On Book Cover Design

Do you have input into your cover design? If so, perhaps some of these hints from my recent personal experience will help. I've been working with a designer for the past month, resulting in the front cover you see to the right.

1) Get recommendations and references. I found my present designer (Carole) through my wife (Cherie) who studied design under Carole at Kennesaw State University. Cherie liked her work, knew that she was easy to work with, and knew a publisher she'd done covers for. I think it's always safer to work from recommendations of satisfied customers.

2) Look at lots of book covers to determine what you like and don't like. Design has a lot to do with personal preference. One book I read on self-publishing bragged on his designer and emphasized the importance of achieving a professional look. Interestingly, I found his book cover to look rather unprofessional. Different strokes for different folks, I assume.

Especially look at other books published in your niche. Since I'm writing on personal finance, I looked at scores of covers in that field. By doing that, I realized that, for example, if I had the good-looking girl holding the money on the front or back cover (another potential design that Carole gave me), some might think she's the author. Many money authors have their pics prominently on the front or back.

3) Look for images that grab you. My favorite place to browse for stock photos is www.istockphoto.com . So when I first met with Carole, I gave her the photo of the four students (actually five, of which she cut one out), which I felt would well represent the four students in my story. I also gave her the picture of the girl to the right Additionally, I gave her a professional picture of myself to put on the back cover. By providing her with pictures, she could design around them rather than having to start from scratch. Yet, I told her that if she didn't like the pictures, I wanted her to feel free to go any direction she wanted.

4) Bring your blurbs and text for the back cover. If you don't yet have blurbs, have her leave room for them and remind her to leave a copy that's not flattened (still able to be changed) so that you can make last minute changes.

5) When she shows you her first shot at it, take a printed copy and get as much input as you can. Carole said she'd first put together some ideas, then I could see what I thought about it and get back with her. After getting those first samples, I got input from fifteen or so people - my family, people at Cherie's work, and others.

Someone on a blog said this about getting input. I find it to be true:

If you ask one person for an opinion; you get theirs.
If you ask two people for an opinion; you get confused.
But, if you ask a BUNCH of people for an opinion; you start to form your own.

First, there are objective factors that need attending to. These are the tips that don't have to do with personal preference.

• "The subtitle words are much too small. I could hardly see them."
• "Did you notice that this word is misspelled?"
  

Second, there is the subjective input, which is largely a matter of taste.

• "The girl holding the money reminds me of a prostitute."
  
• "I can see that guy's crotch a bit too much. It seems offensive."
• "The four young people look like they're trying too hard to be fashionable."
• "I like the way they dress."
• "The four students look too posed. I prefer the girl."
• "The font of "enjoy" is rather hard to read."
• "I love the font of "enjoy".
  
• "The girl looks too much like an infomercial, which people hate."
  
• "The girl looks like an infomercial, which people obviously respond to."
• "That deep color of red (on the first version) seems more professional than the lighter red with the girl."
  

I could go on and on with the subjective comments, which were all over the board. But I also knew that each of these opinions just might represent a lot of people, so I took each of them seriously. Many potential buyers might look and respond the same way.

They all agreed that the two designs were professional and well-done, but had specific, often contradictory suggestions and thoughts about which would be best.

On Getting the Maximum Input

I elicit input by telling people nothing when they first look at it, except that I want their honest opinion. I don't want to color their first impression. After they finish their spiel, I then mention other people's comments and my opinions to see if they agree or disagree or if that helps them come up with other ideas. Then I mention who I perceive as the target audience and ask how they think this audience might respond. This can bring a whole new range of reactions.

6) Don't overpay. Carole charged me $210 total. I don't believe I could have gotten a better cover paying someone thousands. That included designing several possible covers for me to choose from (she said that took her three hours total), meeting with me to get my input, finalizing the design of my choice with the seven or so adjustments I recommended, and a final meeting to approve the final design.

Compare this to a vanity-type publisher who told me their charges included a custom-designed interior layout and and custom designed full color cover for a $3,500 value. That's precisely what I'm getting for under $500.

Carole can charge less, partly because of low overhead. She works from her home instead of making payments on an office. She works for herself rather than paying an owner/manager a cut. She's also got steady work as a university professor, so that she's not desperate. And she likes to get work outside the university since the administration urges teachers to do a certain amount of outside work. So in your case you may wish to approach someone in graphic arts at your local university. If you're especially low on money, you may ask for a talented student who'll do it on the cheap to get something in her portfolio and resume. (We got a recent grad, Sara, to do our website design and have used her for years. She did my author site at www.jstevemiller.com, as well as our site at www.enjoyyourmoney.com. We couldn't be happier with her. Find her at http://www.brighteyes-design.com . Again, extremely professional, yet low overhead working out of her home.)

7) Get Plenty of Mileage from Your Designs

So you've put all that work into a design that grabs people's attention makes you look professional...and you plan to use it only for your book cover? Are you kidding?!? Why not make a brochure, a cover and first chapter (with tear-off ordering information) to leave in waiting areas, a visual on your website and blog, a larger size for a display when you speak or do a book signing?

To have maximum maneuverability, make sure your designer leaves you with the flattened copy, an unflattened copy (like a .psd format for Photoshop), and makes the original large enough that it can be printed much larger without losing clarity.

If You're Working With a Traditional Publisher

For my first book, using a traditional publisher, they did it all. As I recall, I didn't have any say in it, although perhaps I could have had input if I'd requested it or specified my involvement in the contract. (In the end, I would have wanted to change one of the sentences on the back cover.) But I was very pleased with the look and it was, from the author's standpoint, effortless.

I'd love to compare your experiences with designers. Just add your comments below!

Write Feature Articles to Publicize Your Book

I just listened to a telephone seminar on this topic. Lots of useful information from successful writers and big-time magazine editors. Here are my takeaways:

1) Writing articles and getting mentioned in articles is powerful, free advertising.

• People believe articles more than ads.
  
• You're reaching readers, who are more likely than listeners to purchase a book.
• The articles have lasting power. They can remain in doctor's offices or archives on websites.
• You can use the article for blurbs "As mentioned in Womans Day Magazine."
• You can attract other media people who may read the articles.
  

2) Know the magazine you're targeting and show them you know it. Most don't. Perhaps compare your article to a previously-written article in the magazine. Call to make sure you know who to address by name as the "Articles Editor." Ask if it's appropriate to follow-up with a call or e-mail.

3) Get to know media contacts personally. Time spent face-to-face can reap rich dividends. Make it a two-way street: How can I serve you?

4) Offer all the bells and whistles. They're busy and would love an interview format, with you asking your own questions, a side bar with five tips for a broad audience, etc.

5) Offer yourself as an expert who can either provide the information or give them someone who can. Are you a life coach, psychologist, pet expert, etc.? They're always looking for experts to interview and quote. They want to have relationships with as many experts as possible. How can I put myself forth as an expert in personal money management?

• Have written a book on it.
  
• Raising seven boys.
  
• Worked with youth and trained youth-workers for 30 years, both nationally and internationally.
  
• Write resources for educators.
  
• Am an investor.
• Have done noteworthy research and fresh interviews.
  

6) If they don't want your article, it's OK to ask, "Is there anyone else on staff who might want to see this article?"

7) Show yourself as one who knows how to consolidate concepts into sound bites. Give them a brief, catchy title, a descriptive subtitle and a brief summary.

8) Tie your book into current trends and news. One expert on how to prevent dog attacks goes to Google Alerts to automatically receive e-mail alerts from breaking news, videos, blogs, etc., about about dog attacks. He then contacts the press in that area to find if they want an article by an expert on how to prevent them in the future. Was there a recent study released on your topic of interest? Tie the study into the topic of your book and suggest an article. You don't have to make the news or be the news. Rather, piggy-back on what's already news.

9) Track the impact on your book sales on Amazon.com. When a lady published an article concerning her book on caring for an Alzheimer's patient, she looked under the category "Alzheimer's" and found that she was #1.

10) Find a common link with someone important in the organization. One author wrote a book about succeeding without goals. He had heard that Oprah had succeeded without setting goals, so he contacted her to let he know he'd written a book on it. She was fascinated and interviewed him.

11) Keep learning about your niche, so that you become that most respected person for the press to call upon when they need an expert.

12) Send notes of appreciation to reporters when they've written a good, substantive article in your field. If they respond, offer them a copy of your book, your web address and phone number, letting them know that if they need you in the future, you're available. Say that if you don't know the answers, you'll refer them to an expert (This person refers to an expert about 50% of the time, getting him in good with the expert as well!)

13) Use e-mail to make your first contact with a magazine (or whatever method they request).

14) Think outside of the box concerning which magazines might be interested. One author wrote a self-help book for young people getting jobs. She pitched an article to ESPN magazine (sports) with this angle: "How many people read your magazine because they love sports, don't have the athletic ability to compete, but would love to work in the sports industry? What about an article on all the ways to work in the sports industry? They took it! Concerning my money book, I could write for a sports magazine on how sports figures have lost their money and how to handle it more wisely.