Happy Weekend, WG2E-Land!
Time for our next Ruth Harris Report!!!
Take it away, Ruth…
Because covers are massively important (I’ve read that 40% of the human brain is devoted to processing visual images), they require a substantial investment of time, thought, talent, and money.
I’ve asked half a dozen of the best cover designers in the epub world questions about what they do, how they do it, and the author-designer collaboration. Our talented and knowledgeable designers are Kim Van Meter, Nina Paules, Jen Talty, Stewart Williams, Kim Killion and Laura Morrigan.
1) Do you have a specialty (or specialties) such as chick lit, thrillers, horror, women’s fiction, fantasy, etc?
Kim Van Meter: I like to work in all genres as it is a chance to grow my skills, but the majority of my work has been within the romance genre. Since I write romance as well, many of my clients have said that I understand the tone the client wants to convey with their cover.
Nina Paules: My specialty is more design specific as opposed to genre specific. Drawn covers (like for children’s books and some fantasy) are outside my preferred design scope. I design covers by manipulating existing digital imagery. If the image or images exist I can blend/recolor/refashion those images into a saleable cover.
Jen Talty: I do all the covers for WDWPUB, so it ranges from non-fiction to science fiction, historical fiction, thrillers, all the way to romances. Some of the hardest covers have been the Medieval Romances because its hard to find images from that time period. Also, Bob Mayer’s Psychic Warrior series proved to be a bit difficult, but once we found the right concept, we were golden. I love doing all different kinds of covers and mostly enjoy working with the authors to help create the vision they have for the book.
Stewart Williams: I tend to prefer working on fiction most, but that said I’ll work on anything, though in the printed world I tend to get more non-fiction work.
Kim Killion: while Hot Damn Designs is mostly associated with sexy romance covers, we do design covers for genre from Chick Lit to Inspirational to Women’s Fiction to Psychological Thrillers. Of course, since I personally write Scottish Historicals, I have a soft spot for creating historical covers.
Laura Morrigan: Nope- I do it all, lol.
2) Do you want suggestions from the author? Do you prefer to present the author with a concept? How specific do you like the author to be?
Kim Van Meter: I don’t mind suggestions from the author at all; however, sometimes when the client is too rigid in what they think they want, they aren’t open to finding what they truly want. Bottom line, everyone wants a beautiful cover — designer included — so we’re all on the same page and that’s what matters.
Nina Paules: The design muse needs a starting point. This should come from the author. The sales/book blurb, a few links to preferred designs of existing (saleable) covers and/ a lightbox with a handful of suitable images is a good place to start.
Jen Talty: I work very differently with each author, but input is always welcome. With Bob, sometimes he doesn’t know what he wants, so I come up with five or six very different ideas and we go from there. Other times he has very specific ideas. When we were working on Duty, Honor, Country A Novel from West Point to The Civil War, he knew he wanted an image of Ulysis S. Grant and he also wanted it to feel like a “history” book. He was very specific and it worked out well. With I, Judas The 5th Gospel, coming this June, all he did was give me his outline. I hit that cover with one try, which rarely happens.
Stewart Williams: It always helps if the author has some sort of place to being with what their vision is for their book, be it some sort of written description or at least some visual samples from other books they think fit their market demographic. Often times an author might come to me with an idea that attempts to try and be too literal or incorporate too many ideas into one image, and my job is to help simplify and make the strongest most unique image to compete with other titles. I think it’s best for an author not to come to a designer and say “this is exactly what I want” because in general that’s basically doing a designer’s job and you’re really looking for a production artist at that point. If you admire a designer’s work then at some point there’s a leap of faith in trusting a designer to do their job, which of course can be scary, but a designer with decades of experience is going to know what they’re talking about, even if it doesn’t seem to make sense right away. In general though, working with an author alone is much more preferable to say a room full of editors and marketing people with input coming for too many directions, where a great idea can get watered down and end up weak or muddled.
Kim Killion: We welcome feedback from our clients. Here’s what we ask on our Cover Questionnaire we send to authors when they hire Hot Damn Designs to develop a cover or covers for them. This isn’t including the area for authors to include images or links of images that they like or give the feel of what they envision for their cover(s).
• What is the author name?
• What is the Book Title?
• What is the Series Title? (if any)
• What is the genre?
• What is the setting? (year/location)
• Do you have a label? (i.e. New York Times Bestselling Author, Award-Winning Author, etc.)
• Is there a quote you would like to use?
• Is there a tagline? (i.e. He would do anything to have her…) *If you don’t have a quote, please come up with a tagline. It gives the cover a more professional look.
• Do you want a spine and back designed for POD?
• Is there a blurb you can provide me?
• What is the coloring of the hero and heroine?
• What is the feel, including heat level? Dark? Historical? Sexy? Sweet?
• Do you envision a couple on the cover or perhaps just the hero or perhaps just the heroine? Or do you want a landscape only?
Laura Morrigan: I have a list of cover art questions I give my clients. If they have their heart set on something or clear picture I always want to know so we can discuss it. But I’ve also had clients who leave it up to me. I use the answers they give me to come up with a concept.
You can see examples of our designers’ work and contact them at their websites:
Kim Van Meter: www.kimberlyvanmeter.com
Nina Paules: ebookprep
Jen Talty: jentalty.com
Stewart Williams: www.stewartwilliamsdesign.com
Kimberly Killion: www.HotDamnDesigns.com
Laura Morrigan: Laura Morrigan
In Part 2 our designers will share their expertise about: how & where to start, choosing an image, which revisions are quick/easy to make and which are more time-consuming, difficult.
It’s Your Turn, WG2E-Land: What stood-out for each of you in today’s superfab Ruth Harris Report?!
The Best of WG2E Ruth Harris Reports Wishes — Ruth Harris
New York Times bestselling author Ruth Harris has sold many millions of copies around the world in hardcover and paperback editions. Her fiction has been translated into 19 languages, published in 25 countries and selected by the Literary Guild and Book-of-the-Month Club. Ms. Harris worked in traditional print publishing as a copywriter, editor and publisher before turning to the exciting new opportunities in electronic publishing. She lives in New York City with her husband, writer Michael Harris, the author of Always On Sunday and The Atomic Times: My H-Bomb Year at the Pacific Proving Ground, both available in Kindle editions.
And check out Ruth’s next gorgeous Cover:
Coming Soon!!!
This is great scoop, Ruth!!!
What this shows is how much of a collaborative process Ebook Cover Design is!
I luuuvvv working with my designer (Wavin’ atchya, Laura Morrigan)! We have a ball together!
For us, I give her my usually waaay too cluttered ideas (letting her know what kinds of images symbolize the story), and she picks from those and narrows it down to a clean design that screams D. D. Scott! And she nails it every time!!!
Thanks bunches to you, Ruth, and our superfab Ebook Cover Designers Panel! Y’all rock! And Welcome to The WG2E!!!
Thank YOU, DD! And thank YOU, to all the designers who took the time to answer my questions. I appreciate the opportunity to ask some truly talented designers to contribute insight into the all-important subject of covers! Their answers were so helpful & enlightening and their knowledge and the range of their work is awe-inspiring.
Thanks, D.D. !
It’s always an adventure getting those “and there’s a pig, and gems, and coconut, and…” emails from you.
But it’s also fun!
cheers!
Thanks, Ruth! It’s very interesting hearing the designer’s perspective. The cover for Zuri is gorgeous indeed. I also like the cover of your book Hooked with the huge sterile needle, which sends chills up my spine!
Thanks, Tamara. Both covers—in fact all my covers—were designed by the super-creative Stewart Williams. He’s talented, professional & a pleasure to work with!
As always, great input! I must add that I’m weary of seeing so many body builders (male) on the covers of romance novels. After a while, all the books look alike to me. Just sayin’.
Have a great weekend!
~Nancy Jill
Thank you Nancy. I agree about the male torsos. Does anyone remember when Fabio was on what seemed like every romance novel? He was so famous, he even had a clone. He was a fat, out of shape guy who called himself Flab-io. It was really pretty funny.
Thanks! A cover can mean the difference of sales vs no sales. . .I re-did two of my covers and watched sales turn around. My best covers have come from a designer who sent me a questionnaire. Although I put the project in her able hands, she did ask for my input.
Jamies, thanks. Very interesting comment. Can you tell us a bit more about what cover #1 was like and then about cover #2? Did you do any extra promotion or was it simply the new cover that pushed sales?
I agree covers are so important. Kim Killion of Hot Damn Designs not only gave me 3 great covers ( the third to be out soon) but branded me by designing the covers to have a similar look and tone that matches the tone of my Fun, Flirty, and Fiery romps.
Liz, you’re touching on a subject massively relevant to e-authors: branding. The work of the designer is crucial is helping develop a brand. So important to be immediately identifiable! Thanks for bringing this up!
Oh – and by the way – I LOVE the cover to Zuri!
I am most fascinated by how the indie writers are challenging the genre conventions of covers. Romance covers can be anything now. Science fiction and fantasy are other areas where the digital magic has been kind to them…. just a quick example, and I don’t know this author, but The Awakened by Jason Tesar is a really cool eyeball for a SciFi/Fantasy novel…
And the chicklit genre? Well, I for one will be happy when we can move a little further away from pastels, but I’m seeing more and more authors challenge the idea of that pale pink! Talli Roland’s covers, while still very easily identified as chicklit, don’t scream shallow fluff. I love the aesthetic of her covers. And then there’s a book I noticed yesterday, Knockers by Ellyn Oaksmith. The premise is a woman getting another patient’s plastic surgery on accident… breast implants! I got the sample last night, but haven’t gotten to it, yet because I’m reading Gemma Halliday’s Spying in High Heels.
Anyway, I think with the digital world, your cover is 10x more important than in the physical bookstore. In a book store, there is more information I can get from the product right away, because it’s a physical product. If a cover is meh, but the book looks like a length I’d enjoy, I might pick it up to check the back. In digital, your cover HAS to be the thing that makes a reader click. Click to read what it’s about, how long it is, etc.
And it is so cool that you can change a cover with another click of your mouse.
Elizabeth, You’re so right. The ability to get away from the cover cliché is exciting and I love it that authors & designers are in the process of creating a revolution. Thanks for your fascinating observations!
It was interesting to read the different ways the designers work. I really like it when they work with the authors. I usually choose a photo and send it to my designer, and if she doesn’t like it, then will email me with other choices. She puts together a design, similar to what she has done for me before, and sends it to me for agreement or not. We have worked very well together so far. I think if the cover is for books of a series, then it is good to keep that image going, like my Angel ebooks.
Hi Julie, Yes, angels! Keep them aloft & doing their good work. Thanks for your comment & pleased to hear you’ve found someone you work with well. Definitely a crucial part of the process!
Wonderful article! I loved reading all the different perspectives and methods. Thank you for including me!
Thank YOU, Kim, for your time & very helpful input. I was fascinated by the different approaches and working methods that go into creating a cover. As is true of actually writing the book, there is no ONE way to approach designing the cover. Thanks again, we all value your work & appreciate your sharing your process with us.
Wow! What a great post! So much information…thank you so much for including me. I’m glad to see authors in control of their careers and I’m happy to help them along their path.
Hi Kim, thank you for dropping by and especially thank you for letting us in on your creative process. Writers NEED cover designers to present their work in the most effective, come-hither way!
A writer friend forwarded this post to me. I enjoy reading other’s comments about book design. I also design books and book covers for authors, and my design strategies are much as the same as those described above. My website highlights my design styles, and I invite you to take a look at http://www.publishista.com. I design for all genres – from memoir to self-help to thriller.
Ellie, thank you for dropping by and adding your work. Authors love having choices & we appreciate your adding to the “menu.”
Ruth, thank you, too. I look forward to reading Parts 2 & 3. I’m subscribing to the site so I don’t miss out on your updates.
Thanks for this! Perfect timing…I have 7 covers to create so am learning Photoshop and working with a Graphic Artist friend who is very patient with me. I have to admit it’s daunting. And I’m struggling with the “body builder hero” vs. pleasant photos/graphics (settings and story features) for my romances, so it was gratifying to read that some of you are tired of always having the guy on the cover. Jamie S.–I’d love knowing more about your cover journey…and what you learned by changing covers! That’s the great thing with e-pubbing, though–that we CAN change our covers easily if we decide it’s not working. I love being in control (even though the learning curve is a bit steep!). Looking forward to future posts!!!
Janet, Glad today’s post was helpful & think you will find the future posts on this super important subject equally helpful. Our designers were very generous with information & advice!
Yes, being able to change a cover is a great advantage, something literally impossible in TradPub.
Really informative post. It’s great to hear from so many designers. It’s so true that writers shouldn’t be rigid about their ideas for a cover design. I thought I knew what I wanted for Sherwood, Ltd, and Laura Morrigan came up with something totally different–a design that was beautiful and startling and conveyed the book’s tone completely. In fact the design was so great, we decided to use the concept as a brand for all my books. A great cover is your #1 sales tool, so it’s best to listen to the experts. Thanks for this, Ruth!
Anne, “A great cover is your #1 sales tool” = Words to live by!
Thanks for dropping by. See you tomorrow when we discuss Writer Masochism. Having a crappy cover would certainly qualify as WM!
Hi Anne! Thanks for the compliment!
I wanted to add that I’ve taken my own photos for all Anne’s books- there are times when you really just can’t find the right image- so you have to take matteres into your own hands. I don’t know how many other cover artists have done this??
Wow! What a fantastic blog, Ruth. Thank you for inviting me to contribute.
I agree with the previous comment… a cover change can initiate sales growth.
We did a recent cover change (along with a blurb re-write and promotion) for six of Sharon Ihle’s books and combined them into two “go together” series. Her sales took off.
Why does this work?
Here is my opinion.
The eBook/ePublishing market is growing at an unprecedented rate.
On average 50,000 new eReader (and eReader capable) devices are sold every month. In 9 months, 400,000* new potential buyers (with different tastes, expectations and sales-point triggers) have entered the eBook market.
In the old print-world, 400,000 new buyers equates to over ½ of a new generation of readers. How many people are willing to buy a book/ebook with a dated 10-year-old-cover when there are so many better looking ones out there to catch the eye? Not many.
Bottom line: The cover, the sales blurb and the price point that once made an ebook saleable are all but outdated in nine months. That’s the new speed of publishing.
*calculation assumes 50,000 consumers have upgraded an existing device
Nina, thanks so much for dropping by and for taking your valuable time to expand the discussion of covers. Your 9 month = 400K new buyers is an astonishing stat! Time and money spent on covers AND on refreshing & renewing them is time & money well spent. Covers and cover designers are crucial to the new world of publishing.
In fact, in the old days when I was an editor & publisher, I spent a lot of time in the Art Department working with Art Directors. Covers mattered then & they matter now—perhaps even more than ever now that readers need to be intrigued in a few seconds.
Agreed.
In your experience, Ruth, what (if anything) has changed when considering design elements that make a “good” cover?
Nina, I don’t think anything has changed. The “basics” —large, readable title, large, readable author name, eye-attracting image — still rule. As printing technology changed over the years, we were able to use holograms, metallics, step-back, cut-outs, etc to attract readers. But if the “basics” weren’t right, all the tricks & gizmos didn’t matter.
As digital technology advances, designers could have access to: 3-D, cyber-holograms etc will offer more creative opportunities.
We also used to do separate covers for “big” books by established authors: one cover pink, one, blue, one, green etc. One day (soon, probably) digital covers will be customized even more … maybe readers will be able to custom order colors, images, personalized covers with family photos, etc.
Nina, what do you see coming?
Hmmm… I agree. The basics haven’t changed.
And yes, I can see 3D and holograms being used in cover design.
How soon, though….
Right now, eReader Device technology is standing in the way.
Given the millions and millions of e-ink devices (eReaders that don’t do video) in play right now, I think we’ll see covers with sound before 3D and movement. Can you imagine the sounds that could be put with some of the Romance covers?
But the lack of “moment capability” created by the eReader devices hasn’t kept cover creativity down. Check out Rebecca Sinclair’s website and what one very creative artist did to Rebecca’s California Caress cover. http://www.rebeccasinclair.com/
Just chiming in because I noticed the change in Sharon Ihle’s covers! She’s a long ago friend from San Diego when I lived there…nice to hear of the change = success comment.
Hi Janet! (and Nina, too) I’m no longer in San Diego either. Nina has done a fantastic job of reworking my covers. We’re just about finished up with ‘series’ two, a compliation of four books with similiar themes. The look and feel of these covers is completely different from the first ‘series’ of three books. I tried working this cover thing myself, but couldn’t begin to match or even think up the things Nina has in mind. Best decision I ever made…okay, except for the decision to put my backlist in eBook form! All the best with your eEnterprises! Sharon
I am delighted with the covers that Nina Paules at eBook Prep has done for two of my historical romances. She’s created a real series work, and if those books take off, I intend to ask her to do at least two more. i’m a great believer in the branding aspect of the cover designs on similar books from an author.
Hi Judy — Great to see you here! I loved doing the covers for LIBBIE and SUNDANCE BUTCH & ME. Re-coloring mid-19C Cabinet Photos and working them into a cover (especially when the photos are of the actual people the book is based upon) is fun! I’m looking forward to your books taking off.
Nina, I’m answering your post just above—we seem to have run out of reply buttons. Very snappy cover for Rebecca Sinclair!
Also, will cover designers charge extra for sound effects on romances???? Or will they charge less, because they had a little “fun” in the course of creating the sound effects?
LOL! It’s hard to say.
I only know that I *don’t* want to know whose voice is in play.
I have trouble enough looking a cover model in the eye after I’ve spent hours digitally examining his… (well, you know.)
You have no reason to be embarrassed. We’re talking business here! Your digital exam is strictly professional & an essential part of the high quality service you offer your clients.
Well, isn’t it?
Hi Judy, you’re taking a smart, professional approach. After all, it’s no accident that at TradPub houses, the Art Director was often paid the highest salary. That’s how important covers were—and still are!
Any good advice on how an author can get feedback on how good or bad their current covers are? thanks, Bill
Hi Bill –
I’ll jump in with two-cents.
Go to Amazon or iBooks.
Pull up the Top Bestselling *paid* list in the genre where your books are lists. This is your competition — the covers readers find attractive and “vote for” with their buy-button.
Study the covers. Identify three common design themes among the top 20.
Are these three design elements part of your covers?
If no, you need a cover re-design.
If yes, then a blurb re-write and promotion may be the key to more sales.
All the Best,
Nina
Hi Nina! I posted a reply to a friend, Janet Wellington in an above comment. Said hi to you there, but then figured you might not go back to that area. This has been a great interview session/comments, with lots and lots of great information. Thanks for letting me know about this!
Hi Sharon! Thanks for stoping by (and for the the promo plug) Ruth did a great job with the interview.
Nina
Hi Bill, excellent advice from Nina. You might also consider asking for a critique in Writers’ Cafe. Good luck with your cover!
Great info Ruth! Thank you for bringing so many bright ideas to light. Nina Paules has been invaluable in helping me reboot my backlist and part of that has been designing new covers to attract today’s readers. What a wonderful time to be writing in when, if one cover isn’t generating sales, it can be changed! I sure had a few covers in the old days I wish I could have done that with!
Marilyn, LOL. I’m with you on the awful covers we sometimes get stuck with! Bleh. But with e-pub, as you say, change is possible. Yay for change!
Ruth–Great post and I’m honored to be a part of it. We just changed one of Bob’s covers for Atlantis and we had a huge jump in sales because of it. As digital publishing grows and changes so will cover design. Look at how websites and blogs have developed as the Internet developed.
Very interesting, Jen. There are a number of comments here about the power of the “right” cover. If a book isn’t selling, an obvious problem might very well be the cover. The solution: A new cover. Easily done with e-pub.
Though I’m a bit late here, I wanted to thank Ruth for including me- it’s great to see how other designers work. And I’m always interested in hearing writers questions and opinions.
Like many who commented, I feel the flexibility of epubing -being able to change a cover or bucking a trend and doing something different – are some of the most exciting aspects of working with indies.
I look forward to the next post!
Laura, thanks for stopping by. Your answers—& the answer of the other designers—really help writers understand the importance of “the right cover” & what goes into getting one.
I agree that being able to change a cover is one of the greatest options of e-pub. If a cover seems “wrong”, simply a mistake, or we just get bored after a while—we can just change it. Yay!