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I was very ambivalent
about getting a cover for my new book. I know the cover has nothing to do with
the quality of the writing, but I also know that a bad cover is a one way
ticket to a very bad first impression. I wanted a cover that I would be proud
of when I saw it on my shelf, but I couldn't afford to pay a small fortune for
professional graphic design (See How
Much Does It Cost to Publish a Book Anyway?). In the end, I tried
two methods of creating a cover, but only one of them created the look I wanted
at a price I could handle.
The Basics
The popular wisdom floating around about e-book cover design involve three concepts:
The popular wisdom floating around about e-book cover design involve three concepts:
- The cover, especially the title and the author's name, should be clearly understandable as a thumbnail, so potential buyers can see it in a list of books on Amazon, Smashwords or GoodReads.
- The cover should catch the eye of the potential reader.
- The cover should give the reader some clue as to the subject matter and tone of the book.
I thought. 'OK, what's so hard about that?' Then I dove in head first.
Worth a Thousand Words
Smooth Operator is a novel of crime and espionage that includes a lot of drinking, violence and sexual themes. I wanted the cover image to suggest all those qualities as well as project an overall sense of cool. Based on these ideas, I set out to look for an image for my cover.
Smooth Operator is a novel of crime and espionage that includes a lot of drinking, violence and sexual themes. I wanted the cover image to suggest all those qualities as well as project an overall sense of cool. Based on these ideas, I set out to look for an image for my cover.
istockphoto.com is my site of choice for
pictures. It has a lot of amazing royalty-free images on
its site for $20 or less, and you don't have to pay anything extra to use the
image until you sell 499,999 copies. (That's not a problem, because if I ever
sell that many copies, I will be happy to pay for an exclusive license, right
after I buy my new condo.) It took a few hours and a couple cocktails worth of
searching, but in the end I came up with this image.
The gun hints at the
violence. The martini covers the alcohol consumption. The suit and the passport
represent cool. There isn't an overly sexual about the image and it's not as
dark as I would like, but until a publisher can pay for his own photo
shoot, they have to go with the next best option. Armed with the image in
medium sized resolution, I poured another drink and tried to make my cover.
Leave It to the
Professionals
My best attempt to make a cover turned out like this:
My best attempt to make a cover turned out like this:
Can it be seen as a
thumbnail? Sure. Does it convey the right tone? I think so. The image handles
most of that. Does it catch the eye of the potential reader? Probably not. If
anything it might scream self-published novel, which is a death blow for some
buyers (See Are
Self-Published Books Inherently Inferior?). I wasn't completely happy with
it, and other authors I respect stressed the need for a professional looking
cover (special thanks to Lance Charnes
for finally pushing me over the edge) so I set out in search of an affordable
alternative.
That's when I stumbled
onto fiverr.com. It appears that the world of
graphic design is going through economic competition that is just as bad, if
not worse than independent publishing. That is a win for independent publishers
because artists that once might have charged hundreds of dollars to
design a cover are now doing gigs for $5 per cover. It's a little more for
a paperback cover or quick delivery, but no cover is more than $30-$40.
I chose Angie, one of the top rated
designers, submitted my payment (you have to pay first, but it's only $5) and
my request along with the mock up I did. The cover at the top of this essay is what I got back:
Is this better?
That is a subjective question based on your aesthetics. Does it scream self-published?
I don't think so. Considering what I paid for it, I think it is money well
spent. Of course, I can't exactly articulate why the second cover is better,
but then I'm not a graphic designer. I can say that I plan to use this artist
for A Taste of Honey and the three other novels I have planned
between now and 2016. At this point, I feel the cover design is the second most
successful marketing project I've done so far.
So what process do you
use to design your covers? Do you think this process makes sense for what
you're trying to do? Let me know in the comments and as always. ..
Have fun.
Gamal
Gamal
I think its best to make the professionals do
ReplyDeleteit but you can also design your own if
you cannot afford to pay here on this site: http://www.myecovermaker.com/
Thank you for the link Mr. Kwak. Fortunately, I can still afford to pay $5 for a cover. When that begins to be a problem, I doubt that I'll have the time or the ability to write anything anyway. ;)
DeleteHave fun.
Gamal
The final design at the top with "Operator" in red and the band underline, "The Life and Crimes..." all on one line (more readable at a glance) is a definite improvement over the boring cover below.
ReplyDeletePerspective in the eye of a graphics artist and such a fine tweak can make all the difference because a cover is a billboard to attracting a potential customer to your work. I paid a friend who is a newspaper graphics artist and drawing artist to do both my covers based on my original sketches and layout. I wasn't too impressed with the stock covers offered by the publisher. The artist was very patient with me because I had him do nine drafts of the front cover until I was completely satisfied, being a former veteran reporter. It was well worth it when I finally saw my paperback thriller as a finished product. I know pictures are worth a thousand words, but I didn't know how to convey this without including an overline and underline that stated the essence of the unusual, original storyline of "Ink in His Blood."--J. M. Roman
Thank you for your post. Did you have to pay your friend for each of the nine drafts, or did you get a friends and family discount? I have designer friends that are willing to create covers for me for free, but I feel better about giving a stranger $5 than I do about using my friend's talent for free, if that makes any sense...
DeleteHave fun.
Gamal
This is the first time my being accused of driving someone over the edge is a good thing…
ReplyDeleteI’m glad you’ve discovered the joys of working with a pro artist to put together the face – the “billboard,” as J.M. put it – of your novel. It’s not until you see what an artist can do that you fully understand what spending that money actually buys you.
I used to be a digital artist and art director, but I knew better not to try to build a cover on my own. It’s a whole different medium, with its own unique visual vocabulary. That’s why you need to look for not just any artist or designer, but one who specifically creates book covers.
Because of my past experience, I felt comfortable art-directing my cover’s creation. (Props to Damon, my chosen artist, for putting up with me and coming up with a great product – http://damonza.com.) However, most artists aren’t equipped to do that. If you’re one of those, then look for an artist who can manage the entire project, including and especially graphics, typography, composition and production.
More important, educate yourself. Look at a lot of professional covers in your genre (Amazon and B&N are good resources for this). Read Joel Friedlander’s monthly indie-cover awards. Learn what works and why. Collect covers you think would work well for your book, then give your chosen artist your research; your examples may speak louder than your words when you try to describe what you want.
Gamal: now that you’ve found Angie, do you think you’ll have her remake the covers for the books you’ve already released?
Thanks again for the insight Lance. I'm much happier with the pro cover than I was with my own, although I think selecting the image I wanted and creating the mock up helped the artist see what I was looking for and avoided multiple revisions...
DeleteI don't think I'll re-release my old stories with new covers. I'd be much more inclined to compile all those lingering short stories into one anthology and have Angie do the cover for that. Based on my publishing plan, I should be able to knock that out in the middle of 2014...
Does that make sense?
Have fun.
Gamal
This is the kind of info that is perfect for all indies out there. Thank you so much..
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading Annie. I try to offer useful information every week, but I'm sure some of my articles are more helpful than others. ;-)
DeleteThanks for this post, Gamal. The graphics site was amazing. It sure gives me something to think about for cover art. I think that sending Angie your mock-ups was a good idea. Angies rework was exceptionally clean and really gave "Smooth" a punch.
ReplyDeleteI've had two books published where I was involved in the cover (my textbooks don't count). In a novel I had an idea for a cover and described it to a professional artist, who did an excellent job of translating my idea to an eye-catching cover. The second was a non-fiction book I published through CreateSpace. I did the cover myself: all black with title and my name in military-style lettering. The cover for the second book was effective for its purpose, but for my next self-published novel I will definitely go with a professional artist. I write, I don't paint. I will do what I do best, and hire someone to do what they do best.
ReplyDeleteI agree Joseph. My only question is about the cost of your artist relative to the income from your books. Do you think that the cost of your particular artist is prohibitive based on the number of copies you need to sell to cover that cost?
DeleteThanks for the comment.
Gamal
Thanks for the feedback Jim. Sorry for the ridiculously long delay. I could have sworn I responded to this when you first posted it. :-/
ReplyDelete