How to self publish

At first glance indie publishing looks overwhelming. My advice is not to look at the whole thing at once. That way madness lies. Break it down into individual pieces, work through them one at a time and celebrate ticking them off on the master document.

A book cover is more than decoration—it signals genre, tone, audience, and professionalism before a reader ever reaches the blurb. Drawing on expensive lessons from The Chic Crone, I explore thumbnail testing, print colour, designer briefs, series branding, and how the right cover helps the right reader recognise your book.

Three covers, several expensive lessons. I look at what redesigning The Chic Crone taught me about book cover design, genre signalling, thumbnail readability, reader expectations, print colour, and the hidden costs of changing a published cover—including lost recognition, outdated promotional materials, and Goodreads complications.