Simply Design

One of the most common questions we get from Irish authors:

"Do I need an ISBN — and where do I even get one?"

Here is the short version:

✅ If you want to sell in bookshops, libraries or online retailers — yes, you need one
✅ ISBNs in Ireland come from the Nielsen UK ISBN Store (nielsenisbnstore.com)
✅ A single ISBN costs £93. A block of 10 costs £174
✅ Each format needs its own — paperback, hardback and eBook are all separate
✅ Free ISBNs from KDP or IngramSpark exist — but they lock your book to their platform

And the step most guides skip entirely — legal deposit. Once your book is published in Ireland, you are legally required to send copies to the National Library of Ireland, Trinity College Dublin, and several other libraries. Most self-publishing guides never mention this.

We have written a full step-by-step guide covering everything — where to buy, what to register, how to get your barcode, legal deposit, and when you actually do not need an ISBN at all.

https://simplydesign.ie/how-to-get-an-isbn-in-ireland/

Are you working on a book? Drop a question below, and we will help if we can.

AI tools can generate a book cover in seconds. Canva can have something ready in an afternoon. Both look perfectly fine on screen.

The problem starts when you send the file to a printer.

Here is what most authors find out too late:

❌ AI-generated covers are flat raster images — no bleed, no CMYK, no crop marks
❌ The resolution that looks fine on your phone often falls well short of the 300 DPI commercial print needs
❌ Any text burned into an AI image cannot be edited, resized or repositioned
❌ Canva Free cannot set up bleed or work natively in CMYK at all
❌ Even Canva Pro needs significant print knowledge to produce a file a printer will actually accept

The printer either sends it back, or prints it anyway — and you only see the problem when the boxes arrive.

We have written a full honest guide to all three options — AI, Canva, and professional design — and exactly what each one gives you when it comes to going to print.

https://simplydesign.ie/book-cover-design-ireland/

Have you had a book cover file rejected? Tell us what happened.

📖 Did you know that typography is one of the main reasons readers put a book down — without ever being able to explain why?

If you are self-publishing, the fonts you choose matter far more than most people realise. The wrong font makes your book look like a home printer job. The right ones make it look like it belongs in any bookshop in the country.

We have put together a guide covering everything authors need to know about fonts for book design — the two font roles every book needs, what to avoid, and where to find professional typefaces (including one deals site that most designers keep to themselves 👀).

👉 https://simplydesign.ie/fonts-for-book-design/