When I Want Your Opinion, I’ll Give It To You

Ah, human nature.

I just came across this post by Irene Watson, owner of Reader Views, a long-time and well-regarded source for book reviews in the publishing industry. In it, Irene describes how she was taken aback by an author’s accusation that her staff was not professional for offering an objective opinion about the book:

http://www.bloggingauthors.com/blogging_authors/2011/3/13/authors-tell-the-truth-and-you-will-gain-brownie-points.html

Don’t feel bad, Irene. Welcome to the club. The same thing happened to us last month.

We were hired to design a book cover. It was to be the first in a series, so naturally we  wanted to make sure this first book was as strong as it could be to establish interest in future titles.

As always, we began the job by asking the author for his thoughts. After all, we want to design in the right direction from the start, and nobody can know  a book better than the author, right? Well, in this case, not so much.

The author’s first mistake was a misleading title. It had nothing to do with the content of the book, and it contained a word that any reasonable person would associate with the offerings of  a very large company. Perhaps not a trademark in the legal sense, but certainly an association that could pose a problem. When  I brought this up, his response was, “It will be good publicity for my book if a big company goes after a little author like me.” Hmm.

The author’s second mistake was to choose a cover graphic that had nothing whatever to do with the subject. And I mean nothing. We’ve seen a lot of strange choices in cover graphics over the years, but this was beyond the pale.

Shortly after our conversation, I received an email from the author’s business partner. “Tell us what you really think,” he wrote. “We’re new at this, and we want to be sure we’re heading in the right direction.”

Silly me, I believed him.

I wrote back that we had discussed his title and cover graphic and we didn’t get the connection between the two. We were promptly fired, with the accusation “Well, if you don’t get it, we’ll need to work with someone who does.” Hmm.

I won’t tell you the name of the book, because the author is an attorney, and I’ve got better things to do with my time than defend against a lawsuit. But really, was this response even remotely sensible? Why did he ask for an honest opinion, if he didn’t really want one? And further, why did he hire us if he planned to tell us what to do?

When I was growing up, my parents were in awe of experts: doctors, lawyers, priests. They never would have questioned, let alone argued with, the advice of someone far more educated than themselves.

Today, the pendulum has swung too far in the other direction. Self-esteem has become so inflated that many people won’t believe the advice of others who really do know more.  Like authors who write their own titles, choose their own cover graphics, design their own book covers, and insist that laying out a book in Word is sufficient. A curious blindness sets in, and the amateur results are judged to be “as good as” professional work.

I’m not saying we should go back to the days when experts were all-powerful people who regularly intimidated their clients. But can we take just a few steps back in time, and recognize that we all have different areas of expertise? I think Irene would agree, and I hope you do, too.

As to the author of the above book, you can bet I’ll be watching Amazon to see what happened.

1106 Design works with authors, publishers, business pros, coaches, consultants, speakers . . . anyone who wants a beautiful book, meticulously prepared to industry standards. Top-quality cover design, beautifully designed and typeset interiors, manuscript editing, indexing, title consulting, and expert advice. All available from one convenient source. All offered with our most important service, hand-holding. We’ll take better care of you and your book than any “self-publishing company.” How may we help you? Post your comment here or email us at office@1106design.com

The Parable of the Pumpernickel Baker

Once upon a time, there lived a talented baker named George. Long before dawn each morning, while most people slept, George arrived at his employer’s successful bakery. The boss was demanding and grumpy, always telling George what to bake and when to bake it. “The customer is always right,” the boss said.

George would just shake his head and get back to the work he loved, crafting the tastiest varieties of bread, rolls, cakes, cookies, pies, and pot pies that the neighbors had come to expect. Each afternoon, when he left for the day, he said to himself, Someday, I’ll open my own bakery, and I’ll bake whatever I want. He saved his money and waited patiently for that day to arrive.

At long last,  the perfect building for George’s bakery became available. It was located on a busy street, near a bus stop, a school, a factory, and many homes. This is wonderful, thought George. I’ll have customers all day long, and maybe during the factory’s night shift, too.

For weeks before the grand opening, everyone in the area eagerly anticipated the breads, rolls, cakes, cookies, pies, and pot pies they’d be able to buy. The factory workers and tired commuters looked forward to a savory, ready-to-eat dinner; the schoolchildren waited for a sweet after-school snack; everyone looked forward to their favorite varieties of breads and rolls.

George was more nervous than he expected, so he played it safe. On grand opening day, customers streamed into George’s bakery, but curiously, the only item for sale was pumpernickel bread. Dozens and dozens of loaves of pumpernickel bread. Nothing else. Oh, well, they thought, it’s only the first day. Maybe tomorrow there will be more breads, rolls, cakes, cookies, pies, and pot pies. Some customers bought a loaf  of pumpernickel bread, because they had waited so long for George’s bakery to open, but most customers decided to return the next day.

The next day, and the next, and the next, they gave George another chance, but again they found only pumpernickel bread. Each day, one or two people bought a loaf. Finally, an exasperated customer asked George, “This is a bakery! When will you offer white bread, rolls, cakes, cookies, pies, and pot pies?”

“It’s expensive to bake those things,” he replied.  “I want to make sure my bakery is a success first.”

“Oh,” said the disappointed customer.

Gradually, the flood of new customers slowed to a trickle. After a few visits, the factory workers went back to brown-bagging it and the schoolchildren realized they would find no cookies at George’s bakery. Everyone else reluctantly accepted that George would only offer pumpernickel bread, no matter what they wanted.

Finally, the day came when not one customer showed up. George was puzzled. Isn’t my pumpernickel bread any good, he wondered? So he walked out front and stopped a gentleman on the street. “Why don’t you come in to my bakery,” he asked?

“Because I don’t like pumpernickel bread,” the man replied simply. “I buy quite a lot of white bread, cakes, and pies.”

“Oh,” said George. “But I can’t afford to bake those things. At least not until I make some money from my pumpernickel bread.”

“Very well,” said the gentleman.

We know how this parable ends, don’t we? Poor George’s bakery failed. He went back to work for his grumpy, demanding boss who understood that it was necessary to give customers what they want.

New publishers who decide to test the market with only an eBook are making exactly the same mistake that George made. They rightly offer their eBook on Amazon and other online retailers where millions of customers can see it 24/7, but then fail to offer the book in other formats that customers want to buy.

It’s undeniably attractive to publish only an eBook. The costs are minimal and it’s scary for any new publisher to invest in cover design and typesetting when they don’t know if their book will be a success. But guess what? Plenty of people still prefer a printed book, no matter how much eBook devotees bend and twist the statistics. No business owner can lock out a significant portion of their potential market and hope to succeed.

Today, publishers are not just book providers, they are content providers. Consumers want to receive information in different ways at different times. Some people buy printed books to read at home, a welcome change from looking at a computer screen at the office all day. Others buy Ebooks to read at the airport. Others listen to audio books while driving. Some consumers buy the same book in multiple formats. It’s risky to provide content in only one form. Publishers may sell some books in that format, but it’s impossible to count the number of sales that were missed.

My advice? Offer that eBook, but also print POD at Lightning Source. Yes, there’s the one-time charge for cover and interior design, but at least  you will be offering your book to everyone who may want it. If and when the day arrives that you are selling only eBooks, you can always stop printing.

As Dan Poynter, The Book Futurist, says: “Some writers plan to publish digitally only—to save money. This is a mistake. If you publish an eBook, you are perceived as a writer. If you publish a pBook (paper), you are regarded as an author. Paper books are retained; PDFs disappear in a click. Self-publishers should offer editions to fit any lifestyle: Paper, eBook, LARGE PRINT for the visually impaired, audio book, etc. Give the buying customer what he or she wants.”

Just like George’s very smart boss.

1106 Design works with authors, publishers, business pros, coaches, consultants, speakers . . . anyone who wants a beautiful book, meticulously prepared to industry standards. Top-quality cover design, beautifully designed and typeset interiors, manuscript editing, indexing, title consulting, and expert advice. All available from one convenient source. All offered with our most important service, hand-holding. Prompt, personalized service. Satisfaction guaranteed. We’ll take better care of you and your book than any “self-publishing company.” How may we help you? Post your comment here or email us at office@1106design.com

No, Designers Don’t Just “Slap Together” a Cover

Advice abounds in the independent publishing community that training and experience are not necessary to produce an acceptable book cover. “I made my own cover for just $10,” trumpets a blogger. Or, “Buy our software for $37 and make book covers that are just as good as a designer’s” promises an ad. Both suggest that all one has to do is pick a royalty-free photo and add a title. A book cover can be “designed” in just 10 minutes.

Such words sound encouraging to new publishers venturing into an unfamiliar world. The problem is, this advice is dead wrong. Authors who follow it and display the results generally include a picture of a book cover that industry experts would only describe as hideous. Here are a few examples. The top row contains homemade covers. The bottom row, bestselling covers. See the difference?

At left, the top cover is a jumble. The title is unreadable because it’s placed on top of the image. This inexperienced author made a very common mistake: including every element of the title in pictorial form. We have a brain, a tack, and a bowl of scrambled eggs. We see nothing, because our eye wanders all over the place and has nowhere to rest. We’re confused. Contrast the cover at bottom left: The title is immediately visible, and the circular photo functions like a bull’s-eye, keeping our focus right there until we choose to wander down to the author’s name. The title fades into the black background, which tells us this book is a mystery. The picture tells us the story has something to do with a young girl. Our curiosity has been piqued. We want to know more.

Now look at the covers in the center: The top cover has almost no visual contrast. A dark title and subtitle are placed on a dark image, so it’s difficult to read in this small size, which is how it will most often be viewed online. The author’s name is nearly invisible. Compare this to the cover beneath: The title is immediately visible,  as is the author’s name. The sound “tick-tock” is usually very quiet, but on this cover, the huge type size and red color build suspense and a sense of danger. Can you feel your gut tighten as you slowly walk through a dark, cavernous room, where the softly ticking clock sounds as loud as an avalanche? We can’t wait to find out what will happen next.

Finally, see the covers on the right: The dinosaur on the top cover makes us look, but what does a dinosaur have to do with a blue flame? This cover misses the mark entirely because the cover illustration and the title tell two different stories. We have no idea what this book is about. On the bottom right cover, we can’t miss the title. The designer chose an easily-readable typeface, and then elongated and sharpened the letter P so it points to a pool of blood. Wow, this must be one strange sculptor! We don’t know what this book is about either, but we sure want to know more.

Perhaps it’s natural for authors to judge their own first attempt at book cover design favorably. After all, they began the process not knowing they could create a cover at all. While they deserve credit for the attempt, the problem is this judgment is usually made in isolation. If authors would take their homemade book cover to the nearest bookstore, I’m sure their self-evaluation would be quite different.

Self-publishing is a wonderful opportunity, but your book must never LOOK self-published. Buyers are smart, and they want value for their money. A book cover tells them, in just a few seconds, one of two things: that the book is a good one, or that it is not. Which message do you want to send?

1106 Design works with authors, publishers, business pros, coaches, consultants, speakers . . . anyone who wants a beautiful book, meticulously prepared to industry standards. Top-quality cover design, beautifully designed and typeset interiors, manuscript editing, indexing, title consulting, and expert advice. All available from one convenient source. All offered with our most important service, hand-holding. Attractive pricing choices to fit almost any budget. Prompt, personalized service. Satisfaction guaranteed. We’ll take better care of you and your book than any “self-publishing company.” How may we help you? Post your comment here or email us at office@1106design.com

A “Simple” Cover

Designers often hear the following statement: “This is a simple job for someone who knows what they are doing.” Ah, if only it were so.

I’m not going to focus on the first part of the sentence (“This is a simple job…”) because none of us really understand someone else’s job. We can’t, because we’re not doing it. I want to talk about the second part of the sentence (“…someone who knows what they are doing.”). Who would think that an entire career could be summarized in just seven words?

This video perfectly contrasts the difference between “doing” and “knowing.”

You just saw 10 correct decisions that made a world of difference. Decisions about what to do, and what not to do. What you didn’t see is all the experience behind each decision and the research behind the whole. How did this designer come to think of these alternative ways to design the cover? He worked on thousands of projects, engaged in tens of thousands of conversations, and possibly hundreds of thousands of revisions (both seen and unseen by the client) over a lifetime of work. This is knowledge that can’t be delivered with a software program, and it’s the real power behind this “simple” cover.

1106 Design works with authors, publishers, business pros, coaches, consultants, speakers . . . anyone who wants a beautiful book, meticulously prepared to industry standards. Top-quality cover design, beautifully designed and typeset interiors, manuscript editing, indexing, title consulting, and expert advice. All offered with our most important service, hand-holding. We’ll take better care of you and your book than any “self-publishing company.” How may we help you? Post your comment here or email us at office@1106design.com

8 Simple (but False) Steps to Self-Publishing Success

I recently came across the web site of yet another “POD Publisher” that listed eight steps to successful self-publishing. Here’s some of the text (including the original typos and grammatical errors).

Does it sound overwhelming to learn how to publish a book?) It doesnt have to be! Remember, a journey of one thousand steps begins with one. Book publishing and marketing them online is a wonderful job and moreover, it has consistent revenue potential, if done in the right way.

Whether you are a high powered executive self publishing books for a corporate organization or a stay at home mom self publishing books for family, xxx.com has resources to help you. There are many options for self publishing.

8 Simple Steps to Self Publishing Books with No Upfront Costs:

1. Choose a topic of the book, preferably one that audience would like to read about

2. Write book in a word processor (i.e. Microsoft Word) and format it as per the book size

3. Covert the Book into readable PDF format

4. Design your book cover

5. Choose a self publishing company

6. Upload files and approve the proof copies, if applicable with self publishing company

7. Market book and start selling copies online and/or at events.

8. Last of all, Format book into an ebook, Kindle book, and audio book to sell online.

To get started self publishing books today, download the free templates available at xxx.com for both your interior book template as well as your book cover: http://www.xxx.com

Sounds so simple, doesn’t it? Problem is, this list is almost entirely wrong. With minor variations, this advice can be found at most of the so-called self-publishing companies, who have co-opted true self-publishing and turned many an author’s dream into a nightmare. With advice like this, is it any wonder that the average book published by a subsidy publisher sells 50 copies?

As you might imagine, the process described above bears no resemblance at all to the procedure followed by professional (and successful) publishers. The truth is, you don’t need a self-publishing company at all. The real steps to publishing success (after, and sometimes even before, the book is written) look more like this:

1. Research the current market for your book. Who is your target audience? Will your book fill an unmet need for this audience, or will it be one of hundreds or thousands of similar titles? If your book is not particularly unique, how will you convince your prospective buyer that they should spend money on your book?

2. Compare printing methods and estimate costs. How will you sell your book? Online? At the back of the room? Do you know you will sell a certain number of books in the coming year? The answers to these questions will help you determine the printing method (print-on-demand or offset) that delivers the lowest financial risk per unit cost.

3. Interview editors and designers to determine the most qualified candidates for this particular book. Do-it-yourself editing and design are not going to cut it. Subsidy publishers know you are desperate for an “easy” way to publish, and they’re willing to lie to you to provide it. If your goal is a professional book, review editor and artist portfolios to evaluate skills and styles. Set a budget for these services only after you have narrowed the field to a few qualified candidates. Never set a budget first and then hunt for someone who is willing to work for that amount of money. If you do,  you’ll surely find someone, but probably not the best person for the job.

4. Investigate typical online and physical distribution expenses (discounts and returns) and determine how these expenses will impact your bottom line. Also investigate options for bulk sales to special markets, which are typically non-returnable (we recommend Brian Jud).

5. Research traditional and non-traditional marketing options and estimate costs. Social media is free, and is perhaps beginning to replace other forms of marketing, especially print ads. If you enjoy blogging and tweeting, this type of marketing costs only your time. Book marketing firms charge more, of course, and they usually have contacts unavailable to individuals, but nobody can guarantee results. Beware of anyone who guarantees media interviews or promises that your book will become a best-seller.

6. Write a preliminary budget that includes all of the above expenses, as well as overhead, and determine how many books must be sold, at what price, to break even. Make sure this price point is comparable to titles that directly compete with your own. You don’t want to be the cheapest, or the most expensive, book in your category. Aim for a price point somewhere in the middle. For pricing help, see Dan Poynter‘s book, The Self Publishing Manual.

7. Set a production schedule in consultation with your editor and designer that allows enough time for the various tasks to be completed before your desired release date. Allow time for unexpected delays and multiple reviews. If you finish early, you can celebrate. Working at 3:00 a.m. to meet a deadline is not only stressful, it’s a sure-fire way to miss errors.

8. Begin work with your chosen editor and book cover designer. The front cover can be designed while the editor is working, and the cover image can be used to begin pre-marketing your title.

9. Begin work with your interior designer and line up the proofreader who will read the formatted pages. Yes,  you must have a proofreader, even if your manuscript was carefully edited. You won’t believe the errors that magically show up after the text is formatted.

10. Choose a printer. For print-on-demand, we recommend LightningSource.com, the largest POD printer in the country, which is owned by Ingram. LSI is NOT a “POD Publisher” but many POD Publishers actually print books there and mark up the price to you. With offset (ink-on-paper) book printing, paper prices change all the time, so once the page count of the book is known, request a firm quote and lock in the price by signing a contract.

11. Monitor sales and returns (if applicable). Your sales figures will tell you if you should continue moving forward in the same direction, or change course. Changing course isn’t difficult if you have prepared a quality book in the first place; you may just have to tweak your marketing methods. If, on the other hand, you followed the advice of the POD Publisher above, and your homemade book now has a long list of negative reviews on Amazon and in the blogosphere, then changing course may be all but impossible.

This list is not exhaustive. Some steps may not be necessary in your situation, and other steps not shown may be essential. Regardless, if all of the above suggestions sound like a lot more work than the simple list offered by the POD Publishers, that’s because crafting a quality book IS a lot of work.

If your book is your hobby, then by all means use a POD Publisher; they do offer the cheapest way to produce a small quantity of books for friends and family. But if your publishing goals are more substantial, or the purpose of your book is to promote yourself or your business, then it’s important to “go pro” right from the start. The good news is that many experts (including us) are ready, willing, and able to help you produce a terrific book. Isn’t that what you set out to do in the first place?

1106 Design works with authors, publishers, business pros, coaches, consultants, speakers . . . anyone who wants a beautiful book, meticulously prepared to industry standards. Top-quality cover design, beautifully designed and typeset interiors, manuscript editing, indexing, title consulting, and expert advice. All offered with our most important service, hand-holding. Attractive pricing, prompt, personalized service, satisfaction guaranteed. We’ll take better care of you and your book than any “self-publishing company.” How may we help you? Post your comment here or email us at office@1106design.com

Self-Publishing for Business Owners: The Wrong Way

Today, like never before, it’s possible for entrepreneurs to promote themselves and their companies with a self-published book, and many are taking full advantage of the opportunity. The trouble is, what they’re doing is not truly SELF-publishing. The industry has been hijacked, and the unhappy result is that many well-meaning, smart and ambitious business owners are walking around with books that don’t begin to meet professional standards.

It’s understandable that people would be misled. A Google search for “self-publishing” returns page after page of companies, some small and some very large, who offer “do-it-yourself” publishing solutions.

Major newspapers, including the Wall Street Journal in this recent article, correctly emphasize the benefits of self-publishing, but instead of writing a balanced article that includes the tried-and-true way to turn a manuscript into a quality book, they focus only on the cheesy companies who  encourage people to do exactly the opposite.

It should not be a surprise that professional book publishing takes a team of experts. Book editors, book cover designers, book interior designers and others combine their talents to produce a product that makes a terrific first impression, and then keeps that promise with quality information and easy-to-read text inside. What business owner would want any less than that, when a book is being used as a business card or as an introduction to sell consulting services?

Unfortunately, the self-publishing companies encourage clients to design their own book covers, and upload a Word file for the book’s interior. This may seem like perfectly sensible advice to anyone with a computer, until you compare the results to a “real” book.

Here’s an example of a typical self-published book that came to my attention last week. I never met the author of this book, Dave Cooke, but I’m certain he put a tremendous amount of effort into this project, and has high hopes for its success. (If you see this post, Dave, I hope you’ll accept the following analysis as an offering from one business owner to another, as a sincere effort to help.)

First, let’s look at Dave’s cover and compare it to one released by bestselling sales guru, Zig Ziglar. Zig’s images are screen shots from Amazon. See the difference?

The photo on Dave’s cover isn’t bad. It needs a little color adjustment (his face is too red), but otherwise it’s a nice, open pose with attractive negative space around his figure. This negative space could have been used to make Dave look even more friendly and approachable, but instead, it boxes him in, not once, but twice with the blue corners. Then the photo is placed on an olive drab background. With a rainbow of colors to choose from, why olive drab?

The type faces used on Dave’s cover are old fashioned, and the use of all caps with a drop shadow gives the cover a homemade look. (Designers use drop shadows, too, but usually in a more subtle way, so that they are barely noticeable.) The dark blue text on the olive background is difficult to read. The “Sales Cooke” play on the author’s name is clever, and since the cooking theme is carried throughout the text, it’s appropriate. But using it four times (title, apron, author name, and subtitle) is a wee bit overwhelming.

Now look at the Zig Ziglar cover design. Zig isn’t in a box. He’s there in the room with you. His dark suit causes him to almost, but not quite, blend into the dark background of the cover. His picture is small, which leaves maximum space for the title and subtitle.  The typography on this cover is top notch, and the subtle ornamentation gently guides the eye from title to subtitle. The use of caps and small caps says “first class” and the author’s name in a wide red band at the bottom anchors the design.

Now let’s compare the interiors of both books. Dave’s chapter opener is on the left, Zig’s is on the right:

Dave’s chapter opener is rather dull. The chapter number and title start high on the page, and barely stand out from the text below. It would be easy to miss the fact that this is, indeed, a chapter opener, and not just another page of text. Dave’s text is set ragged right instead of  justified, which is one mark of a self-published book. The gaps on the right side are huge. Much of this is due to the inadequacy of Word for the job.

Zig’s chapter opener is much more eye-catching and attractive. The chapter number is small and placed at the upper right hand side of the page. The chapter title is large and the chapter subtitle is smaller and italic, with a line above to divide the two. White space is used beautifully in this design. The space between the chapter number and the title is slightly smaller than the space between the chapter subtitle and the beginning of the text, so it looks open and airy, but with a purpose. The text is justified, and it begins with a drop cap. The first subhead toward the bottom is beautifully set in slightly letterspaced text for an overall classy appearance. There’s no doubt that this is the beginning of a chapter.

Now let’s compare two more interior pages:

At the top of Dave’s page on the left, look at the downward angle of the text in the first paragraph. The sidebar below is much too dark, and the type is practically crashing into the edges of the box. You can’t see it here, but this sidebar continues on the next page, and on to a third page for a few lines. A book designer would have started the sidebar at the top of the page above, and made the text fit on two facing pages. A book designer would also make the gray background much lighter for POD printing, due to the limitations of the equipment.

Zig’s interior page is much cleaner and more organized. Even though his sidebar text is much smaller than Dave’s, and not a direct comparison, the text wraps around it in an interesting way, to keep the reader engaged.

Not visible in the above examples are the typos in Dave’s text, or editing that leaves quite a lot to be desired. All in all, this book doesn’t make Dave look like a professional consultant,  even though the advice in the book is very good. That’s a shame, and I’m sure it’s not what Dave intended.

Dave was misled by a company that didn’t want him to “go away” once he found them. They lied and told him he could do everything himself, rather than encourage him to search for the right experts to help with his book design. Why? Because those experts would have told Dave to run away and never look back; that there are better, more profitable ways to self-publish.

Every designer and editor I know is frustrated about this situation. We’re not sure how to make ourselves heard against the overwhelming noise produced by the self-publishing companies, but we’re working on it. If you’d like to  help, please share this post.

What do you want to know? What topics should we explore together? How can we help you along your publishing journey? Everyone here at 1106 Design wants to help. Post your comment here or email us at office@1106design.com

You Can Relax About Your Book Cover Design

I’m starting to get the hang of this social media thing…really.

Yesterday, I wrote a blog post about cover design: http://1106design.com/why-crowdsourcing-book-cover-design-is-a-bad-idea/

This morning, my WordPress dashboard revealed that “Ellie”,  an author I never met, found the post useful, and she went on to express her own worries about her upcoming book cover.  http://theliteraturediary.wordpress.com/2011/01/17/a-designer-for-my-book-cover/ Here’s an excerpt (emphasis added in red):

• I know what I want, well I think I do. I know from experience that when I have set an idea in my mind in terms of design it has turned out to be awful. I think for me I never see the complete picture, it is always a little blurry around the edges.
• I have looked at past book covers listed within an archive. I have considered the ones that work for me, the ones that jump off the page. For me personally, it is the most simple designs, with plain texts, and bold colour.
• So how do I translate that to a designer? I have been in touch with one, we are very much at the preliminary stage. As in, we are arranging to talk soon.
• Tell me also, what covers appeal to you? The more feedback I get, the more I can work out in my mind what I want.

These worries, expressed in one form or another, are very familiar to cover designers. Most authors who sign up for our services understand that a book cover is very important. Since book cover design is usually new to them, they often feel stress about the subject, just like Ellie. They want to do what’s right, and they’re not sure what “right” is. From there, their thoughts naturally turn to what they want.

In this post, I’d like to tell Ellie, and any other author who happens to be reading, “Relax, we’ve got you covered.”

Above, Ellie articulates two misconceptions:

1. That a book cover should reflect what the author likes; and

2. That the author has to tell the designer what to do.

Grab a cup of tea and sit back. You don’t have to worry about either of these things. Here’s why:

1. A book cover isn’t about what the author likes. A book cover is all about what the prospective buyer likes.  The interior of the book is about the author. The exterior of the book (front cover, back cover, and spine) is all about the buyer. When author and designer remain focused on that fact, all the pressure goes away. Which leads us to item 2:

2. The author doesn’t have to tell the designer what to do. So, how can the designer know what buyers like? Well, we’re not psychic, and we don’t guess. We talk to you about your book, research the competition, and let the market tell us. The best way to discover what buyers like is to look at what they are buying. This is easier to do than ever before, right from our desktop.

Most authors I talk with would really like to sell as many books as possible, or  alternatively, produce a top-quality book that will help them sell their expertise to others.  To get there, it’s important to work with a book designer who does more than browse for images and fonts. A  big picture view is not only more accurate, it’s more relaxing, and more likely to result in a book cover design that appeals to the greatest number of buyers.

What do you want to know? What topics should we explore together? How can we help you along your publishing journey? Everyone here at 1106 Design wants to help. Post your comment here or email us at office@1106design.com

Why Crowdsourcing Book Cover Design is a Bad Idea

I came across a blog post today from an author who plans to release several titles through Amazon’s CreateSpace.  Here’s an excerpt from his post:

• Evidently CreateSpace has reached an agreement of sorts with a company called crowdSPRING. crowdSPRING is a brokering service for creative people, matching people who need creative work done with people who make their living being creative.

• crowdSPRING describes the process as simple. The author names a price for a cover design and provides information about the book. Designers who belong to the crowdSPRING network submit sample covers. The author picks the design that best suits the book.

• I like the idea of competition. Paying for one company to provide you with something is not going to produce a lot of choices. Putting the cover design up to bid in an open contest environment will generate a wide selection of choices.

All of the above statements are true. The problem is, they’re based on an erroneous assumption: that a book cover is a product that is being purchased. It’s not. A successful book cover is a strategy, in physical form. It’s the result of a careful collaboration between the author and the designer.

Experienced book designers usually engage in multiple conversations with the author, before design begins, to learn about the book and the target audience. Why? Because no book will be loved by everyone. A book cover design must be targeted to the specific slice of the market most likely to appreciate it. Working together, author and designer must identify who these folks are before we can design a cover that will appeal to them.

Put another way, if you and your creative partner don’t work together to identify the goal of the book cover design first, then any images, fonts, and cover styles chosen will be nothing more than wild guesses.

After spending months or years researching and writing your book, does it make sense to have the cover designed by someone who doesn’t understand this?  I don’t think so, but I welcome your comments.

Postscript: Crowdsourcing is a toxic work model with ramifications beyond cover design. The author says, “I like the idea of competition,” but crowdsourcing isn’t competition, it’s a contest. What if it catches on and becomes the norm in other lines of work? How will any of us make a living? Amazon is wrong to promote it.

What do you want to know? What topics should we explore together? How can we help you along your publishing journey? Everyone here at 1106 Design wants to help. Post your comment here or email us at office@1106design.com

Chap Stick and the Power of Packaging

If you spend any time reading blogs about self-publishing (including this one), you’ll see the same phrases over and over again: The Cover Sells the Book; Your Book Cover is Your Package; Your Book Cover is Not the Place to Save Money. The problem with all of these messages is that they don’t sound very convincing. They don’t explain WHY.

So, I’m going to tell you my own story about  how packaging really does work, and if you observe your own behavior the next time you go shopping, you’ll be able to add a similar story of your own.

Dry winter air being what it is (even in Phoenix), I was shopping for lip balm this weekend. The usual selection of wax-filled stubby tubes was on display. Most were labeled “lip balm”; a few were labeled “lip therapy.” Some packages were pastel-colored to reflect the flavors inside (oddly, tropical fruit flavors, perhaps to distract us from winter). With minor variations, I’d seen all of them before. Z-z-z-z-z-z.

Then I noticed something different: A slender white tube with the words Soft Lips, printed in what was probably a custom handwriting font designed especially for this product. Into the shopping cart it went, even though it cost more. The question is, Why?

Did I know intellectually that this tube contained the same waxy substance as all the others. Yes. But now I knew what I was going to get for my money. And, I was entertained. (Go ahead, add a snarky comment here, if you like.) The ho-hum task of buying lip balm momentarily reminded me that life still holds surprises, that surprises are found in the most unlikely places, and that surprises are worth paying for.

I purchased that brand of lip balm, because the small package delivered a very big message. Your book cover and title can deliver a similarly powerful message to your prospective readers, so they’ll put your book into their shopping cart, too.

What do you want to know? What topics should we explore together? How can we help you along your publishing journey? Everyone here at 1106 Design wants to help. Post your comment here or email us at office@1106design.com

Book Cover Design: Clan Ground by Clare Bell

In any book cover design, but particularly an illustrated one, it’s important for the title and the graphic to complement each other and work together.

For this cover, a fabulous illustration was provided to us by the publisher, so our task was to build on the illustrator’s talent.

For the title, we chose the typeface Archeologicaps, to depict a sense of the esoteric and mysterious.

Rather than choosing a flat color for the title, we enhanced it with a yellow-orange gradient, so that it appears to be illuminated by the flames below.

We removed the crossbar of the “A” and replaced it with the eye of the cat to tie the title and illustration together.

The author’s name was set in a light green color, sampled from the background.

The series title at the bottom was letterspaced, just as it was on the first volume, for continuity of design.

Some folks would call this a “simple” cover design, but attention to detail is one way that book cover designers create covers that are eye-catching and appealing to the buyer.

How many of these enhancements did you notice before reading the post? If the answer was “none”, congratulations! The details of a design should never call attention to themselves. They should quietly serve the purpose of selling your book.

What do you want to know? What topics should we explore together? How can we help you along your publishing journey? Everyone here at 1106 Design wants to help. Post your comment here or email us at office@1106design.com

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