Print on Demand – Open Heart Designs

Preparing Your Manuscript for the Book Designer

admin — Sat, 09 Oct 2021 15:32:37 +0000

So you've finished writing your book and are ready for the layout and design stage. Before you send it off to your formatter there's a bit of "house cleaning" to do first to ensure that they can clearly see and understand the formatting needs of your book. Remember, the designer is not as familiar with your content as you are, so preparing a clean document to send to them saves time (and cost) and…

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IngramSpark’s Book Returns Explained

admin — Sat, 24 Jul 2021 12:45:52 +0000

When setting up your title on Ingram Spark, have you found yourself confused about the return options and their associated costs? First, let's understand what book returns are and why they exist. Ingram Spark has the option to allow booksellers to return books. The book seller buys books to sell and if those books aren't selling, they need to be able to return them. As a business owner they make…

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BISAC Subject Codes

admin — Fri, 01 Jan 2021 13:00:24 +0000

When it comes to self publishing, properly categorizing your book is critical when it comes making sure your reader can find it. To assign specific subject codes to your book you'll use the BISAC (Book Industry Standards and Communications) subject codes. These are codes that the whole book industry, from bookstores to libraries, use to understand where your book fits on their shelves so that…

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Metadata – The Key to your Book’s Online Discoverability

admin — Sun, 15 Nov 2020 23:02:08 +0000

Do you find yourself wondering how people will find your book after it is available for sale? A large and critical part of the answer is metadata. Understanding metadata and applying it properly is extremely important in the discoverability of your book. What is metadata anyway?! It's kind of a mysterious and strange, "techy" sounding word that seems like it might be hard to apply. In short…

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Do you have an Amazon Author Page?

admin — Thu, 01 Oct 2020 07:00:52 +0000

Did you know that you can have your own author page on Amazon? Yes you can – and it is pretty easy to set up. It only takes a few minutes and it's free! Amazon Author Central enables authors to utilize the Amazon author page as a way to connect with readers. The Amazon author page is a valuable marketing tool that you can personalize. It's essentially a landing page on Amazon where readers can…

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The Chapter Opening Page in Book Design

admin — Fri, 22 May 2020 00:05:43 +0000

The first page of each chapter is one of my favorite things to design. This is one place where the tone of your book and its subject matter can be visually communicated. The design of these pages can range from very simple to more elaborate design choices that spread across two pages. The Chicago Manual of Style says that each chapter normally starts on a new page, and can sit on a verso (left) or…

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Paragraph Separators in Book Page Design

admin — Tue, 05 May 2020 16:41:19 +0000

When you need to indicate a pause, a passage of time, or a scene change within a chapter of your book use a paragraph separator. This is a visual cue to your reader that something has changed. A paragraph separator can be as simple as an extra line space between two paragraphs, a series of three or four asterisks (*) separated by an em or en space, or they can be a little more graphic with the use…

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Finding Creativity in the Pause

admin — Sat, 18 Apr 2020 17:29:59 +0000

Dear Friend and Reader, I truly hope that this finds you and your family healthy and well. During this time of isolation and social distancing that is, understandably, very difficult for many, I have never been more grateful that I work from my home office. For some this time has provided a measure of relief from the daily grind, which can feel very rigid, and has opened up some space to pause…

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Personalize your book

admin — Sat, 07 Mar 2020 16:41:30 +0000

Did you know that Ingram Spark allows you to create and send personalized copies of your book. It's easy to do, inexpensive at only $1 per book, and is a great way to add a special touch when you want to. Choosing this option adds one additional page with your personalized content and inserts it as the very first page of your book at the time it’s printed. It will only be added to that specific…

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