Posts
Good covers will not do.
They must be GREAT covers!
Especially so with eBooks.
Here is the new cover for my RITES OF PASSAGE cover by the evocative genius, Leonora Roy.
http://www.amazon.com/RITES-OF-PASSAGE-ebook/dp/B004XQVPYM#_
It is now #14 and better, it is FREE for the next THREE DAYS. Do not miss it!
How do you like the cover for BURNT OFFERINGS, now at #37, also by the talented Leonora Roy?
http://www.amazon.com/BURNT-OFFERINGS-ebook/dp/B008N4QGA8/ref=pd_rhf_dp_p_t_1
But enough about me. What do you think of me? Seriously, back to covers ...
We DO judge a book by its cover. Covers are the first and many times, the only thing, by which potential readers of eBooks decide to try or not try.
Covers must ...
1.) HOOK THE BOOK
The cover must reach out and grab the viewer and tug her or him into reading the product description.
So you understand how important the product description also is!
If you can get her to download the sample chapters, your prose has a shot at snagging another reader.
2.) BE THE SOUNDTRACK OF YOUR BOOK
One image. It must sing the song of your genre. "GIVE ME THE SAME THING ...
ONLY DIFFERENT," said the famous studio head, Samuel Goldwyn.
Look at the covers of the genre you're writing. Study them. DO NOT be like them.
What? Sure, if your cover is like theirs, the eyes of the potential readers will skim right over yours, not truly seeing it. SAMENESS IS DEADNESS with covers.
3.) BE THE POSTER FOR THE MOVIE OF YOUR BOOK
It must catch the "feel" of your book, giving a fair hint of all the fantastic things within the pages of your book.
Unless you are Stephen King, your name will not sell the book. BUT A GREAT TITLE WILL GRAB ATTENTION.
So highlight an evocative title so that it is spotlighted in the reader's mind.
Consider the titles to my covers in my sidebar.
4.) THE DEVIL IS IN THE DIGITAL DETAILS
In this digital age, our covers must be evocative in a thumbnail and in full-blown format.
Harder than it seems.
Two lovers entwined on the grass can look like twigs on vomit in thumbnail (really not an image guaranteed to get buyers!)
5.) OBSCURE THAT FOR ME PLEASE!
Ambiguity of setting aids you snaring the reader.
What? Yes.
Your cover sets the mystery of your book for the reader. The background becomes a literal character in your book for the browsing reader, murmuring, "You want to know more about this, don't you?"
Do not tell everything in your cover.
Why then would someone want to read when they already know the punchline?
Look at the covers of my novels in the sidebar. They suggest. They evoke. (I hope!)
6.) EXCUSE ME. IS THAT AN OVER-BITE, OR ARE THOSE FANGS?
Beauty is fine, but there must also be the promise of danger, of deadly threat. In a split second, the viewer will either be drawn to your book or decide to pass.
The threat of mysterious danger is essential in having the viewer come to the desired decision.
7.) TEASE BUT DON'T BE MEAN
If a black cat is the major focus of your cover, there had better be a mysterious black cat in your novel ... or you just lost a loyal follower.
8.) I SAID "BE BOLD" NOT "BE BALD!"
Humphrey Bogart said to Yul Brenner years later when Yul said he followed Bogart's advise on how to succeed in the movies.
Be bold. Consider your font.
Did you know that handwritten fonts appeal to women readers? Studies indicate they do. But only for contemporary romantic fiction. Be aware of your market's trends.
Destroyed fonts (damaged lettering) draw in the crime reader.
Popular Apoolyptic novels employed an over-all "distressed" layering to their cover image.
That's all I have room for. A whole book could be written on how to do a great cover. What do you think of my two latest?
They must be GREAT covers!
Especially so with eBooks.
Here is the new cover for my RITES OF PASSAGE cover by the evocative genius, Leonora Roy.
http://www.amazon.com/RITES-OF-PASSAGE-ebook/dp/B004XQVPYM#_
It is now #14 and better, it is FREE for the next THREE DAYS. Do not miss it!
How do you like the cover for BURNT OFFERINGS, now at #37, also by the talented Leonora Roy?
http://www.amazon.com/BURNT-OFFERINGS-ebook/dp/B008N4QGA8/ref=pd_rhf_dp_p_t_1
But enough about me. What do you think of me? Seriously, back to covers ...
We DO judge a book by its cover. Covers are the first and many times, the only thing, by which potential readers of eBooks decide to try or not try.
Covers must ...
1.) HOOK THE BOOK
The cover must reach out and grab the viewer and tug her or him into reading the product description.
So you understand how important the product description also is!
If you can get her to download the sample chapters, your prose has a shot at snagging another reader.
2.) BE THE SOUNDTRACK OF YOUR BOOK
One image. It must sing the song of your genre. "GIVE ME THE SAME THING ...
ONLY DIFFERENT," said the famous studio head, Samuel Goldwyn.
Look at the covers of the genre you're writing. Study them. DO NOT be like them.
What? Sure, if your cover is like theirs, the eyes of the potential readers will skim right over yours, not truly seeing it. SAMENESS IS DEADNESS with covers.
3.) BE THE POSTER FOR THE MOVIE OF YOUR BOOK
It must catch the "feel" of your book, giving a fair hint of all the fantastic things within the pages of your book.
Unless you are Stephen King, your name will not sell the book. BUT A GREAT TITLE WILL GRAB ATTENTION.
So highlight an evocative title so that it is spotlighted in the reader's mind.
Consider the titles to my covers in my sidebar.
4.) THE DEVIL IS IN THE DIGITAL DETAILS
In this digital age, our covers must be evocative in a thumbnail and in full-blown format.
Harder than it seems.
Two lovers entwined on the grass can look like twigs on vomit in thumbnail (really not an image guaranteed to get buyers!)
5.) OBSCURE THAT FOR ME PLEASE!
Ambiguity of setting aids you snaring the reader.
What? Yes.
Your cover sets the mystery of your book for the reader. The background becomes a literal character in your book for the browsing reader, murmuring, "You want to know more about this, don't you?"
Do not tell everything in your cover.
Why then would someone want to read when they already know the punchline?
Look at the covers of my novels in the sidebar. They suggest. They evoke. (I hope!)
6.) EXCUSE ME. IS THAT AN OVER-BITE, OR ARE THOSE FANGS?
Beauty is fine, but there must also be the promise of danger, of deadly threat. In a split second, the viewer will either be drawn to your book or decide to pass.
The threat of mysterious danger is essential in having the viewer come to the desired decision.
7.) TEASE BUT DON'T BE MEAN
If a black cat is the major focus of your cover, there had better be a mysterious black cat in your novel ... or you just lost a loyal follower.
8.) I SAID "BE BOLD" NOT "BE BALD!"
Humphrey Bogart said to Yul Brenner years later when Yul said he followed Bogart's advise on how to succeed in the movies.
Be bold. Consider your font.
Did you know that handwritten fonts appeal to women readers? Studies indicate they do. But only for contemporary romantic fiction. Be aware of your market's trends.
Destroyed fonts (damaged lettering) draw in the crime reader.
Popular Apoolyptic novels employed an over-all "distressed" layering to their cover image.
That's all I have room for. A whole book could be written on how to do a great cover. What do you think of my two latest?
Your covers are beautiful. I would pick the books up to read the synopsis on the back. I dread this part of the publishing process. All I want to do is write. Unfortunately, if I want to SELL anything I'll have to do the unpopular stuff as well. Great post, very informative.
ReplyDeleteI read an article in some magazine or something that said the exact opposite, that covers are really not that important anymore. They function for ebooks as more of an icon than anything. Still, it's nice to have a good looking icon.
ReplyDeleteAs for your covers I think you're making the common mistake of making your title too small. At full size it's legible but if you have to shrink it down it'll become harder to read.
I think you've got great stuff here, Roland. I love your covers--always intriguing. And I KNOW how important my cover has been to my book success because it is so perfectly suitable to the cozy mystery genre.
ReplyDeleteAndrea:
ReplyDeleteThank you. I was trying to help my friends get over the hurdles that hindered me initially.
PT:
Thank you for your views. Comments like yours help me think outside the box.
Hart:
I believe your cover is perfectly suited to your market as well. Thanks for the nice words. Great sales for us both!
Roland, the artist you use is amazing. I think the covers rock just as they are.
ReplyDeleteMost people do still judge a book by its cover. I know I do, and with eBooks, that cover is all we get since there is no back.
I'm very pleased with the covers my publisher created for my books. Hope the third one is just as awesome. (Hope I finish the book and they accept it of course!)
Roland, as always your covers rock. What a talented artist you have! Definitely these visual days, a cover can sell a book. a bad cover definitely loses sales.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand how you get so many books written, published, marketed. Do you get a few extra hours in each day my friend?
Denise
Love the Rites of Passage cover! Wow! And I agree the cover is super important, I often judge a book by its cover, even though I tell myself not to.
ReplyDeleteHi! How are you, Roland!? Good and intriguing advice, on the Sameness is Deadness point. Nice run-down on what makes a cover work (or not).
ReplyDeleteI came over from Michael DiGesu's blog, to make sure I said that I LOVE your new cover. Incredibly stunning and striking. I agree--a good cover definitely generates interest. :)
Alex:
ReplyDeleteThanks. I am so close to my books that I do not see them clearly. Sorry, everyone, about how late I am in replying, but the center is still pulling out of the chaos the storm inflicted with the supervisor out on vacation.
Denise:
LOL. If only I could find some extra hours. RITES OF PASSAGE I wrote last year, and this is the NEW cover. Great, isn't it?
Elise:
I'm so happy that you like RITES' cover. I think it special, too. I can say that since the art is the creation of a true genius, Leonora Roy.
Hi, Carol!
I've missed you. I am just now dragging in from work, so weary it is not funny. But I will zip on over to my friend, Michael's, blog!