Many of us have a book inside ourselves that we would like to write. For those who have written that book and are ready to publish, there are numerous options in today’s market. The InStock conference, in San Francisco on Saturday July 18, will examine all sides of the issue. I’ll be part of a panel called, “Do Judge a Book By It’s Cover”.
A number of independent publishers willingly take an author’s money to publish a book, but the results are often unsatisfactory. I worked as a design consultant with the iUniverse publishing house for over a year before they merged with AuthorHouse. The iUniverse model relied on consultants to coach a team of cover designers in a studio based in Shanghai. The Shanghai designers were unschooled and often did not speak English, although their computer skills were adequate. Needless to say, the results from China were uneven at best, and laughable in the worst cases. Extensive input from design consultants was necessary to arrive at a successful cover design.
What makes a great cover design? Original artwork, a strong typographic solution for the title and subtitle, and an intuitive sense from the designer of what the manuscript is about.
I designed the cover below for Harper San Francisco. A seasoned photographer, Pavlina Eccles, worked with me in her studio to create a stunningly lush image of red pears. The title treatment was custom drawn as vector artwork from an old type specimen. Lavish attention to detail was applied to the complete jacket and flaps. The result is a cover design that propelled the book to national success. The same edition is still sold extensively, especially during holidays, 15 years after the original was published.
Not every cover requires a custom photograph or title treatment, but an experienced cover designer, who understands the language a book is written in, can ensure that a book gets the attention it deserves in a crowded market.
