OMG. Amazing. Not sure how I feel about this except I want to hold one in my hands and try http://dld.bz/ay8pA
Enhancing the Reputation of Self-Publishing
I've just posted a comment on Victoria Mixon's blog post on Countdown to Publication about editing and design of self-published books. As well as saying I'm getting many more requests from traditionally published and self-published authors for my editing service to reinforce her findings about the changes in the publishing climate, I was making the point that the design of self-published books is just as crucial as editing. It really pays to do your homework when choosing a designer because I know of writers who've had bad experiences with people who've got very little experience at book and editorial design.
Some tips:
- Find out whether the designer is a properly trained designer and not someone who's taken a quick class in graphic or web design.
- Have they designed for books, editorial publications, magazines?
- Try to get some idea of whether they're likely to want to impose their own ideas instead of caring about what you want.
- How intelligent are they?!!!
I think the more we self-publishers produce impeccably edited and brilliantly designed books it will enhance the reputation of self-publishing in general.
Some tips:
- Find out whether the designer is a properly trained designer and not someone who's taken a quick class in graphic or web design.
- Have they designed for books, editorial publications, magazines?
- Try to get some idea of whether they're likely to want to impose their own ideas instead of caring about what you want.
- How intelligent are they?!!!
I think the more we self-publishers produce impeccably edited and brilliantly designed books it will enhance the reputation of self-publishing in general.
Tags: book, designers, editing, self-publishing
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Ellen Dean on
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You are so right! I use a professional designer, it is so important.
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Permalink Reply by Shannon Okey on -
The visual is just as important as the content! I paid a professional illustrator to draw the cover image for my new book and it was worth every dime (quite a lot of dimes...but again, WORTH it!)
The Knitgrrl Guide to Professional Knitwear Design -
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Permalink Reply by Marva Dasef on -
Designer? Heck, I can't even afford an editor.
In my defense, I have to say I spent thirty-five years writing and managing (which included editing) tech doc departments. We had a designer and artists. I learned a lot from them.
I do love your point: - How intelligent are they?!!! -
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Permalink Reply by Linda Boulanger on -
I agree with you, Marva....the cost can be prohibitive. I also agree that we need to pay more attention to making self-published books just as outstanding. One would think people would know a good cover from a bad one when designing. I do have to say, however, I recently spent some time in the local book store and was not impressed with many of the covers as well as the feel and the quality of the books I was finding. I liked my self-published ones much better!
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Permalink Reply by Marva Dasef on
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I don't like the trend of realistic photos on covers. There are a ton of really great artists out there. I want them to draw me a picture, not snap the same old models for every book. Look at Fabio. Sheesh.
On one of my books (Tales of a Texas Boy), I did use a photo, but it comes from the era in which the stories are set. I sepia-toned it and used a chocolate brown background for the spine and backcover.
On my kids fantasy set in pre-Islamic middle-east (Quest for the Simurgh), I found a terrific picture of a page from an old arabic text. The subject of the page? It's all about the Simurgh. How perfect is that? I used a deep red background, which complimented the reddish tones of the art.
I produced the covers using Lulu. Makes it much easier to find interesting fonts, etc. I wouldn't even TRY to layout a full cover by myself. -
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Permalink Reply by Linda Boulanger on
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Marva? Didn't I see that you have used CreateSpace? They have the templates you can download. I created customized greeting cards for many years so I do have the graphics programs but you can use the templates with PhotoShop or other graphics that use png. They're fairly simple and exactly fit the CreateSpace books. I use LuLu templates for the insides and maybe that is what you do for your covers then pull them into CreateSpace????
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Permalink Reply by Marva Dasef on
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Yes. I looked at the CreateSpace templates. I don't have the magic art stuff on my computer to manipulate the PNG images and do spines and such.
What I DIDN'T want is a stock cover for my books, and I got that. It'd be nice to have overprinting on cover art and such, but I R a riter not a rtis. -
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Permalink Reply by dianejwright on -
It's true. This I learned from my previous life in packaged goods marketing. It's all in the visual. No one will read a word if they're not attracted to the cover (unless it's a class assignment or Oprah-endorsed or something else overly compelling). One of the big surprises about my own little accidental venture into publishing (another story for another day) was the overwhelming positive feedback I've had on the cover of my novel, Birthday Girl. Apparently, it "looks like a real book". Oi. Just have a look through the Smashwords or Lulu catalogues as compared to any bestseller list in your genre to understand why design is so important in publishing and in life. There's a science and art to these things that is not to be discounted...just as there is to your writing.
/djw
Birthday Girl on Goodreads
Vote for it! -
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Permalink Reply by Linda Boulanger on
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Diane, it is a "good" cover. Did you design it yourself?
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Permalink Reply by dianejwright on
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I did. Thank you. I never intended to "publish". I was only making the work available to friends and family while I shopped the project and, of course, I didn't want it looking like crap so off I went. This is my typical modus operandi: I really can't just leave well-enough alone, as they say. The cover just makes me so happy when I see it because it perfectly conveys the tone of the story. So I was trying to please me. I do have agency design experience so that probably guided me. And Laura's right: the layout of the manuscript is the other half of the equation. Hello InDesign!
:) -
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Permalink Reply by Linda Boulanger on
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Are you familiar with Richard Paul Evans, I believe it is? Same thing... wrote The Christmas Box... he got started by publishing this book HIMSELF at a Kinko's as a gift for his kids. He just wanted to give them as gifts and people started hearing about it (friends and family) so he had some more made up and then it took on a life of its own and he got a big publishing contract. Now he has all these best selling books and some Hallmark movies. And he never even intended it for an audience beyond his family.
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Permalink Reply by Laura J. W. Ryan on -
Absolutely! A beautifully designed and well edited book creates a flawless reading experience, there's nothing worse than struggling through a book that looks like a Word document converted into a PDF, and reads like a rough draft. Independent publishing has been a learning experience, and I'm so glad that I went ahead and did it rather than writing one more query letter to one more agent! I'm fortunate that my Fred is a book designer, so our little adventure as indie authors helps us look less like self-published efforts. We were part of a multiple author book signing at a local indie store last summer and the traditionally published authors were looking the spots off our books, they were very impressed and couldn't believe they were self-published. It isn't just the book cover, it's the organization of the "guts" too, and taking the time to edit (I do my own). Writing a book is an incredible experience, and if it's what you want to do for a living, it's an investment... although it's awesome to get it in print, it's even better when it's done right!
This is a great topic to discuss! -
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