Book Covers

For Cover designers and Formatters

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Joleene Naylor
Image representing Smashwords as depicted in C...

Image via CrunchBase

I know this blog is primarily aimed at authors, but many of us moonlight as cover designers or formatters (such as myself and Stephannie Beman) so I wanted to share this from Smashwords:  (I copied it directly from their site updates page. If you have any questions please contact smashwords as I don’t have the answers. Sorry. )

 

**Mark’s List open for new applicants**  It’s been over a year since we added a new batch of cover designers and formatters to Mark’s List, our list of low-cost service providers.  For a limited period of time, I’m accepting a small number of applications for new freelancers.  If you’re considering applying, please carefully study the information below.  Incomplete or inappropriate applications will be disregarded.

Background on the list:  I created the list in January, 2011 as a public service for our authors and publishers.  It’s currently available via autoresponder when someone emails list@smashwords.com.  A newer version of the list will be made available on the Smashwords web site.  We don’t charge for listings, and we don’t take a commission.   Every individual is a freelancer.  Each freelancer provides excellent customer service, which is why they continue to be on the list.  We appreciate the great, low-cost services these freelancers provide to our authors and publishers.  We’re also pleased to know that for many of the Mark’s List freelancers, their inclusion on the list has provided them much-appreciated supplemental income.  Some have even made it their full time job.
How to apply:   First, email list@smashwords.com and study the email you receive so you can get an idea how other service providers are providing and pricing their services.   Apply to only one category, cover designers or formatters.  You must be the person who will provide the services.  We will not accept service provider firms, or individuals who farm out their work to others.  Note that I expect to receive many more applications that I can accept in this round, so please accept my apologies in advance if you don’t make the cut this time.  Maybe next time.
Okay, you’re ready to apply.  Compose an email to me at listapp@smashwords.com.  Use the subject line, “Mark’s List.”  Answer each of the questions for the category for which you want to be considered (cut and paste these questions into your email and then provide your answers inline):
Cover designers:
  1. Provide me a complete hyperlink to your author/publisher profile page, which you’ll find by clicking “My Smashwords.”  Preference will be shown to Smashwords authors and publishers.  If you’re opted in to all our distribution channels (not counting Amazon), that’s a plus.
  2. Provide a link to your online portfolio.  I’m looking for designers with a track record of producing high-quality, professional covers.  It’s also very important that Smashwords authors and publishers can evaluate your portfolio before they hire you.
  3. Provide me hyperlinks to up to five covers you designed for Smashwords books.
  4. If selected, will you provide all your Smashwords clients a listing in your online portfolio, as well as a live hyperlink to their book’s listing at Smashwords?  Such portfolio listings are appreciated by our authors, and a plus for your application.
  5. What is your design fee, and how many revisions does that include?  Most Smashwords designers are in the range of $35-$100.  If you charge more, that’s fine as long as the price is justified by the quality.  We’re looking for great designers!
  6. Do you agree that you will not try to market or upsell other author services?
  7. Why do you think you’d be a great addition to Mark’s List?
Formatters:
  1. Provide me a complete hyperlink to your author/publisher profile page, which you’ll find by clicking “My Smashwords.”  Preference will be shown to Smashwords authors and publishers.  If you’re opted in to all our distribution channels (not counting Amazon), that’s a plus.
  2. Do you consider yourself an expert at the Smashwords Style Guide?
  3. How many books have you personally formatted that have been accepted into the Smashwords Premium Catalog?  The more the better.  Provide direct hyperlinks to up to 10 of them.  Preference will be shown to formatters who employ smart use of linked Table of Contents, intra-book links (endnotes and indexes), and who provide clean, professional formatting for novels.
  4. How many years have you been using Microsoft Word?
  5. Do you Nuke every project before you begin it?
  6. Do you know how to preserve italics and bolds post-Nuke using CTRL-H wildcards?
  7. Will you guarantee Premium Catalog inclusion for your clients?
  8. Will you perform all the work yourself?
  9. Do you agree that you will not upload client works to Smashwords?
  10. Do you agree that you will not attempt to upsell Smashwords authors to other formatting or ebook design or distribution services?
  11. What would be your approximate rates for a novela, a full-length novel, and a more complex non-fiction book with an extensive linked Table of Contents, or index and endnote links?
  12. Why do you think you’d be a great addition to Mark’s List?
Thanks, and good luck!
~Mark
Categories: Book Covers, Book Formatting, Smashwords store | Tags: ,

Book Cover Formulas

Posted on February 23, 2013 by Joleene Naylor

Have you ever noticed that book covers in a particular genre are very similar? For instance:

Why do they look alike? Because the point of a book cover is to attract readers who will like it. For the most part, book covers are not an art, as many people perceive them, but rather a marketing tool – an extended advertisement  if you will, and so there are certain “formulas” to it depending on your genre. They instantly tell the reader what to expect, usually because they look similar to every other cover that has an even remotely similar story, as in the video above.For instance, let’s say you read a book with a tattooed lady’s back on the cover.You like it the book. Now you see a new book with a similar cover. Instantly, maybe without you even knowing it, you have associated this new book with the previous one you liked. It’s just a marketing trick like so many others.

But, if not applied properly that trick can back fire. When you associate that tattooed lady with the previous book, you don’t just associate that you liked it, but also elements of it that you liked. For instance if it had a lot of fight scenes you’re probably to going to expect this new book to have a lot of fight scenes. If it had a strong romance you’re going to expect the new book to have the same. In other words, whoever thinks of the new design first and manages to brand it –  the first book that came out with a tattooed woman’s back – is the one that will forever subtly set the tone for all the following books using that cover.

This holds true for all genres, but since I write primarily vampire novels I’m going to use them as the example for the rest of the post.

If we go to Amazon and do a search for “vampire”, we see that there are only six styles of covers for them, and each cover tells us what to “expect” and attracts a certain audience. (Of course, covers are not always used correctly, so there are always exceptions, many of which lead to unhappy customers – for instance: http://www.dark-readers.com/2012/05/my-opinion-on-ya-book-covers-looking.html - check out the post and the comments. )

1. Hunky man/Sexy scene.  This cover demonstrates that the focus of the story is on the hunky male and/or the sex between him and his counterpart. It caters to those readers who find hunky men attractive, most notably women, and tends to turn away straight male readers. If I buy this book I expect lots of sex. I expect the hero to be called “beautiful” and “sensual” at least ten times. There might be some violence. If the hero is alone on the cover, I expect violent scenes to end with the female trembling from fear or shock and being rescued by the hunky hero so that they can go have sex. If the couple are pictured together she may be a bit tougher, but they will still leave the battle and have hot, steamy sex. If there are two men, we automatically expect a steamy M/M plot. There’s a good chance that the book will be either from his POV or switch back and forth between him and the woman. Either way,  I wouldn’t be surprised if the hero has at least one monologue where he feels regret and angst and tells himself that he should “stay away” from his significant other.

2. Kick ass/sexy/sad woman. This kind of cover says that the woman is the main component in the story. Though this cover is more friendly to a male audience, it still attracts primarily women. If the female pictured is “kick ass” woman I expect the heroine to be  super tough and not need a man, the kind who deftly outwits all the men who cross her path and always comes out on top. I also expect violence since she is probably some kind of hunter/assassin/killer. If it is a sexy woman then I still expect her to “need no man” but she will be having hot, tumultuous sex with at least one, and possibly two or more. I expect very light violence, with the main focus being on her sensuality or her burgeoning relationship. If she’s in modern clothes I expect it to be clicky and feminist ala Sex in the City, but if she has more historical attire then the hero will “tame” her. If the woman looks sad or lost then I expect the book to focus on her emotional journey as she overcomes some terrible tragedy. There may or may not be sex in this story. Violence will be light.

3. The totally cliché vampire element. Dark castles. Bats. A man/woman with fangs. A goblet of blood. This cover is more male friendly and it shows that the main element of the story IS the vampires - everything else comes second. I would expect something heavy, historical and/or traditional ala Dracula with a lot of horror elements. Someone will use old fashioned/obsolete words. There is a good chance of violence and it will probably be bloody, though the descriptions may or may not be  gruesome. There will probably not be explicit sex (if the fanged woman is pictured alone, see #2. If she is posed with a man in a sensual scene, see #1). There is also a good chance that it is told from a male POV and someone is probably wearing a cape.

4. Cutesy art work. This cover says “Chic-lit” and makes me think of the Ya Ya Sisterhood and stuff like that. Cute, modern, edgy and feminine. I expect the vampires to be worried about fitting into their skinny jeans, or cleverly outwitting their boyfriends. They will drink margaritas and have girls night. Needless to say, these covers are more likely to attract women.

5. Totally random object/scene. Think Twilight, or Fifty Shades. Though the artists will cite symbolic bull, this cover tells you nothing. Their goal is to catch your eye with their simplicity. It is the color scheme and font choices that will tell you whether it is a “masculine” or “feminine” book. If it has a funky font I expect a YA novel with light violence and some romance, probably a girl who is discovering her “abilities”. A serif font leads me to expect a more serious story, possibly with a male protagonist who has deep regret over something. Sex and violence are both possibilities. A sans serif font will tell me that the protagonist (be they male or female) is tough, there is plenty of violence, and it’s probably going to be fast paced and contemporary. A script/cursive style font says it is a romance and more than likely the protagonist is a female. There is probably sex involved, violence is doubtful. If it’s super curly or cutesy then see #6.

6. Completely out there. This cover says “I may have vampires, but I’m different”, which makes me expect different. In fact I will expect it to lean heavily towards another genre, depending on the style, such as fantasy, sci-fi etc. That there would be lots of violence would not surprise me at all. The same with sex. There may even be deeper themes involved. I’m not going to lie when I say that these are the covers I am most attracted to.

signature for whiteWhen you run across these kind of covers, what do they say to you? Do they make you expect the same things they make me expect, or do you perceive them differently? What patterns have you noticed in other genres?

Categories: Book Covers | Tags: , , ,

Stock Photos are Open Game for All Authors and Building a Foundation for Your Business

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Ruth Ann Nordin

I’ve been thinking of what I can make a post about on this blog for almost a month, and the ideas I’m coming up with seem to be the ones along the line of “why can’t I think of anything more exciting to write about?” LOL  Usually, I’m fired up about something when I make a post on here.  When I’m fired up, I can write a 1000-word post in a few minutes.  I want to write at least one post in January, so let’s see what I can come up with.

1.  Royalty-free stock photos are great because they’re cheap and wonderful to work with in a program like GIMP that allows you to manipulate images, but you run the risk of other authors using the same stock photo on their covers.

I mention this because I was browsing through some discussion boards the other day and came across a poor author who was pretty much told off for using the same stock image that another author did.  I won’t go into specifics because it’s not my tale to tell, but I wanted to alert anyone who is new to the business that royalty-free stock pictures are not exclusive.  Other people have the right to purchase them and use them on their covers.  This is why I now like to combine two or three images into one cover.  It helps to make it unique.  Early on when I made covers, I didn’t know how to manipulate images, so I used one stock photo.  GIMP was a pain to learn, and I’m still learning.  It’s all a process.

You have to make a couple decisions in regards to covers.  You can pay someone to do the covers for you, but even then, you run the risk they will use a stock photo that is the same as one another author will use.  You can buy an exclusive cover.  I haven’t done this, but I know it’s possible and I know it’s expensive (which it should be since it is going to be exclusive).  You can make your own covers and combine two or more pictures to help make your cover as unique as possible.  Even if the same model shows up in other covers, the way you combing the pictures will still mark the cover as different.  Another option is to use one stock photo with your name and title on it (understanding that another author has the right to use that same photo and put their own title and name on it). Another thought that occurred to me is that the photo might be different, but it might be the same model.  That’s common, too.

2.  I saw many predictions for 2013.  The truth is, all we can do is guess on what will happen.  However, we do have full control over a few things that can help us build or sustain a solid foundation.

Whatever happens with books and publishing will happen.  We have as much ability to control the way self-publishing rises or falls as we do in controlling the turn the economy takes.  All we can do is position ourselves to be in the best place possible.

a.  Write what you love.

I realize certain genres sell better than others.  I don’t think you should write in a genre that doesn’t interest you.  Passion for what you’re doing is the best first step you can take.  If you can’t get excited about what you’re doing, then why would you do what it takes to make your story as polished as possible?

b. Have someone else look it over.

Yeah, I know.  This part can be a real pain.  Editors don’t always come through for you.  Sometimes your beta readers won’t get back to you when you asked them to.  Sometimes the proofreader misses something.  Whether it’s an author friend, a critique partner, a reader, or someone else, it’s still better to have someone look over your book.  You will also have to go over your story several times because ultimately, you are in charge of how the story will look when it’s published.  But even if you don’t get much from the other person, there might be a couple of things they noticed that you didn’t.   Maybe that person saw an inconsistency you didn’t.  Maybe they caught a typo you missed.  Maybe they were confused about a passage and you are able to make things more clear.  A little help is better than no help at all.

c.  Aim to have a book cover as professional as possible.

It doesn’t have to be complicated, but the aim is for your book cover to appeal to your audience.  I suggest browsing through the top selling books in your genre and figuring out if there’s a certain trend you notice.  This doesn’t mean you imitate a cover you see and like.  What you do is get pointers on what image you’d like to use.  Early on, I noticed brides were popular in romances, so I’ve used a lot of brides on my covers.  I also notice a lot of romances have people on the cover.  The scenery pictures (in my opinion) are not a good idea for romances.  As your browsing your genre, you’ll probably notice some general things similar to what I did when I browsed romance covers.  So you see, you don’t have to copy another cover.  What you do is get an idea.  ;)  Other things you can look at are the colors.  Colors help to set the mood for the book.  Then look at the way the titles are done so you can find a suitable font.  Fonts can also suggest the genre you’re writing in and get readers ready for the tone of the book.

d.  Format your books so they’re easy to read.

This doesn’t mean it has to be complicated with fancy fonts and graphics.  I often think simpler is better.   If you don’t use indents to start a paragraph, at least have a space between paragraphs.  It took me two years (not kidding) to figure out how to do indents, and when I finally did, I had to shake my head because it was ridiculously simple.   If you’d rather have someone format it for you, you can but keep in mind that if you receive an email from Amazon telling you that you need to change something, you’ll need to contact the person who formatted your book to make the change.  This is why I suggest learning how to format yourself.  Yeah, it’s a pain and there is a learning curve, but you’ll be able to do whatever changes are needed in the timely manner.

e.  Choose to get involved online in places that interest you.

If you enjoy hanging out on forums, then go there and have fun.  If you prefer blogging, blog about topics that interest you.  If you like socializing on Facebook or Twitter, then engage in those places.  If you like Pinterest, then go there.  If you like doing blog hops with other authors, then do it.  If you like contacting review bloggers, then do that.  I’d pick two or three of the things that interest you the most and go for it.  It’s not so much of where you are as it is in whether you will stick with it.  It takes time to build an online presence, and I think being a person who is friendly and helpful will go a lot further than mentioning your book all the time.  If people find what you have to say interesting, they’ll check out your link to find out more about you (so be sure to link back to your website or blog so they can find your books).  I look at social media as a way to have a good time.  If you approach it that way, it won’t be a burden, and you won’t have to step outside your comfort zone.  But it does take longer to get established.  However, it might pay off better in the long run.

***

This post is longer than I expected, so I’ll ramble again in another post.  :D

Categories: Book Covers, Marketing & Promoting, Psychology of Writing & Publishing

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