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Book Design Guides

Book Design 101: The secrets of paper in self-publishing

In every first-time author’s life there comes a moment when someone – or a self-publishing platform’s interface – asks a very important question: what kind of paper would you like to use for y

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Interior LayoutBook Design GuidesBlog

Book Design 101: How to prepare your manuscript to make your designer cry tears of joy

If you want to make your designer’s day, here’s a few simple rules on how you can prepare your manuscript before sending it off for formatting – four DO’s and three DON’Ts!

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ResourcesBook Design GuidesBlog

EPUB accessibility 101 – and what does it mean for authors

How to make sure that your EPUB meets the accessibility criteria? And what does accessiblity even mean?

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Interior LayoutBook Design GuidesBlog

6 formatting mistakes that make your book (layout) look self-published

The goal of correctly formatting a book is giving your reader a comfortable reading experience… but sometimes, you’re faced with a choice of “what will make the reader the least uncomfortable”

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DesignInterior LayoutUncategorizedBook Design GuidesBlog

5 ways to make your novel’s layout unique

A short guide to make your novel’s layout fun, unique, and eye-catching - with decorations, drop caps and small caps, and other methods.

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Book Design GuidesBlog

Book Design 101: File Formats You Should Know as an Author

Self-publishing means dealing with A LOT of different files – in all possible formats. Here’s short guide to all the textual and visual file formats that you might find useful as an author.

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Get in touch!

marta@martadec.eu

MERMAY 2026 PAINTING IS HERE! I can barely believ MERMAY 2026 PAINTING IS HERE!

I can barely believe I actually managed to finish this in time, but HERE WE ARE. Really proud of the result. It was supposed to be a little more complex, but in the end I decided to simplify it for dramatic effect 😅 

And I was VERY satisfied to realize that all the rock and water studies I did a while back made a huge difference in painting this time - I actually felt like I knew what I was doing. 😆 

Reference from TrueRef by @abbeymarieesparza. I also had some fun with water brushes by @sandrawintherart. 

#mermaid #mermay #digitalartwork

digital artwork ~ digital artist ~ digital illustrator ~ illustration ~ digital painting ~ fantasy illustration ~ mermaid ~ siren ~ sea ~ stormy sea ~ water ~ scales
"Goblins" by Abbey Hunt - fantasy book cover illus "Goblins" by Abbey Hunt - fantasy book cover illustration and layout. 

A book that was just sent off to print, and one where I had A LOT of fun with figuring out the illustration style and adding small details. When a brief says "a goblin riding a griffon fighting a sea serpent", you just can't say no, right? 😆 

Interior illustrations are by Raymon Mallari.

#bookcover #coverdesign #bookdesign

book cover designer ~ book design ~ book formatting ~ typesetting ~ book layout ~ book cover design ~ book cover illustrator ~ cover illustration ~ fantasy artwork
What kind of paper should you use for your book's What kind of paper should you use for your book's interior? 🤨 Read this post to find out!

Paper is a BROAD subject - it comes in many different weights, colours, finishes, and bulks, and the available choices differ a lot depending on whether you're publishing throgh a PoD platform such as KDP or Ingram, or printing locally. 

Check all the slides to find out more about:
🔹 all the basic paper properties
🔹 what's available if you're printing via PoD
🔹 simple and clear advice on what's best for a novel, a non-fiction book, and a heavily-illustrated book - such as a children's book

And if I piqued your interest and you'd like a more in-depth version, if you click on the link in bio, you can find the full article, in which I cover also:
🔹 environmental certifications
🔹 popular paper manufacturers 

And give even more tips for authors and designers alike. 💪 

#bookdesign #paper #bookprinting 

book designer ~ book design 101 ~ design ~ print ~ indie publishing