Pretty, Pretty, Shiny, Shiny
I had once
answered a question about book covers and if they really important that was
sent in to Ask SD and went looking for my response for a very good reason.
I
needed some book covers. Here is an abbreviated version of what I had written;“Before you become rich and famous, your book covers are the only thing that gains you attention. Sorry to say that, but it’s the truth. Some books have great covers, but are (word change) not very good. Other than starting a grassroots following (word of mouth or social media) all of your own, there are advertisement firms out there who will promote you as hard as they possibly can, according to the amount of money you give them. The down side to you making your own cover is that pesky slap of reality. There are very talented authors and composers who are left in the shadows because of these enormous behemoths banging their gongs and throwing out their Pretty, Pretty, Shiny, Shiny. The up side to you using them is that they have the talent and infrastructure (in some cases) to polish that (t%#d) manuscript of yours to the best it could possibly be. The best advice I can give you is to pay close attention to all testimonials from people who had used their services with good and bad results, and ask the company plenty of questions before you write them a check or give them your credit card number.”
After reading my
own words, I had no other choice but to practice what I had preached and got
down to business. I had one of three choices when it came to the book covers
that I need. I was either going to buy, decide, or try. Buy or hire someone to
make it for me. Decide on one of the free premade book covers from a template. And lastly, try
or do the work on my own. Each has pros and cons, but what would life be without
some drama. Let’s take a look at each option a bit closer.
Buy
The benefit for having someone make your cover is that they are professionals, have a clear understanding of what works and does not, and it saves you from pulling out your hair thinking doing it yourself. The con with having someone else do your cover understands of the material. Most places that I had contacted wanted in writing a short Synopsis of what the book is about, examples of what style of cover you are looking for, and stress STRONGLY that they will only give you two examples to choose from. Of course, they are more than happy to provide more examples if you are willing to pay for the extra effort. If your budget (finances) is limited, you may end up settling for something you are not satisfied with. However, if you ultimately goal is that you didn’t have to do the cover yourself, there is another alternative you might want to consider. There are numerous templates of book covers that are available, through whom you choose to publish through and on the internet. Let’s say you decide to go this route. There are also advantages and pitfalls with this option as well.
The benefit for having someone make your cover is that they are professionals, have a clear understanding of what works and does not, and it saves you from pulling out your hair thinking doing it yourself. The con with having someone else do your cover understands of the material. Most places that I had contacted wanted in writing a short Synopsis of what the book is about, examples of what style of cover you are looking for, and stress STRONGLY that they will only give you two examples to choose from. Of course, they are more than happy to provide more examples if you are willing to pay for the extra effort. If your budget (finances) is limited, you may end up settling for something you are not satisfied with. However, if you ultimately goal is that you didn’t have to do the cover yourself, there is another alternative you might want to consider. There are numerous templates of book covers that are available, through whom you choose to publish through and on the internet. Let’s say you decide to go this route. There are also advantages and pitfalls with this option as well.
Decide
The obvious advantage of using premade book covers from a template is simple, you don’t have to think. Most templates are setup with labels of what information goes where. Not only that, the color, style, font, and (in some cases) allow you to insert a photograph in selected areas on the front cover, spline, and back cover of the book. Some also allow you to insert a small description of your book, testimonials you have, your bio, and a bar code. Just as the ease of use of considering using book templates, there should be a clear understanding upfront that there are numerous other book on the market that will look similar to your because you are using a free template. There is one last option and that is to do the book cover yourself.
The obvious advantage of using premade book covers from a template is simple, you don’t have to think. Most templates are setup with labels of what information goes where. Not only that, the color, style, font, and (in some cases) allow you to insert a photograph in selected areas on the front cover, spline, and back cover of the book. Some also allow you to insert a small description of your book, testimonials you have, your bio, and a bar code. Just as the ease of use of considering using book templates, there should be a clear understanding upfront that there are numerous other book on the market that will look similar to your because you are using a free template. There is one last option and that is to do the book cover yourself.
Try
There is only one advantage of doing the book cover yourself. You are the only one to blame if everyone loves it. However, before you grab all the glory, there are three things you should consider. The first thing you should seriously take under consideration is education. Just as you are in a constant state of becoming a better writer, you need to understand that making book covers is an art form all of its own. In order to do a good job, you have to educate yourself. Give yourself time to learn, fail, and improve. The second thing you must consider is that there is a difference in describing your book with a single picture and something that is pleasing to the eye and will capture people’s attention. To help you along with understanding this consideration, I will give you the biggest hint that was ever given to me. Learn the color wheel! You don’t have to be a color expert, but there are the basic colors that support pleasantness and cause your attention to gravitate towards it, and there are those that distract and repel you from gazing at it at all. The third thing to consider is if you wish to follow what is popular in the genre you write or blaze a trail all of your own. Although making your cover look familiar to what is expected will help you get attention along with those of the same like. But, this is also a game of separating yourself from the pack. This is where we look at all options that are available and seriously considers what it will take to present your own Pretty, Pretty, Shiny, Shiny.
There is only one advantage of doing the book cover yourself. You are the only one to blame if everyone loves it. However, before you grab all the glory, there are three things you should consider. The first thing you should seriously take under consideration is education. Just as you are in a constant state of becoming a better writer, you need to understand that making book covers is an art form all of its own. In order to do a good job, you have to educate yourself. Give yourself time to learn, fail, and improve. The second thing you must consider is that there is a difference in describing your book with a single picture and something that is pleasing to the eye and will capture people’s attention. To help you along with understanding this consideration, I will give you the biggest hint that was ever given to me. Learn the color wheel! You don’t have to be a color expert, but there are the basic colors that support pleasantness and cause your attention to gravitate towards it, and there are those that distract and repel you from gazing at it at all. The third thing to consider is if you wish to follow what is popular in the genre you write or blaze a trail all of your own. Although making your cover look familiar to what is expected will help you get attention along with those of the same like. But, this is also a game of separating yourself from the pack. This is where we look at all options that are available and seriously considers what it will take to present your own Pretty, Pretty, Shiny, Shiny.
Illustration; http://bookworm-teen.blogspot.com
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