|
Article by Michael Schacht As the saying goes, don’t judge a book by its cover. But since most people still make preconceived notions of what something is based on what they initially see, judging a book by its cover isn’t likely to go away anytime soon. As a self-publishing author, you’ll find yourself worrying about what people who might come across your book would think about its cover even more than making a profit out of your book’s sales. If those people find out that your book cover looks almost exactly like that of an author who sells more than you do, your career as a self-publishing author would surely go down the drain faster than having sold even just a single copy of your book. To prevent that scenario from happening, you should start looking into taking an amazing photo for your book cover with these tips you’re about to read below.  Why Should You Not Buy and Use a Stock Photo for Your Book Cover? You might have resorted to just searching online for a stock photo that very closely matches the content of your book. While undoubtedly cheaper than hiring a professional photographer, who might charge a steep fee for their services, buying and using a stock photo for your book cover is very much looked down upon for a couple of reasons: 1. Using a stock photo for your book cover doesn’t make your book stand out at all. No matter how well-written your book may be, coming out with a book cover that makes use of a stock photo is sure to get you unnoticed.
2. Using a stock photo for your book cover confuses anyone who would come across your book. Since the stock photo you picked for your book cover might have already been used before by other authors who are writing in the same genre as you are, you may unintentionally drive sales away from your book.
 How Can You Take an Amazing Photo for Your Book Cover? As digital photography is now within reach by just about everyone, it has become more convenient for the average person to take photos that are almost in the same level as those shot by professional photographers. If you’re looking to save money that you can use instead to finance the publication of your book, you can start following these tips on how you can take an amazing photo for your book cover at a fraction of the price you would have paid for either a stock photo or a professional photographer. 1. Choose the subject of your book cover photo based on what most prominently appears in your book itself. As another saying goes, a picture paints a thousand words, so you would want the photo you’ll be using for the cover of your book to quickly tell what your book is all about even without the buyer having opened a single page of it just yet.
2. Take more than just one photo while trying out different angles. Now that you’ve identified the subject you want to use for your book cover photo, you should experiment with taking different shots of it until you get your desired result.
3. Frame the photo you’ll be taking for your book cover such that there will be enough space for both the title of your book and the name you’re using as its author. It’s not enough to just take any photo of the subject you’ll be using for your book cover as you’ll have to make sure that there’s enough space in there for your book title and whatever name you’re using to write it.
Conclusion The cover of your book is the very first thing anyone who comes across it begins to see, and whatever photo you’ve decided to use for it can either make or break your book’s sales. However, hiring a separate professional photographer to take a photo for your book cover can be expensive, but it does have its advantages. What you can do instead to is to use these tips on taking an amazing photo that you can proudly claim as yours to use for your book cover. So, grab your camera or smartphone and start taking your book’s cover photo right away. We hope you like this article from 312 Elements.  Michael Schacht
Michael Schacht is a portrait photographer and photography educator based in Chicago Illinois. As owner/operator of 312 Elements Headshot Photography located in Chicago's West Loop neighborhood, Michael oversees the day to day operations and has had the opportunity to photograph thousands of corporate professionals over the last decade. Through his direction, attention to detail, and people skills, he's helped these clients to craft a narrative around their personal brand. It's his belief that the headshot is the modern dad business card and that a better headshot is essential for a better career. Michael, his wife Meghan and his two daughters reside in Tinley Park Illinois where he is a community leader and active participant in the local business sector. Michael studied business at Ball State university and photography with world renown headshot photographer, Peter Hurley. It was Hurley that trained Michael in the art of human expression. Michael is now a Headshot Crew certified Mentor and active member of the Headshot Crew community where he was named one of the top 20 headshot photographers in the world.
1 Comment
Article and Infographic courtesy of:
Matt Banner OnBlastBlog.com As Seen on Forbes, Entrepreneur & The Huffington Post As a writer, you have a skill that’s always in demand. Being able to craft articles, books, posts, and status updates is easier said than done. Doubly so if you’re trying to convince someone to buy something. Like any profitable skill, it needs to be marketed so people can find you. Today I’ll show you a few quick tips for marketing your writing online before we look at an infographic packed with information that will help you become a superstar writer. Marketing Your Writing Skills and Finding Success (Infographic) Marketing yourself online starts by establishing a presence within the World Wide Web. While creating a website, you should also create profiles for yourself on social media platforms so you can connect with agents and readers alike. For writers, we need to form an image of the ideal reader. Once we have this, we know who to market our books to. Even if you’re the greatest writer on Earth, not everyone is going to like what you work on. Once you’ve honed in on your readers, you’ll know how and where to market to them. In the meantime, you’ll need to start making money so you can quit that day job and work from home. This is where today’s infographic comes in. With the knowledge contained here, you’ll be able to find paying jobs while you forge a career for yourself. You’ll be on your own book tour before you know it! Let us know how this infographic helped you pursue your dreams in the comments!  Credit: On Blast Blog
|
Lauren Carr
With over forty years of writing and publishing experience, international best-selling author Lauren Carr has played an active role in the revolution of independent authors. The international best-selling author of over twenty-five murder mysteries, Lauren has gone on dozens of virtual blog tours (most with iRead Book Tours!) and has seen first-hand that how an author publishes is irrelevant to success. The key is exposure to potential readers. Virtual blog tours are an excellent avenue for book promotion. Book spotlights, reviews, author guest posts and interviews are forever, unlike in-person book events, which become a memory as soon as they have finished. Permission to Reprint:
You may reprint any of Laura Fabiani's articles if you include her author's bio as stated below: 
Praise for our services:"You're the best kept secret in the book world. I tell everyone about you every TV station I'm at." Proud sponsor of:
Archives
March 2023
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed