Covers

 

Are you able to convey your cover idea to the cover artist?

 

The cover of your novel will sell or sink your book. Covers that illicit immediate reaction will make the reader grab the book or walk away. The above picture puts one in mind of fantasy or science fiction with a medieval setting.

 

Are you able to tell your cover designer what you want? Or are you vague and uncertain?

 

The following CAIF, Cover Artist Information Form, clearly shows what the author needs to be thinking of in the way of a cover. If you tell the publisher you don't have an idea and don't care... don't complain when the cover on your book is the exact opposite of what you envisioned.

 

 

Cover Art Information Form

Authors, please fill in the information below, to the best of your ability. 

TITLE: 

GENRE:

E-ISBN: 

POD-ISBN:

AUTHOR NAME: 

WRITING AS:

EDITOR:  

CE:  

SE:

ME:

EE:

ARTIST:

PUBLICATION DATE: 

Author

ADDRESS: 

PHONE:

HOME PAGE:

EMAIL ADDRESS:

BOOK COVER ART

Designing book covers is time consuming and sometimes very frustrating for both the artist and the author. The small amount the artists are paid for their work does not compensate for the long hours sometimes spent on designing the “perfect” cover. With a little help from our authors, our jobs as artists will be a great deal simpler. Have your CAIF’s filled out ASAP so an artist can be assigned to your work and has as much time as possible to accomplish their goal, which is to bring you a cover that both pleases and excites you.

Ideas: Please share ideas of what you would like on your cover, but also be open to new ideas if what you’ve requested cannot be attained in a timely fashion to design an attractive cover.

Theme: Pick a subject for the cover that follows suit to the theme of your book. Keep it simple and to the point. If you do not supply an idea, then be informative about the theme of your book so the artist can do their best work. After all, their name goes on your book too.

Objects: There are always significant objects in a story; a bouquet of long-stemmed red roses or a broken down antique car, a dainty floral teacup or a bottle of deadly poison, a pestiferous fat cat or a worn out pair of dusty cowboy boots. Setting the theme of your book on its cover, helps to sell your book. Be specific about your ideas so we can fine-tune your cover art. Not just roses, but the color and amount too, two-dozen red roses in a tall glass vase. Not just a cat, but a high strung Siamese cat with an attitude…you get the picture. But keep it simple and don’t use several elements or the cover becomes too cluttered.

People: Unless you have a photograph of people for the art department to use, it is very difficult to use real people on your covers. Silhouettes work well, as do ghostly images, but it’s unlawful to use a person’s photograph without their permission. If you have photographs you'd like us to you, be sure you have the rights to the images, models, etc.

Color: If there is a particular color scheme you would like on your cover, please let us know in advance. Also, if there is a particular color you absolutely abhor, that would be nice to know as well. If you have a color scheme in mind, let us know. If there is a previous cover you like, let us know that, too.

LOG-LINE: [Boil your plot down to 25 words or so, to be used by Marketing Department.]

BACK COVER BLURB: When writing your blurb, keep it as short as possible and enticing. Describe what will be of interest to the reader, a sneak preview of your work. Be careful of wordiness and revealing too much. The idea of a blurb is to lure the reader into purchasing your book by reading two interesting, short paragraphs. Total word length - 50. NOTE: Your blurb may be edited as necessary.

REVIEWS/QUOTES: [Format: "Quote." - Reviewer/Title, Publication name, date] Y
You can get quotes from reviewers prior to publishing by sending them the edited draft. Most reviewers understand the power of a good review.

1/2 PAGE TEASER SCENE: [For the artist, to get a feel for the book setting/characters, etc.. And for the inside front cover of the book. And please do keep it to one-half page.]


WEBSITE EXCERPT: [Up to 3 pages copy/pasted from the edited and copy edited manuscript. Please fill out this part and add at the top of the text: (in red bold or pink bold) Unedited Text. The unedited text will be replaced with the copy edited text when the copy edited manuscript is received.