{"id":379,"date":"2016-08-30T10:21:32","date_gmt":"2016-08-30T10:21:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/?p=379"},"modified":"2022-05-30T15:41:24","modified_gmt":"2022-05-30T15:41:24","slug":"cover-art-options-for-the-self-publisher","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/articles\/cover-art-options-for-the-self-publisher","title":{"rendered":"Cover Art Options for the Self-Publisher"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>When you produce a novel on your own, you get the pleasure\u2014and burden\u2014of full control over the creative process. This places the responsibility for good cover art strictly upon your shoulders. Here\u2019s how you can tackle the mission.<\/p>\n<h2>The Importance of Cover Art<\/h2>\n<p>Book covers can sell a book\u2014or kill it. Even if your novel is polished and gripping, a bad cover screams out an amateurish production. Few people would look beyond it to the novel itself.<\/p>\n<p>A good cover, on the other hand, may convince people to give your novel the chance it deserves, and set out on the journey of exploring your work page by page.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s that critical.<\/p>\n<h2>What to Look For<\/h2>\n<p>Keep an eye out for the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Your cover art should intrigue and capture attention. It should convey the atmosphere of your novel, and set up the correct kind of expectations. For example, if you write pure action, a kissing couple and a puppy on the cover would be a bad choice.<\/li>\n<li>The novel name and your byline should be clear and easily readable, in terms of font, layout, and color contrast.<\/li>\n<li>Fonts are just as important as illustrations or photos. The font has to resonate with the atmosphere of the cover and its artistic concept.<\/li>\n<li>All elements should combine to create a cohesive design concept. If the cover image conveys soft romance, don\u2019t go for a heavy, blocky font.<\/li>\n<li>If you have a catchy, short review from a well-known author in your genre or niche, add it to the cover with proper attribution.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Getting the Cover Done<\/h2>\n<p>You have several options here.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Do it yourself.<\/strong><br \/>\nUnless you\u2019re a professional designer, most chances are you\u2019ll produce amateurish art. There\u2019s so much to consider: imagery and composition and layout and fonts and colors\u2026 Unless you\u2019ve been trained to make the most of all these channels, leave it to someone else. Don\u2019t save money at the expense of killing your sales.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Buy a pre-made cover.<\/strong><br \/>\nThese represent a middle ground between doing it yourself and hiring a professional artist for custom work.<br \/>\nWith the rise of self-publishing, cover artists have quickly filled the need for professional covers at a sane price by creating stock covers. There are quite a few websites that offer large collections of covers. Most of them list covers by genre.<br \/>\n<strong><em>Make sure<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0that by purchasing a cover, you are made its exclusive owner! You don\u2019t want other books out there with a same cover as yours, especially not in your genre.<br \/>\n<strong><em>Make sure<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0that the file you get is in high enough resolution for your purposes. If you\u2019re planning on having your novel printed, you\u2019ll need a high-resolution file of 300dpi (dots per inch) at least. For eBooks, 72dpi should suffice.<br \/>\n<strong><em>Make sure<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0your purchase includes entering the correct novel title, sub title (optional), and author name.<br \/>\nSome good sources for pre-made covers are:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.selfpubbookcovers.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">SelfPubBookCovers.com<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thebookcoverdesigner.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Book Cover Designer<\/a>, and\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.goonwrite.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Go On Write<\/a>.<br \/>\nPrices usually range around $50-$200.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Hire a cover artist.\u00a0<\/strong><br \/>\nGetting a custom cover from a specialized artist is the best option for your book, but it might hit you hard in the pocket. You get the most control over what goes on the cover, and the artist\u2019s job is to make it look good together.<br \/>\nExpect to pay $200-$500 on a customized design which includes an illustration or heavy photo manipulation.<br \/>\nA noticeable exception are cover artists at a marketplace called\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fiverr.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Fiverr<\/a>. As the name suggests, most basic works (called \u201cgigs\u201d) in this marketplace start at $5. For some gigs, you may then select power-ups and add-ons, and quickly hit the $50-$100 range. It\u2019s still a low-cost venue for custom covers, especially if your cover centers on a single premium image. (I have worked before with P<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fiverr.com\/pixelstudio\/design-a-professional-book-cover\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ixelstudio<\/a>\u00a0with great results on such covers.)<br \/>\n<strong><em>Again, make sure<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0that the file you get is in high enough resolution for your purposes. If you\u2019re planning on having your novel printed, you\u2019ll need a high-resolution file of 300dpi (dots per inch) at least. For eBooks, 72dpi should suffice.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There\u2019s nothing like the feeling of seeing your novel take shape under your hands. Cover art is a big step towards that end, so don\u2019t forget to enjoy it!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","categories":[19],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/379"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}