It used to be a thing for an indie author to try to look trad pub. That meant buying ISBN numbers, coming up with an imprint name and a logo etc. And, of course, a great cover. But I don't think many people bother anymore. Nor do they deliberately try to stand out as indie. They just ensure every aspect of the product page is professional and make sure their book is good. After that, it's up to the readers. On Amazon there are some readers who will only buy trad pub. There are some who mostly just buy indie. Both groups are massive. Both know if the author is trad pub or indie, and they buy according to their tastes.
There is an Andy Griffith episode where the owner of Foster’s Polish rolls into Mayberry and laments that the pretty girl spokesmodel was getting a lot of attention but selling very little furniture polish. So he gets convinced that Aunt Bea — a regular “housewife” without acting polish* — could do a better job selling. He was wrong, but ended up hiring a professional actor who acted like a goofy normie who couldn’t sing the jingle.
It takes a good actor to act drunk on screen. It takes a good musician to play off key well. It takes a good designer to create an indie-published looking book cover.
This is a great read. I'd also like to point out from a literary perspective that there is value in knowing when a book has been self-published. I don't view self-publishing as inherently "vanity press," especially with the growing ease and affordability of self-publishing. But it is very different when an agent and/or editor chooses a book based on their knowledge not only of what will sell but also of literary quality. (The two are not mutually exclusive, but they also don't match up all the time...)
A self-published book might be great: Maybe it's a book that doesn't fit well in mainstream markets (including indie presses), and publishers don't want to take a risk on it (that's a whole other problem, of course). Maybe the author wanted to retain more control over the production and marketing than a contract would allow. Maybe the author has money and/or friends who are willing to offer their expert services at the "friends and family" price point. Whatever the reason, self-publishing doesn't automatically mean "not good enough for a publisher."
But you know what kind of self-publishing I always stay away from? The kind with covers that look like they were generated by early-era AI image generation, the kind with covers that have sans-serif font of title and author with block-color designs, the kind that look like they're Print-on-Demand. And sure, that could be unfair of me - maybe the author is great at writing and just phoned in the design. But past experience has shown me that half-assed design almost always correlates with bad writing.
As a librarian working on a DH project focused on children's books, I've had to make decisions about whether to include self-published books, and what criteria I'd use to make individual choices. Because my area of focus is very very specific (American ultra-Orthodox Jewish children's books), and my goal / underlying question for the project is cultural rather than literary, I've included self-published children's books that had a decent-sized audience, especially since self-publishing is a huge factor in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish children's publishing beginnings (1960s-1970s), and again in the last decade as printing became cheaper. Tracking those self-published books helps build a full picture of how the communities think of themselves. Today's self-publishing tends to happen when a group feels that the available publishers are producing texts that aren't strict enough in their depictions of religious observance, or when a group feels that the available publishers are producing texts that don't show enough diversity of Jewish experience even within ultra-Orthodoxy.
But for general reading? I don't dismiss self-published books, but I know how easy it is to just get on Amazon and click "publish," and basing decisions on the quality of design is honestly a good way to ascertain the likelihood of the book being well-written.
I really enjoyed this, as someone who comes from (and is still strongly situated in) the world of zines, and also runs an extremely small press.
I'm also in the process of publishing a book with another press, my first time traditionally publishing and very much a weird experiment for me. I felt really ambivalent about the choice (I adore self-publishing) and one piece of advice that helped me through that choice was a friend who suggested thinking of self-publishing, small press publishing, and larger press publishing as being on a continuum rather than discrete and opposed options. It's cool to encounter a similar concept in a different context, here.
(Also relinquishing control of cover design after having been used to having complete control over it is HARD)
Over the past few years, I’ve primarily worked with self-published authors on covers and interiors and know of other self-pub authors with a modicum of success. One of the common things I hear in talking with them and when talking through my client’s books is an emphasis on independence of voice. They have something to say or a story to tell that is theirs and going traditional would somehow compromise it, usually because of business reasons. Self-publishing frees them to write the stories they want to write.
I don’t believe the terms matter for us as designers, but mainly for the author as it is a market placement decision. As designers, we should focus on the beauty of the craft. Whether for Penguin or for some indie authors, we are highlighting the story and the author’s voice and connecting it visually with audiences.
When author says they want it to “look indie”, they’re talking about what I mentioned in the beginning, a control over their voice and messaging not a devaluing of design. There’s a whole different way of communicating with indie authors that I’ve found effective, and I’ve found the process to be very different from working with publishers. I enjoy the indie route better because it’s a lot more freeing.
I think this discussion does matter, and this is a really interesting post that I'll definitely be revisiting in the future. I don't think it was necessary for that author to restack one of your posts, which you worked really hard on, for the sake of clout and branding themself. You always bring a thoughtful, balanced, and well-researched approach to these topics.
Also, virtually any indie musician who starts by posting free videos and free demo recordings to the major platforms is ultimately dreaming of getting all the trappings of a professional recording deal, including high quality producers, videographers , tour bookers and marketers. And who can blame them??
This isn't broadly true of the musicians in my life, or of the self-published and indie-publishrd authors-- if you have a strong and pleasant community, it can be much more satisfying to make work within that community than in the broader rat race; I think they're different things that appeal for different reasons. Some people fall strongly on one side or the other, some people are ambivalent, some people can work happily in either world and move between them.
I am in no way a creative professional, rather someone with a passion for reading, writing, and design. That being said, I may not possess the creative lingo or parlance to articulate my feelings on the graphic arts, however, my gut agrees with said comment-poster who prefers an Indie look.
When I see a book design from the Big Five, I feel nothing move or respond within me. In fact, I find in many of your posts, the cover that usually resonates with me is one that was rejected or not used.
Are the mainstream standards capitalism-based whereas Indie is grounded in freedom for design and aesthetics? I don’t know. Let’s just leave it that when I self-publish the "Great Novel" Nathaniel, you’ll be my go-to designer.
You can find amazing design (both interior and cover) at almost any point along your spectrum, and you can also find terrible design at any point. No guarantees anywhere in this crazy industry :)
It used to be a thing for an indie author to try to look trad pub. That meant buying ISBN numbers, coming up with an imprint name and a logo etc. And, of course, a great cover. But I don't think many people bother anymore. Nor do they deliberately try to stand out as indie. They just ensure every aspect of the product page is professional and make sure their book is good. After that, it's up to the readers. On Amazon there are some readers who will only buy trad pub. There are some who mostly just buy indie. Both groups are massive. Both know if the author is trad pub or indie, and they buy according to their tastes.
There is an Andy Griffith episode where the owner of Foster’s Polish rolls into Mayberry and laments that the pretty girl spokesmodel was getting a lot of attention but selling very little furniture polish. So he gets convinced that Aunt Bea — a regular “housewife” without acting polish* — could do a better job selling. He was wrong, but ended up hiring a professional actor who acted like a goofy normie who couldn’t sing the jingle.
It takes a good actor to act drunk on screen. It takes a good musician to play off key well. It takes a good designer to create an indie-published looking book cover.
*pun intended, like way over the top intended.
That's a great analogy!
This is a great read. I'd also like to point out from a literary perspective that there is value in knowing when a book has been self-published. I don't view self-publishing as inherently "vanity press," especially with the growing ease and affordability of self-publishing. But it is very different when an agent and/or editor chooses a book based on their knowledge not only of what will sell but also of literary quality. (The two are not mutually exclusive, but they also don't match up all the time...)
A self-published book might be great: Maybe it's a book that doesn't fit well in mainstream markets (including indie presses), and publishers don't want to take a risk on it (that's a whole other problem, of course). Maybe the author wanted to retain more control over the production and marketing than a contract would allow. Maybe the author has money and/or friends who are willing to offer their expert services at the "friends and family" price point. Whatever the reason, self-publishing doesn't automatically mean "not good enough for a publisher."
But you know what kind of self-publishing I always stay away from? The kind with covers that look like they were generated by early-era AI image generation, the kind with covers that have sans-serif font of title and author with block-color designs, the kind that look like they're Print-on-Demand. And sure, that could be unfair of me - maybe the author is great at writing and just phoned in the design. But past experience has shown me that half-assed design almost always correlates with bad writing.
As a librarian working on a DH project focused on children's books, I've had to make decisions about whether to include self-published books, and what criteria I'd use to make individual choices. Because my area of focus is very very specific (American ultra-Orthodox Jewish children's books), and my goal / underlying question for the project is cultural rather than literary, I've included self-published children's books that had a decent-sized audience, especially since self-publishing is a huge factor in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish children's publishing beginnings (1960s-1970s), and again in the last decade as printing became cheaper. Tracking those self-published books helps build a full picture of how the communities think of themselves. Today's self-publishing tends to happen when a group feels that the available publishers are producing texts that aren't strict enough in their depictions of religious observance, or when a group feels that the available publishers are producing texts that don't show enough diversity of Jewish experience even within ultra-Orthodoxy.
But for general reading? I don't dismiss self-published books, but I know how easy it is to just get on Amazon and click "publish," and basing decisions on the quality of design is honestly a good way to ascertain the likelihood of the book being well-written.
I really enjoyed this, as someone who comes from (and is still strongly situated in) the world of zines, and also runs an extremely small press.
I'm also in the process of publishing a book with another press, my first time traditionally publishing and very much a weird experiment for me. I felt really ambivalent about the choice (I adore self-publishing) and one piece of advice that helped me through that choice was a friend who suggested thinking of self-publishing, small press publishing, and larger press publishing as being on a continuum rather than discrete and opposed options. It's cool to encounter a similar concept in a different context, here.
(Also relinquishing control of cover design after having been used to having complete control over it is HARD)
Over the past few years, I’ve primarily worked with self-published authors on covers and interiors and know of other self-pub authors with a modicum of success. One of the common things I hear in talking with them and when talking through my client’s books is an emphasis on independence of voice. They have something to say or a story to tell that is theirs and going traditional would somehow compromise it, usually because of business reasons. Self-publishing frees them to write the stories they want to write.
I don’t believe the terms matter for us as designers, but mainly for the author as it is a market placement decision. As designers, we should focus on the beauty of the craft. Whether for Penguin or for some indie authors, we are highlighting the story and the author’s voice and connecting it visually with audiences.
When author says they want it to “look indie”, they’re talking about what I mentioned in the beginning, a control over their voice and messaging not a devaluing of design. There’s a whole different way of communicating with indie authors that I’ve found effective, and I’ve found the process to be very different from working with publishers. I enjoy the indie route better because it’s a lot more freeing.
I think this discussion does matter, and this is a really interesting post that I'll definitely be revisiting in the future. I don't think it was necessary for that author to restack one of your posts, which you worked really hard on, for the sake of clout and branding themself. You always bring a thoughtful, balanced, and well-researched approach to these topics.
Also, virtually any indie musician who starts by posting free videos and free demo recordings to the major platforms is ultimately dreaming of getting all the trappings of a professional recording deal, including high quality producers, videographers , tour bookers and marketers. And who can blame them??
This isn't broadly true of the musicians in my life, or of the self-published and indie-publishrd authors-- if you have a strong and pleasant community, it can be much more satisfying to make work within that community than in the broader rat race; I think they're different things that appeal for different reasons. Some people fall strongly on one side or the other, some people are ambivalent, some people can work happily in either world and move between them.
I am in no way a creative professional, rather someone with a passion for reading, writing, and design. That being said, I may not possess the creative lingo or parlance to articulate my feelings on the graphic arts, however, my gut agrees with said comment-poster who prefers an Indie look.
When I see a book design from the Big Five, I feel nothing move or respond within me. In fact, I find in many of your posts, the cover that usually resonates with me is one that was rejected or not used.
Are the mainstream standards capitalism-based whereas Indie is grounded in freedom for design and aesthetics? I don’t know. Let’s just leave it that when I self-publish the "Great Novel" Nathaniel, you’ll be my go-to designer.
Thanks for the kind words, Glenna!
You can find amazing design (both interior and cover) at almost any point along your spectrum, and you can also find terrible design at any point. No guarantees anywhere in this crazy industry :)