EM: Firstly, I just need to say it is a real thrill to have Fiona blogging here today. I love her work. Her covers are always so awesome and yummy and. . . well, they're fab. The lovely Fiona has actually done 5 of my book covers; She-Wolf, The Collector, Cranberry Blood, Stepping Stones and On the Rocks, and I have loved every single one of them.
Anyway, enough of me being all fan girl. Fiona has stopped by to tell us her top 5 tips to an author filling out their cover art sheet. So, take it away Fiona . . .
Five tips to filling out your cover art sheet – and helping your artist make your cover awesome!
I’ve seen a lot of authors dread filling
out their cover art forms – another chore to check off the to do list. A “must
do” chore since your book cover is what will catch a reader’s eye and lead them
down the path of – read the blurb, read the expert and finally – hopefully –
buy the book. I hope the below tips will help in distilling the essentials of
your story into visual images your cover artist can then use to create a cover
of your dreams.
Don’t
cause a scene: Or rather, don’t worry about an
important scene in your book. The important scene is too big to distill into a
single image! Instead, think of what is marketable about your book – what are
the hooks? What will you tag your book on Amazon? Is your story about vampires,
angels, male male romance, a walk on Mars? What is the biggest marketing hook?
This is what needs to be on the cover – and what you need to communicate to
your artist.
Hair
and some air: I’ve seen a lot of authors fill out
detailed descriptions of their characters – and while we artists absolutely
need those descriptions, in many ways, minute details are unnecessary. We don’t
need to know that your heroine is strawberry blonde vs pale blonde, or that
your hero has stubble. Unless the hair color is extremely important to the book
(the first example that comes to mind is Angel’s Blood, where the heroine’s
silver blond hair is very much an identifying feature and is mentioned in the
black moment of the book), such level of detail really isn’t necessary. Think
more of a police report than a dating site – 5”2, brown and brown. Just the
facts, ma’am.
Four
out of five dentists: Smiling people aren’t really
marketable on book covers. Even if
you write a romantic comedy, there’s still conflict in your book right? A
smiling character shows no conflict – their conflict is already resolved! Such a characters arouses no
questions in the reader’s mind. (Granted – there are different smiles! A
devilish smile may make all the difference in the world!)
I’ve
shown this cover to friends and family and my neighbors daughter’s boyfriend’s
nephew thinks that… I’m exaggerating, but only a
little. You, the author, know your story and your readers best. Unless your
family and friends have a good idea of your genre, your audience and
marketability of your book, take their suggestions and distill them to
marketing nuggets. Design by committee leads to Jar Jar Binks – or Picard and
Kirk cooking eggs together.
Get
a second opinion: Ah, a direct 180 from the
previous point right? Here’s the caveat – get a second opinion from another
cover artist or the art direction in your publishing house. Cover artists love
to talk theory and marketing how it all translates into a precious one inch
thumbnail on Amazon – so if you aren’t sure about a cover – or unsure of what
it is that seems “wrong” about it, it can’t hurt to ask someone else in the
business. They may be able to point out the exact thing your gut is telling you
but your analytical mind doesn’t quite know how to put into words.
~ * ~
BIO:
Fiona Jayde
is a space pilot, a ninth degree black belt in three styles of martial arts, a
computer hacker, a mountain climber, a jazz singer, a weight lifter, a superspy
with a talent for languages, and an evil genius. All in her own head.
Find Fiona’s
works at her website at http://fionajaydemedia.com/
Fiona does fabulous covers - I totally agree. Thanks for the tips today!
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