Author-built tools

Software for writers who publish their own work.

I build practical tools around the problems I run into while writing, producing, and publishing books: print-ready covers, ISBN barcodes, launch planning, and the unglamorous machinery that helps a book become real.

Checking publishing tools...

Prototype

Cover Lab

Upload a PSD, PDF, PNG, JPEG, or TIFF cover file, enter trim and page-count metadata, then generate a CMYK PDF/X-style cover for Ingram Spark. It can also render a 15 x 12 workspace PDF with an Ingram-style metadata footer.

Open Cover Lab Request access

Built for

Ingram Spark paperback cover PDFs
Custom spine-width overrides
Barcode placement when needed
Author and small-press workflows

Prototype

Barcode Lab

Generate a clean EAN-13 ISBN barcode as a PNG for layout work or as a CMYK PDF with K-only black bars for print-production handoff.

Open Barcode Lab

Prototype

Template Lab

Calculate a full print-cover layout and download a PDF or PNG guide with bleed, trim, spine, safety margins, and barcode-zone marks.

Open Template Lab

Offline tool

Author Price Matrix

Compare KDP and IngramSpark print costs, breakeven retail prices, projected profit, and spine-width drift from one local calculator.

Open Price Matrix

Planned

Launch Room

A lightweight campaign planner for authors: launch checklist, preorder links, review-copy tracking, retailer copy, and weekly marketing tasks in one place.

Cover Lab

Prepare an Ingram Spark cover PDF

This is the public front end for the tool. The next build step is connecting this form to a Railway conversion backend, so the author site stays at julienstjames.com/software while the heavy PDF work runs in a proper Python service.

Template Lab

Build a cover template

Enter book metadata to generate a downloadable cover guide. The template marks bleed, trim, spine, safe areas, and the typical ISBN barcode placement so artwork starts at the right size.

Platform Output Trim width Trim height Page count Paper Custom spine Resolution Mark barcode zone

Download a guide before laying out cover artwork.

Barcode Lab

Generate an ISBN barcode

Create a standalone EAN-13 barcode sized for book-cover production. Use transparent PNG to place it over cover art, JPEG for a white-background asset, or CMYK PDF for print handoff.

ISBN-13 Size preset Width Height DPI Scale Format Price add-on Layout Currency Price Price code

Use a 5-digit supplement code: blank means no price, 90000 means no set price, USD uses 5xxxx, GBP 0xxxx, AUD 3xxxx, NZD 4xxxx, and CAD 6xxxx.

Use price-only for a readable retail price, or price + EAN when the price should be machine-readable too.

Author Price Matrix

Compare print cost, breakeven, profit, and spine width

Enter a book configuration once and compare Amazon KDP against IngramSpark. The calculator runs entirely in the browser and keeps all financial math in USD before converting the visible results.

Book setup

Binding

Paperback Hardcover

Page count Ink type Paper type IngramSpark wholesale discount 40% Target retail price

Results

Currency

Amazon KDP

KDP

Total base print cost: $0.00
Minimum breakeven retail: $0.00
Projected royalty: $0.00

IngramSpark

Spark

Total base print cost: $0.00
Minimum breakeven retail: $0.00
Projected profit: $0.00

Why software belongs here

These tools are part of the same work as the books: independent publishing, careful production, and a stubborn interest in systems that decide what becomes real. If a tool helps me ship a better book, it may help another author too.

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