{"id":579,"date":"2015-06-12T14:33:29","date_gmt":"2015-06-12T21:33:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sarahdimento.com\/~sarah\/?p=579"},"modified":"2016-06-03T14:12:17","modified_gmt":"2016-06-03T20:42:17","slug":"your-generic-ass-cover-makes-me-think-theres-a-generic-ass-book-inside","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sarahdimento.com\/~sarah\/your-generic-ass-cover-makes-me-think-theres-a-generic-ass-book-inside\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Generic-Ass Cover Makes Me Think There\u2019s a Generic-Ass Book Inside"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cDon\u2019t judge a book by it\u2019s cover.\u201d Screw that. We all do, which is why you need to get your cover right. It\u2019s the first thing people see. Before they figure out what your book is about, the cover has already made an impression. If that impression is boring, I don\u2019t even let the title sink in. I\u2019ve already gone on scanning, for a book that stands out and looks sexy.<\/p>\n

So what makes a book cover uninteresting? How about rows and rows of samey shit. I don\u2019t care if it\u2019s as slick as a movie poster. If your cover is some Photoshopped stock model jobby with a dude on a horse, or a leather chick in the boob-butt pose, or some corseted lady swooning in Fabio\u2019s arms, all your cover says to me is: \u201cThis is a McDonalds burger, just like every other McDonalds burger you\u2019ve ever eaten.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is all some people want. I get that. I\u2019m not here to denigrate that choice (much). I\u2019m writing this for the authors who want to find success by standing out, not blending in. If you haven\u2019t written the literary equivalent of a McDonalds burger, then holy crap do not package your book like a McDonalds burger. Avoid slick movie-poster covers, because everyone has one. Everyone but the trad pubs\u2026<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

You see, the publishing industry took one look at the self-publishers and decided they had to up their game. Almost gone are the days of terrible Poser models<\/a> with eye-gouging typographical horrors<\/a> (ok, that last one was published recently\u2014holy shit). Long-gone are the days of half-assed illustrations that have nothing to do with the book<\/a>. The better imprints try to rise above the sea by marketing itself as \u201cquality\u201d (regardless whether or not it\u2019s true). This means they have to pay decent illustrators\/designers\u2014and it shows. Take for example these F. Scott Fitzgerald hardcovers<\/a> that scream, \u201cI\u2019m classy as fuck!\u201d (Though I have to say, the original<\/a> still kicks its ass.)<\/p>\n

As far as advice goes, I won\u2019t dictate style. The style you\u2019re after depends on what kind of book you\u2019ve written\u2014not just genre, but the sensibilities of your prose. Your prose could be old-fashioned, or modernist, or pulp. You need a cover to match. Research the kind of covers that clothe the kind of book you\u2019ve written, then find an artist who can pull off the style you\u2019re after.<\/p>\n

A unique graphic or illustration tells the reader \u201ccare went into this\u201d as does good layout and typography. Hiring a professional photographer (please don\u2019t take your own pictures of friends in Renfaire costumes) instead of using the same stock models everyone else uses says \u201cquality\u201d as well. It\u2019s possible to make good use of stock art, but if you have the funds, pay someone to create unique images for your book. The difference is definitely worth it\u2014and you\u2019ll feel it, because you\u2019ll know no one has a cover just like yours.<\/p>\n

Your cover must be definitive. The more it represents your story, even if it\u2019s a single symbol, the better it works as an advertisement for what\u2019s inside. Even a typographical design, almost devoid of imagery, can do this kind of work<\/a>. Don\u2019t get so caught up with a *~specially significant symbol~* that you lose sight of the bigger picture. If that symbol means nothing to someone who hasn\u2019t read the story yet, it\u2019s not going to convey anything to a prospective reader. You\u2019re better off choosing something the reader can \u201cget\u201d at first glance. It\u2019s also possible you won\u2019t be able to cram in every symbol you want, because good design requires breathing room\u2014so don\u2019t get married to needing this and this and this AND this and etc.<\/p>\n

This cover for The Crysalids<\/em><\/a> is a good example of combining symbolism with a striking graphic style. Unlike the Penguin monstrosity linked above, the butterfly is represented in the metaphorical way the author intended. The six-toed footprints may be a touch esoteric, but it does the job conveying ideas to a new reader: children, metamorphosis, mutation. The tone of the cover also implies the mutant kids aren\u2019t bad<\/em>, which is important. Here\u2019s a proper link to blog where the cover is hosted<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This cover for The Man in the High Castle<\/em><\/a> is also a great example of a definitive cover. It uses symbolism to punch the book\u2019s idea right into the reader\u2019s brain. Sure, the map isn\u2019t 100% accurate to the book (it leaves out the neutral zone), but that doesn\u2019t matter. It says everything it needs to in a striking and effective manner. The designer\u2019s blog post also has an interesting breakdown of past publications and how desperately they tried to match the marketing zeitgeist of their day, regardless of whether or not it fit the book. We shouldn\u2019t have to put up with that shit anymore!<\/p>\n

Your cover can also be strikingly ugly if that fits the tone you\u2019re after. Josh Kirby\u2019s covers for Discworld<\/em> are filled with memorably grotesque caricatures. They\u2019re definitive. More importantly, they\u2019re fun. When you pick one up, you know exactly what you\u2019re in for. I mean shit, if you\u2019ve written a book for 13 year olds, you can hardly do better than this to advertise it<\/a>. That guy paid for a proper illustration, and he\u2019s made all that money back because that thing fucking sells. The author is a dude who gets his audience<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Marketers don\u2019t always get their audience because they spend too much time sticking to the bullshit they think they know. Authors have also been trained to cling to safety when it comes to marketing their book (not to mention playing it too safe with the writing, but that\u2019s another rant). The gurus who came from trad publishing came from a risk-averse environment, where they were told, \u201cThis is what sells,\u201d when given a bland-ass cover that hardly represented the book inside. They brought their wisdom to self-publishing, where this fear of not matching the popular books prevails. A risk-averse industry chases last year\u2019s trends, and you don\u2019t want to be on the butt end as its run into the ground.<\/p>\n

As an author, you have to ask yourself if you\u2019d rather sell more books to disappointed readers who leave tons of angry Amazon reviews because they didn\u2019t get the McDonalds-burger book they were expecting, or if you\u2019d rather take a risk that will make you stand out, and bring in a bunch of niche readers who\u2019ll love you for exactly what you\u2019re doing. It\u2019s possible to make a quick buck misrepresenting yourself, but most readers won\u2019t stick around for a second novel. Staying true to what your book is will build a following.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"reddit\"<\/a>\"pinterest\"<\/a>\"linkedin\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>by <\/span>\"feather\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cDon\u2019t judge a book by it\u2019s cover.\u201d Screw that. We all do, which is why you need to get your cover right. It\u2019s the first thing people see. Before they figure out what your book is about, the cover has already made an impression. If that impression is boring, I don\u2019t even let the title […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,19],"tags":[15,30,43,42],"class_list":["post-579","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-design","category-writing","tag-bullshittery","tag-criticism","tag-generic-ass-books","tag-marketing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sarahdimento.com\/~sarah\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sarahdimento.com\/~sarah\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sarahdimento.com\/~sarah\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sarahdimento.com\/~sarah\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sarahdimento.com\/~sarah\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=579"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/sarahdimento.com\/~sarah\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":905,"href":"https:\/\/sarahdimento.com\/~sarah\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579\/revisions\/905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sarahdimento.com\/~sarah\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sarahdimento.com\/~sarah\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sarahdimento.com\/~sarah\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}