You Indie Authors need to start getting better covers....

[lanfearl]

I understand that it can be expensive to hire someone to create something nice for your book. But it seriously looks like some of the work you are using is just clip art from Microsoft Word.

I also know that the quality of the writing has nothing to do with the cover, but when you are an indie author who is trying to get your name out there... people are going to look at your cover and laugh.

[MrPLD]

It's a tough call.  While a 'cheap' cover can be done for about $200 USD by a graphic-artist, quite often a lot of us are looking at $1500+ to get the -real- cover we want by graphic-artists/illustrators.  It's a situation where you take the low-road long enough to get enough $ to switch to the high road.   I think a lot of authors probably would spend $1000 on an editor than an illustrator.

Admittingly some people try their hand at their own covers and the results aren't "too bad" but there's always a handful of tweaks that separate the 'okay(ish)' from the "d*mn that's good" effect.

Paul.

*EDIT* Additionally, I think the problem is that -every- aspect of the package matters, web sites, publicist, content, cover, associated media (videos, audio, bookmarks, banners, posters).  For as much as it's sad not getting a buyer because your cover isn't "fantastic" it probably is worse to lure in the customer and confront them with a woefully edited book.

Paul.

[Holly A Hook]

I've never laughed at a cover, but that just might be me.  But I have seen a variety in quality out there. 

I do agree that a good cover helps.  But sometimes it's out of reach for some people because they don't have the money to hire an artist (especially in this economy!) or aren't artists themselves.  However, I will admit that mine is the result of a camera, a dark room, and Photoshop. 

[M.R. Mathias]

This is not my quote, but it is so on topic that I can't resisit:

"Only a fool judges a book by its cover." Will Rogers

I'll tell you why I agree with this.  A picture may be worth a thousand words, but a thousand words is only three pages.

[MariaESchneider]

I understand that it can be expensive to hire someone to create something nice for your book. But it seriously looks like some of the work you are using is just clip art from Microsoft Word.

I also know that the quality of the writing has nothing to do with the cover, but when you are an indie author who is trying to get your name out there... people are going to look at your cover and laugh.

I am working on it, I'm working on it!!!  I have two that were done by a professional.  For the book about to come out the artist did two mock-ups for me so that readers could vote on the final cover.   Covers are funny animals.  I have seen some that I thought were terrible only to find out the writer paid to have it done professionally.  I've seen some I loved and found the writer did it herself with clipart!!!  Good covers are very difficult and take practice.

Be patient.  We'll get there.

[MrPLD]

Here's a tip that's not too expensive if you're doing it yourself;

Go setup accounts at istockphoto.com and dreamstimes.com - from there you can attain good quality artwork at reasonable prices.  When you're browsing make sure if you find something you like that it has ZERO or very few downloads.

I suggest using a vector editor like Inkscape rather than a bitmap one like MS Paint/Draw.

Paul.

[M.R. Mathias]

It's a tough call.  While a 'cheap' cover can be done for about $200 USD by a graphic-artist, quite often a lot of us are looking at $1500+ to get the -real- cover we want by graphic-artists/illustrators.  It's a situation where you take the low-road long enough to get enough $ to switch to the high road.   I think a lot of authors probably would spend $1000 on an editor than an illustrator.

Admittingly some people try their hand at their own covers and the results aren't "too bad" but there's always a handful of tweaks that separate the 'okay(ish)' from the "d*mn that's good" effect.

Paul.

*EDIT* Additionally, I think the problem is that -every- aspect of the package matters, web sites, publicist, content, cover, associated media (videos, audio, bookmarks, banners, posters).  For as much as it's sad not getting a buyer because your cover isn't "fantastic" it probably is worse to lure in the customer and confront them with a woefully edited book.

Paul.

I agree. The profits from the first 50 sales of my novel were, at first, going to go for a fantastic dragon and sword cover. Instead, I paid an editor to tidy up the 700 page beast.
I had a guy make the cover it has now and though it isn't great, at least I know the people who pay $7 bucks for my book did so for my art, not the cover art.

Also, Ulysys didn't have a great cover for the Odysy and neither did Shakespeare. 

[Betsy the Quilter]

I love Will Rodgers, and I would agree that there are many a good books out there with terrible covers, and terrible books with great covers, so the cover is not an accurate measure of a book's worth.  But there is also a lot of competition out there, so why NOT give one's hard work the best possible start?  As someone else somewhere said, "You only get one chance to make a first impression."  The cover is often the first impression in a crowded market.

Many different things might make me take a look at a given book.  Cover is one of them.  Also, catchy title, word of mouth, an interesting post by an author here at KindleBoards.  And the last three could make up for a bad cover.  But cover definitely is one of the things that makes me consider or not consider a book, to start with.

I think this is a great discussion.  (I ask that no one take lanfearl's comments as a personal, because of course, they aren't, since your cover is great, right?  )

Betsy

[LKRigel]

I know there is at least one reader at Kindleboards who bought my book for its cover because she told me so! Thank goodness she liked the book too, ha!

A good cover is crucial. As Betsy said, first impressions and all.

[Monique]

I'm a big believer in the power of a good cover. And, I want to echo MrPLD's advice about places like istockphoto. I know nada, zilch, bupkis about graphic design. But, I knew I had to make an effort. I downloaded a free program called Gimp, spent about $10 on an image and used old fashioned trial and error to create mine.

Of course, you'll get better results from a skilled designer, but you can create a decent cover yourself...on the cheap.

[BTackitt]

Also, if you browse through the Writer's corner, we have 2 or 3 cover artists who are prducing FANTABULOUS work for CHEAP flat rates so that they can build portfolios. I know Ronnell is only charging $50 for unique covers, and I'm pretty sure there was someone else who was equally inexpensive. Check their work, it's really quite good.

Oh.. and LK is probably talking about me... I totally browse/buy books by cover attraction first.

It's like Dating in my book.. You want to look good for a first date, no matter how wonderful you are on the inside, if someone is not initially physically attracted to your outside, how do you expect them to stay around long enough to find out how hawt you are on the inside?

[foreverjuly]

It's like Dating in my book.. You want to look good for a first date, no matter how wonderful you are on the inside

Why didn't anyone tell me this when I was sixteen???

I love Will Rodgers, and I would agree that there are many a good books out there with terrible covers, and terrible books with great covers, so the cover is not an accurate measure of a book's worth.  But there is also a lot of competition out there, so why NOT give one's hard work the best possible start?  As someone else somewhere said, "You only get one chance to make a first impression."  The cover is often the first impression in a crowded market.

Many different things might make me take a look at a given book.  Cover is one of them.  Also, catchy title, word of mouth, an interesting post by an author here at KindleBoards.  And the last three could make up for a bad cover.  But cover definitely is one of the things that makes me consider or not consider a book, to start with.

I think this is a great discussion.  (I ask that no one take lanfearl's comments as a personal, because of course, they aren't, since your cover is great, right?  )

Betsy

I think so too. I was reading a NYTimes article recently about how important covers are to people's perceptions of a book. I just did a quick search and unfortunately wasn't able to find it. Not only do covers influence which books we want to buy, we're also much less likely to pick up a book with an unappealing cover once it gets in our house.

Investing in a cover is a MUST for any indie author, and it's something that just plain has to be gotten right. Betsy has it exactly right when she says it's the first impression we get.

As for the authors around here, there are a lot who have great covers, I feel. William Campbell, Victorine, Ronnell. Definitely powerful images that get you psyched about a book!

[sibelhodge]

Oh.. and LK is probably talking about me... I totally browse/buy books by cover attraction first.

Obviously a good cover is important to attracting you to the book and reading the blurb, but just how important is it in your purchasing decision? It would be interesting to get other people's opinions on here.

[LKRigel]

Oh.. and LK is probably talking about me... I totally browse/buy books by cover attraction first.

I am TOTALLY talking about you! I told my cover designer what you said, and it made her so happy!

[Betsy the Quilter]

Obviously a good cover is important to attracting you to the book and reading the blurb, but just how important is it in your purchasing decision? It would be interesting to get other people's opinions on here.

Many different things might make me take a look at a given book.  Cover is one of them.  Also, catchy title, word of mouth, an interesting post by an author here at KindleBoards.  And the last three could make up for a bad cover.  But cover definitely is one of the things that makes me consider or not consider a book, to start with.

Forgive me for quoting myself above.   

If I start looking at a book despite a bad cover, it probably means there was some other reason that I looked at the book, as I said above:  catch title, word of mouth, one of the scintillating posts in the "Davids" thread.  And if one of those gets me interested in a book, I'll buy it DESPITE a bad cover.  So a bad cover won't make me NOT buy a book I would otherwise be interested in. 

But a bad cover does affect my purchasing in that there are books I skip by without even checking them out.

Betsy

[Jeff]

What's a good cover? I'm apparently a very poor judge because to me, this isn't great:

[Monique]

I'm not a fan of that cover either, Jeff.

But, it has something going for it that most indies don't. People already know about it and aren't deciding to click or not to click based solely upon its merits (or lack thereof).

[AJB]

I do most of my book-browsing at my local public library, where I usually can't even see the covers of the books, only their spines. Word-of-mouth is definitely more important to me. But a bad cover can be off-putting - it took me longer than it should have done to start reading Terry Pratchett, for example, simply because I didn't like the artwork on his books!

Amanda

[Betsy the Quilter]

I never really looked at that book for the longest time because neither the cover nor the title intrigued me...but the word of mouth and a good deal on the price finally made me get it.  Haven't read it yet though...

Betsy

[Jeff]

I'm not a fan of that cover either, Jeff.

But, it has something going for it that most indies don't. People already know about it and aren't deciding to click or not to click based solely upon its merits (or lack thereof).

Haha. Well, I didn't expect that answer.

What I meant to say in response to the OP was that I don't know a good cover from a bad one. Mine may be awful.

[history_lover]

I'm a big believer in the power of a good cover. And, I want to echo MrPLD's advice about places like istockphoto. I know nada, zilch, bupkis about graphic design. But, I knew I had to make an effort. I downloaded a free program called Gimp, spent about $10 on an image and used old fashioned trial and error to create mine.

Of course, you'll get better results from a skilled designer, but you can create a decent cover yourself...on the cheap.

I think some people just don't have an eye for design though. People like yourself who do have a good eye for it can create something decent even with very minimal or basic skills. But without a good eye, it doesn't matter how many skills you acquire, you're not going to wind up with anything professional looking.

But I third the suggestion for stock images like istockphoto (which has more than just photos) and I second the suggestion for GIMP. Anyone who may already have Photoshop or Photoshop Elements, have a look around for free actions which will help you apply different looks.

I also suggest getting in touch with a university or design school which may have design students willing to work for less or even for free in order to build their portfolio. They may have a notice board or something where you can post an ad for the job - we had that at the photography school I went to.

Maybe it's because I'm a photographer and therefore a very visual person but if the cover looks unprofessional, I think it's natural to feel it might be an indication of the effort put into the writing too. I think particularly with romance novels, it's real easy to have a tacky looking cover that might give people the wrong impression about the book.

[Monique]

I think some people just don't have an eye for design though. People like yourself who do have a good eye for it can create something decent even with very minimal or basic skills. But without a good eye, it doesn't matter how many skills you acquire, you're not going to wind up with anything professional looking.

But I third the suggestion for stock images like istockphoto (which has more than just photos) and I second the suggestion for GIMP. Anyone who may already have Photoshop or Photoshop Elements, have a look around for free actions which will help you apply different looks.

I also suggest getting in touch with a university or design school which may have design students willing to work for less or even for free in order to build their portfolio. They may have a notice board or something where you can post an ad for the job - we had that at the photography school I went to.

Maybe it's because I'm a photographer and therefore a very visual person but if the cover looks unprofessional, I think it's natural to feel it might be an indication of the effort put into the writing too. I think particularly with romance novels, it's real easy to have a tacky looking cover that might give people the wrong impression about the book.

Good points. I'd like to add deviantART as a great source for up and coming artists who might still be affordable.

[Betsy the Quilter]

I'm a big believer in the power of a good cover. And, I want to echo MrPLD's advice about places like istockphoto. I know nada, zilch, bupkis about graphic design. But, I knew I had to make an effort. I downloaded a free program called Gimp, spent about $10 on an image and used old fashioned trial and error to create mine.

Of course, you'll get better results from a skilled designer, but you can create a decent cover yourself...on the cheap.

I think your cover is quite effective, Monique.  It's simple and balanced.  And the clock gears relate to the subject of "time."  It made me look at the Amazon page.  Which made me buy.  

I think the major mistake most new designers make is to try to have too many competing elements on the page.  (The same is often true of new art quilters, by the way.)  You essentially have four elements:  the graphic, the title, the subtitle, and your name.  You varied the size of each of those in order of importance and placed them so that the eye flows naturally.  Good job.  As for reading your book, it's in the to-be-read pile.  Sigh....too many books, too little time!

Betsy

[M.R. Mathias]

If and when my huge novel gets put into print, I will definitely invest in a highly eye pleasing cover. For now, the massive preview of my writing that is available is bigger than most whole books, so I will settle for fewer sales.  My upcoming mid-Oct. novel release has an expensive cover. I guess I will find out if it was worth the investment. 

[LKRigel]

I originally designed my cover using pix from BigStock.com and the Gimp program. I had a good idea in my head, but the best I could render was very sad compared to what the pro came up with:


table:

The Gimp program is free. The images cost less than $10 total, and the professional rendering cost $80, plus she threw in a banner for my website.  Worth it? Oh, yeah!