Helpful Links and Resources

Style Guide for Interior Formatting

Recommended Editors

Other Recommendations

I do not offer any services outside of what is listed here on my website. I do, however offer advice on where you might go to get other services.

  • And for MARKETING and PROMOTIONS, I suggest JKS Communications, now known as Books Fluent and Books Forward.
  • For a good resource for others who edit, do cover design, and formatting, go to The Association of Independent Publishing Professions (AIPP). Check out their Member Directory here.
  • I also recommend my co-worker, Amanda, from A.J. Reid Creative, if you want to hire her independently from me for cover design and interior layout, typesetting, and formatting.
  • For COVER COPY/BOOK DESCRIPTION/BLURB HELP, see Smitzman over on Fiverr. She can help or write your cover copy for you for a really great price.

What Does Resolution Mean? Understanding Photos for Print vs. Web

Watch this video to understand what on earth designers are talking about when they tell you they need your images to be higher resolution! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqWFfTrorRQ

Understand How an eBook Works

eBooks are not actually on pages, as we think of print pages. An eBook is like a website. It is continuous, flowable text. If there’s one word hanging on a page, it won’t look like that on every single device or app on which it is being read.

Readers change lots of preferences on their device. Like the font or the font size, or whether or not the page is justified or ragged, or even the background color or page width. An eBook must adapt to these changes.

This is also why I only use serif and sans-serif in an eBook, not specific fonts. This is because readers usually change their fonts, anyway. Also, one would need to pay a lot of money for licensing fees to use specific fonts in an eBook. It’s different for print. But even if we did use specific fonts in an eBook, it is not guaranteed that the font will correctly show up in every device or app.

Same with drop caps or other specialty formatting options. I’ve often seen an eBook where drop caps show up pretty wonky, or sometimes even as a blank box! One never knows how things that aren’t just clean and standard will show up on different apps and devices.

I keep eBooks as clean and straightforward as possible for these reasons. If you do see a special font in any of my eBooks, it’s usually because they’re in an image (like the title page), not part of the flowable text. (see below videos if you’re confused).

One of the best things to do is download Kindle Previewer 3 to your computer to view your ePub, or use another eReading app on your computer: https://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000765261

To clarify further, you can also watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43C3UBYBdiE

and this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LGw4Jnqp2Q

Trying to Decide Between IngramSpark and KDP/Amazon?

HOW and WHERE do I publish my book?

  • You can publish your book on KDP/Amazon, IngramSpark, Lulu, Draft2Digital, etc. Do your research online. Google these different platforms and read about the pros and cons (like the links I provided above!)

What the heck are BISAC Categories?

Should I offer a wholesale discount?

ISBNs? Should You Buy One or Use Amazon’s Free ISBN? What About Copyright?

Frequently Asked Questions