Platforms for Screenwriters to Get Discovered

You do not have to wait for the next screenwriting contest deadline or response from a film agent to get your screenplay discovered. You can also upload your screenplay onto various online platforms where they are viewable 24/7 for people in the movie industry looking for new screenwriting talent.

Getting Your Screenplay Read

Screenwriting platforms are basically websites that host your screenplay for public view. On registration, you will have access to screenwriting forums and discussions with other screenwriters, get reviewed by those like yourself and/or those in the movie industry. You will also get exposure to those looking for screenwriting talent. Most screenwriting platforms are free, but some charge for registration and/or hosting on the site. Look out for prizes and opportunities to improve your craft of screenwriting.

Should I Upload My Screenplay for Public View?

Of course it is always advisable to register your work with the WGA or similar before uploading. Unless the work is copied verbatim or parts of it lifted, the screenwriter will find it hard to prove that someone else has made some basic alterations to your screenplay and given it a different title. The premise for a story or an idea cannot be copyrighted. However, hiding the screenplay away in fear of this happening is also not ideal. Some of the following screenwriting platforms offer security against this happening and all recommend protecting your copyright as much as possible.

Inktip

More than 120 films have been produced from writers who are a member of Inktip. Members include writers, producers and film agents. A logline and synopsis (not the screenplay itself) can be uploaded for free. The site is also accessible to almost 3000 industry professionals making the site ideal for the right exposure. Only industry professionals (not other writers) have access to reading your screenplay which makes it more secure against plagiarism. The screenplay must also be fully copyrighted with the Writer’s Guild of America or similar, prior to upload. Just register and this screenwriting platform could help you sell your script. Registration is free, but including your script onto InkTip’s searchable index costs $60 per 6 months. You must sign and return a release form to become a member. Read carefully before uploading.

Talentville

Created by Ben Cahan, the creator of Final Draft screenwriting software, this screenwriter’s platform provides exposure for full length features, hour-long dramas, shorts and snippets. A logline voting system enables the logline for your screenplay to get praise or a makeover from Script Pipeline as well as a ‘screenwriter’s lounge’ for advice and to swap ideas. A virtual TalentDollar currency enables you to ‘earn’ by reviewing other screenplays in order to ‘buy’ a review for yours from someone else. Feedbacks for scripts are broken down into concept, story, character, structure, dialogue, writing and overall. A Hall of Fame offers awards for the best screenplays and further exposure and opportunities from Scriptapalooza.

Amazon Studios

A screenwriter’s platform set up by Amazon and Warner Brothers, this site offers screenwriters the chance to be read, reviewed and work in collaboration with other writers for monthly prizes and a chance to get produced. The first 30 pages of your screenplay are guaranteed a read by an industry professional on upload. Other writers and film producers may create a film trailers, shorts and dialogue tracks from your screenplay. You must read the developmental agreement carefully, as upload automatically options your screenplay for 18 months. A clause prohibits uploading your screenplay elsewhere during this period, so uploading onto Talentville, for example after uploading onto Amazon Studios would conflict with the developmental agreement.

Triggerstreet

A platform for screenwriters, authors, film makers and film lovers to share, network and learn from others. A veteran site starting in 2002, film lovers and industry specialists may review screenplays regarding concept, character, dialogue, story, structure and overall. Short stories and short movies can also be found here. Like Talentville mentioned above, you earn review credits by reviewing others. To earn credits, you must request an assignment and then review. If your screenplay becomes featured by TriggerStreet, TriggerStreet have first option to buy your screenplay for a period of no less than 90 days. A ‘Hall of Justice’ is set up by seasoned users to regulate the site.

Websites for Screenplays

The screenwriter does not have to wait for replies from film agents or the next contest deadline. Websites holding databases for screenplays viewable at any time by industry professionals as well as film lovers to review, collaborate, swap ideas, and perhaps even get discovered. Of course, putting your screenplay on public view always poses the risk of plagiarism. Always register your screenplay with the WGA or similar beforehand.

Links to Other Articles on Screenwriting

Scriptwriting workshops
Format your screenplay for Kindle
Copyrighting your screenplay
Great themes for your screenplay
Create a strange character

Which Screenwriting Competition?

Entering scriptwriting contests is an exciting activity, but care must be taken the competition is fair. I always garner reviews from screenwriting forums. The prize fund must correlate with the entry fee, for example, a high entry fee for a small prize fund should be questioned (unless further opportunities are offered). Look out for hidden costs and beware of competitions with spam or have pop-up ads. Competitions that enable the screenwriter to retain the rights are to be preferred.

The Best Screenwriting Contests

The following links provide information on annual screenplay contests, with good cash prizes and/or good prospects on offer. The entry fees are pretty much the same, around $50 or so. Always read the competitions rules carefully.

The Page International Screenwriting Awards

Started by a group of producers, writers and agents from Hollywood, winners of this annual competition resulted in movie productions and options from established film makers such as Fox Films and Zero Gravity Productions. You need to assign your entry into a film genre such as comedy, drama, thriller or science fiction. Shorts as well as TV pilots can also enter. Prizes for each category will be given from a total prize fund of $50,000. You may submit your entry online. Earlier submissions are cheaper than late ones (between $40 and $70). For an additional fee, you will get a script feedback.

Zoetrope Contest

A motion picture company belonging to Francis Ford Coppola, the American Zoetrope Screenwriting Contest could result in consideration by big names such Samuel Goldwyn, Fox Searchlight or Sony Pictures. Held annually, the prize fund amounts to $5000 but could yield untold opportunities, not least the top 10 finalists to be considered by William Morris Endeavour, the Gersh Agency and others. Online entries are accepted. Entry fee between $35 and $50 depending on the tardiness of submission.

Final Draft Big Break

Final Draft Big Break is an annual global screenwriting competition that accepts online entries of feature length screenplays only. Fees vary between $40 and $65 depending upon how early you enter. Screenplays that have been optioned are not eligible. Prize money vary from $15,000 for the winner to $2000 for finalists.


Hollywood Screenplay Contest

An annual competition costing from $30 to $55 for late submitters. Winners and finalists have the opportunity to attend a gala event to meet and network with producers and film makers. Prize fund amounts to $5000 plus.

Amazon Studios

A partnership set up between Amazon and Warner Brothers. Upload your screenplay and the first 30 pages are guaranteed to be read by the powers that be. The screenplay is also automatically entered into a monthly and an annual competition the prize fund of which collectively amounts to around $2 million. Your screenplay could also be produced. Read the development agreement carefully before joining.

Bluecat Screenplay Competition

An annual screenplay competition that offers $10,000 to the winner and $2000 to the finalists. Extra prizes can be found in the Cordelia prize, for the best US screenplay, and the Joplin award for the best non US screenplay. A live reading of the screenplay will be performed at the George Eastman Film Festival. The fee to enter the competition includes 2 script analyses per screenplay.

New York Screenplay Contest

An annual competition offering different genre categories, including thrillers, comedy and drama with prize fund amounting to $10,000. Entry fees depend upon the length of the script and the tardiness of submission but is between $25 to $65. For an extra $50, a judge feedback is given. Winning screenplays and finalists will also receive promotion to targeted press releases within the entertainment media.

Screenwriting Contests Tips

Before submitting your screenplay, read the competition rules carefully to ensure no rule breach, for instance, some competitions prohibit a screenplay that has been optioned elsewhere. Watch out for hidden costs too, as some competitions demand a registration fee as well as the entry fee itself. The best way to decide if a competition is worth entering is to check out feedback on screenwriting forums.

Screenwriting Advice

Writing dialogue for film
How to write a synopsis for a screenplay
Getting into paid screenwriting jobs
Character names for your screenplay
Is Amazon studios for me?

Beginners’ Guide to Self Publishing Your Novel on Createspace

Createspace, one of Amazon’s limbs in the self-publishing business is a free and convenient way to getting your novel published in print copy. Not to be confused with Kindle, which is Amazon’s ebook store, for reading novels on a reader, such as the Kindle. Createspace is free to self-published authors for its Print on Demand services (POD), which means the book is only printed when it is purchased.

Self-Publishing Your Novel for Free

Publishing on Createspace is a different experience to publishing on Kindle (or KDP Amazon – Kindle Direct Publishing). You will basically need 3 things: a typo-free, perfectly crafted novel, a synopsis (blurb or sales pitch for the novel) and a book cover.

Firstly the novel. Take care the desired font is used. Times New Roman, Aerial or Bookman Old Style are most often used. I favour font sized point 10 for my novels but 11 or 12 might be more suitable for children’s fiction. Take a look at other novels to see how they are formatted and copy a style you like regarding chapter headings, page numbers or graphics. I try to keep these elements simple.

Formatting your Novel

You will need to consider the dimensions of your book. Createspace has a range of sizes to choose from, 8x5in (which I used for my novels) to 8.5x11in. You can alter the size of your pages on Word by selecting ‘page layout’ on the Word toolbar and then selecting ‘size’. By selecting ‘more page sizes,’ you can tailor the size of your novel to accord with any Amazon’s Createspace offer. Whatever margins you use, ensure they are ‘mirrored.’ (I allow 1in approx on the outer edges, top and bottom and a little wider for the inside or ‘gutter’ of the page). Note, that odd page numbers are always the facing page, and therefore chapter one will be placed on an odd page number, (say page 3 or 5). Set indentations for new paragraphs to 0.3.

Your Novel as a PDF File

Once the look of your novel is how you want, you need to save it as a PDF. To do this, open your word document, hover over the office graphic button on the upper left of your screen, click on ‘save as’ and then select PDF. You will then find 2 options, either minimum size (for online publishing such as on Kindle) or standard (for printing). Select the latter and click ‘publish.’ A separate PDF file will open. This is the file you will need to upload onto Createspace. Note: PDF is a read only document. If you notice a typo, you will have to delete the PDF file, correct the typo on the word document and save as a separate PDF.

Publishing on Createspace

Create an account with Createspace by following the online instructions. Next, you will need to input the title information (the title of your book) followed by the synopsis for your novel. Writing a synopsis for the novel can be found as a separate article on this blog. Next, the ISBN. You can have a free Createspace assigned ISBN or use one you have purchased from a separate agency. I will put the ISBN in the copyright page of my book and keep a separate copy of it for reference.

Uploading Your Book onto Createspace

Before uploading your PDF file onto Createspace, select the page colour, which is white, cream or a ‘colour’ option if you have colour illustrations within your book. Note, publishing in black and white is much cheaper than a colour book, so unless it is a children’s picture book, avoid using a one-off colour graphic, which will make the whole book much more costly to produce. For my novels, I use ‘cream’ rather than white, but it is up to you. Now you simply need to select ‘with bleed’ or ‘without.’ A bleed is required if illustrations or text run off to the edge of the page, and Amazon needs to trim off the edge. Most novels require no bleed, so select this button and then upload your PDF file onto Createspace. This will take a few moments.

Book Cover Design

You will obviously need a book cover design for your novel. This is a lengthy process which I have covered in a separate article. Briefly you have the choice of either designing your own from scratch, using one of Amazon’s templates and a myriad of copyright-free images from their database, or you can use one of their cover designers for $299. It is up to you.

Pricing Your Novel

Now you just need to “complete setup.” This involves pricing your novel and deciding on which channels to sell it on. A price checker can be used to help you decide how much to price your book as. All you need to do is input the size and page numbers. Your book will automatically be available on Amazon as well as your own CreateSpace Estore, which you can design yourself and provide links to. You also have the option of Standard Distribution, or Expanded Distribution Channel. (The old system involving Pro Plan has now been changed).

What is Expanded Distribution Channel?

It is up to you, but for a fee of $25 per book, you can upgrade to Expanded Distribution Channel (EDC). EDCopens distribution channels of your book onto other sales channels such as bookstores, libraries and overseas retailers. I like to see how my books perform on Kindle before committing to EDC, as you will also have to price your books a little higher to make royalties than if you remained with the standard channel.

Once you have completed all required fields, you can submit your book for review, which will take around three days or so, after which, the print copy of your book will be available on Amazon.com.

At this point, I will order a copy of my book as a keepsake. Note however, that if you live outside the US, you will have to pay overseas postage costs which I have found can often exceed the production cost of the book itself, and which a lengthy wait is likely.

Free POD Publishing

Having said that, I think Createspace is the best POD (print on demand) option for the self-published author, as the book is created at no cost to you other than the purchase of your own book and the option of EDC. So long as you have taken special care over the novel itself, the formatting of your book and the cover design, the quality of the book compares with those of mainstream publishers.

Links to other articles on writing novels

Questionnaire for developing your characters
How to develop narrative style
How to format your novel for print on demand

Why I Uploaded my Script onto Amazon Studios

There has been mixed reactions to Amazon Studios’ terms and conditions in their developmental agreement. Well, I have been doing a lot of cogitating and research before uploading my screenplays onto their site. Let’s look at the contentious issues that may deter other untested screenwriters from uploading their screenplays onto Amazon Studios and tackle them one by one.

1 Uploading onto Amazon Studios opens your screenplay up to getting messed up by other writers. (Other writer meaning those who have an Amazon Studios account like you, not Amazon Studios itself.) Well, the option ‘closed’ has been added to ‘with permission’ and ‘open’, meaning you keep total control over the drafts of your screenplay. Having no collaborators, means you keep all monies from prizes, option extensions or purchases for yourself and you retain complete control over your screenplay.

Of course, your screenplay will still be ‘messed with’ by other writers and/or producers within Amazon Studios if they decide to purchase the rights to your screenplay, but this applies to the film industry in general, not just Amazon Studios.

2 By uploading onto Amazon Studios opens your screenplay up to being ‘copied’ by another writer. One of the clauses in the developmental agreement prohibits you from taking a law suit against Amazon Studios if they work on another project that happens to have similar plotline or elements to your screenplay. Well, this could happen the moment any reader opens your screenplay. According to the Writers’ and Artist’s Yearbook, you cannot copyright an idea or a concept. Similarities and influences between movies can be seen throughout history. However, copying someone’s work verbatim is prohibited. The best thing to do is to register your work at the copyright office. The alternative is to allow your screenplay to languish in the drawer to collect dust. No risk of someone copying your idea then, is there?

3 If your screenplay is good enough, you will find representation and/or a better deal elsewhere without a need to upload onto Amazon Studios. Well, in my experience, few literary/film agents will even look at an unknown/untested writer. I have spent months writing letters/emails, printing and sending scripts to the largest agents in the UK and few will even respond. Recently, I sent ten polite query letters after a hiatus of giving up and had one response. They are either ‘too busy’, have ‘full books’ or have simply ‘lost your correspondence’. The waiting is the most difficult part. Some agents prohibit you from approaching another agent whilst they consider your work and yet expect you to wait months for a response. You’d have to live to a hundred to approach all agents and wait for their responses one after the other.

From my research, it seems working within the industry and being ‘in the know’ really does increase your chances of getting your screenplay read. The quality of the screenplay has little bearing within this point. The screenplay I had touted had received excellent feedback from BBCWritersroom having gone very far up their feedback system and was almost been taken on by PFD a few years back. Despite this, my efforts have given me nothing to show for. You could have a fantastic screenplay, yet will likely remain unread unless you have some connection within the industry or have the time, funding and resources to attend workshops/events/meet people in the business that likely take place miles from where you live. Not easy if you have a full-time job, family commitments, and if like me, you live in some backwater. Screenwriting talent and the power to get your script read, from my experience, are two very separate things.

4 You can’t sell your script elsewhere for 18 months once you upload due to the option agreement. Well, see point 3 above on this. From my experience, it is hard to even get a screenplay read by a producer/agent if you are an unknown. But on Amazon Studios, at least others can read it and give reviews; the first 30 pages of your screenplay are guaranteed to be read by someone who makes the decisions on whether to purchase. You are also automatically entered into monthly competitions on Amazon Studios which could win you thousands of dollars. Think of the time, expense and effort to enter just one screenwriting competition? I have checked them out, and each competition is on average $50 each to enter. Having your screenplay up on Amazon Studios enables you to sit back, relax and see what happens for free. And whilst waiting, why not use the time to do what writers really want to do: write?

I must add the point here that Amazon Studios allow you to enter screenwriting competitions so long as the rights to the screenplay are not sold away. You must read through the rules, as some screenplay competitions prohibit screenplays that have been (a) optioned elsewhere or (b) entered into other competitions. By uploading your screenplay onto Amazon Studios, you are automatically optioning your screenplay for 18 months and entering into their monthly competitions.

5 Amazon Studios has the right to extend the option period for a further 18 months in exchange for payment of $10,000 and there is nothing you can do about it. What if another producer was gagging to produce your screenplay for more? See point 3 above. The chance of anther producer wanting to buy your screenplay if you are an unknown is tiny. Look at it this way, you could upload your screenplay, forget it, and possibly get $10,000 payment for little effort in 18 months’ time, whereas otherwise, your screenplay could be sitting in the attic collecting dust or waiting to be read by a disinterested agent (again, see point 3). And surely, if Amazon Studios decide to purchase the option extension, that has to be a good sign. If Amazon Studios do not extend this option, you are free to tout your screenplay elsewhere. In some cases, Amazon will even release you from the option agreement early if you ask them to (so long as they have no plans to do anything with it.)

6 Amazon Studios has the right to sign on your behalf any documents you have not signed and returned within 5 days as a right of attorney. You will only be expected to sign documents outlined in their developmental agreement on their website which refers to documents like the option agreement or the purchase contract of your screenplay. Read carefully. If you don’t like anything within the developmental agreement, do not upload your screenplay.

7 Amazon Studios pay you a flat fee if they decide to purchase your screenplay. That’s all. Yes, you will be paid a flat fee of $200,000 purchase price for you screenplay. And you could get an additional $400,000 bonus if the film makes $60 million profit in the US box office. Oh, and you may possibly have received option fees and contest prize money as well. You could earn more if your screenplay has spinoffs or episodes. You could become more attractive to the screenwriting market if you write more screenplays, and other film producers/agents could be vying to buy your next screenplay.

If you have written a novel from the screenplay, think of the sales this could generate for your novel? The rights to your novel are still yours (if you are self-published as I am). In total, you could end up with at least half or a million dollars for uploading your screenplay. Rather unlikely otherwise.

8 Amazon Studios retains the right to produce my screenplay forever, even once the option period has expired. Well, they still have to pay you $200,000 to buy your screenplay to do so (plus you could get more if the film does well – see point 7 above). And that’s a good thing for your purse-strings, isn’t it?

Screenwriters who have broken into the industry may not see the benefits of Amazon Studios, and understandably so if they have found someone open-minded enough to read their screenplay in the first place. But from this lofty position, it is easy to attack Amazon Studios. From my experience, there really is a huge brick wall to getting your screenplay read…by anyone. And getting on really does depend upon where you live, who you know and the resources at your disposal. Talent comes into it very little, it seems.

Read article is Amazon Studios for Me?

Is Amazon Studios for Me? – The Screenwriter’s View

Amazon have partnered with Warner Brothers to find screenwriting talent via a platform for screenwriters known as Amazon Studios. Monthly prize money amounting to a few million dollars per year is awarded to quality screenplays and other film-associated creations. Entry is free and fellow screenwriters and film makers can provide feedback or help strengthen screenplays via collaborative writing. But Amazon’s Development Agreement has caused some controversy.

What is Amazon Studios?

Amazon Studios is an opportunity for screenwriters to get out there and be discovered, reviewed and possibly win some cash in the process. For those who are unsure of what Amazon Studios is, it is really a platform for writers, film makers and actors to make their work visible. Scripts, test movies (inexpensive full-length movies) and dialogue tracks (an audio recording of actors reading the dialogue part of a script) can be uploaded onto this site, and members, whether they are writers, film directors, actors or movie fans can rate or contribute towards someone’s work. Monthly prize money is awarded to the most rated creations, which may pique the interest of Warner Bros, one of Hollywood’s biggest film producers. This article explores the viewpoint of the screenwriter in the process.

Uploading a Screenplay onto Amazon Studios

When you create an account, you will be asked to provide some information about yourself, and then invited to upload your screenplay. You can then select whether you will invite other writers to contribute to your screenplay (if, for example, you feel it needs work) or not. The options ‘open’ ‘with permission’ or ‘closed’ speaks for itself. If your screenplay wins any of the competitions on the site, the prize money is apportioned to each contributor (if any) of your work including yourself.

Amazon Studios Development Agreement in a Nutshell

But the screenwriter must understand Amazon’s development agreement before uploading any screenplays onto this platform. To put it bluntly, as soon as you upload your screenplay onto Amazon Studios’ website, you are powerless to sell it elsewhere for 18 months. This situation in screenwriting context is known as an ‘option.’ At the end of this term (if Amazon has done nothing with the screenplay), Amazon Studios may decide to pay you $10,000 to extend this option by a further 18 months if they wish.

During this term, Amazon Studios will have exclusive rights to buy your screenplay for a fixed sum of $200,000 and make a movie from it. If, however, Amazon still has done nothing with the screenplay by the 18 month period, they lose exclusive rights and you are free to shop elsewhere. But in theory, Amazon could continue to extend this option.

Amazon states that 18 months is necessary for reviews to build up, have test movies made and see if the screenplay works commercially. The first thirty pages of each screenplay are guaranteed to be read by someone who has the powers to make the decision to buy the script and have that movie made.

If the film script is purchased from you by Amazon Studios, as described above, and the film makes 60 million dollars on initial release in the US box office, you will earn a bonus of $400,000.

Screenwriting Contest Money

It must be made clear that any prize money the screenwriter may have won on Amazon Studios’ monthly competitions is unconnected to the purchase or bonus money Amazon may pay the scriptwriter if the movie is made; collaborators are excluded from this money. However, there is plenty of opportunity for collaborators to earn competition cash from rewriting or improving someone else’s screenplay if the screenwriter grants permission.

Is Amazon Studios a Good Thing?

As can be seen, there are advantages and disadvantages to uploading your screenplay to Amazon Studios. Your script is made visible on a platform for other writers and film makers to see where otherwise the script could be languishing in a bottom drawer. Careful consideration however needs to be given over the Development Agreement before uploading. The option to purchase (or not) the screenplay could tie the screenwriter’s hands for years, where another film production company might be willing to purchase your script for a higher price, and if your screenplay does do well on Amazon Studios, the chances are, it may have done well elsewhere and yielded a better deal for the writer.

Articles on my Screenwriting site

How to write a screenplay synopsis
Guide to editing a screenplay
Why I uploaded my screenplay onto Amazon Studios
Amazon Studios website
Best words for your screenplay

How Can I Design my Book Cover for Free?

Completing a kindle novel is only part of self-publishing. The indie writer may wonder how to conceive a great book jacket design for the novel or ebook for nothing.

A Great Book Jacket Design for Ebooks

An array of book cover designs can be found to bewilder the indie writer on how such effects can be attained. Book cover design services are at hand to assist the author who knows little about the visual elements of a book cover. However, an effective book cover can be created at little or no cost with just a little time and knowledge. Not only does this offer the writer full control over what the cover looks like, but also saves money. In simple terms a book cover simply consist of

• The image
• Text
• Special effects (if any)

Book Cover Design

So without a designer, how does the writer dream up the perfect book design for a thriller, horror or crime novel? Firstly, take a look at what’s out there. Horror or thrillers feature a lot of black with a splash of colour, crime a lot of moody shades; historical, props of the age.

Browse from the viewpoint of the potential customer. Bear in mind that all book covers are thumbnail sized and so not everything stands out. What catches the eye, what themes are prevalent on your chosen genre? It is important to convey the feel and mood of your book to the consumer, yet also to make it stand out from the crowd. It is true that many judge a book by its cover, and a good one could potentially generate sales.

Do’s and Don’ts of Book Jacket Design

The following tips when conceiving a book design may help:

• Keep it simple. Avoid needless clutter and too much detail in your design. Close-ups, oblique lighting or something punchy will make the book cover more eye-catching.
• Ensure the quality of the photograph is top-notch. This means high resolution, good lighting and a carefully-arranged composition.
• Keep in mind that the thumbnail view of the book’s cover as seen on Amazon is quite small, and detail will not be perceived well.
• Ensure the image is in keeping with the book’s content and feel. It would be misleading to feature an idyllic village scene if the plot centres upon secret agents at work in the inner-city.
• Allow large area of a particular tonal area to dominate where the text will be. A fade-out effect, mist, sky or shadow can be used. Patchy colours will render parts of the text invisible.

Free Book Cover Designer

Copyright-free images and stock photos can be found on the net, such as Amazon’s Createspace or Creative Commons, but I prefer to create my own cover image. Any good digital camera will serve well. I use the highest resolution setting (usually portrait). Consider the following when creating the visual design.

• Take time to set up the scene, be it a landscape view, a figure or a still life setting. This can often be more time consuming than the shots themselves. Of course, a painting can similarly be photographed or scanned, if the cover image consists of this medium.
• Take several photos rather than just one – there will always be dud photos which can be deleted. Camera-shake, poor lighting or blurred focusing are demons to be avoided. I took around 30 photos for my cover design of Domestic Bliss. I wanted just the right lighting and viewpoint. This meant shifting the binoculars around and tilting the eyepiece at different angles.
• Lighting is crucial for mood. You don’t need lots of lighting equipment. In fact, I prefer natural daylight, (unless you are after a candlelit scene). I wanted a moonlit shot for my cover A Hard Lesson, and of course, dim light requires tripods and lots of luck. So I took some shots in bright sunlight. In Pictures Programme, I increased the tonal contrast, muted the colours and shifted the overall hue to blue. The scene looked moonlit.

The Book Cover Creator for Books

Allow plenty of background area. This superfluous area will be trimmed off when uploading onto Amazon’s print on demand division, Createspace. Incidentally, Createspace offer ‘Cover Creator,’ which enables you to design your cover from scratch for free. Templates, fonts and images can be used. I use ‘the Palm’ for my novels, a blank template, as this gives the author complete control over the appearance of the book cover. The feature enables you to view your book cover and fix any issues, such as elements cropped off or off-centre.

Best Fonts for Publishing

Paintshop or Photoshop enable you to play around with different fonts and effects. You can adjust the transparency of the font, fade from one colour to another or stretch them out. Choose your fonts carefully; avoid anything too fancy or indecipherable. Is the title of the book readable in thumbnail? Try different sizes. Simple and bold are often best, although elegant can be good for historical or romantic novels, impact suitable for thrillers.

Design Software for Book Cover Designs

There is an array of software out there, but all I use are Paintshop Pro, Pictures and Paint. You can do a surprising amount with just a few simple features. Lots of special effects are really unnecessary, but worth experimenting with, such as art media effects, distortion and aged effect. I always save a copy of the original photo before playing around in case something goes wrong.

Tips for a Great Book Jacket Design

The writer does not have to shell out a lot of money to create a great book jacket. The elements of a book cover are really only an image and text. Conceive an image that is in keeping with mood and genre of the book. Take a look at like-books out there. Make yours stand out. Make the image memorable, moody or punchy.

• A good digital camera is often all that is required to take photos. Use high resolution. Take the time to compose the image and take plenty of photographs.
• Experiment with different effects as can be found on Paintshop Pro but keep a copy of the original image in case something goes wrong.
• Try out different fonts but ensure the title of the book can be made out when viewed as a thumbnail.
• Retain superfluous background area for trimming areas, as will be found when uploading the image onto Createspace.
• Uploading the image onto the Kindle platform is easy. Simply browse and select the relevant image. I would insert an image of the cover design within the first page of your Kindle ebook, as this image will be in view in the customer’s kindle library.

Other helpful articles

Experiment in book cover design to increase sales
Advice on novel writing
Formatting your kindle ebook

My Kindle Ebook Keeps Showing Formatting Errors

You may have completed your enovel, uploaded it onto Amazon or Smashwords, and yet formatting errors appear out of nowhere. How does the writer rid of invisible ebook bugs for good? Here is a step by step guide, with images to help ewriters get to grips with formatting the ebook.
How Not to Upload a Kindle Ebook

I have encountered all sorts of bugs and formatting problems during my epublishing experience. Firstly, here is a list of what not to include in your ebook.

• Tables.
• Bullet points.
• Indents using the tab bar.
• Fancy fonts.
• Page numbers.
• Fancy graphics

Step by Step Demonstration on Debugging your Kindle Ebook.

Once you have completed your (perfect) novel minus the elements just mentioned, save a copy before debugging in case things go wrong on the original file. Purge the copy file of your novel by selecting all (ctrl + A) and then copying it into Notepad. Notepad can be found under ‘accessories’ after clicking ‘all programmes on the bottom right of your screen. Notepad will strip the file into the barest elements, getting rid of hidden tables and codes you don’t realise are there.

Select all again and then copy into a new Word document (not XML as this more modern version of Word is not supported by some epub viewers, but Word 1997-2003) This can be found by clicking on the graphic on the top left and then ‘save as.’ Paste the file onto this Word file.

Now select ‘change styles, as can be seen on the screenshot. This is not the same as ‘save as,’, as the style of the document is being changed, not the file type. I have found that using the style of ‘Word 2003’ causes my paragraphs to misbehave in previewers, so I use the style of ‘Word 2007 (remember, this is not altering the file type, only the look of the document.)

Next, get rid of hidden codes, such as superfluous spaces. Hidden codes can be made visible by pressing the ‘show/hide’ icon at the top of the Word screen. Back space superfluous spaces and tabs and never keep spacing to the bottom of the page to get a page break. Allow one line at the end of each chapter and then insert a page break in the proper way.

The Perfect Format for Ebooks

Select all again and then select ‘normal’ formatting as shown on the screenshot. This will ensure fonts will not change size erratically on the kindle previewer. The book’s fonts and spaces etc, will change. Select all and change the whole book to a commonly-used font and size (I use point 12, Times New Roman). Select ‘page layout’ and select 0pt before and after paragraphs.

See screenshot below to see how to indent all paragraphs by 0.3pt, usual for fiction books. Some fine tuning will obviously be necessary to ensure the book reaches the desired look.

Formatting Ebooks Made Simple

A more in depth guide to formatting Ebooks can be found in Mark Coker’s excellent book, ‘Smashwords Style Guide’ which is free. It is very detailed and requires a little taking in, but once read from cover to cover, your kindle Ebooks will format as required and minus the headaches.

See my other article which explains how files become corrupted if using the wrong Word document.

Once formatting errors have been eradicated, you can convert your book into the desired format (Epub or Mobi) by using Callibre, a free software that is great for book conversion.