New Covers

The other day, in an effort to spark my creativity and to help me buckle down and get to writing, I started looking up pre-made and custom made covers from professional cover designers. Anyone who has read this blog knows that I fashioned (or tried to) my covers off of one of my favorite authors, Dick Francis (see here).

Based on the face that I've sold two or three books with the new covers without any promotion (which is two or three more than I sold of the old cover design) I feel we can chalk up my old cover design philosophy into the ole loss column.

I'm quite happy with my new cover designs, and was pleased when the artist, having read the reviews of my books, recommended a new promotional campaign as she said "Based on the reviews, it sounds like you have a decent book." Sadly, I don't think my reviews, nor her covers, inspired her to actually buy a copy for herself. I comfort myself with the thought that perhaps thriller cum mysteries aren't her milieu.

Nevertheless, the new covers are quite spectacular, and the price of the novels is still quite unbeatable (see here and here).

Covers, Covers and More Covers

So there was one thing that came out of that last review that I felt compelled to address. Romantic wrote:

To the author, please consider getting a professional cover done. The current one really doesn't do justice to the level of writing in this book.

Although this is a wonderful compliment about my writing, it's not the best compliment about my skills in terms of cover design. When I first started this journey, I tried making my own covers. That came to a screeching end very quickly (see here, here and here). 

In my defense, as a huge fan of Dick Francis, I was trying to mimick his style. They do look rudimentary and cheap though, so I'm glad I decided against using them long term.

It took me a while, but I found an online but when I found the ones I thought were professional, sophisticated and worthwhile, I invested in them, bought them, worked with the designer and rolled them out (see here).

These were far better, but they still lacked something. They looked too blank I realize now. Truthfully, even though Vapor Trail looks homemade, it was actually the most expensive one I bought. I never liked it though. It never truly represented the story. Romantic was correct.

Thanks to this comment by "Romantic" I went back and found a better cover for Vapor Trail (it's not easy by the way) and updated both the other two. I uploaded tag lines, provided some more flare. Now I'm far happier with them. I can live with these. Let's hope "Romantic," thinks the update is worthwhile.

Pulp Covers

 I've always been a huge fan of pulp art novel covers. I don't know why, but they've always appealed to me. I think the first I remember seeing was for Foundation by Asimov. I think I've mentioned here before (see here) that when I was growing up I would spend summers with my grandfather in the country. He was an avid novel reader and I became one as well. We would go to the paperback bookstore in the town nearby and trade in all of paperback books and get new ones for a discount. I think that might be where I first became aware of my liking pulp covers. 

A Purple Place for Dying Covers

A while back I was comparing pulp covers for some of the books I've read. It's a fun thing to do isn't it? To see the evolution of book covers over time? I even have my own evolution. I've seen my covers change over time a bit. I think they're there now. I doubt I'll see many more versions of my cover. 

In terms of A Purple Place for Dying, there are myriad. 

Stunned by the Rat Race

A couple of days ago I wrote about the rat race . . . and how at the end you're just the lead rat (see HERE). So, because I have about another week or so to go before my next class picks up and I have to put down reading for fun and pick up reading for texts once again, I thought I'd slip in a few more faves, and I guess rat racing was on my mind. 

I've never read this one, which again, surprises (and delights) me. 

E-Cover

Normally I have trouble finding articles to write about for this blog. Then, today, BOOM! there's three right away. I plan to write about and link to all of them, but I've decided to start with this one as it seems the most apropos to what I've been writing about lately.

This article in the WSJ by Javier Espinoza entitled Designing for Digital is all about book covers for the e-reader world. It's a good little article with some nuggets of info I already knew or could have guess at. Among them:

an e-book cover must be bolder, simpler and more legible than its print counterpart, graphic designers say.

and

For Andy Fielding, an Edinburgh-based graphic designer who works with writers self-publishing their e-books, simplicity is the key to a beautiful design that will stand out. "A print book only really has to work in your hands as an object. But when people are looking at e-book covers they are looking at them on places like Amazon, where they are very small initially—the size of a thumbnail."

I've always thought that Dick Francis' book covers were simple, colorful and yet powerful. These are the ones that I tried to channel when I came up with my own.

Yes, yes, his look better, but I feel that mine meet the requirements that are laid out by the article.

Anyway, I thought it was a great article, and was full of information for anyone planning to e-publish. I've seen several other self-published folks who have not used the advice listed in the article and I believe their sales probably are hurting because of it. Then again, my sales aint no rocket ship.

Enquiry Might Be the Last For a While

I may have OD'd on my favorite authors, especially Dick Francis. I wrote a couple weeks back (see HERE) about my reading lately, between classes. 

This last one was Enquiry, and it was really good. It's simple, quick, fun, and fast. Love it. I've been writing alot about covers lately (see HERE), so I wanted to get you an update on Enquiry's covers.

Like the last Dick Francis, this one too has a TON of covers associated with it over the years. My favorite is the top one here. Love the sunset (or maybe a sunrise). I'm also still a fan of the puzzle blocks style that is the second down. Then that third one down is pretty fun too, it captures the whole story and all the sub-plots in one cover.

Covers . . .There's More to Covers Than You Think

Anyone who has seen my novel (here) will see that I went minimalist in my cover design. I tried to let the designs in so many Triathlon symbols inspire me (here). I think for the most part I achieved that, but still I think it lacks a certain je ne sais quoi that more professional covers have. That being said I've seen quite a few designs from my contemporaries (here) and seeing them makes me happy that I went the minimalist route. Some of the designs seem a bit too much, too busy, too loopy and chock full of stuff.

That being said there are things I missed cover-wise for this release. I had a cover ready for the website I was designing (here) but hadn't gone beyond that. I didn't have one ready (formatted for an actual book) for CreatesSpace, I didn't have one ready (shrunk for tiny viewing) for Amazon and Smashwords, just like the web-marketing I didn't have enough ready.

I should have gone onto Smashwords and checked out their template and made sure mine fit the bill. I could have made the second stick figure, the one with the gun, wrap around the spine so that it looks like he's running from the back cover to the front. I could have had a back picture ready as well as a blurb or two (more on that later).

Suffice it to say there were alot of things that I hadn't considered with the cover that with a small amount of research would have cleared up. Again, its on the AAR list now, so I shant miss it next time.

Nightmare in Pink Cover

I'm sure many of you will find it odd, but there's very little these days makes me happier than going back and finding the pulp (and other) covers that are associated with he books I read. Naturally, when I say that there is "nothing that makes me happier" I'm being hyperbolic, if only because my best friend Sadie is around. 

Having just finished John D. MacDonald's Nightmare in Pink (see HERE) I was very eager to get out there and see the evolution of the covers!

Guest Post: Your Book Cover Design by Michelle Rene Goodhew

Today’s guest blogger is Michelle Rene a freelance cover designer and illustrator from Northwest Washington. Michelle is published in six genres and allows her creative diversity shows in my various works. Some of her illustrations were previously published in Creative Review magazine, as well as a few of her cover designs. 

Your Book Cover Design

As a designer, my best advice is that you do not create your own book cover. Homemade book covers tend to look homemade. The result would most likely be an amateur cover with what the public will perceive as an amateur book. But if you are still interested in designing your own cover, I have included a list of the most helpful video tutorials at the end of this article.

When it comes to book covers, they are the first sales point of your book. You do not want to display a b-rated or homemade cover because it will suggest the value of your book. It is highly recommended that you find a professional designer. There are hundreds of cover designers out there, what you are looking for is a great portfolio full of unique designs.

The Basics

You can expect to pay a median range of $500 for your cover design, as high as $750 or as low as $200. Hiring an illustrator could cost you considerably more and then a designer will still need to arrange the layout and font design. A contract should be agreed upon and typically a down payment of 50% of the total design costs will need to be paid up-front.

• The Concept

Before you approach your designer you should create a brief that the designer can work from, and most professional designers will want to read your book in order to create your specific design. If they don’t, you may want to look somewhere else for your needs.

Before you get started on creating a brief for a cover design you need to decide on the message you want to send.

Ask yourself: What is the book’s single-minded value proposition?
What is the target audience of readers looking for – Inspiration and Aspiration, Success and Achievement, Knowledge and Power, Romance and Passion, Murder and Revenge?
Boiling it down to the motivation, incentive and emotion will help you generate tons of ideas or visual metaphors that determine the imagery, choice of color palette, typography, and layout that help your designer capture what the book is all about.

This is your chance to brainstorm and maybe make a collage of things that appeal to you.

• The Brief

You will need to provide a cover design brief. Take a look at what the designer needs to know.

Points to include:

1. The Concept

2. The style

There are, broadly, 3 types of cover to choose from:

3. You need to consider:

• The theme or key image from the book that you want to use on the cover.
• Is there a particular character or scene from your novel you would like to show on the cover?
• Should there be a dominant color?
• Are there any visual clues such as badges or colors that will identify the content?
• Is the book designed to be part of a series? Does it need to match existing books?

Please provide as full a brief as you can.

• The Design

Your designer should offer you two or three concepts to choose from.

The cover design should generate excitement. Grab attention. The main goal of every book cover is to generate excitement. The cover is one of the best tools in your marketing arsenal. That’s why you should create something that will stop people in their tracks and evoke interest. The book cover is the hook that will help you to promote your book.

       
So many books today have a repetitive design style, they are copies of other books in their genre and therefore have a hard time standing out in the crowd. A professional designer will invest time in their work for you and should provide you with something unique.

The book cover should show what genre the book is. A really good book cover “talks” to its readers through choice of typography, imagery and metaphor.

     

A great cover design engages the viewer by drawing them in with a design style that speaks for the story. Branding the author is imperative, the designer is responsible for presenting the books image as a first impression to the public, special thought and time should go into font, color scheme and layout.

Book Cover Design Tutorials

Create a Realistic Book Cover in Photoshop
How To Create a Retro Style Superman Book Cover - Visit this Photoshop tutorial to get some basic skills in book cover design.
How to Design a Book Cover in Photoshop - YouTube is full of different Photoshop tutorials. This one of the simplest but still useful.
Designing Book Covers Tutorial (Advanced) - This is advanced level video tutorial, but why not have a try?
Create Character Driven Book Cover Art Using Illustrator and Photoshop – Part 1 - Learn how to create the “Let’s Go To Monster School!” book cover.
Dirty Design: Create a Grungy Thriller Book Cover



About Michelle

My name is Michelle Rene and I am a freelance cover designer and illustrator from Northwest Washington. I also contract through several publishers as a cover designer and illustrator. I am published in six genres and my creative diversity shows in my various works. Some of my illustrations were previously published in Creative Review magazine, as well as a few of my cover designs. I am an artist and have a true passion for my work.

As a designer I feel that hearing the heart of the story from you, the author, the passion you express for your creation fuels my creativity and design process. I want my authors to feel that my illustration and design is the vision they hoped for in representing their work to the public. I want to pull potential readers in with the cover design. My design has to stand out from the rest as a unique work of art. As an illustrator and designer, I combine my services to create a unique look that only your book will have.

What are you currently working on and how can I be of service to you?

Come take a look at my artwork and designs, check out my variety of services offered on my pricing page, you will find my rates to be competitive. I also design social and website banners, posters for book tours, bookmarks, book teasers, and business cards, all for your book marketing efforts. Review my testimonials and discover some of the people I work with. http://michellerenegoodhew.com

I look forward to hearing from you :-)

Sincerely,
Michelle Rene Goodhew
Book Cover Designer & Illustrator
Website: http://michellerenegoodhew.com
goodhewmichelle@gmail.com
USA 360-854-8610

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ArtistandIllustratorMichelleReneGoodhew
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MichelleRene00
Google+: https://www.google.com/+MichelleGoodhew

High Stakes Cover

Yesterday and last week I wrote about what i'm reading right now (see HERE). The week before that I wrote about the first line from that book, as I often like to do (see HERE for all my first lines and why I catalog them). As anyone who follows this blog knows, I am currently in a phase of liking to see all the different varieties of covers that go along with the books I read (see HERE). 

This first one is what I like best about Dick Francis books. This style. this is what I was trying to mimic with my first series of covers for my own books. I failed. I do still like this style though. 

Among the Bullets

Among all the bullet points that are listed in this article about the Kindle Touch, I must say the one I'm most looking forward to experiencing is the fourth one:

• A new user interface
• Whispersync for Voice
• Enhanced Parental Controls
• Book Covers
• Time-to-Read
• Recommended Content
• Enhanced book samples
• Navigate graphic novels, and comics

As I have written in this blog many times, I don't like the screen saver and book cover capability of the Kindle. If I was more confident of my abilities I would have "jail breaked" it a long time ago and uploaded my own screen saver images. Again, why not tailor the screen saver to show the book jackets of the books I am reading? Why not have images of my favorite authors. Nothing against Emily Post, but why must she show up on my Kindle?

I'm sure something else, maybe something that isn't even listed will pique my interest once the new Touch arrives, but for now, I choose book covers.

Second reason why I'm excited? This site, Top Ten Reviews, suggested that the Touch was a solid 9.73 out of 10 in terms of e-readers on the market.

If you enjoy reading and are always looking for your next good read, we recommend purchasing the Kindle Touch 3G. The portable eBook reader is second to none in the features and tools that count: readability, size, ease of use, free internet, battery life, library selection, speakers and fast page turns. Hands down, the Kindle Touch 3G is our clear winner and choice for the best eBook reader.

As I said a year or so ago, I like my Kindle if only because it forces me to read. It focuses my mind on reading and helps me filter out everything else. Based on this review, it sounds like the Touch will provide that same level of focus.

Pulp Covers for a Holiday Post

The other day I wrote about Big Red's Daughter (here and here) and how much the book didn't agree with me. One thing that did agree with me was the cover art I found. Despite what some may think of my covers, which are meant to evoke a Dick Francis cover (here), I really dig cover art. I remember years ago tooling through the aisle at Bookstop ranking my selections for purchase purely on the cover. I read some doozies based on this one criterion.

I ran across a series of cover's (here) that stoked my interest by following a link at Stuff You Should Know (here). My favorites are listed below.

This first one I like purely for the fact that I want to read it to find out what the hell is happening. Is he trying to stage a murder or saving her from herself.

This second one I enjoy if only for the title. The cover is good, but just how have the characters determined the sexual proclivities of Satan? That's what I'd like to know.

Finally, this one I love just because it could be the title slide for this blog.

There are more out there on the site (here) and they're quite fun to see. These were just my favorites.

Next New Book

As a blossoming, somewhat seasoned writer and self-publisher, I get asked often for advice from other writers. Sometimes I'm asked to take a look at a book and give it a review. Such is the case. 

You know what . . . despite what might jump to mind when you first look at the title and the cover, it's a darn good book. In fact, I'm a bit jealous. Why?

Another Old Friend

 As I have a month or so to walk down memory lane before my next class takes over my free time, and as I've already read a Dick Francis, and Lawrence Sanders novels, and as Louis L'amour was also an old fave of mine from when I was growing up, I might as well give him a quick go too. 

I've selected one that I'm fairly certain I have not read. I have read a tone of Louis L'Amour books, but he had what seems like thousands, so there's a good chance I have not read this one. Also, since the other day I discussed pulp art covers (see here), I went ahead and found the most pulpy I could and posted it first.

Consider Me Intrigued . . . On Two Counts

I ran into this (see here) promotion for a class for book marketing by Karen Tyrrell and am intrigued . . . actually doubly intrigued.

First, I want to know more about marketing my novels. I have two novels out there (see here and here) and I've just updated their covers (see here) and I have some actually not bad reviews for them. In fact the artist who designed my new covers even said I should consider a "re-launch" as my reviews seemed so good. So, I'm always for learning more about marketing my novels.

I haven't done much marketing. Count me in the crowd that believes that the writing has to be good for people to buy it. I love what Hugh Howey did with Wool (see here). He produced a good work and let the writing speak for itself. People came, people recommended it, people discussed and reviewed it cause the writing and the idea was so good. That's the dream.

But I get it that's not the normal way of the world. Also, I'm guessing that that was how it was done. How do I know that Hugh Howey wasn't out there peddling his work to every Tom, Dick and Harry he walked by.

Secondly, I'm the Director of Training here for my company. We have over 50 offices across the United States. I've had a project in the past few months to outfit all of those locations with large format 52" video displays, PC's and speakers with microphones and other equipment to support online interactive streaming. My trainers can now train anyone in any of our U.S. locations from any of our other U.S. locations. The trainers can see and interact with the students and vice versa, real time.

Miss Tyrrell is considering providing her workshop via webinar (which is the only way I would be able to take part actually) and I'm incredibly curious about how she will do it. I know how I've done it when training people to work in refineries, but how will Miss Tyrrell pull it off.

We made the calculation to have two streams at once. One that shows the trainer in front of the class. The other that shows the power point. Audio and video stability is paramount which is tough to ensure in every case. And with all that bandwidth being chewed up it can get spotty at times, but we wanted both the power point and the trainer in front of the class to make it worthwhile.

Sarah Hill (see here), who is a part of my circles on Google Plus and describes herself with: "12 time Emmy award winning storyteller for the broadcast channel for Veterans United Foundation" and "the first journalist to use a Google+ Hangout on TV" also chews on these technological nuts. She has started to integrate Google Glass into her work which is something I'm thinking about trying as well.

Regardless, I hope Miss Tyrrell is able to get something together. I need the help in one arena and need to compare webinars for my job.

Walking Away Girl Covers . . . How Prevalent Are They?

Truth is that the first few lines of Dead End Girl (see here) did not grab me, and based on my reading speed so far, it hasn't helped me get into the book. I have had a change in the way I see first lines and catalog them (see here).

Based on the cover, and it's similarities to the cover of my own book, On the Edge, I wonder if I should do a series on covers where the reader only sees the back of the girl (see here).

Corduroy pants swished between Teresa’s thighs as she crossed the parking lot. She had a headache. That drive-thru headset gave her a headache every damn time. The band squeezed her skull like an old man trying to find a ripe cantaloupe in the produce department. Pressing and pressing until her temples throbbed. When the headaches were really bad, she got the aura. And it was gonna be a bad one tonight. She could already tell. By the time she got home, she’d be nauseous from the skull throb along with the stink of fryer grease clinging to her clothes and hair and skin. Sometimes she swore she could feel it permeating her pores. 

She placed a hand under the lid of the dumpster and lifted. The overhead lights in the parking lot glinted on the surface below. It looked like water, but it wasn’t. It was oil. Every night they emptied the fryers, dumping the used oil into this dumpster. It was a disgusting task. Worse than taking out the trash on a 90-degree summer day, when the flies got real thick, and the meat went rancid almost as soon as they put it in the bin. It was dead out. No traffic. No noise at all but her fiddling with the dumpster and the bucket.

Vargus, L.T - Dead End Girl

I'm hoping it comes along, but I just noticed this: the title is "Dead End Girl: A Gripping Serial Killer Thriller." If the author has to put into the title that it's "gripping" it doesn't bode well for the rest of the book.

BUT! It was free and it's not all THAT bad yet. It's very much in the vein of Silence of the Lambs. We shall see where it goes.

Another (Techno) Thrilling First Line

I'm onto a Clancy (sanctioned) techno-thriller. This time Threat Vector. It's a typical and expected beginning to a typical and expected Clancy novel.

The five Americans had been lying low in the decrepit hotel room for hours, waiting for nightfall. 

Sheets of warm rain rapped on the window, generating the majority of the sound in the dim room, as there was little talk among the men. This room had served as the base of operations for the team, though four of the five had stayed at other hotels throughout the city during their weeklong stay. Now that preparations were complete, those four had checked out of their quarters and consolidated their gear and themselves here with the fifth man in their group. 

Though they all were still as stones now, they had been a blur of activity over the past week. They had surveilled targets; developed op plans; established covers; memorized their primary, secondary, and tertiary exfiltration routes; and coordinated the logistics of the mission to come. 

But preparations were now complete, and there was nothing left to do but sit and wait for darkness.

Clancy, Tom; Greaney, Mark - Threat Vector

What I can never be sure of is, which first line to take? The prologue first line:

These were grim days for former operatives of the Jamahiriya Security Organization, the dreaded national intelligence service of Libya under Moammar Gaddafi. Those members of the JSO who had managed to survive the revolution in their home nation were now scattered and in hiding, fearing the day when their cruel and brutal past would catch up with them in a cruel and brutal way.

Or the first line from chapter 1. I chose chapter 1 if only cause the prologue one was so damn boring. I guess Greaney and Clancy split the difference. One on the "good first lines" list (here) and the other on the "bad first lines" list (here).

Not Very Touch Improved

When I worked at a dash-mounted video camera company, where we manufactured the hardware and software for police to use dash cams, I talked to one of our users and found out that they were using our system in a revolutionary manner.

After they mirandized their suspects they would put them in the back of one of their cruisers. Then in full view of the suspects they would switch off the screen on the dash-mounted camera system so that it looked liked they'd turned it off. They hadn't. Instead they had just turned off the screen, but the camera, the audio recording, and the system were all still on and recording.

Usually the suspects would begin planning their "defense." They would talk about what actually happened and in many cases what their "stories" would be once they were taken to the police station. Since they were already mirandized everything that the camera captured could be used in court against them.

After hearing this I spoke to my boss and we developed a "covert recording" button. A button that the officer could push that would set the system up for this type of backseat recording. In less than a month we had a differentiator from our competition.

It's because of this experience that I'm continually amazed that Amazon can't produce screen savers that are personalized. Why not have a program that would make the screen saver for the Kindle the book cover of the book that was last read. Or better yet, have a compilation of book covers of the books in that Kindle's library. And these are just off the top of my head.

I got my touch yesterday, and although I'm happy with it, compared to the older Kindles, not quite impressed compared to the iPad, this one niggling thing seems like such a loss. Not only that, this is one thing from one customer that would greatly add to the appeal of the technology, . . . think about all the other great ideas out there.

Less on the Website, but More on the Web

That title alludes to what I need to concentrate on next time. I spent alot of time and effort on building a website, and not enough time on web marketing. What do I mean? Read on to see.

I started building a DickHannahWriting website about three years ago. There's a reason I haven't provided a link. It's not done. I started on it ostensibly because I thought I needed one for marketing. Secondarily it went hand-in-hand with a project I was involved with at the company I worked at at that time (here . . . but don't hold me completely accountable, they've let it go to seed a bit it since my departure). It was a decent little website but sadly had even less content than decency. Since that time, I've started several stunningly good revisions, none of which panned out completely. I've since abandoned the project for  as no matter how I organize it, there is always too little content for a complete website. Needless to say the wasted hours on website development over the last couple of years grew and grew and grew.  

I should have spent more time on web marketing. What do I mean by web marketing? I mean those aspects of websites and e-publishing that are tangential but still inherent in so many of the portals where one can find my book. There is the Amazon book description (here), the Amazon author page (here) there is the (still absent) Facebook page on Toe the Line, the Smashwords author page (here) and the Smashwords book description (here) my BookBlogs author page (here) my Linkedin page and my banner ad (see the top banner in this blog).

 I'm not saying that each of these has to necessarily be unique or different, in fact many of them are direct cuts and pastes of one another, but I didn't know about most of them until I started down this path. I should have had them all prepped and ready by the launch of the book.

 The banner ad too has been used far more than I expected. I used it in forums in BookBlogs, I used it for the top of my blog, I used it in LinkedIn, Facebook, etc etc. Guess what? I threw it together at the last minute. I took a couple of features from discarded book covers and plopped them on the ole art board one evening.

 Had I known then what I know now I would have devoted more time to the banner ad and other seemingly less significant web marketing feature and spent less time on the silly website.