An indie author press kit starts with good portraiture. Potential sales outlets, podcast interviewers, and news reporters want to know what the author looks like! I provided the creative direction, photography, and photo editing and the three photos above were chosen by the author for her press kit.

Book cover in situ: the book cover design is by Jamie Harris of Greensboro, NC. I placed the book in a flatlay format via photo editing for use in this press kit.

News reporters don’t like well-designed assets. It’s sad but true. Press kits that WORK are always basic, with documents that can be printed on cheap office printers. Press releases that generate conversions are clean, simple, and follow a common (read: boring) look. This was one of the most difficult parts of this project for me because I had to hold back from designing eye candy!

Another simple but effective piece to an indie author’s press kit is a downloadable bio postcard. Venues will print these out for book signings, reporters will reference them during interviews, and retailers will print them to put with new books to introduce their shoppers to the new offering. It’s therefore key that it quickly communicate the personality of the author through carefully-chosen copy and photography.

Not shown: a plain text file with links to purchase the book at digital and brick-and-mortar outlets.