How to Self-Publish Your Book: Design Matters

I got started self-publishing books shortly after I began writing my first thriller. Initially, I looked around for traditional publishing companies that I thought might be interested in the book — I checked the acknowledgements sections of my favorite thrillers, hoping to find a lead for an agent or small shop that would bite.

You can probably guess how the rest of the story goes: shopping around for publishers, reading up on query writing, pitching a few agents…

…And then giving up.

Some peopl...