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Judge a book by its cover: Editor's Notes #406 December 13, 2023 |
| Hello, It’s also true that how you dress is how you are addressed. —Vincent Okay Nwachukwu, In this issue: 1. Judge a book by its cover 2. Tickled my funny bone 3. Interesting Web site 4. Writing prompt 1. Judge a book by its cover Guard up, the frowning buyer comes down the aisle with a canned rejection at the ready. I smile and hand her my book. The frown is replaced by raised eyebrows. The buyer’s eyes lift from the cover of my book to my eyes. "But this doesn’t look like a self-published book!" she gasps. That’s the most indelible scenario I recall from my first book-selling tour around my province, but there were many similar encounters. Not everyone who looked at and handled my book bought it, but no one turned it down at first glance.That’s because it looked like a book worth further investigation. And each time I watched the change in facial expression, I was thankful I had chosen to pay for a professionally designed cover for my first book baby. The number of books I sold because the cover said, "I’m worth your time," was over two thousand. Without that great cover, I would have been lucky to sell hundreds. There are many Web pages that will tell you what makes a good book cover. Knowing what makes a good book cover does not mean you and I can make one. You can even use a ready-made template for your book cover and still miss the mark simply because you are a writer, not a graphic designer (unless you really are a graphic designer, in which case, the information about what makes a good book cover is useful to you.) Your book cover has a massive impact on whether a buyer will bother to open your book, so it is vital that you get the best cover design you can. Your front cover is where you put your title and subtitle, your name, a graphic that illustrates in a glance what the book is about, and other information like the edition or the fact that it is indexed (often a good feature for a nonfiction book). Designers know how to use color and shapes to make a statement and create a mood. Your job is to give the designer as much information as possible to allow the designer to do what you probably can’t. The spine is part of the cover, and it should feature the title and your name clearly enough to be read by someone browsing a bookshelf. The back cover is the topic of the next issue. You’ve heard that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but everyone does, so give your book a cover that will sell your book for you. If you have had your book accepted by a publisher, you may not have much input into the cover. You will almost certainly not be expected to produce one, but you may be asked to OK the final product. Do so unless you find something glaringly problematic. =========== 2. Tickled my funny bone On a maternity room door: Push. Push. Push. =========== 3. Interesting Web site Here is one of the Web pages that gives information on book covers. I have not used this company, so I am not endorsing its designers. If you are a graphic designer, this page may be useful to you. https://blog.reedsy.com/guide/book-design/elements-of-a-book-cover/ =========== 4. Writing prompt Book covers try to show what’s inside. Other kinds of covers are designed to hide something. Write a piece that investigates the idea of covers and their purposes. I would love to see your finished product. =========== Join Writer's Helper Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/WritersHelperEditor Follow me on Twitter @AudreytheEditor Link on LinkedIn https://ca.linkedin.com/in/audreyowen (Email me first so I know how you know me.) =========== If you know a writer who would appreciate receiving Editor's Notes, forward this issue. If someone has passed this on to you, you can get your own free subscription by signing up at https://www.writershelper.com/newsletter.html |
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