- A book cover is more than just something
that needs to look appealing to your eye.
It's something that has to sell.
That involves a lot of little details
and a whole lot of understanding
of what looks good in print and in digital format.
If you missed the video before this one
on working with your cover designer,
I'll link to that at the end
because this is an immediate follow up to that one
and we're going to take you through
the cover design and comp process
to help you get the best cover design.
So if you want to help your cover designer
give you the best possible book cover,
and I mean, why the heck wouldn't you?
Well, this video is for you.
(upbeat music)
Hey there, I'm Julie the Book Broad,
founder of Book Launchers.
In part one, I introduced you to Cassie Voors,
who is the head of our design team at Book Launchers.
She is brilliant,
as you will soon see if you missed part one.
The first video walked you through
what you need to share with your designer
as far as, you know, likes, dislikes, fonts, images, ideas,
all the things you need to get started
in the cover design process.
Today, we're gonna dive into
what the cover comp and revision process looks like,
so let's get right into it.
At Book Launchers,
after we've collected all the information from our clients
and done a bunch of category research
and competition evaluation and done some image searching,
our clients get three or four different cover designs
to start the process.
I'll let Cassie explain from here.
Take it away, Cassie.
- What to expect, I've given you guys some examples
of some work that we've done just to show you
kind of what that first round should look like.
So these are some covers
where the client had this idea that she really wanted
and it was difficult
because some of the items that she wanted on this cover
were really specific,
and things that I just could never find or recreate.
So my job, again, is to find a way,
like we talked about before,
finding a way to satisfy her vision
because this is your book,
this is your project, this is your baby.
My job as a designer is to create,
you know, have this book come to life
and give some vision to it,
so whatever ideas you have are just as important.
And the far right cover
is really where I tried to merge her ideas.
She wanted this ocean feel,
but she wanted some aspects of the book
like this crown that was important
and some other items that were important,
but ultimately, we just couldn't make it work on the cover,
so this is kind of where we met in the middle,
but you can see the other two options.
She really wanted blue, so that was really important
so I made sure that that was within all of those covers,
but she also kinda wanted some fonts that were a little bit,
I don't know, freer I guess you could say, more freeing,
and so we have some of these swash fonts,
which is here where you can see soul in "Soul Center."
And then you can even see on this version
where I've applied a swash font
to kinda make some of the words pop out in the subtitle
so that when you're looking at that cover,
your eye as a consumer, as a reader,
you're going straight to those words.
And that's a really cool approach to covers I think,
whether making it a different color
or making it a different typeface
helps your reader kinda like zoom right into that.
- Oh, and if you're wondering
how that book turned out in the end,
(book pops)
isn't that a beautiful design?
(angelic music) Ah.
So, so good.
But that author had a lot of clear ideas to begin with.
What if you're someone without a clear concept in mind?
Which is usually me.
I'm like, just make something look good.
So if that's you, well, that's what happened with this book,
so you can see what that looks like.
- At this point,
since, you know, we don't have a direct concept
or any idea of like, hey, I really want dirt in it
or I really want some gardening aspect
or, like, I want gardening tools,
so since we don't have that,
we're kinda just coming up with some ideas,
see what happens.
So you can see, like, we're using different typefaces,
and all of your comps should look different.
Your designers should be offering you
different type faces, different placement,
putting your, you know, your name, the author name
at the top, at the bottom, on the left, on the right,
trying different layouts.
Maybe your title is really big like the second one.
Maybe it's smaller here, maybe it's thicker, taller.
You should be seeing different examples, different ideas
so that you have something to choose from.
- The icons were something he really wanted in there,
so they remained, and this is where that book ended up.
(book pops)
By the way, I didn't know anything about mound gardening
before we worked with this author, and now I am convinced
that it is one of the best ways
to grow a garden in your yard.
It is such an incredible way to go.
Of course, I'm a bit of a plant killer myself,
but we did get a pear tree last year,
so here's hoping it survives.
Right now, I must admit I'm not feeling very optimistic
as it's looking a little sad, but there are some green buds.
Oh, I hope it lives.
But one more example on book covers.
This is from an incredible author who we've worked with
who's also one savvy and kindhearted businessman,
Brent Pullman.
His book is coming out really soon and it's a fun example
because it illustrates why it's so important
to get very different designs.
The cover he went with
was not the one with the elements that he asked for.
- So this client had let us know
"I want my cover to include a skyline and office buildings.
That's what I want."
And so, the first one on the far left is exactly that.
I photoshopped some things together, we got this guy,
he's looking over the skyline of office buildings,
and fulfilling that request.
And he also said he loves black
and he loves gold and he loves white,
so those were the three top colors.
So within that, you can see we really stuck with that theme.
And I'm also giving him different typefaces,
they're lowercase, they're uppercase,
they're sans serif, they're serifs,
so we're trying different things.
On this middle comp, this was,
okay, well, let me stick with that office building skyline
but maybe from a different viewpoint,
maybe it's not just what you're looking at normally, right?
And let me try something interesting with the type
so that, you know, you're really focused,
like, all those buildings are coming in
and focusing on that header or that title.
And then the one on the right
was my completely end of the spectrum.
Let's try something different
that the client isn't expecting.
And the compass kind of gives you that look
and leaders or leading feel
with, you know, heading north and all of that stuff,
so he actually ended up going with the far right.
So this was something that the client did not expect,
and sometimes you get something
that you really just hadn't thought of before.
So some of, you know, the far left cover,
maybe we've seen a couple times,
but the one on the far right really stands out.
Yeah, I'm just patting myself on the back of right here,
so my covers are really amazing is what I'm saying.
No, so.
(Cassie laughs)
- So this is one that we would call a hole in one,
where there were no revisions.
He just was like that's the winner.
That's it, we're done, wrap it.
And it happens, you know, every once in a while
and we always kind of celebrate when that does
'cause Cassie hit a hole-in-one.
- Yeah, it's pretty awesome to come back
and they'd be like, you know, just send me the cover.
I'm like, okay, great, that's awesome.
And you know, that's, definitely,
I'm patting myself on the back for that one,
but it was really cool.
It was really cool to see them, like, that's it.
And sometimes that happens, which just kind of leads me into
the next part of the review process.
- So your designer gives you comps, well, what's next?
Maybe you're like Brent and you go that one right there,
no changes, I love it.
But, hmm, most people aren't quite ready to say that,
so here's what happens.
- So sit with your designs
and just like we saw on Brent Pullman,
sometimes you just know, and if you just know, go with it.
If that's the kind of person you are,
some people are like that and that's totally fine.
Other times, you know, look at the comps, take a step away,
go talk to friends and family, go get a cup of coffee,
come back the next day, and then look at them again.
- Now, here is where I want to jump in
with a warning and a tip.
Friends and family
are likely not your ideal reader for the book.
In some cases, they even have emotional ties to the book
and they absolutely have emotional ties to you.
This means they aren't looking at the book like a reader,
they're judging the aesthetic nature of it,
and the only person who really, really matters
in the book cover decision
is the person you want to buy and read your book.
So if you have access to your ideal readers,
you could ask them for opinions and thoughts.
My personal favorite technique
is to put the book in the top 10 lineup of its category,
the bestsellers in the category,
and see which one stands out.
As I've shared before,
"Self-Publish and Succeed" being yellow
was not my favorite or anywhere near my first choice,
but my goodness does it pop out in the category,
so I went with it.
Now, you've thought about it,
and you have feedback for your design.
What should you say or not say to your designer
to get the book cover of your dreams
and of your readers' needs?
- Giving feedback, some things that are hard to work with
are when, you know, we hear things like,
"Well, I'll know when I see it.
I don't like these, but I'll know when I see it."
And that is difficult
because now we're kinda stuck in this like,
well, now I'm just guessing, right?
Like now, I don't really have enough information
and now I'm just gonna keep building and building comps
until they know when they see it.
So that isn't as helpful for us,
but looking for, you know, like, "I really like
the type face on number three and I love the colors on one,
I wish that they were maybe a little bit more muted.
They're a little too bright for me."
So you can always take different comps
and merge them together.
We get that a lot.
We get a lot of clients that say, you know what?
Love the typeface on this.
Love the image on one.
Can we put those together?
But can we also take this little thing on number two
and add that 'cause I love it.
So, you know, mix and match,
and just be communicative about your feedback.
And I actually wanted to bring Jacqueline into this
because Jacqueline really deals a lot
with that interaction with the client
and hearing what clients have to say about the artwork,
and 'cause then I get all that from her and she's amazing.
She shoots these videos for me
and tells me what to do and I love it, so Jacqueline,
do you have anything to provide for the feedback?
- Sure.
When we get cover comps,
they're always, like, beautiful and amazing.
And so, I'll sit down with a client on Zoom,
and reveal them one at a time
and get their gut reaction of like, oh, I like this,
but I hate that color or whatever,
and I just make all the notes.
And then, once we've revealed all of them,
we start making some compare and contrasts
because Cassie does a really good job
of giving us different layouts.
A lot of people will say, okay, well, a book cover,
it goes title, image, author, name,
and we do different layouts,
and so then, we'll analyze the layouts themselves.
What appeals to you?
Do you like something creative that Cassie has done?
Or do you like the author name on the top?
You know, they're different ideas.
And then, then we'll look really at the fonts and go, okay.
You know, you've got a swash font here,
you've got a sans serif or serif,
she's popped out the subtitles.
Do we like that?
So that it's not just yes, no, reject, except,
that it becomes a more nuanced conversation.
- A couple of other notes,
and I know this is something that you will do,
but I'm gonna say it anyways.
Please be respectful of your cover designer
because, of course, you're a decent human being
and you're not gonna say "This one's trash.
Have you ever done this before?"
Even if you hate it.
What I mean is that if you have five designs to start with,
please don't ask your designer to change each of them.
Narrow it down to two concepts you like as a base
and give specific ideas from there
so they can play with colors, fonts, images,
you know, and those concepts,
and not have to spend hours and hours
on each version of the cover.
Of course, if there really is nothing
you do like about the covers,
put them back in and shake it up.
But you can expect most cover designers
to not be too pleased about that,
and if you're paying them by the project,
they will likely ask for more compensation
because the time they have to invest in this project
just increased dramatically.
Alright, that gave you a lot to work with
and to speak with your designer about
to get your best cover,
so please, please, please smash that thumbs up
in celebration of all the work
that Cassie put into this presentation,
which was a deep dive we held in January, 2023.
By the way, if you're wishing you caught
the entire two hour session, well, my friend,
make sure you're getting our newsletter
so you don't miss this awesome zero-cost session
that we do for our community every month.
BookLaunchers.com/newsletter
gets you the invites each month,
and of course, being subscribed to this channel
is a smart move too.
If you're not, I'll wait a sec so you can do that.
(timer ticking)
Done?
Okay, cool.
The last thing I want to share
is a question that came up on stock photography usage.
I think Cassie shares
an important little piece for you to know
before you hire a designer
if you're not working with Book Launchers,
which I hope we were your first choice
'cause we have such a fabulous design team,
but if you're not, I want you to know
this important point about stock photography.
- Licensing becomes a little tricky.
So a lot of the stuff that we do at Book Launchers
is based off of stock photography.
That being said, it's not just, hey, I found this photo
and I, like, pasted it on the cover.
I do a lot of Photoshopping work,
so I'm taking all sorts of different photos like that.
Jennifer Rurka one with the ocean in "Soul Center?"
That is so much Photoshopping work.
That's like six different photos that I put together.
So it's not always just one.
If you, that's actually, it's a really great question.
If you're looking for, like, a hand illustrated cover,
then search for a graphic designer
that that's something that's part of their skillset.
So make sure that you are asking someone
like, hey, I want this hand drawn,
or can you make me, you know, a picture on your own?
Can you brush it and whatever you want them to do.
But I've worked on a cover like that.
I worked with an illustrator.
I did all of the typography and cover layout, and she did,
on her iPad through Creative Pro,
she built this whole character
and we used that as the front image
and then I did all of the other stuff.
So you know, if that's something you're interested in,
absolutely find somebody to do that.
As far as the licensing rights, so
it gets a little complicated,
but I did take art and the law.
I swear it was a class and I took it.
So with stock photos,
so I sign up for a membership for my stock photography.
So once you are paying me and I am downloading that image
and I am putting it on your cover,
you now own the rights to that image.
That being said, you are not the only person
that has the rights to that image.
So if that were the case,
you could, yeah, if that were the case,
then you know, the image would go up
and the image would come down,
no one could ever use it again.
Other people may use it, so stock photography can be tricky.
I have a rule, when I use stock photography,
I always try to alter it in some kind of way
and make it specific to your cover.
So like I said about, like, the life raft
and, like, putting on, like, a money pattern or something
to superimpose it, that's now an original image.
It's not just download, click, put, type, done.
So you know, it's important
to talk to your designer about that.
Like, I don't want something
super, super stock photography-ish.
I also really try not to put people's,
like, stock photography people's faces on there
'cause they're all like super corny,
and it's just like, you know it's a stock photo
and you're just, no one connects with it.
As far as, like, marketing and all of that stuff goes,
depending on the type of subscription
that your designer has, you cannot use that stuff
on, like, marketing materials and things like that.
So check with your designer,
ask them what rights you have to the image.
- It's called a finished product thing.
So you can use the image,
a stock photography image on a front cover
for up to 500,000 versions of your book,
like prints of your book,
which is bestseller beyond category.
And then, if you wanted to put it on like a mug,
a finished product with your book cover on it,
that's where you start getting into trouble
and you need to have the higher license on it.
So most cover designers are going to have
the, you know, basic have it on your cover thing,
but they're not gonna have the finished product license
'cause that's more expensive.
- And on that note, too, I think I saw something pop up.
Stay away from Google Images.
Do not use any image.
You know, we've had some people that are like,
oh, I found this image online, it's really great.
Use it. We don't have the rights to it.
You cannot use it.
Not to mention you start to get into issues
with high res and quality.
So high resolution, anytime you print an image,
you want it to be 300 dpi.
I could get into all the pixel talk, but I would love it.
So if anyone wants to talk to me about pixels later,
let me know, but it's a little boring.
So you definitely wanna make sure
that it's a high res image,
but also you just don't have the rights to it.
So if you, like, Google searched, you know,
a piggy bank, I could not think of that word,
a piggy bank and you just find one on Google
and you're like, sweet, that's awesome, don't.
You cannot use that.
You need to have some kind of licensing rights to it.
- Phew.
That was a lot of amazing content and I'm sure you can see
why I love, love, love my team at Book Launchers.
They are so amazing at their job
and they care deeply about our authors and the books.
We hire book-loving, author-loving talent only
at Book Launchers.
Even our people who don't work on the books must love books.
And we're almost always hiring for something,
whether it's our in-house team or our contract team,
so do a visit BookLaunchers.com and scroll to the bottom
for our links to any open jobs if you're interested.
But now, this video is the one that started the series
on working with book cover designers, so if you missed it,
click on right over there, and if you're now wondering
about all the images you can and can't use
in your book or on your cover,
well, this is the video you must go to next.
So go ahead, click one.
I'm gonna be there waiting for you.