Open Heart Designs

Season’s Readings: A Holiday Gift of Gratitude and Great Books

admin — Sat, 21 Dec 2024 11:30:16 +0000

As the holiday season arrives and the year winds down, I want to take a moment to express my gratitude. To those I’ve had the privilege of working with this year, thank you for trusting me with your stories and allowing me to play a role in bringing them to life. To everyone who visits this blog or follows along with my work, thank you for your interest and support—it means so much.

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Adapt Your Print Book for the Digital World: Smart Tips for eBook Formatting

admin — Sat, 16 Nov 2024 11:05:39 +0000

A couple of weeks ago, I found myself exploring the banks of the Clark Fork River captivated by the scene unfolding at the water’s edge. The vibrant plant life was thriving in that transitional moment between fall and winter, adapting effortlessly with grand flair to these ever evolving seasonal shifts—much like stories, which can take on new forms while still preserving their beauty and essence.

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Proofreading Tips for Self-Publishing Authors: How to Perfect Your Manuscript Before Publishing

admin — Sat, 12 Oct 2024 10:00:23 +0000

I recently enjoyed some fall days on a trip to Yellowstone National Park for a workshop called Decoding the Language of Nature. Taught by expert naturalists and animal trackers Jon Young and George Bumann, it was an incredible experience—learning about, watching, and listening to wolves, coyotes, bison, pronghorn, birds, and other wild creatures all participating in a continuous flow of intricate…

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Capture Your Reader’s Attention with Stunning Cover Design

admin — Sat, 02 Mar 2024 12:15:38 +0000

A compelling cover does more than catch the eye; it speaks to the heart of your prospective readers, inviting them into the world you've created. With a blend of artistry and strategy, a well-designed cover can make your book stand out while fitting seamlessly within your genre. It's about creating a visual narrative that resonates with your audience, encouraging them to explore further.

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Discover the Pros and Cons of Digital and Offset Printing

admin — Sat, 24 Jun 2023 09:00:00 +0000

Few things are as exciting as opening the box holding copies of your freshly printed, self published book! After all the months, maybe years, of crafting and developing your story and making careful and intentional choices in its production, it is so satisfying to finally hold the finished book in your hands. In this newsletter we will explore common options for printing and some important…

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Create Visual Balance with Optical Margin Alignment

admin — Mon, 10 Oct 2022 16:58:44 +0000

When you want your page to have visually clean, crisp lines, using hanging punctuation can help! Hanging punctuation was first used in the Gutenberg bible where hyphens and other text features were slightly bumped into the right and left margins to create visual uniformity on the page. It was a very tedious job in those days and usually there was one person dedicated solely to that task.

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What goes on your Title Page?

admin — Sat, 05 Feb 2022 11:05:00 +0000

Did you know that your book can contain two title pages? The first appears as the very first page when you open the cover and is called a half title page. The only thing on this page is the title of your book, usually small and understated. A half title page is not a requirement, and is mostly a leftover tradition from back-in-the-day when it is said to have been used as protective measure during…

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What goes in the front matter of your book

admin — Sat, 01 Jan 2022 12:35:48 +0000

Do you wonder what kind of content should go in your front matter? Front matter is all of the pages before your first chapter or part and contains information about your book, provides a way to navigate the book, and introduces it to your reader. These pages are numbered with lowercase roman numerals (i, ii, iii, iv, v, etc.) and, although they shouldn't be printed on the title page through the…

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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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