Eleven years ago, I was working as a full-time book designer for a self-publishing company. I’ll always be grateful for that job. It came at a time I desperately needed it, it introduced me to my dream career, and I made life-long friends that I wouldn’t trade for the world. 

But the business model was all about numbers. We cranked out books as fast as humanly possible. I’m sure that for many authors, having a bare-minimum design at a bare-bones budget was fine, and I’m not arguing that there isn’t a place for that in the market. For many people, having their book produced as affordably as possible is what they want and need, and that is absolutely fine.

But serious authors who want to make money and grow their audience need more. And I wanted more. I wanted to hone my craft and give my best. And I wasn’t able to do that in my job. In fact, I never hit the numbers they required from us, because I’m just not capable of sacrificing quality for speed. In the end, they seemed to have no problem with that, and I became one of the go-to designers for VIP authors or complex books). 

Six years ago, I went out on my own as a freelancer. I’ve worked with publishers, individual authors, non-profits, and businesses. It’s been an amazing journey, growing me in ways I never could have guessed.  

Today, my passion and focus is serving serious self-publishing authors. I’ve realized that they are looking for guidance and clarity in the book design process, and it’s not hard to see why. In researching my competition, I mentally step into the shoes of an author who knows nothing about book design, and I set out to find a book designer. And oh my goodness, it is so confusing! 

The range of prices is insanely wide, and it’s so hard to figure out what you’re getting and what the true and final cost will really be. The whole point of hiring a book designer is because they know what they’re doing, but it feels as if you have to know everything about book design to even ask the right question to hire someone who actually does know what they’re doing! Talk about a catch-22. 

Don’t get me wrong, there are tons of great book designers out there. I don’t intend to spread gloom and doom. But my mission is to be a one-stop shop for all things book design. To create simple, all-inclusive packages and take care of my clients. To give them access to me, and have a real human-to-human connection through the process. 

I’ll use my decade+ of knowledge and experience in the publishing industry, along with brand design theory, to craft a marketable book design that captures your target-readers’ attention and is inviting to read once they open it up.

It’s such an honor to come alongside authors and be a part of the publishing process.

I believe that story (both fiction and non-fiction) changes the world. The power of the written word is tremendous, and it isn’t going anywhere.