Self-Publishing isn’t easy. You are solely responsible for every aspect of your project. I chose to publish my own work to keep control and the keep as much of the profit as possible. This also means that you have to either excel at all things publishing or have the money to pay someone else to do the work that you are unable to or unwilling to do. I haven’t reached that plateau yet.

I published my first romance novel in July of 2017 and my first cover was created with the options available on KDP’s publishing platform. I found an image on the internet, added the text and put it out there for the world to see. To my surprise people didn’t let the crude nature of my cover stop them from reading the book. My second book cover wasn’t much better. I used an app on my phone to create that cover and sells were a bit better.

By the time I created my third book cover, I had played with several apps and I went with something simple, but different than the covers found in my category on Amazon. I took an image of a black female model and an actor from a very famous actin franchise and split them in two, matching the lines of their bodies. This cover did what I wanted it to. It skyrocketed my sales on Amazon. Since then I have not been able to produce the same results. In part, it was because my covers still looked home made.

I have published twenty-four titles since I started and even if I could afford to pay for a professional cover, it would be difficult to find images that represent my characters. You will often see that books featuring African American men and women, use the same stock images over and over. There is no uniqueness to the images. In many of the writing and art groups I am a part of on Facebook, people ask again and again, can I use this image or that picture. We’ll I have found a simple and easy to understand chart online that will help you know what you can and can’t use for your book covers.

I change my book covers up from time to time, which is a benefit of self-publishing. When my sales dip, I present a new and interesting cover to boost sales and when I find one that seems to resonate and hold attention, I leave it until I get that itch again. Over the last year and a half, I have taught myself using free photo manipulation software Gimp. I have a long way to go towards creating professional covers, but I am pleased with my progress.

If you plan to become a self-published author, learn all you can about what it takes to run your business, because that’s exactly what it is, a business. You are the President and CEO, Vice-President of Finance, Director of Marketing, and everything else that will make your chosen career a success. Your book covers are the first thing that will draw attention to your work. People do judge a book by it’s cover.

#self-Publishing, #indiebookcovers, #writing, #publishinghelp