drag-and-drop ease. Earlier this week, we announced our new sales and royalty reporting, which gives you insights to help you more effectively market your books.

So, what are e-books going to bring in the future?

It all starts with authors like you — courageous writers willing to share their stories and build an audience of readers. Our sense is that the elements of great storytelling will remain the same, but authors like you will have more opportunities to increase the quality of the books you are producing. Continue reading →

Turn Your Manifesto into a Movement – Create a Book to Spread Your Message

Posted on June 6, 2012 by Kim Doty

Create a Book to Spread Your Message There’s no question that the written word has always been a powerful agent of change. An idea, well-articulated, can instigate action and influence lives.

In 1517, Martin Luther posted his Ninety-Five Theses to a church door and sparked the Protestant Reformation.
In 1924, poet and critic André Breton wrote the Surrealist Manifesto and started an avant-garde movement and artistic style that would permeate culture and influence creative expressions for decades.
In 1976, Louise Hay created a small pamphlet that would transform into her definitive manifesto on personal growth and well being — You Can Heal Your Life. The reach and influence she gained from those works gave her the momentum to become a world-renowned author, publisher and speaker whose ideas have inspired countless lives.

With powerful and innovative technology at your fingertips, you no longer have to post messages on doors or print pamphlets. Never before has it been so easy to create a book. Never before has it been so simple to deliver your message to the masses in a way that is both cost-effective and professional. Continue reading →

Digital Publishing Q&A Session with The Globe and Mail

Posted on May 31, 2012 by Lauren George

With more than 3.3 million readers a week, The Globe and Mail is one of the top newspapers in Canada. To prove it, last year they were nominated for 24 National Newspaper Awards and awarded with 8, more than any other publication in Canada. To celebrate its journalism excellence, The Globe and Mail compiled the winning entries into a Booktango e-book called Our Nation’s Finest.

We talked with The Globe and Mail and not only got the scoop on their new book, but we also chatted about the newspaper industry’s switch to digital publishing. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, about 14 percent of newspaper circulation is now digital. But with a new e-book and an interactive website full of Canada’s top news stories, we’ll venture to say The Globe and Mail is on the forefront of digital publishing for newspapers.

BT: What kind of stories are in this e-book?

G&M: The first Globe and Mail e-book, Our Nation’s Finest, contains a wide variety of stories that cover topics, such as national, international, politics, business, lifestyle, sports, and news. The range of curated articles includes an exposé of a federal corruption scandal to celebrity profiles, and a recap of how our Canadian dollar bills have changed design over the years in order to prevent counterfeiters. There are also stories about Canada’s national sport, hockey. Continue reading →

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