book cover trends

#5onFri: Five Book Cover Trends from 2021

Despite the well-known saying “you can’t judge a book by its cover,” readers often shop with their eyes. Humans seem to be wired this way. “More than 50 percent of the cortex, the surface of the brain, is devoted to processing visual information,” points out Williams, the William G. Allyn Professor of Medical Optics.  So,… Read more »

Must-Knows When Picking Comparable Titles

Do you have trouble finding comparable titles for your book? Are you confused about how to use comparable titles in general? Or understand what they are?  Comparable titles (also known as comps) can be extremely helpful when writing and pitching your book to a literary agent or editor.  They are also a huge way to… Read more »

The Amateur’s Guide a Professional Book Package Superpost

Do you judge a book by the cover? Readers and booksellers often do. Having the right book package is one of the most important aspects of the publishing process. Over the past few months, our DIY MFA photographer Melinda VanLone took us through a series of posts about crafting the perfect book package–one that is not… Read more »

Six Tips for Successful Self Publishing

I’m thrilled to be a guest columnist on DIYMFA! Having recently gone through the process of self publishing my novel, Flirting with Monogamy, I’m looking forward to sharing a few pointers and helpful hints of what I learned during the process. First of all: 1) Do Your Homework There are numerous outlets for self-publishing a… Read more »