Book Covers

Discussion in 'Cover Design' started by Sam Webb, Mar 12, 2017.

  1. ddavidv

    ddavidv Senior Member

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    I've self-published three books. Two of them I did my own cover art and one I purchased a 'pre-made' cover. The pre-made professionally made cover is far more eye-catching than my other two but it came at a cost. Not a significant cost, but something to consider as a first-time author. I haven't sold enough copies of my book to pay for the artwork yet on that one which is why I designed my own for the next two.

    It is a vicious cycle. If you don't pay for a professional cover you may not sell as many copies. But, with the market flooded with self-published books you probably won't sell many copies for possibly YEARS so the covers can be cost prohibitive.

    You can check out cover artists like Book Cover Machine (who I used), Creative Paramita, Go On Write and several others to see what they offer. Cover creation is an art form unto itself. I tried to find some software that would allow me to do my own but it isn't as simple as you'd expect. iPiccy, Fotoflexer and Canva are sites I played around with. Time consuming and frequently frustrating.

    You can't just pick a stock photo and slap it on a cover with some text. It will look as cheezy as you'd expect. Playing with filters, backgrounds, etc is a minimum necessity.
     
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  2. joe sixpak

    joe sixpak Banned

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    if you are smart enough to write a book
    you are smart enough to dl a template and diy a cover

    covers are meant to sell books
    not win artsycraftsy awards

    keep it simple
    keep it legible at amazon thumbnail size
    dont be confusing


     
  3. BayView

    BayView Huh. Interesting. Contributor

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    Dude, you can't even be bothered to use periods and capitals - attention to detail probably isn't one of your strong suits, right?
     
    Last edited: Mar 23, 2017
  4. joe sixpak

    joe sixpak Banned

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    wtf dood
    are you the posting policeman

    dont like the advice
    then discuss that

    no need for some silly personal insult

    i pay attention to detail when it is needed
    and it is one of my strong suits
    ms in math and phd in CS
    where you fail if the details are wrong

    not worried about formal writing for some internet chat

    when i write for publication then you will see more formal formatting


     
  5. joe sixpak

    joe sixpak Banned

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    cover creation is a form of business communication

    most so called self styled professional cover artistes turn out artsycraftsy covers that are confusing, illegible, and worse
    they may look pretty but they do not help sell books
    and the outrageous prices they charge is obscene

    if you must buy a cover get it from fiverr or some reasonably priced source
    dont pay hundreds or even thousands for a so called 'professional' cover
    you will never sell enough additional books because of that cover to pay the cost of having it made

    does anyone ever mention the cover when they review a book
    nope

    they do mention the content
    content sells books
    covers only block sales by being bad
    not help them by being artsy craftsy




     
  6. BayView

    BayView Huh. Interesting. Contributor

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    So in the space of three posts we've gone from "covers are meant to sell books" to "content sells books/covers only block sales by being bad".

    Can you clarify which of these statements you actually want to argue in favour of?

    Can you also clarify your background/experience in publishing? You're making a lot of authoritative statements, but I'm not sure they're based on any true authority. Are they?
     
  7. joe sixpak

    joe sixpak Banned

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    to be picky and precise then

    covers are used to keep from not selling books
    at least for most people and all self publishers
    but
    many amateurs think covers sell books
    show me proof
    i have never seen a cover sell a book
    content sells the book

    i have seen covers turn people off so they dont look at the content to decide to not buy the book
    illegible andor confusing covers will do that

    i worked with a small publishing company for 45 years
    and have extensive experience with marketing

    i am also knowledgeable in business and can use logic correctly

    you have shown nothing to support a cover selling a book
    believe me or dont
    that is your call

    most amateurs and self publishers fall for the propaganda and claims of alleged professional book cover artistes who want their money

    will your cover artiste guarantee book sales ?







     
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  8. Homer Potvin

    Homer Potvin A tombstone hand and a graveyard mind Staff Supporter Contributor

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    I think you might be a "sixpak" or two ahead of the rest of us...
     
  9. ddavidv

    ddavidv Senior Member

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    This is certainly true.
    However, it need not be illegible or confusing. It can simply look amateurish. There is simply too much competition out there for readers. You can't just toss out something like is in this link: https://dwtr67e3ikfml.cloudfront.net/bookCovers/8826de3db82a1c6993cb397a2474bd59680926e6 and expect anyone to even read the blurb.

    On a bookshelf or scrolling through Amazon both the title and the cover art are what gets someone to pause long enough to read the blurb. Only then will they consider purchasing it.

    You have to ask yourself, if you've never heard of an author and you are browsing books to consider what caused YOU to examine a book online or in the store?
     
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  10. Elven Candy

    Elven Candy Pay no attention to the foot in my mouth Contributor

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    *raises hand* I, and most everyone I know who read, have bought and read books because of their interesting covers.

    Also, I'm not saying this to start an argument, but the lack of proper punctuation in your posts is distracting. Please at least consider using capitols at the beginning of your sentences and periods at the end so they're easier for the rest of us to read them. Obviously it's not a rule or anything, but I'd really appreciate it if you did!
     
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  11. Elven Candy

    Elven Candy Pay no attention to the foot in my mouth Contributor

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    This is SO true! If a cover looks amateurish, I tend to think the writing and story will be amateurish, and unless the title looks very, very interesting, I will nearly always skip over the book and look elsewhere. In that regard, covers do indeed sell books, albeit not directly.
     
  12. Steerpike

    Steerpike Felis amatus Contributor

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    The writing is not just bad, it's also a violation of forum rules (here and on other writing forums). Forum administrators like the forums to present quality posts, including with respect to spelling and grammar. For potential new members browsing the forums, it doesn't look great when you have members who appear to be ignorant of basic grammar, using text-style abbreviations, etc.
     
  13. minstrel

    minstrel Leader of the Insquirrelgency Supporter Contributor

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    This is true. The rule states, specifically,
    • This is a writing forum. Occasional use of common net abbreviations is tolerated, but excessive use of netspeak is discouraged. As a writing community, please try to keep posts high in quality.
    That last sentence, "Please try to keep posts high in quality," is intended as a catch-all for things not mentioned specifically that make the forum look amateurish. We would all appreciate it - especially the mods and administrators - if the members made the effort to write posts in proper English. That includes capitals at the beginnings of sentences and periods at the ends.

    Steerpike is correct.
     
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  14. Cave Troll

    Cave Troll It's Coffee O'clock everywhere. Contributor

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    While I have to agree to a degree with you on the look of a cover (it should represent some
    aspect of the story, even if it is the basic theme and genre). But the higher end professional
    covers can also be a bit OTT and mildly misleading as well.

    Since there are a fair mix of decent authors on either side of the aisle, a cover is so minor
    when it comes to choosing whether it is worth reading or not. That it is now a default rule
    of mine to get a feel of the book and how it is written, before making a final decision.
    And that is no guarantee that the book will be as good as it claims to be. A few are
    all hook and go down hill after they have you hooked. That makes me feel duped in to
    parting with my money, by someone who is half-assed when it comes to writing a complete
    and worthwhile read.

    It is a bit more difficult than choosing a random album in a genres of music you like that you
    have never heard of before. On the other side, the first books created had flat one color covers
    and no back-blurb. So you had to crack it open and see if the story interests you, or not.
    So you see you can't judge a book by it's cover alone, otherwise you could be saying yes to
    all hook and half-assed bad filler.

    You could be missing a great story, in favor of aesthetics. It is kind of like buying books because
    of name recognition, it doesn't mean that everything they write is a masterpiece. There are some
    stories of Clive Barkers that I simply don't like, but he is still a better writer than Stephen King.
    My reasoning behind this is that Barker actually can write a thrilling tale, where King comes off
    as wordy, boring, and simplistic.

    While you and I are entitled to choose books based upon our own personal set of standards, it is
    something to consider. Just because something is getting a lot of praise, does not a good, well written,
    and enjoyable story make. We all have our opinions and thoughts about a good story, and on
    occasion have a few guilty pleasure reads as well. :)
     
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  15. Iain Aschendale

    Iain Aschendale Lying, dog-faced pony Marine Supporter Contributor

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    All this posting on amateurish covers and I've been busy designing my own for quite some time.... Would this be the right thread to ask for opinions on it?
     
  16. Cave Troll

    Cave Troll It's Coffee O'clock everywhere. Contributor

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    It could be. :)
     
  17. Iain Aschendale

    Iain Aschendale Lying, dog-faced pony Marine Supporter Contributor

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    Thoughts?

    BangedUp Cover.jpg

    The "banged up" part of the cover is on slightly shaky legal grounds, so I'll probably need to generate my own damaged layer, but overall?
     
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  18. Iain Aschendale

    Iain Aschendale Lying, dog-faced pony Marine Supporter Contributor

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    Hmm, that was a good experiment. It doesn't thumbnail well.
     
  19. Cave Troll

    Cave Troll It's Coffee O'clock everywhere. Contributor

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    You could make a cover out of materials and distress it. Then scan it in as the background, before adding the imagery on it.
    That might take care of the legal thing.

    Though I am not entirely sure what the cover says. It almost has a Poe vibe.
    But it does have that dark gloomy look about it noting Horror.
     
  20. Iain Aschendale

    Iain Aschendale Lying, dog-faced pony Marine Supporter Contributor

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    The distressing is an image I found on a how-to blog, which means that it's someone else's, legally. If you click the thumbnail, you'll get the full sized image, but I will need to modify it so that it reads better in thumbnail size. Pity, because I really like that typewriter font.
     
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  21. ajaye

    ajaye Senior Member

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    I like the overall impression, it says dark/horror/pshyc to me, and the starkness of it would make me look at it twice and probably pick it up.

    There seems to be a bigger line break in the title between the 1st and 2nd line than between the 2nd and 3rd line. If that's deliberate maybe change the font for 'from' as well, so it doesn't risk looking not deliberate. If it isn't deliberate then I'd try to even it all up.

    I don't love the dash before Iain either, though I notice you have that in your sig here so it may be a style thing for you. In which case that's fine and dandy :) .

    Yes, can't read the text on the thumbnail but the general vibe carries through.
     
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  22. ajaye

    ajaye Senior Member

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    I wonder if you'll run into this prob with any red on black type. Could you try a grey background?
     
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  23. Iain Aschendale

    Iain Aschendale Lying, dog-faced pony Marine Supporter Contributor

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    Yeah, it's all intentional, but thanks for the input on what doesn't work for you, I'll be fiddling around with the image to get something that works. It's definitely intended to have the horror vibe, it'll be a collection of flash to short horror stories once it's done.

    Thanks again for chiming in!
     
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  24. ajaye

    ajaye Senior Member

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    Just to clarify re changing font of 'from' - I meant experiment with size/bold/italic, not changing actual font.
     
  25. Iain Aschendale

    Iain Aschendale Lying, dog-faced pony Marine Supporter Contributor

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    I think that that font blurs a little too much in the thumbnail size, so I've gone looking for some other old typewriterish things that might come out clearer.

    BangedUp Cover4.jpg
     
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