Sunday, August 1, 2010

The Creation of a Book Cover

Silvina asked a question on my "Where Does The Time Go" post that I thought might work better as a post itself instead of a comment back. She said: I'm curious about book covers. How exactly do you choose a book cover? Do you contact an artist? I love that she asked.

I am fortunate that I come from a creative family. My mother was/is an artist, specializing in Alaskan landscapes mostly. One of my sisters paints, another's a florist, another is crafty...the list goes on. Before I got back into writing and publishing I actually designed and created specialty greeting cards for people. It was an awesome job but not overly profitable and I am so hands-on that I printed them all myself which also meant folding, cutting...it was all a bit overwhelming.

Anyway...because of all that, I design my own covers and many of those for other books through the publishing company. Some, like Sharon E. Cathcart's "In The Eye of The Beholder" are designed by artists (James Courtney created her cover). Jaimey Grant designed the cover of "Deception" with an occasional "try this" or "try that" from me. My children's book "How Sadie Learned to SMILE" uses a cutout from one of the illustrations in the book. I created several backgrounds for it using that same illustration and bounced them to the illustrator until we agreed on one we liked. Video producer Patrick Sipperly designed the cover for our collection of short stories: "Time Out On A Roller Coaster". It was a concept he came up with and I happened to like.


I spent some time this summer creating book covers for several of my works in progress. Many of you know I hurt my back and was unable to sit to work for long. Oddly enough, I was able to hover over a mouse at my graphics computer so...that's what I did. I spent a lot of time browsing the pages of a site called Dreamstime looking for my characters. I would then pull them into the template I use and play until I got it right. Dreamstime has comp images you can use for free to see if they will work. At that time you buy the ones you like and the annoying watermarks go away :) An example would be this cover for one of my novels. It isn't finished but hopefully you can see the swirly watermark on the couple and on the girl in the frame.



Notice too that the front of the book is on the right and the back of the book is on the left. There's also that "dead" space on the back (To the right of the girl) where the bar code will go. You have to be careful about that...not putting anything there that you don't want covered. To see this in more detail, check out my OneStopPublisher.com Cover Creator Page. I don't have a lot of covers on there, though. I need to update it. I'll do that in my spare time!!!

Let's look at another cover. It's for an upcoming book of mine called "The Escort"...at least that's the working title. The cover (along with the lovely watermarks) shown here is basically 3 photographs sandwiched into one.


















How was I able to look at those three pictures and decide they would work? I don't know. I guess that's the artistic side. Other than some minor tweaks, I do know, I love this cover and it expresses exactly what I wanted to express about what might be inside.

Now, do be aware that when you use sites like Dreamstime and others you may run the risk of others with the same pictures on their covers. Vicki Hopkins, author of "The Price of Innocence" has commented that she's seen her photo art on three other books, I believe. I personally love Vicki's cover and think it fits her book, so to me...it's a who cares.

The man in my Escort book (he's not the escort, by-the-way) can be found on another cover as well. Take a look at this one by Miss Mae. You know what? I'm okay with that because as much as he might depict her character, this man is my character as well. He fits too perfectly for me not to use him. Her book, "When The Bough Breaks" won a Best Young Adult Novel award and also a Best Cover of the Month Award. I've heard from a very good source that it's a worthwhile read. I can personally recommend "The Price of Innocence" as well.


Some artwork doesn't need a lot. Take the picture of the sword, for instance. We turned it into a cover for a soon to be released novel by Richard S. Wiggins, Jr. titled "Kilaal's Sword"...I sent the author a bunch of sword pics and asked which one. He chose this and I got to work. According to his instructions, the sword needed jewels placed strategically in the handle. That was actually the hard part. The cover turned out pretty good, in my opinion. The author liked it and that's the most important thing to me.

So, in answer to your question, Silvina, if an author does not have an artist in mind, I usually tackle the project myself or with one of the other designers through the publishing company. I would say that I'm not so sure I choose a cover or if, in many ways, it chooses me. More often than not, it has a lot to do with the author's tastes, the fortune to stumble across a great artist or perfect photo and a whole lot of intuition. Covers are as personal as the words on the pages they cover. I'd urge every author to browse sites and make a file of covers that catch the eye. Take a tour of your library or local book store. See what jumps out at you. Most of all, when you begin creating your own cover, whether you do it yourself or with the help of a professional, have something created that you love. If it doesn't touch you, how will you be confident enough to present it to others? The ultimate goal is to sell your book. You have to love your cover and believe in the contents to do it.

13 comments:

  1. ok, per covers. one of my favorite authors here in the NW has a book in particular that has a stupid cover on it. It depicts a scene in the story, but in the story the character has on clothes that would fit the scene. On the cover, she has on clothes that barely fit! Made me angry. Was told that as it was a Sci Fi Fantasy, you need sexy covers. Piffle!

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  2. Agreed! I want the cover to tell me something about what is inside. Many people like plain covers (Like Janet Evanovich's). I prefer a minor work of art. Just me. A beautiful cover can make all the difference, but it had better deliver!!!

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  3. I love swirly water marks! And I love the DIY spirit involved in the process. I'm very much DIY.
    I've been thinking a lot about covers lately so I'll have to go check out "Dreamstime". I have a couple of ideas for my cover, and one of them involves lots of swirly watermarks!

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  4. These look great Linda! I am terrible at this stuff so it's good to know you are so creative with it.

    Swati

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  5. No, no, Silvina!!! We want the swirly water marks to go away. lol We'll talk more, I am sure and you'll become a cover pro before you know it! Swati, sometimes the book dictates the cover and always I feel it is up to the author and their taste. I love cover creation so all will be well :)

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  6. Linda! Wow, I had no idea what you had been doing with these covers! They look awesome!! Of course Sadie will ALWAYS be my personal favorite! ;-) I am so happy to see you are developing the Selling Of Ellie Carr...you have been talking about that one for a long time. I can't wait to read it! That cover looks amazing! Also the one for the escort!! Wow I can't wait to see what you come up with for Tex. (If I EVER get it finished) :-( Anyways, this was really interesting reading about how you do the covers. You are really great at this!!

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  7. that's really interesting! I have been writing books (nothing published) since I was basically a kid, and I used to draw covers for them. lol. I should see if I still have any of those around anywhere.

    I'm a new follower from MBC and would love for you to come visit me at http://www.createyourtraditions.com. :)

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  8. Visiting from MBC. Here's a link to some free cover design tutorials. Fascinating. http://bit.ly/cURLkr

    And an interview with the cover designer. http://bit.ly/bLKW7b
    I wish I had interviewed him--he lives just 2 miles from me.

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  9. These are really cool. It is interesting to think how a cover and its graphics can reflect a books' worth of words. I am so relieved that you have a knack for it. I am excited for the process, but definitely a bit anxious.

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  10. I should have read this before I answered your e-mail, Linda. It answered my question about Richard Wiggin's book cover.:-)

    This is such great insight as to how book covers are created. I love this comment:
    "I would say that I'm not so sure I choose a cover or if, in many ways, it chooses me."
    These are words of a true creative spirit.:-)

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  11. I haven't considered a cover for any of the novels I'm working. I have always figured the publisher would take care of that. Now I have food for thought.

    Following via MBC.

    Vist sometime.

    Jewel
    http://jewelzfrontporch.blogspot.com/

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  12. Following from MBC. Come and visit me at http://mom-stuffcommunity.blogspot.com. I also shared your post on my FB fan page http://www.facebook.com/pages/mom-stuff/128036077231350?ref=sgm Like if you want to share with mom moms. Dianne

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  13. Wow! Your graphic work is beautiful and creative. I'm the newest follower of our blog and FB from MBC. Stop by a visit me to share a comment or two when you get a moment. And join me on FB as well.

    Leigh,
    http://holistichealthmaven.blogspot.com

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