Book Publicist Scott Lorenz offers Authors Book Marketing Tips and Techniques on his Blog “The Book Publicist”

woman
Authors, want publicity?
Get ALL the publicity your book deserves, and MORE!
> GET A TOP BOOK PUBLICIST,
SCOTT LORENZ

Book Cover Designers to Create Your Bestselling Cover

Book Cover Designers to Create Your Best-Selling Cover

By Scott Lorenz
Westwind Communications

“A Good Book Cover Can Help Sell a Book – A Bad Cover Can Kill a Book.”  – Scott Lorenz, Book Publicist

“Your book cover is not a decoration. It’s a smart business investment.” – George Foster, Foster Covers

Being a book publicist and book marketing guy, I often weigh in on book cover designs. Sometimes it’s in the nick of time sometimes it’s too late to make a change. Here’s the situation, authors, please – do not underestimate the importance of a book cover’s design.

Not only do potential book buyers judge a book by its cover but so do members of the media. Many reporters receive dozens of books every day!

Do you really think they read the book flap and your pitch? Ha!

Here are some important items to consider when making decisions on book cover design:

Use a subhead to create more description. If you have a 10-word title, you have not properly named the book in the first place.

Check with Google on the words that are most searched on your topic. To do this, type in the word that best describes your book in the search box and then see what the next most important or popular words are in that list. That ranking is very relevant marketing- wise so try to use those words in your title or subtitle. Consider using the genre in the subtitle too because that’s what people are searching on.

Visit bookstores look at the covers of all types of books. What catches your eye? Look at the book face and look at the spines. Which ones are readable and why?

Will it play on Amazon? Go to Amazon.com, BN.com, Good Reads, Smashwords and search for competitive books in your space. Notice the book covers that catch your eye and the ones that do not. If your cover does not show up well in an Amazon thumbnail, then you are going to lose sales.

Contrast. Don’t let your graphic designer get started without keeping contrast in mind. The reason black ink works so well on white paper is because it produces the best contrast possible. Yellow ink on green paper in a small font simply does not work. How does your book look in black and white? Not every publication will be printing it in color.

Font size. Many designers are young with great eyesight. But your buyer may not be able to read the tiny font some designers insist upon using. Be practical.

The spine. Can you read it from five feet away? If not, neither can browsers in a bookstore.

Blurbs. Keep them relevant and short. Consider including a mention on the cover of a foreword written by a famous person or author. “Foreword by Best Selling Author Judith Grisel” or “Foreword by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos” or “Foreword by James Patterson.”

Back inside flaps. Do not overlook creating content on the back inside flaps because consumers pick up a book after looking at the spine, front cover and back and then open the book to find the price or more information.

Use a laser printer. Don’t just review your cover on a computer screen which will make it look considerably better. Print it out actual size and make a determination using that printed version.

Pictures are worth 1,000 words. Use photos and illustrations to describe what would take too long to explain. When choosing a book design ask yourself how the cover will look on your website home page. Branding is important so you’ll want to use the same design elements on your website that you do on your book cover.

Ask for feedback. Show your cover designs to as many people in your target group of potential readers. Get their reactions and opinions. It costs you nothing and you’ll likely find out something you did not realize before.

Here are 102 book cover designers and services to consider for your next cover:

1. 99 Designs – https://99designs.com/
99designs.com uses graphic designers from around the world who compete for your business by actually designing the book cover on speculation, ie no charge. I commissioned many covers for authors using 99designs after the author was not happy with the creations from his own designer. I mentioned several design elements such as the title, subtitle, what the book was about etc.

Figuring more is better, we got 65 different cover designs in 5 days! The most difficult part was narrowing down the selection to 8 then having friends, family, co-workers vote on their favorites from all corners of the world all online.

They also added their comments, insight and logic behind liking or disliking a cover design right under the image of that cover. They voted over several days and the comments were able to be read by our team, also scattered all over North America. The cost was about $700.  Currently 99designs book covers range in price from $299 to their top-of-the-line platinum package at $1,199.  This was an excellent process that delivered a NY Times bestseller quality cover that I highly recommend.

2. Foster Covers – https://fostercovers.com/
George Foster of Foster Covers is a book cover designer who has earned more than 300 awards and created covers for 134 bestsellers. His work has appeared on over 1,000 books.

3. Fiverr – https://www.fiverr.com/
Fiverr gives you many options for just $5. These are fast and obviously cheap, but I’ve seen some pretty nice work. Order from 2 or 3 designers at the same time. Hey, it’s only $5 bucks!

4. Killer Covers – https://killercovers.com/
Killer Covers offers various packages for your book cover needs including web pages, Facebook pages etc. They are based in Australia, and I’ve used them and recommended them several times.

5. Book Cover Express – https://bookcoverexpress.com/
Cathi Stevenson of Book Cover Express has 30 years of publishing experience, and more than 1500 book covers to her credit. Book Cover Express has a competitive flat rate so you can work with your ideal budget.

6. Author Support – https://www.authorsupport.com/
The designers at Author Support are a great resource.

7. Book Creatives – https://www.bookcreatives.com/
Book Creatives offers book cover design and eBook design for authors.

8. Alexander von Ness – https://www.nessgraphica.com/
Alexander von Ness is a book cover designer with over twenty years of professional experience in graphic design, including over a decade as art director in a branding agency. In the last decade his main area of focus has been book cover design. His website Nessgraphica is among the top trusted sites for book cover design services overall.

9. Damonza – https://damonza.com/
Damonza has over 30 years combined experience in the design and advertising industry.

10. Robin Ludwig Design – https://www.gobookcoverdesign.com/
Robin Ludwig Design specializes in providing superior book cover design services utilizing professional equipment and software.

11. Andy Carpenter Design – https://acdbookcoverdesign.com/
Andy Carpenter Design is a boutique design firm for self-publishers and small presses.

12. Self-Publishing Lab – https://selfpublishinglab.com/
Self-Publishing Lab has been voted the best website for authors, so be sure to check it out.

13. Lulu – https://www.lulu.com/
Along with publishing services Lulu provides design quality at a competitive price.

14. David Airey – https://www.davidairey.com/books
David Airey is a creative book cover designer.

15. CreateSpace – https://kdp.amazon.com/createspace-transfer
CreateSpace allows you to work with their professional design team to custom-create an affordable, striking cover that broadcasts your book’s key messages with distinct colors, fonts, and one central image.

16. BookBaby – https://www.bookbaby.com/book-design/book-cover-design
BookBaby offers a straightforward approach to finding a budget and designing your book cover.

17. Guru – https://www.guru.com/
Guru is a great website to utilize to find freelance book cover designers from around the world. Very cool.

18. 1106 Design – https://1106design.com/
1106 Design offers editing, proofreading, cover design, Interior page layout, eBook formatting, Printing and more.

19. Albertine Book Design – https://dotdesign.net/
Albertine Book Design offers complete design and production services for children’s books, tabletop books, cookbooks, textbooks, fiction and non-fiction hard cover and paperbacks.

20. Book Covers for All – https://bookcoversforall.com/
Book Covers for All features one designer boasting over 18 years of experience with 1,000+ books to his credit.

21. Reedsy – https://reedsy.com/design/book-cover-design/
This is very interesting in that the book covers are already designed; you just add the title! There are some very high-quality covers priced at $25 and up. Definitely check this out.

22. Extended Imagery – https://extendedimagery.com/
Carl Graves is a professional book cover designer who has a fire sale on book covers with more than 2,000 book covers on hand. These are really amazing must see covers.

23. Illumination Graphics – https://illuminationgraphics.com/
Illumination Graphics provides affordable and dynamic design for books, both book cover designs and book interior layouts.

24. BookWise Design – https://bookwisedesign.com/
BookWise Design has designed over 1200 book covers and strives to provide the most experienced and helpful book production services.

25. ExpertSubjects – https://www.expertsubjects.com/
Expert Subjects has several cover artists, and you can choose to create a fully customized book cover depending on your budget constraints. They also provide an array of services including typesetting, editing, critique and undertake publishing & distribution too.

26. Canva – https://www.canva.com/create/book-covers/
Canva’s book cover maker makes book covers amazingly simple to design – even for non-designers. I’ve used them for memes too.

27. The Cover Collection – https://www.thecovercollection.com/
Here’s a way to get a high-quality book cover for a great price using premade book cover designs. Authors receive multiple drafts to choose from and a choice of font options. I’ve checked out their covers and they are top notch.

28. TS95 Studios – https://www.ts95studios.com/
Hampton Lamoureux of TS95 Studios is a Daily Deviation award-winning artist on DeviantArt.com. He designs e-book and full jacket covers, crafting elaborate realistic scenes from stock photos for fantasy, horror, mystery, and sci-fi novels.

29. Bianca Bordianu Design – https://moonpress.co/
Bianca Bordianu is a professional cover designer who works with bestselling authors, publishing houses and indie authors in all genres. She delivers high quality designs for competitive prices.

30. Lance Buckley – https://www.lancebuckley.com/
Lance Buckley is a book designer with over 10 years of experience. Says Lance, “I’ve worked for 8 years as a Design Specialist at CreateSpace before Amazon consolidated things and axed CreateSpace altogether. For the last 4 years I’ve been designing book covers and interiors for authors. You can view some of my work on my website. I try to keep my pricing as low as possible while still providing a very professional design.”

31. Julia Rohwedder – https://www.lunaryxdesign.com/
Julia Rohwedder is a freelance photo illustrator & designer living in the southwest of Germany. She has been creating digital photo illustration since around 2006. She loves book cover art commissions for Fantasy genres, like Dark Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Fantasy.

32. eBook Launch – https://ebooklaunch.com/
Since 2011, eBook launch has designed hundreds of creative book covers for independent authors and publishers in nearly every genre. Check out their book cover portfolio here. https://ebooklaunch.com/custom-book-cover-portfolio/ They also handle book editing, formatting as well.

33. Book Cover Hub – https://bookcoverhub.com/
Book Cover Hub is a professional book cover design agency specializing in custom, market-driven covers for authors and publishers. The company is known for creating visually compelling designs that help books stand out across Amazon, bookstores, and digital platforms.

34. Adobe Express Book Cover Designer – https://www.adobe.com/express/create/cover/book
Adobe Express makes it easy to create a book cover. Start with a free book cover template or create your own custom cover.

35. GetCovers – https://getcovers.com/book-cover-design/
Get an affordable book cover design that represents your genre. GetCovers team offers unlimited number of free revisions for your book cover design.

36. DesignHill – https://www.designhill.com/book-cover-design
Explore their professional book cover designers and work closely with them to design a cover that compels your readers to turn the pages.

37. DesignCrowd – https://www.designcrowd.com/ebookcover-design/
The #1 custom eBook cover design service with 1,329,622 designers. Professional freelance eBook cover designers around the world ready to create you the perfect eBook cover. If you’re not satisfied with the eBook cover designs and don’t get the perfect eBook cover for your business, get your money back.

38. BookCoverZone – https://bookcoverzone.com/
BookCoverZone with its innovative LiveBuild engine is a new way to obtain professionally made book covers in a matter of minutes. All covers are made by professional book cover designers -many of them with international design awards such as the World Gourmand Award. For over 20 years our studio has created covers for a variety of self-published and genre authors throughout the world.

39. The Book Cover Designer – https://thebookcoverdesigner.com/
Covers are one-offs. Once a cover is sold, it’s removed from our catalog and will never be sold again. The Book Cover Designer works with talented designers from all over the world and they don’t accept AI-generated book covers.

40. Moonstruck Cover Design & Photography – https://moonstruckcoverdesign.com/
In business since 2016, Moonstruck covers all genres with a specialty in romance! Their style is often described as vibrant, spunky and sparkly that “Packs a Punch”! Their covers are colorful & twist the common tropes! A great style to catch your readers’ eye!

41. Goonwrite.com – https://goonwrite.com/
GoonWrite.com’s owner James has been designing book covers for 14 years. He has been a freelance graphic designer for the last twenty-five years. You can buy pre-made book covers from this website.

42. Amnet – https://amnetauthorservices.com/cover-design-for-ebook/
eBook design encompasses the process of creating eye-catching and creative images that serve as a “cover” for eBooks. The cover of your eBook will be the first thing a reader notices and it should draw them in and help stoke their interest in the book. Amnet does eBook cover design service for a variety of authors and genres. Simply put, if you are an eBook author, you can greatly benefit from Amnet’s book cover design services.

43. CreativCovers – https://www.creativindiecovers.com/
CreativCovers the book cover designer indie authors come back to — bestselling-quality book cover design that stops the scroll, owns the genre, and sells the click. The same craft you’d get from a Big Five publisher, at a fraction of the price.

44. eBookWritings – https://ebookwritings.com/ebook-cover-design
eBookWritings.com is a renowned book cover design company that is popular for bringing publications from the rear window shelf to the main spotlight. We are a source of assistance to many writers out there who are looking to give a kick to their book cover designs. Our experts are responsible for ensuring that readers connect with your story. Brace yourself to get the massive sales.

45. DIY Book Covers – https://diybookcovers.com/
Dive into DIY Book Covers treasure trove of FREE book design templates and easy-to-follow tutorials, so your book can finally get the attention (and sales) it deserves. No design skills? No problem. Get started today and transform your book from Blah to Wow!

46. 100 Covers – https://100covers.com/
100 Covers began as a budget conscious book cover design service for the typical self-published indie author on a shoestring budget. Our journey since then could be titled, From Discount to DOMINANCE.

47. Whitewolf Publishers – https://whitewolfpublishers.com/book-cover-design
Whitewolf Publishers is a top-tier choice for eBook cover design. Whitewolf Publisher’s team of experienced eBook cover designers have vast experience in creating captivating and professional eBook covers that reflect your story and the essence of your eBook.

48. PosterMyWall – https://www.postermywall.com/index.php/g/book-cover-posters
9,470+ Free Kindle/Book Cover Design Templates. Design an eye-catching book cover for your next best seller in minutes. Personalize, print and publish online.

49. Deranged Doctor Design – https://www.derangeddoctordesign.com/
Working with Deranged Doctor is a little different than what you may be used to when working with a solo cover designer. They are a company, which means there are several people working on each project.

50. 5MediaDesign – https://5mediadesign.com/
5MediaDesign crafts smart book cover design that stand out from the ordinary.

51. Kittl – https://www.kittl.com/create/book-covers
Make your book stand out on the shelf with Kittl book cover designer. You’ve poured your heart and soul into your manuscript – now it’s time to make sure your book will stand out on the shelf with a cover that sells. Save time and money from hiring a graphic designer— simply choose a template, drag and drop design elements, and craft your unique book cover in just minutes.

52. TrifBookDesign – https://trifbookdesign.com/
We all know you should never judge a book by its cover – but that’s what we all do at the beginning. Your book cover is the first thing a reader sees and is the difference between them picking up your book or walking away. No book deserves to be dismissed because it’s poorly presented, so we want to make sure they buy. Trif Book Design specialize in BOOK COVER DESIGN SERVICES with many years of experience and work hard to make sure that your book cover is what will make you stand out.

53. Yummy Book Covers – https://yummybookcovers.com/book-design-services/
Cover design & illustration for every budget. Yummy Book Covers offers premium Canva templates, premade characters, premade character cover design and custom cover design.

54. Premade Book Cover Shop – https://www.premadeebookcovershop.com/
PremadeBookCoverShop.com’s premade book covers are not templates, each cover will be sold only once, then is removed from the site – making it exclusively yours!* Price includes changing out the title, author name, and adding a subtitle and/or phrase. You can even ask for a font style or color change, an overall hue change or an eye color change!

55. BookFly Design – https://www.bookflydesign.com/cover-design
Book Fly Design doesn’t use pre-made templates for our covers; yours will be custom designed in Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. Their price includes unlimited royalty-free stock images (unless you have specific image requests, which may require additional charges) as well as 3-D images you can use to promote your book. Your final cover will be optimized for web viewing and ready to upload to your e-book publisher(s) of choice.

56. ETSY eBook Cover Design – https://www.etsy.com/market/ebook_cover_design
On Etsy, you can find a wide range of eBook cover design online in US, from one-of-a-kind handcrafted options to vintage treasures ready to be loved again. Our global marketplace is a vibrant community of real people, ranging from makers and independent designers to creative entrepreneurs, connecting over special goods so you can browse the latest ebook cover design listings by Etsy sellers from, not just all corners of US, but also around the world.

57. JD&J eBook Cover Design – https://www.jdandj.com/ebook-cover-design.html
JD&J eBook cover design team is dedicated to making your book cover design a work of art that stands head and shoulders above the other books in the high street shops and in online stores.

58. Creative Paramita – https://creativeparamita.com/
Your cover has one job: sell the story before page one. Paramita creates professional book cover design for authors who want a market-ready look—whether you need a scroll-stopping eBook cover, a full print wrap (front + spine + back), or an exclusive premade cover. If you’re looking for reliable book cover design services with strong typography, genre accuracy, and thumbnail readability, you’re in the right place.

59. Graphic Design Eye – https://graphicdesigneye.com/book-cover-design-service/
A book cover tells a number of aspects about a book. So, the design needs to be perfect. The flawlessness of the design makes the books look impressive and helps to raise the sales. Graphic Design Eye is a leader in providing different types of book cover design service to our global clientele.

60. BookCovers.com – https://bookcovers.com/
BookCovers.com, formerly known as SelfPubBookCovers.com is your premier destination for high-quality, ready-made, and custom book covers designed to bring your stories to life.

61. Comeup – https://comeup.com/en/category/ebook-covers
Hire a freelancer to design a professional eBook cover. Work with freelance designers to create attractive eBook or paperback covers that highlight your content and capture readers’ attention.

62. Noble Verse Publishers – https://nobleversepublishers.press/book-cover-design-services.html
From custom covers, and interior design to illustration tools and more, Noble Verse Publishers’ book cover designers are competent and have mastery over various software. Share your book’s prologue or synopsis and instantly get fascinating ideas for the book cover design today.

63. Alkira Publishing – https://alkirapublishing.com/publishing-services/book-cover-design-and-formatting/
Book cover design and interior formatting is the trickiest part to get right if you’re self-publishing, and it makes sense to have one professional do it all – a one-stop shop! Rose is a fully qualified graphic designer and award-winning book cover creator with eleven years’ experience in book cover design.

64. BookCoverify App (Apple) – https://apps.apple.com/in/app/book-cover-maker-designer/id6502331077
BookCoverify: Your Ultimate Book Cover Design Companion! Are you an author looking to make your book stand out on digital shelves or catch the eye of readers in print? Look no further than BookCoverify, the all-in-one solution for creating stunning, professional book covers with ease. With BookCoverify, you have access to a vast library of editable templates designed for every type of book imaginable. Whether you’re publishing an eBook, an audio book, or a physical copy, our app has you covered. Choose from a variety of genres and styles to find the perfect template for your masterpiece.

65. Book Cover Designer App (Android) – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.socialplatform.postermaker2022
Wishing to design Wattpad covers by your smartphone? Looking for the book cover maker? If it’s your YES, then you are at the right search app page. Book Cover Designer application will help to design eBook covers easily by using your smartphone. Book Cover Maker doesn’t require any special design or editing skills. You just have to select the book’s template or can customize your book cover. The application gives book cover templates by different categories to design the desired book cover.

66. PaperTrue – https://www.papertrue.com/writers/self-publishing-services?tab=bookCoverDesignTab
Get PaperTrue’s skilled book cover designers to create an attractive and unique cover—including the front, back, and spine—that elicits the readers’ curiosity.

67. Cover Kitchen – https://coverkitchen.com/
You’ve put countless hours into crafting your book. Let Cover Kitchen cooks up the unique book cover design it deserves. Their team of award-winning book designers is ready to design the perfect book cover for your unique story. With their help, your readers won’t be able to resist picking your book up off the shelf.

68. UpWork – https://www.upwork.com/services/book-design/book-cover-design
For more than two decades, Upwork has been a pioneer of a better way to work. They’ve enabled businesses and professionals to thrive through major shifts – from migrating to the cloud, capturing the potential of mobile, to creating new value through social media. No matter how needs and skills evolve, their purpose remains the same: To create opportunity in every era of work.

69. Template.net – https://www.template.net/book-covers
Create your own professional book covers with our free customizable and printable templates. Template.net is an AI Production Engine that transforms natural language prompts into production-ready assets. We bridge the gap between AI inference (thinking) and professional execution (doing). Their engine generates fully layered, editable, and branded outputs—including documents, presentations, diagrams, charts, and functional web assets.

70. Rachel Lawston – https://www.rachellawstonillustration.com/
Rachel Lawston is an illustrator, freelance book designer, and children’s author with over 15 years of experience in the publishing industry.

71. Cormar Covers – https://www.cormarcovers.com/
Cormar Cover’s mission is to provide you with an amazing cover that best suits your story. Their goal is to create a cover that represents your book, attracts readers, and is something you’re proud to display.

72. Qamber Designs & Media – https://www.qamberdesignsmedia.com/
Qamber Designs & Media W.L.L. is an authentic design agency dedicated to creating outstanding designs tailored to your needs. We specialize in book branding (book covers, interiors, swag, etc.) in many areas of publishing, including fiction, literature, stationery and so much more.

73. Steven Novak – http://novakillustration.com/bookcovers.html
Steven Novak has worked with everyone from indie authors looking to dip their toes in the market, to publishing houses both small and large.

74. Elderlemon Design – https://www.elderlemondesign.net/cover-gallery
Owned and operated by award-winning author Kealan Patrick Burke, Elderlemon Design provides affordable book cover designs for authors. We cater to print and digital media, and each cover is made to order based on the author/client’s own input. Employing stock art, our own photography, and often hand-drawn elements, we work with you to ensure your finished cover accurately reflects your book’s content in a dynamic, eye-catching way, and at the most competitive rates in the business.

75. Rebecca Frank – https://rebeccafrank.design/
Rebecca Frank is a book cover designer who works primarily in the Urban Fantasy, Romantasy, Paranormal Romance (PNR), and Fantasy genres. Her style is bright, vibrant, and magical, with highly marketable designs that draw readers in. She has worked with a variety of bestselling authors, and books with my covers have been featured on the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists.

76. For The Muse Design – https://www.forthemusedesign.com/cover-art-gallery.html
For the Muse Design creates affordable designs with the authors vision as the steppingstone to something creative and beautiful. Feel free to browse the site and see what Award-winning designer Elaina Lee has been up to. For the Muse may be just what you’ve been looking for to create the perfect, memorable work of art for your book, website, social media page or anything else you may have need of a designer for.

77. Lisa Amowitz – https://www.lisaamowitz.com/
Lisa is an award-winning author of three fantasy/thrillers for young adults, UNTIL BETH, VISION, and BREAKING GLASS. She is also a cover designer and Professor of Graphic Design at Bronx Community College.

78. Alchemy Book Cover & Design – https://www.alchemybookcovers.com/
Keri Knutson of Alchemy Book Cover & Design has designed over 1,000 published book covers for authors, including many on the New York Times, USA Today, and Kindle bestseller lists. She is passionate about books, and dedicated to designing a cover that will capture the soul of your book and the imaginations of your readers.

79. Bespoke Book Covers – https://bespokebookcovers.com/
Professional book cover design. Surprisingly affordable – perfect if you’re a self-published author…Every author should be able to benefit from a beautiful book cover design. (Not just the lucky few who get signed by a big publisher).

80. Kingwood Creations – https://www.kingwoodcreations.com/
Ready-made book covers can look just as good as custom cover designs, and it comes at a fraction of the cost. Choose from hundreds of carefully crafted, readymade covers from their exclusive premade book cover shop.

81. Placeit – https://placeit.net/mockups/book
Sell More Books with Placeit’s Book Cover Mockups. Placeit is an Envato product. Placeit has a wide range of book mockups which you can try. Placeit’s pricing starts from $1.99/month.

82. Pixlr – https://pixlr.com/
Pixlr gives you a powerful AI photo editor, AI image generator, AI video maker, face swap, collage maker, and 20+ editing tools — 100% free, right in your browser. Powered by Flux, Kling, Recraft, Veo, and more.

83. Snappa – https://snappa.com/templates/ebook-cover
Become the next best selling author with the help of Snappa’s professionally designed eBook cover templates. Their wide selection of ready-made templates are free to use, sized appropriately, and super easy to customize.

84. SeventhStar Art Services – https://www.seventhstarart.com/
Stefanie of SeventhStar Art Services is an Award-winning and best-selling cover design artist. Her clients include Tor Books, Macmillan/Entangled, Penguin-Random House, and Simon & Schuster UK. She has also worked with Spanish, German, Polish, and French publishers for local and international books, such as Siren Books, Festa Verlag, and VAJONA Verlag.

85. OpenArt AI Cover Art Designer – https://openart.ai/generator/cover-art
Create striking cover art for books, albums, and more with our AI Cover Art Generator! Capture the essence of your content visually.

86. Karrie Ross Graphics – https://karrieross.com/
Karrie Ross of Karrie Ross Graphics specializes in book cover design for the self-publishing industry.

87. Book Cover Genius – https://jjfast.com/bonuses/bcg-tna53a
Book Cover Genius offers a great sales pitch about why you should download their software to design your own book cover. Worth a look.

88. JD Smith Design – https://www.jdsmith-design.co.uk/
JD Smith is an award-winning book cover designer who has worked in the graphic design industry since she was 17. She designs book publishers for traditional publishers and independent authors.

89. Jessica Bell Design – https://www.jessicabelldesign.com/
Jessica Bell is dedicated to creating one-of-a-kind book cover designs that fit any author’s budget. She began designing covers as favors for her author friends and has turned her hobby into a successful business.

90. Mars Dorian – https://www.marsdorian.com/covers/
Mars Dorian is a digital illustrator and storyteller who specializes in creating e-book covers that stand out for affordable prices.

91. Alexandra Brandt – https://www.alexandrajbrandt.com/
Alexandra Brandt’s print and e-book cover focus on sci-fi and fantasy works.

92. Jeff Brown Graphics – https://www.jeffbrowngraphics.com/
Beautiful sci-fi and fantasy book cover designs can be found at Jeff Brown Graphics. Jeff has collaborated with over 90 authors on more than 250 covers.

93. Historical Fiction Book Covers – https://historicaleditorial.blogspot.com/
For a historical fiction book cover design, consider Historical Fiction Book Covers by Jenny Quinlan.

94. Dissect Design – https://www.dissectdesigns.com/
Dissect Design was created for indie book authors who are in search stunning book covers that don’t break the bank.

95. Laura Duffy Design – https://www.lauraduffydesign.com/
Laura Duffy of Laura Duffy Design is a former art director who takes great pride in creating professional book designs.

96. More Visual Design – https://bookartwork.com/
Dave Kessler of More Visual is a graduate of Parsons School of Design and specializes in unique and professional book design services.

97. David Moratto – https://davidmoratto.com/
With more than 225 covers to date David Moratto brings his unique graphic design expertise to each cover project. The book’s interior design and cover is designed to the demographic profile of the reader.

98. Crowdspring – https://www.crowdspring.com/
Crowdspring is an innovative design resource. You pay one price (starting at $299) and you get dozens of custom designs that were made specifically for you. Crowdspring manually reviews every designer on their platform and constantly updates their profile score based on their skill. This encourages quality submissions. They also allow you to get feedback from your audience and the comments can be left as tags on the cover design itself. Crowdspring was founded by an intellectual property attorney so when they say you are going to get a custom design, they mean it. Crowdspring offers customer support (phone, chat, and email) to both clients and their creatives. This is helpful in ensuring a streamlined process. Crowdspring also offers a 100% money-back guarantee (they will refund ALL fees). Authors should take a serious look at Crowdspring.

99. Nathaniel Roy – https://www.nathanielroy.com/
Nathaniel Roy is a book designer, writer, collage maker, photo taker, and a few other things in Ypsilanti, Michigan.

100. Rocking Book Covers – https://www.rockingbookcovers.com/
Adrijus specializes exclusively in self-publishing book covers for indie authors and small presses who want a professional, market-tested expert (11 years in the industry) without paying $1,000+ for a book cover. Whether you’re publishing on Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, or going wide, his entire business is built around helping indies compete with traditionally published books.

101. Katharine Bale – https://www.katharinebaleartworks.com/
Katharine Bale is an illustrator and children’s author, offering cover design and content illustration services tailored to suit any budget.

102. DesignDusk, – https://designdusk.com/
DesignDusk is a two-brother Perth studio with 1,700+ premade covers from $24.99, each design sold once and personalized within 24 hours.

You can and should spend a few hours going through all of these websites. You’ll be glad you did. I know I was enlightened myself in creating this list of book cover designers.

The Bottom Line: Get involved early in the entire book publishing design process and get at least several creative concepts for the front cover, back cover, and spine. Don’t let it be the ‘last thing’ you do.

A Good Book Cover Can Help Sell a Book. A Bad Cover Can Kill a Book. - Scott Lorenz, Book Publicist #bookcoverdesign #bookcovers #bookselling Click to tweet this article to your friends and followers! 𝕏

About Book Publicist Scott Lorenz

Book publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, CIA Officers, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC News, New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, LA Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few.

Learn more about Westwind Communications’ book marketing approach at https://WestwindBookMarketing.com or contact Lorenz at scottlorenz@westwindcos.com or 734-667-2090 or fill out the form below. Follow Lorenz on Twitter @aBookPublicist. Want help titling a book? Check out Scott Lorenz’s new award winning, bestselling book: Book Title Generator- A Proven System in Naming Your Book www.BookTitleGenerator.net.

Would you like help promoting your book?

If so, tell us a little about your book. What is the title? Do you have a publisher? What is the publish date? How many pages is your book? What is the cost? Do you have web site? What is your specific goal I.E., to make money, raise awareness, get the attention of an agent or publisher, sell the story to a movie or TV studio or something else?

Submit the form below with this information and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you!


How an Author’s Consultant Can Cinch Your Book Deal

How an Author’s Consultant Can Cinch Your Book Deal

As a book publicist, I am frequently asked to find a literary agent for my author clients. While I know many agents and publishers and work with them, it’s not what I do. But, from time to time, I find someone who can really help out my clients and I’ve found that person. Her name is Debra Englander.

Debra Englander

Debra Englander

Debby has extensive editorial experience including reporting for Money, managing the Fortune Book Club and serving as editorial director at John Wiley for nearly 17 years. She currently works with authors on creating winning book proposals, editing manuscripts and content creation for online and print projects.

Debby’s editorial service is unique. She’ll listen to your book concept and then advise you on next steps. She’ll tell you whether the idea is sound and likely to interest large publishers. If so, she will help you craft the perfect query letter to a literary agent or occasionally, directly to a publisher. Englander, who has ghost written countless successful query letters for clients, stresses that first impressions are everything and that there are a few common mistakes aspiring writers that impact their prospects. “A query letter is an art form in itself,” says Englander.

She adds, “I spend a lot of time talking with authors, agents and editors. I’m really a matchmaker, between authors, agents and publishers. Sometimes, I’ll tell someone to self-publish if the book needs to get to market quickly. On occasion, I will tell someone the book needs more work before it can be submitted. I give practical advice based on many years in the book business. I don’t want authors, especially first-timers, wasting time, money and effort and ending up disappointed.”

As a book marketing specialist who deals daily with the media, I learned a long time ago that a common mistake in crafting media pitch letters is making them too long. We live in the Twitter world of 140 characters or less. This has trained people to be impatient and critical of long winded introductions. The same is true of query letters to an agent. A query letter should be no more than half a page. You have to know exactly what agents want to hear, what they’re looking for. Tell them only that and end the letter right there! Keep it short, keep it sweet and you’ll be one step closer to landing an agent.

Agents are in the business of selling books. They’re not our best friends, they’re not our therapists, and they’re not our life coaches.  The best agents focus on what they do best which is generating enough excitement on a book and sell it for as high a price as possible. When you get paid, they get paid. End of story.

That’s why I like the concept of an “author matchmaker” because he or she can put the best possible spin on your book with an irresistible query letter to get an agent to pay attention. You know how to write – the author coach knows how to sell your book.

Alternatively, if you are a do-it-yourselfer then check out my article “How to Land a Literary Agent” on my blog: www.Book-Publicist.com

The Bottom Line: Why reinvent the wheel? Sign up with a book consultant like Debby Englander by dropping her a note at: writereditord@gmail.com

How an #Author’s #Consultant Can Cinch Your #Book #Deal Click to tweet this article to your friends and followers! 𝕏

About Book Publicist Scott Lorenz

Book publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, CIA Officers, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC News, New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, LA Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few.

Learn more about Westwind Communications’ book marketing approach at https://WestwindBookMarketing.com or contact Lorenz at scottlorenz@westwindcos.com or 734-667-2090 or fill out the form below. Follow Lorenz on Twitter @aBookPublicist. Want help titling a book? Check out Scott Lorenz’s new award winning, bestselling book: Book Title Generator- A Proven System in Naming Your Book www.BookTitleGenerator.net.

About Debra Englander

Englander served as editorial director at John Wiley Publishing for nearly 17 years and was on the receiving end of thousands of pitches from agents and authors. She currently works with authors on creating winning book proposals and editing manuscripts. https://www.linkedin.com/in/DebraEnglander/

Would you like help promoting your book?

If so, tell us a little about your book. What is the title? Do you have a publisher? What is the publish date? How many pages is your book? What is the cost? Do you have web site? What is your specific goal I.E., to make money, raise awareness, get the attention of an agent or publisher, sell the story to a movie or TV studio or something else?

Submit the form below with this information and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you!


Authors: Does Your First Line Grab The Reader and Hold On?

Authors: Does Your First Line Grab The Reader and Hold On?

TO THE BEST OF my understandably shaky recollection, the first time I died it went something like this. – James Patterson, Private

By Scott Lorenz
Westwind Communications

Did you spend enough time crafting the first line in your book? In our attention deficit world these days it’s more important now than ever to grab the reader’s attention immediately. Why? Because if they don’t like the first line, they may never read any further and may not buy the book!

We all know when we’ve read a good first line as it grabs you by the lapels and never lets you go. We’ve all heard memorable first lines our entire lives from bedtime stories our parents read us to the books published this year.

So, what about your first line?  Is it memorable? Does it contain words with long lasting meaning and value? Some unforgettable first line examples include:

  • TO THE BEST OF my understandably shaky recollection, the first time I died it went something like this. – James Patterson, Private
  • Twas the Night before Christmas and all through the house not a creature was stirring not even a mouse. – Clement Clarke Moore, A Visit from St. Nicholas
  • When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow. – Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird
  • Call me Ishmael, – Herman Melville, Moby Dick
  • It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. – George Orwell, 1984
  • It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. – Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
  • Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. – Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina
  • Scarlett O’Hara was not beautiful, but men seldom realized it when caught by her charm as the Tarleton twins were. – Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind
  • If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. – J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

Now that you’ve read some notable opening lines, let’s hear what authors had to say about their process of creating a remarkable first line.
From an article in The Atlantic, Stephen King said, “An opening line should invite the reader to begin the story. It should say, Listen. Come in here. You want to know about this.”

Simon Kernick, a novelist, told The Telegraph during an interview, “For me, the most important bit is that you grip your reader from the start. All good writers really need to think about the first line, it’s hugely important. If you spend too much time setting things up, these days it’s not going to work.”

Kathryn Guare, self-publishing author, shared her insight and said, “The first sentence of a novel is exactly that—nothing more, and nothing less. It is the building block and the foundation from which to build everything else. It needs to work, but it does not need to be a work of art onto itself. If you like it yourself, then stop obsessing over it.”

The opening line holds crucial importance for both the author and the reader. It is of the utmost importance to hook the reader with the very first sentence and engage them to read the whole book. A few ways to do so include:

  • Painting a vivid picture – Gain your reader’s attention by painting an image that stays with them for the rest of the book. For example, an article on The Write Practice shared an excerpt from Cormac McCarthy’s, All the Pretty Horses, which uses this technique.

 The candleflame and the image of the candleflame caught in the pierglass twisted and righted when he entered the hall and again when he shut the door.

  • Capturing the reader’s interest with a scenario or question – rather than painting a picture for your readers capture a scenario or recollection of thought from your main character. As a reader, you might picture the character with his father in deep conversation or envision the father sitting his son down to share valuable life lessons. If you’re imagining a similar scene, the author has done their job correctly. For example, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby.

In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since.

  • Surprising the reader – this technique is used often by many authors to deceive their readers. Many authors use short and choppy sentences to confuse their readers and to keep them intrigued. A surprising opening is a theatrical way to present your book’s story into reality. For example, an article by Diane O’Connell, a book publishing coach and CEO of Write To Sell Your Book, shared an excerpt from Iain M. Banks, The Crow Road, which uses this technique.

 It was the day my grandmother exploded.

Writing words that are funny, truthful and concise – the best technique that an author can use is honesty. A good example of honesty is the opening line of Lemony Snicket’s, A Bad Beginning, and A Series of Unfortunate Events. Snicket (pen name for American author Daniel Handler is open and upfront with his readers from the very beginning by telling them that this isn’t a fairytale story. By using the honesty technique, he let his readers know what they were in for.

If you enjoy books with happy endings than you are better off reading some other book.

The Bottom Line: Grab your reader from the very beginning with an engaging and memorable opening line!

Grab your #reader from the very beginning with an engaging and memorable opening line! #authors #amwriting #writingcommunity #writerslife #bookmarketing #selfpub #writingprompt Click to tweet this article to your friends and followers! 𝕏

About Book Publicist Scott Lorenz

Book publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, CIA Officers, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC News, New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, LA Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few.

Learn more about Westwind Communications’ book marketing approach at https://WestwindBookMarketing.com or contact Lorenz at scottlorenz@westwindcos.com or 734-667-2090 or fill out the form below. Follow Lorenz on Twitter @aBookPublicist. Want help titling a book? Check out Scott Lorenz’s new award winning, bestselling book: Book Title Generator- A Proven System in Naming Your Book www.BookTitleGenerator.net.

Would you like help promoting your book?

If so, tell us a little about your book. What is the title? Do you have a publisher? What is the publish date? How many pages is your book? What is the cost? Do you have web site? What is your specific goal I.E., to make money, raise awareness, get the attention of an agent or publisher, sell the story to a movie or TV studio or something else?

Submit the form below with this information and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you!


Authors: Is There an Animated Book Cover In Your Future?

Animated Book Cover GIF

By Scott Lorenz
Westwind Book Marketing

Designing an eye-catching book cover is a strategic part of the book marketing process. If someone lingers over your cover for a millisecond longer, there’s a greater likelihood they’ll be inspired to crack open the book. What then, can be done to set one book cover apart from another with the hundreds of thousands of books being published every year?

Lately the trend of animating book covers has caught on as a sleek new way to add pizazz and let books stand out. An animated image is a great way for a book to be shared, posted, and reposted, on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest. Tumblr and other social media sites thereby reaching a wider audience. Google’s expanded feature for Advanced Image Search is a good sign for authors and animators who want their work shared.

William Herr, author of From a Broken Land, described his decision to jump on the animation trend as a “shut up and take my money moment.”

Who is using Animated Book Covers?

Graphic design artist Joshua Jadon has offered GIF book covers to his clients for over three years. Joshua has designed book covers for authors of all genres including New York Times Best Selling authors. Joshua says that one in five of his clients will request an animated book cover.

So far, several renowned authors including Stephen King and J.A. Konrath have adopted the animated design. Stephen King published Doctor Sleep, the sequel to The Shining, with a beautiful animation.

Get an Animated Book Cover

Get an Animated Book Cover

How Can Authors Get an Animated Book Cover?

William R. Herr described his decision to animate the cover of his recent novel, From a Broken Land, as, “Not something you can do yourself, at least not if it is done right, and the artists understand this. Pay well for good work, and don’t accept the sub-par.”

Unfortunately, his publisher at the time wasn’t onboard. Herr states, “Their position was that the retailers would never agree to include the covers, so why even pursue it?” After leaving his publisher for unrelated reasons Herr turned to his friend Aaron Acevedo of Pinnacle Entertainment Group, a “bootstrap tabletop gaming company.”  Acevedo in turn brought in colleague Martin de Diego Sadabo to do the artwork, the combination was simply perfect.

On the other side of the spectrum is book design artist, Joshua Jadon, who has been dazzling readers for over three years with animated book covers. “My dad has always been into animation and suggested that I look into doing animated book cover designs. The idea that an eBook cover can be brought to life with a bit of custom animation in a GIF format is really amazing.”

Why Should an Author get Animated?

According to Jadon, “Eye-catching book cover design is a real key to catching the attention of MORE readers and the best possible way to increase that rate of someone seeing your book is to have a cover that really stands out. GIF animations just crank things up a notch with real-time movement and effects.”

What is the Cost of an Animated Book Cover?

Less is more according to Herr. “Too much movement, and the eye gets tired. Too little, and it does not ‘pop’. Overall cost for the animation was $100.00.” All animators have their own fees, and the DIY option is always there if one is inclined to take up the task.

“Honestly creating a GIF animation can take some time depending on the difficulty of the animation and what exactly the client wants created”, states Jardon who quoted his rate for an animated GIF cover at $200 although he offers discounts if authors want a regular book cover as well.

There is also the option of creating your own. All that is required is Photoshop and the help of a Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) creating site. There are several tutorials online such as this one that can give any book a creative edge to grab attention.

The Future of Animated Covers?

 While many authors and designers are catching on to this unique marketing tool, animating still appears to be in its early stages. At the moment, Amazon Kindle and most major online retailers do not support them. Nor has Amazon released any plans to feature the new designs.

However, the trend has gained some serious momentum and may become more commonplace as the book industry continues its competitive streak. As Herr put it, “Someone has to be first, and I’ll be darned if it’s going to be Steven King over me.”

While some mediums where this article is published allow animation, others do not. So, to see the full effects of animated covers go to https://joshuajadon.tumblr.com/, and https://ebookfriendly.com/best-animated-book-covers/. Designer Charlotte Strick tells us how an animated book cover is made at: http://bit.ly/2bJzHe1.

The Bottom Line: With the explosion in electronic everything, getting an animated book cover will be standard in the coming years. Might just as well jump on it and do it now.

With the explosion in electronic everything, getting an #animated #bookcover will be standard in the coming years. #authors #writingcommunity #bookboost #business #ian1 Click to tweet this article to your friends and followers! 𝕏

About Book Publicist Scott Lorenz

Book publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, CIA Officers, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC News, New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, LA Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few.

Learn more about Westwind Communications’ book marketing approach at https://WestwindBookMarketing.com or contact Lorenz at scottlorenz@westwindcos.com or 734-667-2090 or fill out the form below. Follow Lorenz on Twitter @aBookPublicist. Want help titling a book? Check out Scott Lorenz’s new award winning, bestselling book: Book Title Generator- A Proven System in Naming Your Book www.BookTitleGenerator.net.

Would you like help promoting your book?

If so, tell us a little about your book. What is the title? Do you have a publisher? What is the publish date? How many pages is your book? What is the cost? Do you have web site? What is your specific goal I.E., to make money, raise awareness, get the attention of an agent or publisher, sell the story to a movie or TV studio or something else?

Submit the form below with this information and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you!


Authors: How to Sign a Top Literary Agent

Authors: How to Sign a Top Literary Agent

By Scott Lorenz
Westwind Communications

Landing an agent for many authors is the most sought after goal. Why? It’s been long considered the fastest and most profitable path to publishing success. If that is your goal then you’ll want to check out these tips, techniques and resources to help you land the quality literary agent you are seeking.

Where to begin?

Get up to speed with the latest information with books and resources on the topic. According to Jeff Herman, book agent and author of Jeff Herman’s Guide to Book Publishers, Editors & Literary Agents, authors should assess potential agents on the following points before sealing a deal:

1. The list of books the agent has sold to publishers, including the publishers’ and authors’ names.
2. The agent’s reputation online.
3. Why s/he likes your book and how s/he plans to market your book, with reference to a timeline and how much you’ll potentially earn.

Time to Get a Literary Agent

Time to Get a Literary Agent

Note that real agents do not:

1. Charge upfront fees
2. Offer to edit for a fee
3. Sell adjunct services to their clients
4. Submit books to vanity or non-advance paying publishers

The critical step in the process is to research agents before you submit to them. Avoid agents who charge fees other than the standard 15 percent commission they receive on everything you get paid (your advance and royalties).

Narrow Your Search

Publishers Marketplace is one of the best places to research literary agents. Buy a subscription for $25 and access a wealth of information about publishing. With hundreds of agents hosting web pages, Publishers Marketplace is arguably the largest and most comprehensive repository to find info on top literary agencies. In fact, Publishers Marketplace claims to have “more e-mail and other contact information on more agents than any other source, updated daily.”

Member authors can create their own Publishers Marketplace web page and indicate they are seeking an agent, which advertises you to agent and publishers.

An added bonus to PublishersMarketplace.com is the deals database, which includes the actual dollar figure of the advances paid to authors for many books. The daily updates provide essential information and searches reveal editors’ buying patterns and more. The site also hosts a contact database that tracks editors on the move. Find out more here: https://www.publishersmarketplace.com/
Other resources to consider include:

1. Manuscript Wish List visit: https://mswishlist.com/

2. AgentQuery.com

3. QueryTracker.net

4. WritersMarket.com

Social media is also a powerful tool to locate agents. Search social media for associations of agents— there are plenty. Michael Larsen, literary agent, suggests authors check out the Association of Authors’ Representatives (AAR) https://aalitagents.org/ as an outlet for finding quality agents. According to Larsen, “The 450 agents in AAR are the best source of experienced, reputable agents. Members are required to follow the AAR’s code of ethics.”

Another resource for finding agents is simply the acknowledgments section in books similar to what you envision your own book to be. Read the acknowledgments and collect the names of those agents mentioned and contact them directly.

Don’t be shy— Have a presence.

Share your personal brand with the world, both online and in person. It’s wise to create professional social media accounts, an online work portfolio or blog. According to Michael Larsen, “Let agents find you- be visible online and off, get published and give talks, publicize your work and yourself. When you’re visible enough, agents will find you.”  This strategy worked for Andy Weir, author of The Martian. After selling 35,000 ebooks for $.99 and topping Amazon’s Sci-Fi Bestseller List, an agent contacted Weir and he was soon represented by Random House for a book deal. On top of that FOX contacted him for the film rights of his novel. The rest is history.

A popular networking strategy is to attend writers’ conferences. Particularly for first-time authors, there’s no better way to get to an agent than at a conference. Agents typically won’t sign authors on the spot, but accept their advice and remember that networking is pivotal to a successful career. According to Chip MacGregor, literary agent and author of Ask the Agent, “I love writers’ conferences. Don’t go thinking you’re going to land an agent; just plan to meet people and learn a lot.”  Where are the best conferences? Here’s a list I’ve compiled of upcoming writer’s conferences.

Make It Perfect. Practice Proper Etiquette

“Nothing detracts from good writing like bad editing,” says Debra Englander an experienced non-fiction editor and writer. “Submit your best work. Have it copy edited and proofread by a professional. Don’t ruin a potential relationship with an agent because of mistakes.”  Englander served as editorial director at John Wiley Publishing for nearly 17 years and was on the receiving end of thousands of pitches from agents and authors. She currently works with authors on creating winning book proposals and editing manuscripts.

Also, research an agent before you submit to them and check the agent’s guidelines before packaging and submitting your work. Before you commit to an agent, settle any unfinished business with others still considering your work. Just make it clear that you have an offer that requires an immediate decision.

If you think you’re ready to be placed with an agent, consider the direction your writing career is headed. According to Chuck Sambuchino, author of the Guide to Literary Agents, “Most agents say they’re looking to represent careers, not books.”

The Bottom Line: Agents can land you the deal you could never obtain yourself. But the pursuit of an agent can take months and years. If you still want an agent, then study up and do it now!

#Authors: How to Sign a Top #LiteraryAgent #indieauthors #authors #writerslife #writingcommunity #bookboost #business #iartg Click to tweet this article to your friends and followers! 𝕏

About Book Publicist Scott Lorenz

Book publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, CIA Officers, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC News, New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, LA Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few.

Learn more about Westwind Communications’ book marketing approach at https://WestwindBookMarketing.com or contact Lorenz at scottlorenz@westwindcos.com or 734-667-2090 or fill out the form below. Follow Lorenz on Twitter @aBookPublicist. Want help titling a book? Check out Scott Lorenz’s new award winning, bestselling book: Book Title Generator- A Proven System in Naming Your Book www.BookTitleGenerator.net.

Would you like help promoting your book?

If so, tell us a little about your book. What is the title? Do you have a publisher? What is the publish date? How many pages is your book? What is the cost? Do you have web site? What is your specific goal I.E., to make money, raise awareness, get the attention of an agent or publisher, sell the story to a movie or TV studio or something else?

Submit the form below with this information and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you!