About this event:

Join us as a panel of book design experts do live book cover critiques

In the afternoon session, from 1-3 PM, we’re going to put our learning to the test by doing live critiques of book covers, and we’re seeking brave souls who would like to get feedback on their covers. Long-time BAIPA volunteer and former board member Ruth Schwartz — the book midwife who has designed many book covers — and I will be joining Joel for the workshop and we welcome participant feedback. (We promise to do our best to be gentle and helpful.)

If you are a current BAIPA member and you’d like your book cover to be included in the book critique workshop and/or the makeover, please send John Byrne Barry a note at [email protected] and include a jpg of your cover that is ideally about 800 pixels wide, so we can project it on the screen.

We’ll look at as many as we can in the time we have. Deadline for submissions is July 1.

About the presenters:

Joel Friedlander

Joel Friedlander is an award-winning book designer, blogger, and writer. He speaks regularly at industry events and is the author of A Self-Publisher’s Companion and coauthor of The Self-Publisher’s Ultimate Resource Guide. The blogger behind TheBookDesigner, Joel is a columnist for Publishers Weekly, and was named by Writer’s Digest as one of the 10 people to follow in book publishing. Joel also operates BookDesignTemplates.com, where he provides predesigned interior book templates for Word and InDesign; AuthorToolkits.com, where authors find digital products to help in their marketing and business activities; BookPlanner.com, the only project planning tool specifically designed for indie authors; and TheBookMakers.com, offering full service book production for authors and publishers.

Ruth Schwartz

Ruth Schwartz, aka the Wonderlady, was a member of the BAIPA board for more than four years and now is the volunteer posting these events, as well as serving as a member of the registration team. Known as a Book Midwife, she has helped over 50 authors through the self-publishing process in the last four years, where they get clear about the steps needed to turn out a professional book that looks and reads as good as anything coming from a traditional publisher. She also provides marketing, proofreading, and book interior/cover design services, and helps clients set up basic author websites. You can find out more about her at thewonderlady.com.

John Byrne Barry

John Byrne Barry is author of two novels — Bones in the Wash: Politics is Tough. Family is Tougher, set during the 2008 presidential campaign in New Mexico, and Wasted, a “green noir” mystery set in the Berkeley recycling world. When he’s not writing, he leads bicycle tours in San Francisco. He lives in Mill Valley.He also sits on the BAIPA board. He is the current Webmaster, Blog Manager and heads up the BAIPA Peer to Peer Interviews program.