AuthorHouse Blog

Writers don’t write so that they can employ graphic designers who create book covers. Writers write so that readers will read the words they have written. But, most people can and do judge books by the cover.

The ultimate goal of a cover design, as I discussed last time, is to turn a browser into a buyer and a buyer into a reader. After all, once you are reading a book, the cover is immaterial. But, like a newly pressed suit you wear to a job interview, a good cover makes the first impression that helps your book change a person from a browser to a reader.

The idea of “simplicity” in design is not new. The principle of simplicity is also sometimes referred to as Ockham’s Razor states that design simplicity is preferred to complexity. There are countless variations to this throughout human history, each addressing this principle from a different perspective. Named for the 15th Century English Jesuit Priest William of Ockham, the crux of the thought is:

“Entities should not be multiplied without necessity”

You can also look to Aristotle, Sir Isaac Newton, or Albert Einstein for other versions of this “simplicity principle.” However, how this philosophical truism applies to the effective design of a book cover in the 21st century may seem like a stretch. I assure you, it is not.

The main thesis of Ockham’s Razor is that unnecessary elements decrease the overall efficiency and aesthetic appeal of a design. It also increases the likelihood that the design will not be understood by its intended audience. In the case of your book, the audience is the person browsing online or in your local bookstore. The unintended consequence you seek to avoid is a book cover that does not appeal to them.

Now, designs can be unappealing for many reasons and breaking Ockham’s Razor by having a complex or “busy” design is no guarantee that a design will fail to appeal. It is a good indicator of why one design may not succeed and another one will.

We often talk about “trimming the fat” or “separating the wheat from the chaff” and we can be referring to a lot of different things in our lives. A good writer will spend hour after hour editing and proof-reading and re-editing their book. They ask, “how can this sentence achieve the effect I want?” They cut words, paragraphs, and so forth until it is “clean” in their mind.

The cover is not much different than that, other than it is a visual process rather than a written one. Respecting Ockham’s Razor helps a good graphic designer to strip away the unhelpful design elements and achieve a cover that appeals to the reader and reflects the author’s vision. A design not weighed down by extraneous elements won’t confuse or turn off the potential buyer and will help entice them to flip open to the first page and begin reading.

Hi there. My name is Taylor Hess and I’m the Creative Services Manager at AuthorHouse, which means, among other things, that I direct the Art & Design staff responsible for producing book covers, custom illustrations, marketing and promotions materials, and other things generally related to graphic design. I have two Artists and eight designers working with me to create outstanding designs for our authors.

I want to start by thanking Mike Johnson for inviting me to contribute to this blog and all of the readers out there who are already or wish to become an AuthorHouse author. Even if you’re not with AuthorHouse and don’t think you want to be, your goal is to publish and to sell books, and I hope that what I have to say is relevant to you, too.

Today, I thought I’d start by introducing a theme I will no doubt return to time and again: good cover design. I read a lot, as I’m sure many of you do, too. What I read tends to span the spectrum from today’s best-sellers to lesser known books from twenty or thirty years ago (just picked up Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow). Since joining AuthorHouse in 2002, my relationship to a book – especially the physical parts it – has changed. I take in the front cover, the spine, the back cover, the dust flaps, and the overall presentation of the exterior of the book with a much more critical eye.

We could spend a lifetime dissecting what makes one book sell over another. Obviously, the writing is the most important part of any book. You could have the best cover in the world and it won’t make a bit of difference if the word of mouth on the street is that the writing is stilted, the grammar poor, or the whole thing is in dire need of a thorough editor’s review. Eventually, people will avoid a book that is poorly written. But…

Let’s assume the writing is superb. A terrific cover design may be the thing that starts off the word of mouth in the first place and helps bring in a reader who may not have even heard the word. Let’s take a few recent examples of “best seller” covers:

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0767908171/ref=sib_dp_pt/002-9106542-5246449#reader-link
Very clean and simple design. Bryson is one of those writers who people buy because they liked his last book, his first book, or something in between. You know this because his name is larger than the title of the book. Still, the cover is a rich blue color with a partially hidden earth suspended three-quarters of the way from the bottom and near the outside. The spine replicates this design and the back, other than text and a mug of Bill, is just the same blue. A very understated cover comes off looking elegant and somewhat mysterious. It makes the reader want to pick up the book and know more about it.

Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0316172324/ref=sib_dp_pt/002-9106542-5246449#reader-link
Another best-selling book (also non-fiction) that is extremely minimalist in its cover design. There is nothing here but well placed text on white background. Blink is actually an appropriate example because its subject – how and why people make very quick and often very accurate snap decisions – can be directly related to how and why a person in a book store picks up this book instead of that one. The cover is simple, elegant, and attractive.

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0385504209/ref=sib_dp_pt/002-9106542-5246449#reader-link
Everyone and their tax advisor has at least heard of this book. It’s been a best-seller for something approaching a year now and the movie is currently in production (Tom Hanks is set to star). Whether you’ve already read this or put off reading it, just look at the cover one more time. It’s mostly just the title of the book, the author’s name, and about one-third of the cover is “ripped” away to reveal the ubiquitous Mona Lisa peering out along with some of what we are to assume is Leonardo’s handwriting. It’s a great cover because it gives the potential reader a real sense of mystery, which is exactly what this author wants to do.

I don’t tend to look at covers of famous people to get ideas of what makes good cover design. Jane Fonda, Bill Clinton, Jack Welch – these people can just stick their face on the cover along with a gold-lettered title and there’s the design. Not much art there and really not much to inspire a non-fiction or fiction writer looking for a unique cover design.

Next time I’ll try to discuss good use of color; overcoming some of the limitations of print-on-demand publishing (yes, there are some limits) in terms of what you can and can’t do on the cover; utilizing the back cover and spine areas; and so on. Please feel free to post any questions for me and I’ll try to jump in and answer as many as I can between now and my next entry.

A Little Elbow Grease Can Bring a Lot of Exposure

An old adage says there are multiple ways to skin the proverbial cat. Well, just like that former feline, there is also more than one way to make money with your writing.
A lot of people only think of making money with their writing through book sales and speaking appearances. But that is just the tip of the iceberg.
I personally know one author who makes 10 times as much selling articles to newspapers and magazines than he ever will through selling his book. But, just as life is somewhat circular, every time he sells an article, he also sells more books.
As a matter of fact, we just had an author who sold a short story (about 1,000-1,500 words) to a travel magazine in Japan. Aside from the fact that his story was printed in a magazine with a circulation of more than 750,000 – which is a pretty hefty accomplishment in itself – he got paid. And, he got paid a pretty nice amount.
So, how do you get in on the action? That answer is relatively simple: Hard work and the ability to not be offended when someone says “no.”
First, decide what you want to write for general circulation. Do you want to write humor columns for newspapers? Do you want to write romantic serial fiction? How about historical or scientific articles? Yes, even poetry and recipes. I can pretty well guarantee you that no matter what you decide to write about (within reason) there is a publication of some sort out there for you.
Like UFOs that contain culinary perfectionists who cook with cheese? I’ve actually heard of a magazine that has a section featuring extraterrestrial recipes. I can’t make this stuff up, people.
But on a more down-to-earth subject, most women’s magazines will pay for romantic fiction, as well as for stories about successful women who overcame overwhelming odds. Heck, Reader’s Digest even pays for one-liners. So does Maxim magazine.
And, here’s the best part – you don’t necessarily have to write about what’s contained in your book. If your book is about the Civil War, it’s perfectly all right to write articles or columns about raising a family or the weekend you spent in Tijuana with your turtle Rufus.
Do you enjoy the hobby of building ships in a bottle? There are a blue million hobby magazines in the United States, alone.
Before I belabor my point further, the bottom line here is that there is a market for your work – you just have to find it.
One place to start is the Gale Directory of Publications and Broadcast Media. The Gale Directory is a multi-volume set of reference books that most libraries have. (You don’t want to buy the books yourself – a full set will set you back about $3,000.)
But, here’s the best part – you can get all the information you need by investing a couple of bucks and about an hour of your time.
Fortunately, the index of the Gale Directory is all-encompassing. It’s also cross-referenced by both subject and geographic location.
So, you can look up all the magazines and newspapers in North America that specialize in everything from Native American culture to raising worms for fun and profit.
The Gale Directory also contains everything you need in order to make a pitch to an editor or publisher. The directory will provide you with phone numbers, contact names, fax numbers and, most of the time, e-mail addresses.
Once you have your article or column prepared – or even if you just have an idea for an article – find a few publications which look like they would be a good fit. (Critical clue: Do NOT start with The New York Times or the Chicago Tribune. Start smaller.)
Go to the library and research your contacts. Copy the necessary pages out of the Gale Directory.
Now, simply make the call or e-mail your pitch.
The pitch should be no less than 75 words and no more than 200. Editors are busy people. Don’t waste their time.
If you e-mail or fax your proposal, do not include a requested amount of payment. Let them tell you what they are willing to pay.
For newspapers, most will pay $5 to $10 per column (750 words). A magazine might pay as much as $1.50 a word or more.
Another approach – which works especially well for people who write either humor or social commentary – is to offer a one-off article for free.
If you have an expertise in World War II, for example, and there is a major anniversary coming up, pitch a column about some little-known battle that has some local relevance. If you write humor, tie a funny column into some local event.
One friend of mine got his start as a syndicated columnist by writing about a snow storm in Western Canada. That column ran in newspapers all over our northern neighbor and a new career was born.
If you want some practice before going after the big fish, try writing letters to the editor of your local newspaper. Most newspapers also have a “Poet’s Corner” for your poetry offerings.
As an old news guy, I can tell you that editors are absolutely thrilled to get letters that aren’t complaining about the paper. Most newspaper publishers have somehow tied a part of the editor’s annual bonus to the number of letters to the editor the paper receives during a specific period.
I actually grabbed a pretty good bonus because we doubled the number of letters to the editor year-over-year.
I can also remember being a kid and reading one guy’s letters every couple of days in The Sidney (Ohio) Daily News. After the twentieth or so letter, the paper finally gave him his own weekly column – for which he got paid. So, you can hone your writing skills, keep in practice and keep sharp – all the while putting a few extra bucks in your pocket.
Plus, after you have written enough columns, you have another book – already written and ready to go. It’s much easier to write 100,000 words if you are doing it at a rate of 750-1,000 words at a time.
Regardless of what avenues of extracurricular writing you decide to pursue, one thing is sure: Writers write and the more you write, the better you become.