Category: Printing

Self Publish Your Book 3 Ways on KDP.Amazon.com

Kindle Digital Publishing (KDP) now offers hardcover books (with a case laminate cover) as an option for authors who self publish their print-on-demand books. Previously Amazon’s KDP only offered paperback books which are not ideal for coffee table / photo feature books.

Over the years many of the authors I have helped publish have wanted to offer a hardcover version but without the expense normally associated with this option. Usually the author would have to order a certain number of books, store and sell them. Now, Amazon’s KDP allows authors to create a hardcover version of their book as a print on demand book! That means, no additional production expenses out of pocket. Amazon does take their usual share of profits, however in exchange they offer a trusted global distribution system to sell all versions of your book: eBooks, paperbacks and now hardcover books, too.

What is Self Publishing?

In case you are considering whether to publish your book, it may be useful to know that self publishing is an avenue of publication of media by its author without the need to involve publisher. The term usually refers to written media, such as books and magazines, either as an ebook or as a physical copy in paperback or hardback using print-on-demand (POD) technology.

Trim Size

Now Amazon offers 16 trim size options for paperback books, and five trim sizes for any book you also wish to offer in hardcover:

  • 5.5 x 8.5”
  • 6 x 9”
  • 6.15 x 9.21”
  • 7 x 10”
  • 8.25 x 11” 

Page Count

Another difference between Amazon’s paperback and hardcover specifications is the page count.

  • Paperback can be anywhere from 24 to 828 pages
  • Hardcover must be between 55 and 550 pages

Design Your Cover

KDP has cover design software to design an elegant cover for your paperback and hard cover books. You will need to change your cover size for the hardback. Here are some tips:

Note that the case laminate covers Amazon produces are made of chipboard, and wrapped with laminated paper. Amazon does not offer the usual clothbound or dust jacket option you may be familiar with. As a result, be sure that your cover design wraps around the edges of your cover. Simply extend your design beyond the actual cover dimensions (this is referred to in the industry as “bleeding”).

The basic requirements for Amazon hardcover cover designs are:

  • Your background should extend 0.51” past the edge of the front cover;
  • All text and images should be 0.635” from the edge of the book; and
  • No text or barcodes should be within 0.4” of the spine.

Get Help from a Professional

Having trouble with the layout, or worried you are formatting your book or cover incorrectly? To ensure your book layout and cover look as good as possible, you can hire a book designer who can help maintain your ideal aesthetic while working within Amazon KDP’s rules.

Healing Time Books Publishing and Website Services
Healing Time Books Publishing and Website Services

Healing Time Books helps authors utilize today’s digital technology to publish their books.

Contact info@healingtimebooks.com for help with your self publishing project.

Photo credit: Studio Media Inc on Unsplash

HTBphotos ‘Spring’ Series available exclusively on Dreamstime

In celebration of Spring with its budding plants, warm weather and longer days, we are pleased to announce HTBphotos ‘Spring’ Series by John and Katharina Notarianni, now available for purchase exclusively from stock photography provider Dreamstime.com.

HTBphotos Spring Series by John and Katharina Notarianni
HTBphotos ‘Spring’ Series by John and Katharina Notarianni

Tips on which stock photo license to buy for your marketing needs

Dreamstime.com offers Royalty Free stock photography, which is the most affordable and most popular license type of paid for stock photos. The “free” in Royalty Free means you don’t have to pay extra royalties. Instead you pay a one-time, flat-rate license fee, sometimes as little as 20 cents per image. You are entitled to use the image in a wide variety of uses such as on a website or a marketing brochure, a banner, in a video, etc. You have permission to use it unlimited times without paying extra royalties. This makes Royalty Free stock photography the best choice for budget-minded buyers.

If you plan to sell or distribute items, pay for an Extended License so you can use the stock photo on items to be distributed or sold further afield, such as on a mug or a t-shirt, or a digital media item.

Exclusive Rights are worth considering when you find a stock photo that is perfect for your company branding. Your exclusive license ensures others will not use the same image thereby securing your brand.

HTB photos on dreamstime

What makes a stock photo image popular?

HTBphotos on Dreamstime - white-clouds-blue-sky stock photo is a top seller

HTBphotos‘ White Clouds in Blue Sky image is a best seller from John and Katharina Notarianni’s portfolio of stock photos featured exclusively on Dreamstime.

What makes a stock photo image popular? Here are some tips:

Images need plenty of “negative space” for the end user to add text, logos or other images.

Variations of the same shot, or a cropped photo, like the one above, may even sell better than the more detailed original photo.

Taking time to photoshop the original shot to increase dots per inch to represent print quality (300 dpi) and offering various resolutions from low to high quality also gives the end user choices for web or print use without extra work on their part.

Zoom in to “actual pixels” to scan for imperfections that can be easily fixed with photoshop, like dust or spots. Even the smallest issue may keep a buyer from buying the image, particularly if they plan to use it on a billboard where the image is blown up to maximum size.

Tagging the image with key words like blue sky, white clouds make it easy to find. Search engines like Google and Bing are more likely to bring up your image when tagged with key words.

2019 Color of the Year for Designers is “Living Coral”

Pantone has announced their 2019 Color of the Year “Living Coral.” 

Click the image to read more about how to use this vibrant color in your designs in the coming year…

Pantone Color of the Year for 2019 - Living Coral
2019 Pantone Color of the Year “Living Coral”

HTBphotos ‘Fall Foliage… Autumn Colors’ Series available on Dreamstime

In need of images of fall foliage or autumn colors for your website or print projects? Photographers John and Katharina Notarianni recently made available a new series of stock photos on Dreamstime.com to celebrate the season with ‘Fall Foliage… Autumn Colors’ series. Here are some images that are available on a subscription basis:

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Wishing you a very happy Thanksgiving with gratitude and best wishes for a wonderful time with family and friends.

Self-Publishing Authors: Get help merging your CreateSpace and KDP Amazon publishing accounts

Here is an article from an indie author’s perspective about the impact of the recent merger of Amazon’s CreateSpace print-on-demand business with it’s KDP Kindle eBook business on self publishers that I recommend reading.

If you are a self publishing author with CreateSpace you will have gotten instructions to merge your CreateSpace account with a KDP Amazon account. In general this process is straight forward. However, if you published your print books in a CreateSpace account and have a separate KDP account with a different email address, since both of these services are actually Amazon businesses the recent merger of CreateSpace with KDP may have inadvertently put you in the position of having your print version and your eBook version in two different KDP accounts. In order to link your print-on-demand book and your Kindle eBook of the same title, they need to be in the same account (i.e., viewable in the same KDP dashboard).

For help merging your publishing accounts, work with KDP’s help desk, or contact info@healingtimebooks.com.  We make it an easy and pain free process.

Healing Time Books Publishing Services for Self Publishing AuthorsDo you have a book you want to self publish but don’t know where to start? In addition to being a full service publisher, Healing Time Books specializes in working with self publishing authors to help them utilize technology to publish their works… Fill out HTB’s Contact Form to get started today.

 

“Writing a book can be an arduous process and one that is done thousands of times over with a fair amount of help available. But, when it comes to editing, preparing and packaging your book there was little help I could find. Then Katharina appeared, she was a dream come true.  Here was someone who knew the ins and outs of publishing, she did it for her own books and was willing to help me with my several books. Her talent to help in the choice of everything from sentence structure, color of ink, to the cover page for the book was phenomenal. I would not consider giving my manuscripts to anyone else. She’s the best!!!”

Dr. E. Reenah McGill, Author / Medical Practitioner

HTB Photos celebrates over 2000 stock images on Dreamstime

Congratulations John and Katharina Notarianni for making available over 2000 high quality web and print ready images from their stock photography collection on Dreamstime. HTB Photos stock images for use in your web and print projects are available from Dreamstime.com.

SPECIAL OFFER: Get 5 free images in first month when you sign up for Dreamstime’s monthly subscription. Follow the link: https://www.dreamstime.com/credits (then enter Referral ID: res16409905) in the form when you join. Thank you!

Featuring Artist Annelore Huber

Healing Time Books is pleased to feature artists associated with HTB Services.

Annelore Huber

Schooled as a technical illustrator in her youth, Annelore Huber is a true multimedia artist. She is well versed in throwing pottery, drawing and painting, and photography. Below are some of her paintings from the 1990’s, recently featured on Graphics Worldwide website. Lately she has been painting irises which she grows in her own garden, and she especially loves photography, looking for inspiration in everything around her.

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