29 December 2014 - COVERS AND BLURBS

COVERS AND BLURBS

G'day folks,

Today I feature an author's comments on covers and blurbs - Matthew Gallaway. In the coming months I will present other views of other authors on many subjects relating to publishing. Stay tuned ...

Matthew Gallaway

I remember feeling a little sick when my agent told me in no uncertain terms that the cover is “the most important part” of a book, and I felt even sicker when he ended our discussion about blurbs by declaring that the process was “war.” 

As for my cover, I was asked for absolutely no input, but as it turned out, I genuinely loved what my editor sent to me. The only changes that were subsequently made—after consulting with my agent—was to change the font. Although I never would have thought of it myself, I think it was an excellent idea, and helped to make the cover more “readable.” (You can judge for yourself.) I was equally excited recently to get the paperback version, which also arrived without any input from yours truly. Short version: I consider myself very lucky in terms of covers. 

As for blurbs, I think it’s a horrible, ugly word, and I try not to use it in polite conversation, even going so far as to substitute the pompous “endorsement.” (Much the way I feel about using “gig” in the context of indie rock, which yeah, no.) Try saying “blurb” a few times without feeling humiliated and embarrassed: there, you see what I mean? Unfortunately, I think blurbs are important, less from a consumer-perspective than in terms of building “buzz” within a publisher, specifically helping to get the marketing and sales “on board.” That said, getting the blurbs almost gave me a nervous breakdown, because I didn’t know any “real writers.” For the first time, I felt sorry not to have an MFA (and the connections to potential blurbers it seems to bring) and even less logically about getting a C+ in my creative-writing class in my sophomore year of college, as a result of watching literally 99 percent of the network coverage of the 1988 Winter Olympics, which wouldn’t have been so bad except I somehow managed not to “get rid of” my television until May, at which point I was pretty much a zombie, academically speaking.

 I also regretted writing some nasty blog reviews about books written by prominent nonheterosexual novelists ___ and ___, which leads to my one piece of advice to unpublished authors on this subject: don’t waste time tearing down books you hate; focus on what you love, because it’s actually pretty difficult to scrub old blog posts from the Internet, as I learned the hard way lol. The last thing the world needs is another asshole critic, and if the time comes when you’re asking around for blurbs, trust me, you’ll regret being that asshole. 

I did send out hand-written requests to perhaps 10,000-15,000 of my favourite authors, including a few gay ones, one of whom was kind enough to write back saying that he “never” blurbs books, even those written by non-heterosexual debut novelists, a “solidarity card” I had been very naively hoping to play. (Note: just because gay writers have generally been ignored and abused and suffocated for the past century doesn’t mean that if you’re a gay writer you’ll be welcomed with a trumpet fanfare and red carpet through the gilded gates of the “literary community,” gay or otherwise; if anything you’ll be viewed MORE harshly by gay writers for reasons that probably are more deserving of sympathy than scorn, although as mentioned above I regret to say I’ve not always been able to resist the latter impulse, although I like to think I’m much better than I used to be.) 

As it turned out, the blurbs I received came either by way of connections to my agent or editor, or—for the two I procured myself—fellow denizens of the blogosphere. I will say that there was no connection I did not attempt to exploit, no matter how remote, and I still feel a bit “whored-out” from the whole experience. (Which is no reason not to do it; just brace yourself, is what I’m saying.) Happily, in every case the “endorsements” came from writers whose work I greatly admired and had written kind things about on my blog (see note above regarding not being an a-hole.) 

Matthew Gallaway is the author of The Metropolis Case.  

Matthew's website:

http://www.matthewgallaway.com/

Clancy's comment: Thank you, Matthew. Mm ... I've said this before, but it's worth repeating. Besides the title and cover design of your book, the 100 or so words you write on the blurb are more important than any word you write in your book ... If you want it to sell it. Too often, authors tell us how the story ends before we have even opened the book. Don't! Suck them in, entice them and seduce them. That's your job. If you've done exactly that inside the book, why not do it on the back cover?

Not only but also, my simple, yet ruthless rule is this: COVER - BLURB - CASH REGISTER!


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26 March 2014 - TOP BOOK COVERS

TOP BOOK COVERS

G'day folks,

Welome to a guest post from a man who writes lots of sensible stuff - Ira Blacker. Today Ira speaks about book covers, something I've thought lots about. Why, because I've seen some shockers. Before I published my first book I visited the local library and spent a good hour looking at book covers and reading blurbs. Some of the covers had no connection to the blurb. Blurb? The best 100 words you will need to write in any book.

I've included some of my covers in this post and, as a photographer, I like to do my own covers. Why not, eh?

Take it away, Ira ...

The clock is ticking and it is close to midnight. You have 8-10 seconds for your book cover to impact your sale and up to 15 seconds more for the back cover to close it. As the midnight bell tolls and only up to 25 seconds later, you either made your sale or lost it. 

Are you losing sales on your book?

Your book cover is the ultimate line of defense as a marketing tool. You may do everything you can, use every marketing trick in the book as well as having written a great one. However, once you “drive the reader to water,” if your book’s cover does not grab them then they “will not drink.”

One of the most important elements of design is epitomized by the computer acronym K.I.S.S. and it stands for “keep it simple stupid.” The worst thing one can do with design is to jam in all but the proverbial kitchen sink. Keep it simple and get to the point and after all the point is to epitomize the content and lure the potential reader into the book. You want simple, but you also want impact. Let’s take a look at the elements of a quality cover design.

Story of an Australian drover in 1910.

Graphics: 

Front Cover: 

The graphics must literally reflect the classic idiom of “a picture speaks a thousand words.” The picture or illustration must not only be depictive of the content but also compelling and impactful. For example if the plot takes place on a plantation in the south, you may want an image with trees with the local Spanish moss hanging and the big white shuttered home. The key is to be descriptive, but also an image that stands out.

Change the cover layout from the print version so that you have a specific layout for eBook sales in order not to have your cover show as crunched up online for the eBook.

Based on a true story of a young Thai girl.

Note the back cover has a QR code 

and also my logo - all evenly balanced.

 Back Cover:

While the front cover hopefully leaps out at the reader and grabs their attention, it is the back cover that closes the deal and turns a browser into a buyer. It should be a short, yet impactful description of the contents, and/or contain a powerful quote from the storyline. A bit about the author is always good, assuming it sounds interesting or there are important past credits. Testimonials are also a great marketing tool. If you can get a sentence or few from other well known authors or celebrities that is always a good selling point for a book.

Spine: 

Probably the key item here is legibility as well as a great title since there is not much room to add much more and if the books are stacked spine out you want yours to be noticed. For the purpose of continuity and book printing overlap the front cover graphics onto the spine. Not only will it add to the look but also provide your book printer a bit more wiggle room if needed when adjusting the binding.

Copy:

 Fonts:

Fonts should always be readable, but they also can depict periods in history, such as an Art Deco of Gothic looking font. The font should add to the cover in a descriptive way so that it too is a reflection of the book’s contents as well is the image you choose.

Story of an Australian aboriginal drover in 1910.

This is a sketch done by the famous Bill Perring.

Notice the watermarks to reflect the time period.

Order of Appearance for Copy:

Title generally should be the largest, author name next in size (unless by a famous author, then marketing may dictate author name as most prominent), then a descriptive and compelling sentence.

I like the idea of using colloquialisms, current news items or other memorable events to help craft a title, as it helps people remember yours. You can twist it around in a novel way so that it is clear what it was, but now descriptive of your content or “if the shoe fits…” use it in tact.

Use compelling words that grab attention: vulnerable, disastrous, danger, meltdown, death, lurking, terror, caution, and warning are but a few.

Professional Copy Writer:

Consider using a copywriter or quality editor to come up with “copy that kills.” It is not just good enough to get a great cover designer, as a great copywriter, which is a different specialty than design has the potential to come up with killer ad copy to help with your title and front and back cover copy.

Ira Blacker:

 http://www.pbdink.com/

 Clancy's Comment: Thanks, Ira. Great points. I'd add a few issues that I think are important. I use a font that is easy to read. I also use white paper, not some creamy, flowery paper that might be trendy.  Also, besides a fantastic blurb, don't forget to include a QR code so that folks with smart phones can click straight to your website. 

I've recently engaged the services of a very talented illustrator, Bill Perring. However, although I might have a sketch on the front cover of future books, I will use one of my photographs on the back cover. The outside of a book should be similar to the inside - DESIGNED FOR THE READER!

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Think about this!