Re-designing book cover. Which option?

[Edward C. Patterson]

I like the original best.

Ed P

[Sam Landstrom]

Sweet. The original was the only one of the set I made myself, the rest were done by my niece. *pat on the back*

[Edward C. Patterson]

Funny, the little Owl icon was drawn from a real jade owl I bought in ina by my nephew, but he can't handle color - so I scanned it and did the colors myself. I believe that only the author can give birth to the cover. Too many authors depend on illustrators. There are definite design rules, but the artwork is as much a part of the imagination as the writing, the blossoming of the rose, if you will.

Edwad C. Patterson
an author and not an artist (unless [bullcrap] counts)

[jonfmerz]

I believe that only the author can give birth to the cover. Too many authors depend on illustrators.

Wow, really?  I happen to believe that a good artist can do more to help sell a book than many authors realize.  I agree that I might have an idea of what I'd like a cover to look like, but I usually let the artist read the book or give a detailed synopsis and then let them come up with an idea before I start imposing my will on it.  The two media are vastly different and a professional artist will be able to interpret the written to convey a visual attitude or feeling about the work that may well lead to better sales.  I'd elaborate even further by saying that too many authors think they design amazing covers, when the reality is, they look horrendously amateurish. 

Cover art is an integral part of any book's packaging and its quality or lack thereof is usually very obvious to consumers.  Cover art conveys the level of professionalism with which the author treats his product.  A well-designed cover doesn't have to cost a lot, but it does involve a great deal of thought and planning.  I'll use an example of someone from this very board: Dawson Vosburg's cover on his book is fantastic.  And yet, he said it cost him five bucks.  But he went and found a talented artist to create a compelling design that works.  I see a book like that and I think, "I need to get this because the author cares about how he presents his work."  In my mind that means the chances of the book being well-written increase dramatically.  It's not a guarantee, of course, but taking that much care with the packaging hopefully means the author took as much care with the writing.  The opposite may also be true!

Independent authors especially should be wary of imposing their will on covers.  In my opinion (and I'm sure you guys will correct me if I'm wrong) one of the goals of indie publishing is to aspire to attain the appearance of being professionally published.  Image counts a tremendous amount.  And yes, I've heard all the arguments about letting the work speak for itself, etc. etc. but the fact is that most consumers judge a book by its cover.  Indie or self publishing suffers from a tremendous stigma and bad covers only reinforce it.

Traditional publishing isn't immune from bad cover design (I should know considering the nightmarish monstrosity my first novel got treated to, lol) but the majority are well-designed by professionals.  If publishers thought authors were the best judge of how a book should look, they wouldn't have art departments.  Ask someone in book sales how critical covers are when they visit their bookstore customers with the latest flyer.  Buyers flip through it and make purchasing decisions instantly based on the quality of covers (for some books - obviously established bestsellers are in a different league).  A bad cover can sink a career.

My two cents - your mileage may vary...

[Brenda M.]

I like the original one the best too! I do also like the current one you have up on Amazon as my #2. But, like the original the best.

[Edward C. Patterson]

In fact, I will not start the last revision (the one running up to publication, usually revision 4 to until I've designed my cover. Now my covers are not the best covers in the world - but they are the perfect covers for my books, because they exude me. And I agree, they help sell the book. But I don't sell titles. I am the package, and my covers like my books reflect me. I don't resist professional artistic suggestion and run my covers by a few professionals and make changes, but I effect those changes. To be an Indie author is to do it all and do it all to the best of your ability. When I stood in front of an audience during my last reading event, I was quite proud that on the easel behind me stood the cover of the book - my design and as much a product of my imagination as the characters. But that's the beauty of this media - we can hold to our opinions and quirks and still call it "branding."

Edward C. Patterson

[Sam Landstrom]

As far as the question doing your own book cover or not, I guess it just depends on your ability and your ultimate goal. A few questions to consider.
- Are you a visual artist or have the patience to pull something off with a great deal of effort?
- Do you take pride in owning the entire process, including the art, or do you just want to sell as many copies as possible?

Personally, I'm not an artist and, although I did create the original art myself, I did so only with hours of work and the use of stock photos which also took me hours to find.

But it was worth it. I agree with Jon that people do judge a book by its cover and the hours I spent on the cover were *at least* as valuable to the success of my book as the same number of hours spent writing.

I poured two years of my free time into writing that novel so it would have been nonsense to not also spend some time on its presentation.

As far as who does the art, I fall into the pragmatic camp. My goal is to sell books and so I don't care who designs it as long as it's appealing. I'd prefer the art had some association with the content of my book, but in reality, I'd upload a picture of a bare-assed ape brushing his teeth with a sock if I thought it would sell more copies. (:

I think you can have the best of both worlds by taking the time to effectively communicate to your artist what you're trying to convey. You may have to iterate a few times.

As for Dawson and his $5 art, I'll have to ask him who is artist is.

-----------------------------------------------
Sam Landstrom
Author of acclaimed "MetaGame", sci-fi novel for 80 cents
http://www.amazon.com/MetaGame-ebook/dp/B002AJ88LC

[sigrosenblum]

The original is best, by far.

[liannallama]

Oh, I really like the last two and especially the red one best!  They show some tension and seem more "sci-fi" than the others.  The others look awesome as art, but they would be more appropriate for a self-help book or something like that than a sci-fi.  The last red one really helps set the mood of the book!