Around here, the weather is finally losing its chill (yeah, it gets chilly here in the land of sun, surf and palm trees!) and I just felt like celebrating. We’re in that blessed period between “too cold” and “too hot,” and I feel great.
Hope you do, too.
You probably know already that a great bookcover has the ability to move me. You, too, right?
That’s how we choose books, though sometimes we don’t like to admit it. That’s also why I’ve put together the Indie Children’s-Book Cover Contest for independently-published books. (Don’t forget to submit if you’ve published anything since November!)
So what does that have to do with celebrating???
It’s new – and it’s FREE
To help you really get into a party mood, I’ve created another FREE TEMPLATE – this time, to help you create compelling book covers. You can use this template for any standard 32-page, 8.5" x 8.5" children's book. And just to help smooth the process along, I’ve thrown in a 10-page help guide to creating dynamic, compelling covers.
Here's an idea of the kind of book covers you can create with this FREE template:
I’ve been offering a free 8.5” x 8.5” children’s book template for a while and it’s very, very popular. No wonder. When I wanted to find a free template to give me some idea of how to format my kids’ books, I couldn’t find one anywhere. So I made one, and then shared it with you.
Now, 8.5” x 8.5” is a great size. I love it.
That size is perfect for a 32-page picture book, or even something a little shorter (for younger kids) or longer (for slightly older kids).
But it’s not perfect. That’s where 6” x 9” comes in.
You’ll probably discover the limitations of 8.5” x 8.5” most especially when it comes to slightly older kids. Big kids don’t usually like to pick up a big square book. They want something smaller, and sleeker.
That’s where the new 6” x 9” children’s book template comes in.
6” x 9” is also the most common size of self-published book out there, even for adult books. If you like the template, feel free to use it for adult books (lower the font size a bit) or anything else you’d like.
Like the 8.5” square template, this one contains full instructions, and page numbering is set up for you already. Add as many pages of text and images as you like, and it will expand to fit your needs.
There’s even an “About the Author” page at the end for you to fill in your personal details. (Take out my picture and stick in your own, of course)
I’ve included links on the download page so you can also pick up most of the fonts I’ve used (this template uses Garamond, which is distributed free by Microsoft with most versions of Word). You can always switch things up and use your own, too, of course.
Like I said, this was something that never existed before – at least, not that I could find (and I’m pretty handy with Google). And now that I’ve set it up it for my own books, it’s easy as pie to share it with you.
All I ask is that you sign up for my mailing list first.
Sure, you can sign up and then quit the list right away. But I’d really love it if you stuck around. I send out one short email, once a week, with writing thoughts and inspirations, as well as links to any freebies I’ve got coming up. No ads, no spam, I promise.
Once you sign up and confirm your approval, you’ll be taken straight to the download page. As always, if this resource is helpful to you, I’d love to hear about it in the Comments section. Probably others would as well.
UPDATE:
You now have a choice of two sizes for your free template. Download one or both - enjoy! Find all the juicy details on the 6" x 9" size (and why I'm now offering both) over here.
Special gift for mailing list subscribers!
Like a good blueprint, a standard template can get you started on the road to creating a self-published book that doesn’t look and “feel” self-published.
This template produces a standard 8.5” x 8.5” book, including as many pages of text as you like, as well as front and back matter, the stuff that goes before and after your story. The page size is actually a little bigger, by 0.13” all around. This is the “bleed” recommended by CreateSpace and other on-demand publishers.
This template contains full instructions…
Page numbers and many helpful built-in styles are already set up for you…
There’s even an “About the Author” page at the end for you to fill in your personal details.
This template will make formatting your children’s book for print-on-demand super-easy… all in a beguiling purple colour (don’t worry, you can change it). To instantly receive this 8.5” x 8.5” FREE children’s book template, sign up for the mailing list in the box at the top-right corner of this page!
