Times have changed.

A few months ago, on DIY MFA, I wrote an article about research and world building for The Find. This time, I’m sharing the agony and ecstasy of deciding on those all-important decisions to be made about the front cover design and back cover blurb. 

With every rewrite and polish, your story shines. You’ve received beta reader feedback (that’s a must-do). An editor and proof-reader may have tidied up things (I’d recommend both). You are confident the words inside your book are ready for publication. Now for the outside.

As a reader, I still like handling and browsing books in actual shops, but like most others, I browse online, frequently purchasing digital novels.

As an author, I rely on online retail platforms to market my work. Few of us get to see our books displayed in actual shops relying on potential purchasers to click through rather than flick-through.

Front Cover Image

What kind of cover design image captures the mood of your story-world and genre? For The Find, the Book Guild designer provided advice and a briefing form with all sorts of questions, such as:

• What is the title inspired by? 
• Who do you feel is your target audience? 
• What do you wish your cover to convey?
  
  

After researching and selecting images on iStock, where I had been directed to, I tested concepts with beta readers who knew the story and between us we narrowed my ideas down to a combination of a non-specific male head and boggy landscape. 

The digital image of a male head came in two colors: bronze and silver. The two boggy landscape photos I selected were browny-gold tones and bluey-gray. I mocked up two versions and sought feedback from beta readers. The brown/gold color palette won out, and I forwarded a roughed-up idea to the publishers to work with.

What came back surprised and delighted me. The designers tossed out the head image as it didn’t work, they said, instead focusing on one boggy landscape image. They played with it, altering and enhancing it in magical ways designers have. I loved it immediately.

On a 1-10 scale, agony to ecstasy, I give working on cover design a high 9. 

Take away:

• Take your time to look at books that are a similar genre to yours. 
• Share ideas with beta readers who know your story.
• Take advice from professionals who know the current book market.
  

Back Cover Blurb

Let’s imagine people browsing online. You’ve hooked them with a strong, yet relevant, cover design and they decide to stay a while longer and read the blurb. You’ve not got much time before restless fingers are going to click through. Grab them!

• How can your back cover blurb capture your story succinctly? 
• In under 200 words, how can you convey the essence of your story without including plot spoilers? 
• How can you grab peoples’s attention to make them think, yeah, that’s worth spending money on? 
• How can you ensure the blurb reflects your values and themes in your story? 
  
  

I went through many versions. It’s hard to get the blurb to the point where you don’t want to tinker a second longer. 

I tested paragraphs with beta readers and my writers’s group, changing, tweaking, chucking away, starting again… In other words, I stewed over the whole darned thing for weeks. Many suggestions from valued supporters were included in the blurb. Here is what I settled on.

On a 1-10 scale, agony to ecstasy, I give working on the blurb a 5. It was difficult, and I really did agonize over it. 

Take Away:

Don’t rush. Take your time and listen to advice. Live with your cover design. Play with it by moving sections around. (I moved the final sentence in my blurb from opening to ending.) Read it aloud.

Enjoy creating your book!

Stories with big themes written as page-turners are Anna M Holmes’s speciality. She loves research — exploring and building worlds and complex characters. The Find is her latest novel following Wayward Voyage and Blind Eye. Initially, she worked as a radio journalist before a career in arts management working with UK Arts Councils and as a creative producer. Writing, reading, dance, and yoga shape her life. Originally from New Zealand, Anna lives in South-West London.

To discover more about Anna M Holmes visit her website or follow her on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

The post Book Cover Design and Blurb: Agony or Ecstasy? appeared first on DIY MFA.

I’m thrilled to be joining you here at DIY MFA to share actionable insights.

Last time, we discussed author brand as a promise to readers and how a brand framework can help you articulate yours. Next is translating the brand promise into a visual identity. Book cover design is a critical aspect of this, so today we’ll cover five tips to spark great design.

Why Design?

When we consider storytelling, we usually think of the written or spoken words that make up the tale. However, we shouldn’t underestimate the power of book covers to evoke emotion and spark interest in a story. After all, humans are visual creatures. Vision activates more than 50% of the brain’s cortex!¹ Think about how you feel when you see an image of a cub versus a fierce lion, or a contrast of colors compared to a harmonious palette.

As a brand marketer, I witnessed firsthand the impact of visuals on packaged good purchase decisions. Red and yellow can be paired to interrupt a package design and scream “discount.” Green is often used to connote environmental sustainability. Certain shades of blue can be calming and rational, which is useful to communicate efficacy.

The power of design applies to books too. It’s a critical element in a publisher or author’s toolset to break through and convey meaning. Let’s examine each of these concepts, and five tips to spark great cover design (which can be described using the mnemonic “SPARC”). Note: these tips are for authors who have a collaborative role in the design briefing and assessment process and may be less actionable for others.

Break through is the ability to stand out in a cluttered environment. This is necessary because your book is competing in bookstores that carry thousands of titles or online marketplaces with millions of options. To navigate this sea of choice, readers rely on various means to pick a book, such as credible sources (bestseller/best of lists, awards, news outlets and other media), friend/library/bookstore/Goodreads recommendations, or simply by browsing and picking up a book that “catches attention.”

Catching attention can come from a title that grabs, well-written copy, an enticing endorsement blurb, or a known author. All of that together, what the cover communicates to the reader, is what we call “meaning.”

Tip #1: Simplicity breaks through, so don’t try to stuff everything onto the cover. Rather, focus!

It’s hard enough to summarize our full-length books into a publisher synopsis, back cover blurb, log line, or title. It’s that same intensity of focus that’s needed to determine what key aspect of the book will most motivate a reader on the cover. That single-minded insight can be shared with designers in a creative brief, sometimes called an author questionnaire. For instance, I briefed my publisher that Goodbye, Orchid’s central tension was the emotional and physical shattering of the main characters, Phoenix and Orchid. That tension is captured through the image of shattered orchids on the cover.

Tip #2: Prioritize your communications hierarchy.

To focus, it can help to determine what you’d like your reader to notice first, second, and third (recalling that tip #1 exhorts simplicity, we likely shouldn’t have more than 3-5 priorities). We call this prioritization a “communications hierarchy.” For example, the prominence of James Patterson’s name on his covers indicates that his team prioritizes his author name fairly high in the hierarchy. Smart, since his well-known name will break-through and motivate readers.

As a debut author, I prioritized: 

1. The shattering image and title,
2. My author name and subtitle, and finally 
3. My front cover blurb and award, just below those other important elements. 

You can see the resulting cover here:

Tip #3: Assess cover designs against the brief, not personal taste.

Once you’ve done all the hard work to write and communicate a single-minded brief, it’s more powerful to assess your designs versus the brief, not based on personal taste. So, rather than telling designers “I like this” or “I don’t like that,” it’s more helpful to share which designs (or parts of designs) communicate the single-minded insight, and whether the communications hierarchy is delivered. Don’t fall into the trap of telling the designer what to change (that’s their expertise) but rather, what you’re trying to achieve! This will help make you a great collaborator and that collaboration is what contributes to great designs.

Tip #4: Real-life: assess cover design in situ.

Be sure to assess design not only at full-size, but as a thumbnail, next to other covers from the same genre. It’s tempting to view your cover oversized on your screen, and to nitpick about the little details. But especially for titles that primarily sell as ebooks, it’s more important to see them in a real-life situation. After all, thumbnails are often all online shoppers first see of your cover. So shrink them to real-life screen size and assess the title legibility, whether the cover will be distinctive and easily recognizable, as well as whether it can “pop” versus other books in your genre. Designers have a bevy of strategies to achieve this break-through, including the contrast of colors, font weight, and mix of serif and sans serif fonts. Here’s an example of an online Amazon “shelf”:

If your book will be in physical distribution, pay attention to the spine, as that may be all readers see of your cover design in bookstores or libraries. Check to see if the title and author name are legible at a glance. Take a look at these spines, many of which are simple and clean:

Source: Instagram @the_unwined (used with permission)

Tip #5 Consistency, consistency, consistency.

After you have designs in hand, consistency is king.

The truth is, the path to purchase is rarely linear. Because most of our lives are busy and full, research has found that it can take two to seven exposures for a new product or item to break its way into our consciousness. As authors, that means it benefits us to stack our impressions, be relevant in content and placement, and be visually consistent. This helps break through because human brains naturally scan for patterns and once readers have seen your cover(s) multiple times, they will be more quickly recognized next time. Readers have told me that because my publisher has consistently used a specific font for my title, and shattered orchids in my graphics, they’ve come to associate my cover and orchids with Goodbye, Orchid. See an example banner here:

In summary, design is important because in crowded physical or digital spaces, a book may only have seconds to catch a reader’s attention. Good book cover design can break through. Mediocre design can get lost. So remember the five tips to “SPARC” great design:

1. Simplicity breaks through, so don’t try to stuff everything onto the cover. Rather, focus!
2. Prioritize your communications hierarchy.
3. Assess designs against the brief, not personal taste
4. Real-life: assess design in situ
5. Consistency, consistency, consistency

Please let me know the ways in which these concepts helped clarify your visual identity thinking. I’ll look forward to chatting more next time, when we’ll dive into more marketing concepts. Meanwhile, connect with me on any of these social media sites https://linktr.ee/cvdh and let me know what else you’d love to learn about marketing and brand strategy.

Wishing you peace, meaning and orchids of course. Happy writing!

Carol Van Den Hende, MBA

Award-winning author of Goodbye, Orchid

¹ University of Rochester https://www.rochester.edu/pr/Review/V74N4/0402_brainscience.html

Carol Van Den Hende is the award-winning author of Goodbye, Orchid, a public speaker, and MBA with 20+ years’ experience in marketing, strategy and insights. Carol is passionate about simplifying marketing concepts into actionable steps that authors need for publishing success. Please sign up for Carol’s newsletter at https://carolvandenhende.com/contact or linktr.ee/cvdh

The post Judge a Book by Its Cover: How to SPARC Great Cover Design appeared first on DIY MFA.

Now that the series is complete, we’ve compiled all the posts right here. If you’re thinking about your book cover, Melinda’s series is an excellent resource and a great place to start.

1. In her Part One, Melinda broke down four reasons every writer needs to go the extra mile to get the perfect cover.
2. In Part Two, Melinda listed four steps to help you take off your writing hat and put on your marketing hat.
3. In Part Three, Melinda went through the specific expectations of readers of High Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Fantasy and Romance.
4. In Part Four, Melinda went through the specific expectations of readers of Science Fiction, Mystery and Horror.
5. In Part Five, Melinda tackled Literary and Women’s Fiction, New Adult, Young Adult, Children’s Lit and Non-Fiction.
6. And in Part Six she wrapped it all up with a specific example from her own book cover.

In addition to serving as DIY MFA’s official shutterbug, Melinda also uses her artistic skills to design book covers — check out her website at bookcovercorner.com and her blog at melindavan.com. And for more articles about the publishing industry, check the Build Your Community section of DIY MFA. Part of the writing community is the publishing industry, and we’re committed to navigating it together!

The post The Amateur’s Guide a Professional Book Package Superpost appeared first on DIY MFA.

Fantasy and Romance

Science Fiction, Myster, Thriller, and Horror

To continue in our discussion of how to create a professional book cover for your genre, let’s take a look at:

Literary and Women’s Fiction

Yes, I know as far as the stories go, these are two different genres. Sort of. But as far as cover designs go, they are quite similar. Artwork tends toward photography, and is usually understated. Simple colors, less saturation, less complex backgrounds, even smaller titles are typical. The use of white space is important here, and by “white” space I don’t necessarily mean actual white, as in the color. I mean empty space. Put enough empty space around something and you emphasize the thing in the middle. For instance, “The Pieces We Keep” uses white space in the form of a vast, fairly plain, sky, in which the title floats. It’s the first thing the reader focuses on. People looking for a literary read look for this more simplistic approach to art as a clue that the story explores vast themes, deep looks into the psychology of human kind, rather than a cheap thrill. This is a serious tale, and the cover reflects that. Some literary novels don’t use art at all, instead they just use color or just type on white. Or type on black. Simple is the keyword here. The target audience is, in general, female.

New Adult

Bridging the age gap between young adults and adults is the so-called New Adult genre. To my mind, it’s not a genre at all, but it’s desperately trying to be. It’s more of a marketing tool than anything, and seeks to attract the 18-25 age range audience, featuring a protagonist of the same age. Why would these covers be any different? That is a million dollar question without a good answer. In general, what sets these slightly apart from their adult counterparts is a younger looking person on the cover, and perhaps slightly more drama by way of deeper colors, or moody colors. I suspect the target audience here is not people in their mid-20s at all, but rather those in their mid 40s who wish they were 20.

Young Adult

YA is a different animal entirely, encompassing all the genres, but for a younger age group. A lot of the cliches hold true, with some exceptions. It’s less about the author, more about the artwork. In particular, YA, like the audience it hopes to attract, typically features drama drama drama. A face on the cover, a girl running (thriller, mystery, horror), giant monsters, rich backgrounds (fantasy, horror), larger than life things happening (romance, ALL the genres). The author name is typically small. It’s about the title and the artwork. Young adults like to see themselves on the cover, and picture themselves in the story, so helping them along by picturing the protagonist is a great way to go. Otherwise, regular genre guidelines apply, with the exception of steamy romance…picturing nearly naked children on the cover is just not done, for obvious reasons. And of course, the story itself should probably avoid them as well, especially for younger ages. Parents tend to not like that. (Yes I’m understating…use common sense here folks. Would you like YOUR kid picking up a book that looked like that?)

Children’s Lit

As we reach for an even younger audience, the artwork must change as well. Now it really doesn’t matter who wrote the book (okay, it matters to the author and to the parents, but not to the intended audience). It’s also a bit tricky to make a cover appeal to a young child, but still attract their parent as well. Appealing to a parent’s inner child is the way to go here. The titles are fun, both the words and the type treatment. The colors are bold, vivid, primary colors. Drawn artwork is used almost exclusively, particularly for picture books. The way the art is drawn will vary by age group but even adults are attracted to a fun illustration. Basically, any cover that evokes a sense of play is going to be a good choice. Gender marketing not withstanding, the best covers aim to attract both male and female readers, especially the very young ones. Though you’ll often see pink frilly things on covers for girls and blue spidery things on covers for boys (particularly those that tie into products such as dolls or toys), that’s more about commercialism and less about the story within.

Non Fiction

Non fiction books often are a lot easier to design, because the subject matter usually does the dictating. Instead of needing a piece of art that sells the tone or voice of the story within, a non fiction book cover needs to set the expectation about the promise, the information, the “what’s in it for you” that’s inside the wrapper. Is it a book on tenant’s rights? It’ll probably have a house/apartment, maybe a gavel on the cover. A book on dealing with diabetes? Probably some sort of medical device, maybe the face of a person who’s trying to give you advice, etc. A book on new positions to try in bed? Well, you get the idea. Whatever the art, it’ll be a literal, in your face, shout out regarding the content. The reader shouldn’t be left guessing about what’s inside, they should know instantly from the title and artwork.

Memoirs and humor fall into this category, and the guidelines are no different. If Prince William wrote a memoir, his face better be on the cover. Humor usually uses funny drawings or such, but it’s the same approach. It’s obvious that it’s non fiction, and that it is going to be funny.

The most important thing is that a cover for fiction NOT look like non-fiction. If it looks literal, if it looks like “real life”, or “true”, you run the risk of alienating your audience at best, or worse, possibly getting sued if you stray into legal territory. Don’t let your book pretend to be something it’s not.

Next, I’ll wrap it all up with a wheel of covers to show you how all of these guidelines can mesh together at the edges where one genre flows into the next. If you have questions, now would be a great time to ask. Put them in the comments, and I’ll try to address them next time!

………………..

Melinda VanLone serves as DIY MFA’s official shutterbug. Melinda earned an MA in publishing from Syracuse University, which she applied toward years as a graphic artist/designer, a skill she uses today at www.bookcovercorner.com.

In addition to book cover design and photography, Melinda writes urban fantasy and blogs on her website melindavan.com. As an air force brat, she’s lived briefly in places all across the country, but currently resides in Rockville, MD with her wonderfully supportive husband and furbaby. When she’s not playing with imaginary friends in her fantasy worlds you can find her playing World of Warcraft, wandering through the streets with her camera, or hovered over coffee in Starbucks.

The post The Amateur’s Guide to a Professional Book Package: Part Five appeared first on DIY MFA.

You’re not in a traditional bookstore. In the fast-paced world of digital publishing, users demand instant gratification. They swipe, click, tap, and some barely spend 3-5 seconds looking at a page of book results, let alone one thumbnail. It is now more important than ever to have a cover that stands out. That’s professional. That’s intriguing.

As a self-publisher, you have control over your book cover. You can choose your designer, and tell them exactly what you want. A good designer will take that and bring it to the next level. However, A great designer will read your synopsis, perhaps ask a few questions, and come up with an amazing concept birthed from years of training. If you are hiring a capable designer, you may want to give him the space to really get creative.

Things to look for in a successful cover:

Does my cover stand out?

This involves great balance. Each genre has a specific look, and that’s good. It’s how a reader knows he’s in the right place. But your cover also has to grab someone’s attention. Designers need to avoid clichés just as much as writers do, and strive to always be unique.

How does it make me feel?

The cover needs to appeal to our emotions. A romance cover should turn us on. A thriller cover should make us feel anxious. A memoir cover should intrigue us. A non-fiction cover should inform us. Readers will be relying on emotion as they scroll through thousands of results, finding the cover that exactly fits their mood. A book cover is a promise, conveying an expression of things to come. A good design will make you feel. 

In my pre-made book cover shown here, I found an image of a doll which looked rather creepy. It’s those eyes. They grab your own, and fill you with unease. The darkness under her chin makes her appear beheaded. The tilted and off-centered text contributes to the anxiety. It stands out, draws the reader in, and immediately makes them feel.

Does it convey my story?

This should actually be: Does it convey the emotion of my story, and allude to the storyline? The cover does not need to be too literal, as readers often like to let their imagination determine some aspects of the story. I was browsing through Amazon when this cover caught my eye. “The Dinner” by Herman Koch.

It is conceptual, showing tension in what would be considered an intimate setting– a meal. And that’s just what the book is about. Other books, such as Life of Pi, have such an incredible story that it’s obvious what should be on the cover. A boy, a tiger, a boat. I don’t even need to read a description to be intrigued.

Is it clear?

When browsing on their computer, tablet, or phone, the thumbnail could be as small as a quarter. Some designs may look great when large, but when shrunk down, they could be misleading, too busy, or unreadable. With that in mind, do not be afraid to go with a simple cover design.

Is it good quality?

As a designer, poor quality jumps out at me. Here are just some things that will cause me to stop and frown. Bad kerning (letter spacing). Blurriness caused by over-compressed JPGs or up-scaled images. Hard pixel edges, or over-feathered edges.  Over-use of effects. Outdated or inappropriate fonts. These all add up to an amateur-looking design, which conveys to the reader that the writing is likely also amateur.

Just like investing in a quality suit for an interview, investing in a quality cover design can only bring good results. It is the only thing standing between a reader and your words. You know your story is good, now you need to show them.

___

Deanna Dionne is an award-winning graphic artist whose work regularly appears in national magazines. She understands the writing world, having worked as an administrative assistant at the Backspace Writers Conference for five years. You can find her designs at www.customindiecovers.com

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