Over the past year, I have gotten to know, Adam Hall, who is a book designer for indie authors. His website, www.aroundthepages.com is a showcase for his work, but Adam also does design for a variety of diverse projects and audiences. He has worked with both first-time and experienced authors on one book or a series. I asked him to share some of his insights recently about designing for books. His answers to my questions follow below.
Type is as important as the image on a cover.
How did you start designing book covers?
I got my start by doing a favor for a friend, Ernie Lindsey. He is an indie writer who has made the USA Today Bestseller list with his series, Sara’s Game. A few years ago he needed some help tweaking a cover. Ernie and I have now collaborated on about 10+ projects. Through his, and other’s encouragement, I decided to make it my focus in my design career.
“……a good cover won’t always make you want to buy a book, but a bad cover will most definitely make you not buy one”
From your experience what are the keys to making a book cover design work really well?
The cover needs to convey the genre, and give a clue into the story. It doesn’t need to tell the whole story, but create enough intrigue to catch the readers’ eye. Focus on typography as much as the images. If the art is brilliant, but the title text is all wrong, the whole piece falls flat. The art and typography have to work together.
How does book cover design differ from other design projects you do?
In addition to book covers, I work with musicians and bands on artwork and websites. With music design you are basically marketing the individual or group. With book covers you are telling a story. It is fun to find that nugget in the story that you can use in artwork to capture that the idea in the book in one image. That makes book cover design more challenging than doing design for music, but that’s part of what makes it fun.
The thumbnail is what they will likely see first if they search online, so it is critical the thumbnail makes a good first impression.
What design mistakes do you see most often on book covers?
One common mistake is not considering all formats when doing the cover design. You have to make sure the cover looks great in thumbnail size AND full size. You only have a split second to catch a potential reader’s eye as they’re searching out that next book. The thumbnail is what they will likely see first if they search online, so it is critical the thumbnail makes a good first impression.
Finding the one image that captures the story is a key to good book design.
What tips would you give to first time authors?
I think two of the most important people an author can find are a good editor and designer. You have to trust both to make your work the best it can be.
When it comes to working with a designer, do your due diligence and look at a designer’s previous work. A friend of mine has said “a good cover won’t always make you want to buy a book, but a bad cover will most definitely make you not buy one”. I thought that was a brilliant point. Find a designer who can help make your cover one that motivate readers to buy your book.
Filed under: Author Solutions, book marketing, helpful hints, Indie book publishing, Publishing, self publishing, writing Tagged: author solutions., authors, book covers, book marketing, Book publishing, indie book publishing, indie publishing, Keith Ogorek, Print books, self publishing, self publishing blog
