YOU CAN'T JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER ... OR CAN YOU?

“You can’t judge a book by its cover.”

—   Bo Diddley

Horse biscuits!

As much as I respectfully disagree with Mr. Diddley, I just have to say the man knows “diddley” squat about publishing! Not only can you judge a book by its cover, but according to a “Cover Matters” survey conducted by The Book Smuggler’s Blog, a whopping 79% said that book covers play a decisive roll in their decision to purchase a book. Now when you figure that 3.13 billion books are sold every year, that’s a LOT of pulp, people!

First impressions are important, whether valid or not, and the first glimpse of a cover is a first impression to a potential reader. Which is why my covers are so very important to me and why my prayer partners and I have prayed about every single one well in advance.

So while I was cleaning out my files a few weeks ago, I came across the portfolio shot of the model who posed for Collin McGuire on the cover of A Passion Most Pure, and I thought it might be fun for you to hear some of the background on each of my covers because as high maintenance as I can be, each book cover has been a real trip.

Since A Passion Most Pure was my debut novel, I had no idea what to expect with the cover process NOR any common sense to know that I was a newbie who needed to keep her mouth shut. Fortunately for me, the artist I work with at my publishing company is one of the sweetest human beings on the planet, and she was kind enough (and patient enough) to work with me to get a cover I would be happy with.

As an author, initially I send my publisher my character descriptions and personality traits, along with pics of movie stars or models I think they resemble. For the Daughters of Boston series, my publisher actually did two different shoots—the first of the female model, then later another shoot with the male model, which they stripped into the first pics for the final cover. 

Initially, the artist sent me pix of Faith with her hair long and wearing a pretty, lacy top that was a bit off-shoulder and showed a lot of her back and neck. “Oh, no,” I said to my artist, “Faith’s hair looks like a prairie romance, and this is 1916 Boston, so can we put her hair up?” Yes, we could and did, much to my relief. “Can you make the hair a little redder and the eyes a little greener?” I asked. No problem. Then they gave Faith a high-neck dress, which I thought worked a lot better—more chaste and proper for a modest young Bostonian. And FYI, in the pics with Faith, keep in mind they used some guy on the set to stand in for Collin for placement purposes only. So far, so good, right?

  

And then the tears began. The artist sent me a pic of Collin with a namby-pamby smile, and I started to cry, telling my husband he looked like a wimp. “Do you have any other shots from the shoot?” I asked the artist. “Only one,” she said, “but Collin looks mad in it, and nobody thought it would work.” “Can I see it?” I asked, hope springing in my chest, and the rest is history! I took one look at the smoldering, moody face of Collin McGuire, the man who was angry because he couldn’t have the woman he wanted, and I knew we’d struck pay dirt.

On book 2, A Passion Redeemed, it was a real wild ride! When my artist sent me the pic of the cover model for Mitch, the gals in my office literally drooled. Although he seemed a bit young for Mitch, he had that gruff, grouchy temper thing going on, which was absolutely perfect because Charity makes Mitch … well, grouchy ... through most of the book.

Imagine my shock when I received the first cover in which this gorgeous male had slicked-down hair and looked like an English dandy. More waterworks, of course, and I begged my artist hubby to “play” with the cover for me, giving my wonderfully stubborn hero more of an iron jaw and an angrier look in the eyes (all my heroes tend to be angry for some reason … maybe because they have to deal with me!).

“Oh, babe, the hair has got to go,” I said to my husband, so I searched on the Internet for just the right head of hair—blond rumpled curls (can you guess the movie star whose hair I stole?) instead of slicked down—and my publisher artist agreed the changes worked. Did I mention before what a saint both my husband and publisher artist are??? Here is a before and after to show you what we did.

 

 Then I zeroed in on Charity and noticed that the very buxom, drop-dead gorgeous vixen named Charity O’Connor was not as buxom as I’d hoped and even less so than her sister, Faith, who was supposedly unendowed. So, as a final change to the cover, my artist graciously endowed Charity with a bit more “charm” as you can clearly see in the before and after. Sigh. Book 2 over and done.

Now, I will admit that I had given my poor artist so much grief on the first two books, that I made up my mind that I would take the cover for A Passion Denied any way they gave it to me, no complaints. And so, despite my utter shock at the model who looked NOTHING like the Lizzie in my mind, I kept my mouth shut and prayed. And guess what? Right before the cover was finalized, my editor intervened on her own and said this first model didn’t fit the character image, so she ordered a second shoot and VOILA — Lizzie was born, and I never had to say a word!

I can't thank my publisher and hubby enough for working with me like they do to address my concerns. I have since found out that most authors do not have the luxury of so much input on their covers, and so I am doubly grateful. Because  you may not be able to judge a book by its cover, but you sure can judge a CDQ by her reaction to it, and let me tell you—it ain’t pretty.

Most professionals in the publishing industry agree that an effective book cover is THE BEST marketing tool for any author, traditionally published or indie. And since indie authors are taking the publishing world by storm right now, I thought I’d pass on the best links I found online for great cover tips plus recommend a couple of cover designers the Seekers have used who are top-notch. Mind you, there are tons of great cover designers out there, so if you have recommendations, please feel free to leave their name or website in the comments section. But for brevity sake (and, yes, contrary to popular opinion, I really DO know what the word “brevity” means), I am going to list the three designers that I know several Seekers have chosen.

COVER DESIGNERS THE SEEKERS HAVE USED AND LOVED:

The Killion Group has produced wonderful covers for Ruth Logan Herne and have worked on my formatting as well—they’re wonderful!

 

Rogenna Brewer has done a fab job for Tina Radcliffe with the following covers and Audra Harder's sensational cover:
  

  

Lena Goldfinch collaborated with Amber Stokes to create Sandra Leesmith’s fabulous covers:
  

THE ONE BRAVE SEEKER WHO DESIGNED HER OWN COVER:

Check out Myra’s indie novel, Pearl of Great Price:

Top Websites I found online for great COVER tips:

http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/designing-book-covers/

http://humblenations.com/2012/04/12/14-tips-for-good-kindle-cover-design/

FABULOUS blog on fonts by genre:

http://www.creativindie.com/300-fool-proof-fonts-to-use-for-your-book-cover-design-an-epic-list-of-best-fonts-per-genre/

BULLET TIPS FOR CREATING A GREAT COVER:

Regarding Fonts:

—Shoot for a short title.

—The title should be easy to read in size (big is good), font, color, and design.

—Make sure your spine can be read from five feet away.

—Go for a cover that impacts from 30 feet away.

—Keep jacket blurbs short and sweet.

—Choose a font that conveys the mood of your story (FONTS BY GENRE)

—Avoid overused fonts (TEN MOST OVERUSED FONTS).

—No more than two fonts per cover

—Avoid caps, italics, underline if possible.

—Choose a title that includes the most searched words according to Google (i.e. type in the word that best describes your book and see what top words come up, then try to include them in your title).

Regarding Graphics:

—Research favorite covers in your genre; learn from both good covers & bad.

—Poll various cover choices with your target group.

—Know your reader & research types of book he or she buys.

—Create a mood board for your book to create the feel you want.

—Know the message you want to convey.

—Keep it simple.

—Evoke curiosity.

—Promote natural eye flow.

—Utilize a strong focal point.

—Do thumbnail image to ensure easy readability on Amazon, B&N, etc.

—Never use cheap clip art.

—Never use your own artwork, children’s artwork, or anyone’s except professional artists or graphic designers.

—Do not put an image inside of a box.

—Avoid freakish color combinations.

—Use contrast wisely (i.e. light, never white, on dark for drama (novels, spiritual, etc.); dark on light for instructional (self-help, how-to, business).

—Allow .25” from trim guides to ensure a more professional look.
—Go bold & symbolic: Twilight, The Godfather, Hunger Games.

 

Finally, colors convey moods, so choose wisely:

• Red – Energetic, powerful, passionate, excited, strong, sexy, fast, dangerous.
• Blue – Male, Cool, conservative, trustful, reliable, safe.
• Yellow — Warm, bright, cheerful, sunny, cheerful, happy
• Orange – Warm, playful, vibrant, bold.
• Green — Natural, fresh, cool, organic, abundant.
• Purple — Royal, spiritual, dignified
• Pink – Feminine, soft, sweet, nurturing, secure, gentle.
• White — Pure, clean, bright, virginal, youthful, mild.
• Black — Sophisticated, elegant, seductive, mysterious
• Gold – Expensive, prestigious, affluent
• Silver – Cold, prestigious, scientific, clinical

GIVEAWAY:

Leave a comment to be entered for your choice of any of my books. EXTRA POINTS IN TODAY'S GIVEAWAY!! Suggest a good cover designer or a tip not mentioned, and you get an extra point for each. OR share this blog today on FB and/or Twitter and get  extra points for each share (up to 2 points).

JULIE’S BIO:

Award-winning author of “The Daughters of Boston” and “Winds of Change” series, Julie Lessman was American Christian Fiction Writers 2009 Debut Author of the Year and voted #1 Romance Author of the year in Family Fiction magazine’s 2012 and 2011 Readers Choice Awards. She has also garnered 17 RWA awards and made Booklist’s 2010 Top 10 Inspirational Fiction. Her book A Light in the Window is an International Digital Awards winner, a 2013 Readers' Crown Award winner, and a 2013 Book Buyers Best Award winner. You can contact Julie and read excerpts from her books at www.julielessman.com.