Covers Do Matter

I'm honored to welcome author, Mila Ballentine to the blog today. She's blogging on a very important topic. . .COVERS!! 


The Cover MATTERS!

Don’t let the cliché, 'Don’t judge a book by its cover,' sway you. Everything is judged by its cover, whether it’s an object or a person! The presentation of a product for sale is important. If you’ve ever been attracted to a particular product while shopping, 9 out of 10 times it had everything to do with the presentation. However, the contents are equally important, but this article will focus on what’s on the outside. 

I went to a small business workshop a few months ago and the instructor recommended a book by Paco Underhill, WHY WE BUY. It’s worth the read and it’s available in audio book. It was helpful and reinforced aspects of marketing that I already knew. As an independent publisher/author, I devote as much time to choosing a cover as I do to writing. Without a cover that represents the essence of your story, you are simply nailing your foot in the “No Name Brand,” market. I think we all have a sense of how people feel about “No Name Brand” products….low grade, cheap, imitation…you get the idea.

When your cover has the presence of attracting the naked eye, the odds are, they will move in and investigate the product. If the Blurb grabs them, you caught one! However, you had to get their attention first! It took two weeks to find the cover for IN THE VALLEY OF MUD AND WORMS, but I knew it was ‘the one’ when I saw it. It represented the character and the story, but you wouldn’t know until you read it. I was not as lucky with finding a cover for NO STRAYS ALLOWED, so I illustrated it myself. The optical illusion tricks the eye to think that something is wrong. The effect …you move in closer to see if your eyes can correct the error, but there is none. It’s effective because the potential customer interacts with the product. Finally, the cover for THIN SKIN SOUL PINNED took three mind-numbing weeks to find, but it was worth it! 

So by all means, judge a book by its cover. It is something we do unconsciously and it plays a major factor into what we buy. Also, I could have easily included examples of covers that aren’t the best representation of a book, but it is not my desire to muddy anyone’s hard work. Instead, I will provide an avenue where you can obtain photos that will improve your chances of finding the PERFECT cover! Bigstock.com is an excellent site and one of the easiest to use. I am including the following 50% off link.http://bigstock.refr.cc/MN7Z9B8 

Marketing a product is not an easy task. The next time you go shopping, think about why you buy something. I am interested to hear your thoughts on this subject. 

Thin Skin Soul Pinned  Book Trailer: http://bit.ly/Nfu5SC

Many Hats Of Self Publishing

Ahh. . .did the title catch your attention?

As a self published author we wear many hats from writer, editor, copy-editor, typeset, plot-editor, lay-out designer, graphic designer, etc..AND we do it alone. (most of the time)

WRITER:
Without being the writer, you will not be able to move forward on your dream of publishing. You must focus and write every day. It doesn't have to be a mountain of words, but it must be a few in order to get those words on a page and tell your story.

EDITOR:
So you might have a great final editor, but what about the journey to getting it to that final editor. After the first draft, you have to go back and re-edit what you just completed. AND then again, and again until you are positively sure it's ready to go to your editor. THEN the editor will send you edits back. IF you have a wonderful editor like me, JUDY BEATTY, your editor will look over those edits to make sure you got them all or that they got them all.

DESIGN ARTIST:
What? You mean to tell me there is NO cover fairy?? HELL NO!! You have to put on your designer hat and either hire someone that can transform your ideas into a great cover OR try your handy work on your own. I use Laura Morrigan for all my covers. BUT I have the idea in my head and will relate those to her and maybe give her a picture or two to let her know what I'm thinking. Then we collaborate as a team to come up with the best cover! And she makes a home-run every single time.

(A CHARMING CRIME June 12)

FORMAT QUEEN/KING:

Oh, yeah! If you are going to be doing your own formatting, you will need to learn the in's and out's of each on-line ebook distributor. Some take epub while others take the word document. And it's up to you to figure that out. UNLESS you want to spend lots of cashola to pay someone to do it. AND trust me, if I can do it, so can you!!!

ACCOUNTANT:

I know. . .I'm NOT great with money, but I do know that you have to factor in all the above when self-publishing into your budget. You might not be paying for an editor (which out of all of this I HIGHLY recommend), or a cover artists, but you will have expenses. Whether it's formatting software, the latest graphic program or just the coffee that is going to keep you sane through it all...you will spend some money. So make sure you budget before you start down this journey of self-publication.

MARKETER:

Hahahahaaa!!! Did you honestly think that with that cute cover and big ole confidence ego I have is going to get my name and book out there??? TEEEE HEEEEE!! HELL NO!! Can I get a collective HELL NO from the audience???

This might just be the biggest hat of all that you wear.You will need to market and promote not only your book, but yourself from the time you write CHAPTER ONE until you die. This hat might not look that great on you, or might not fit just perfect, but you have to wear it. LET ME STATE THAT AGAIN. . . YOU. HAVE. TO. WEAR. IT!!!! (if you want tips on how to be a marketing machine. . .read through my blog posts....)

WAREHOUSE WORKER:

I know you don't work for Amazon and I know that you don't like heavy lifting. I don't even like lifting my butt out of my chair. BUT you have to get the author swag or your print book out to people. You have to do this! (I know that Createspace and others will physically print and ship your book) If you want a career as close to a traditional published book as possible, you are going to have to buy some of your books and host your own book signing. OR do give aways or have one for yourself....

BUSINESS MANAGER:

What, you don't have an agent?????? YOU ARE YOUR AGENT! Even if you get an agent, you have to be the captain of your ship. You know better than anyone and I mean ANYONE what you want from your career.

Self-publishing is NOT an easy job. But if you keep a positive attitude and occasionally laugh you will be just fine:)

Today, I'm going to wear my writing hat! 

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!!!

What's Up With The Cover?

You know the old saying, "don't judge a book by it's cover," well, I do.

For me, when I write a book, I have a very vivid picture of how I want my readers to see my novel. It's in the art of the written words that create the images. Of course, you begin to develop what you'd like your cover to look like.

I don’t know about you, but when I am browsing bookstore aisles or Amazon.com, and a cover catches my eye, I grab it. I read the book blurb on the back and then I check out the author bio. I admit the cover does sale me a book.

Humans are visual creatures.

Recently on NPR (National Public Radio), they were talking about the appearance of the author and how some author’s books sale because THEY are marketable, not the writing, but their author photo. I am not sure if I believe this to be true. -DON’T LET THIS BE TRUE- I WILL NEED A GOOD AIRBRUSH ARTIST!

I have to admit that when I was with my small publisher, I was worried sick about the cover art. Luckily, the publisher sent me a front cover sheet where I filled out the elements of my story and let me express my opinion on what the cover should look like. I found that to be reassuring that they cared how the author portrayed her work.

When I began to self publish, I wanted my cover to be as close as a traditionally published book. It's very important as a self-published author to really do your research when looking for a cover artists.

1) Check out other self published novels, in your genre, that you really like. Send the author an email asking who did their cover design. Be sure to contact several cover artist and check out their prices and time frame. Be sure to let them know if you want a print book too. Those are much different to design than just a PDF for an ebook.
Book covers can cost between $80-$600. Anything beyond that, I would highly recommend you think about.

When I self published a couple of my short stories, I decided to try my hand at designing and creating my own covers.

I found this heart on bigphoto.com for less than $2 and used photo shop to overlay the words. If I can make a book cover, you can too!


2) Check out traditionally published novels, in your genre, and make a list of what you do and don't like on the covers that you see. For me, I wanted a cover that went along with traditional covers. It was very important for me to have a blurb from another author on the front cover. I didn't ask any old author, I asked a very popular traditional author who has Lifetime movies, and she accepted!

Now that I'm also going to publish traditionally, and still continue to self publishing, I'm excited to see what the publisher's cover artist will come up with.

Is it true that a good book cover makes a good book even better?
Check out my Laura Morrigan Designs who does my covers!