Monday, January 24, 2011

Creating a Book Cover


My cover was created by Jaimey Grant ( http://www.anauthorsart.com ), the cover design artist for Treasurline Books Publisher.
She is a woman of amazing talent both as a writer and as a cover designer.

The cover of a book is almost as important as the contents. The saying to "Don't judge a book by its cover" is only really true when it applies to people--not actual books.
Lets face it, a good cover will make you pick up a book that you would have not picked up other-wise.

It comes as no surprise, that during the "Twilight" craze, Little Brown re-packaged some old classics like "Wuthering Heights" and "Pride and Prejudice" with covers to match the iconic solid black background and single red or white flower of the "Twilight" books. Did I pick it up? Yep! I sure did! After closer inspection I realized that I was holding two old books in a new cover. I thought it was a witty idea.

So while I wrote and wrote and dreamed and dreamed, I also thought and thought about what I wanted my cover to look like.
I think I even posted some examples on some of my earlier posts.

At one point I asked Linda Boulanger from Treasureline Books, about covers and she did a great post on her blog ( http://writersshelflife.blogspot.com ). So after reading that post I went to work at finding stock photography that I thought I could use for my cover.
I spent a solid weekend looking at more pictures that I care to remember, finally I found three pictures that I thought could mesh into a cover.









Jaimey took these three pictures and with her magic keyboard made an awesome cover! I did go a little diva on her a few times, wanting to try different things and fonts. I'm sure every time she sent me a new re-mix on the cover she rolled her eyes and said a prayer!

In the end all my bright ideas didn't seem all that bright and I learned that she was spot on from the beginning!
So here I am, one step closer to the actual hold in my hand 6X9 matte with cream colored pages Dream!

6 comments:

  1. Jaimey is a fantastic designer and very easy to work with. However, the ideas brought to the table by our authors can be so very important to creating a cover that not only fits the book but fits the author as well. It's a well-rounded bundle that goes into creating that perfect dream. Happy to be a part of bringing your wonderful story to life so that others may enjoy it.

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  2. I thank God every day for you Linda!

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  3. Love your line: Don't judge a book by it's cover is only true when it applies to people -- not actual books.

    How true.

    I'm just now starting to think of all this. And stumbled upon a photo a friend took, which she didn't really like. But once I saw it, I realized this should be the cover for a book I've started -- OK, barely started. So the cover thing is way ahead of where I actually am on the book, but having it printed out and hanging on the wall is kind of inspiring, y'know?

    Jim

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  4. You're not alone is wanting a picute to inspire or keep you focused. It's amazing what art in general can do to inspire you.
    Songs, art, smells I think they all help create your book!

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  5. This cover for VEILED is gorgeous!

    Speaking as an author, I can tell you that people are going to buy this book strictly because of this beautiful cover. Then, I am sure they'll love the incredible story inside, too. Silvina is well on her way to HUGE SUCCESS!!

    On a related note: It's a shame when really good novels have stinky covers; I'm one of the millions who disdains books like that. I am one of those who chooses my novels by their covers. Jaimey has incredible talent--I look forward to her next one!!

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  6. Sometimes it would be better to have a cover like the old hard-backs. Black spine and cream flaps with the black or gold title. For some reason, those non-descript books appeal to me as well. They seem to say, "come and see what treasures I hold".

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