- Esther Archer Lakhani
Woig Makes A Book Cover
A blog post about the importance of recognizing remarkable design.
The two images above are my new books covers, professionally designed by the incredible, highly recommendable Graphicsoul. It took me nearly two years and more time fussing with photoshop than actually writing to accept that my own attempts were never going to do the trick.
My first ever attempt at making a book cover. I estimate it took me over 350 hours to put together. Really. Seriously. Isn't it pretty?
But does it say "Science Fantasy" to you? Nope, didn't think so.
... sigh.
(More on the topic of the genre, "Science Fantasy," later.)
Another 350+ hours and ta-da! My attempt at book 2 cover. It's so far from eye-catching and genre signaling that I finally gave in. Yes, I'll hire and pay someone else to do something I was sure I could do myself. Should be able to do because I'm an artist, right? Well, I'm not a designer. I don't have the skills, and I'm far more interested in writing more books than picking up those skills.
So I took the leap and left the book cover designing to Graphicsoul, thank you very much. Seriously, thank you, Graphicsoul.
It was a long but worthwhile journey, certainly not a waste of time.
I learned a lot about cover design, effective marketing and genre definitions along the way. Now I pay greater attention to why I pick up books, and therefore, why I read what I do. And why I don't read certain books even though they are getting much attention in the media. My conclusion: this drawn-out design journey of mine was a lesson in "unique is good, but understandable is better."
Being unique is different than being remarkable.
And to be successful in your marketing ventures, my fellow writer friends, being remarkable is the far more valuable aiming. Take it from this remarkable person: https://www.ted.com/talks/seth_godin_on_sliced_bread (Links to an external site.)
Picking your book genre.
That's the topic for the next post. Thanks for checking out this one. Share your thoughts by taking the poll below.
How much difference does a book cover make for you?
- I don't pick up any book unless its cover is fantastic.
- The blurb is more important than the visual grab.
- A mix of the two.
- I'll think about it some more.