Judging your own book by its cover(s)

I'm curious to know a little bit about how authors are involved (or not) in the packaging of their work, from cover art, to design, to layout, etc -- and what seems to have made the result more or less satisfying to you as author.

How much do you think about the way your book looks? What seems to be the key factors in getting some influence over this aspect of publishing? Any fun or interesting relationships with designers / cover artists?

Unfortunately, I think many people judge a book by it's cover. Myself included. This actually disheartens me because I'm not wholly satisfied with the way my book was packaged. I had say, and I even submitted the cover image to my publisher, but the way they used that image and the font used for the back blurb and cover seemed like overkill to me (I prefer a simple cover, more distinguished, uniform font, etc...).
Publishers vary, but the general rule of thumb is that the smaller the publisher, the more a writer can contribute to the aesthetic of the physical book. But with that goes limited resources for printing and formatting, and it's still a negotiation process. From what I understand the really big houses usually use in-house marketing teams to decide the best cover for marketability. Hope that helps :) Jen

My book (Temporary Lives) was published by a university press (UMass Press) so fortunately I did get a chance to influence the cover--I was asked for ideas for cover art or photos--apparently the trend is to use photos these days rather than art. I wanted a painting though, and because time was short, decided to try painting it myself. I sketched out a few ideas based on the stories in the collection and painted a possible canvas in three or four weeks--everyone seemed to like it (thankfully)--it's what's on the cover of the book.

I don't consider myself a conceptual artist but it was very fun painting the cover. Their designer did a great job putting the cover and text together, and I was involved every step of the way--again, I am sure this is what one misses out on with a big publisher.

My first book (Invisible Season (WWPH, 1998)) also features a painting of mine on the cover--not painted for the book, but used for the book--I know I've been lucky both times with a great experience with the art/cover design.

It is all too true that people will judge a book by its cover, it's part of the package. It only makes sense that the author should have input about their book cover and not be afraid to be upfront about it, but they also need to allow the designer to do their job. It stinks when an author is stuck with a book cover they hate after all the work they put into writing the book. I especially don't like it when a book cover has next to nothing to do with what the book is about because it's trying to be a little too "eye catching". Oy, while I was still seriously considering going the traditional route, I had fears that I'd wind up with something too pink and girlie... I see my books as tomboys, and I'm such a fussy little thing, I'm sure a publisher would think I was a total pain in the ass for wanting to have my way. I love the cover of my little ghost story Dusty Waters, my Fred designed it using some of my old photographs that I took of the Fox Sisters homestead in Hydesville, New York before it was torn down. It took time to work it out, but once it came together it felt right. It was a thrill to be at a book signing last summer and having the traditionally published authors look the spots off my little self-published book. Being indie gives me the freedom to do as I please with my covers, I'm currently agonizing over the cover of my next book "The Fractured Hues of White Light"... with a title like that, cliche images of rainbows and prisms immediately come to mind... I'm trying to get as far away from that as possible! I like simple, but that's too simple. I've been stuck on the idea of having a yellow book cover (yellow is my main character's favorite color). I have a favorite abstract watercolor propped on my desk that we're considering (one I made), but I'm still doodling around with other ideas and pitching them to my Fred from time to time, but who knows, I might go for something else completely different if it feels right. I prefer a simple cover over anything complex. I want to have the cover to be the "defining" characteristic of the book, like a birthmark or a fingerprint, immediately recognizable, the way I see it, I would want no other face for this book. It's a creative process that I enjoy, it's an investment, and it finalizes the years of work that I put into writing it. That's just little indie me, I'm certainly not a marketing wunderkind! But I think I have a mighty nice looking book with a darn good story inside. :)

Laura
Hi Jen! (A happy wave from the top of Irish Hill!)

My printer picked an entirely inappropriate picture for the cover of my first book (Lane's End) just because he went by the title. Luckily he let me see and offered to find another and his second choice was perfect.

For the second book (Un-Stable Lane) I had a new printer and we worked together to find a suitable image.

That's one of the perks of self-publishing.

I'm now writing my third book. I have a cover design in mind but it might change when the story is finished.

oldstick.

At the time I sold my first novel, the going style of cover art for fantasy showed half naked women and muscled barbarians, which totally did not suit my work.

I took the crazy route - decided to develop what artistic skill I had, and work as a professional cover illustrator for the industry. The goal took awhile to realize, but I was able to successfully combine both careers.

I've been hired to do my own covers in the US and Britain, and some of the overseas translations for quite some time now - even after I became established, there have been challenges as styles changed. I have successfully managed the artistic shift, from character portrait, to landscape approach, to the newer graphic slant. It took a bit to convince the art dept. I could handle the difference in treatment - but the result has been very rewarding.

It has made for an arduous schedule, though, since the cover deadlines invariably fall when I am closing on turning the book in.

I've been lucky with books so far, each publisher took my concepts and improved upon them. I did stress the fact -- repeatedly -- that I really wanted good cover art leading up to the signing of the publishing contracts. I've been pleased, but these are small presses. I don't know that a big publisher would be so accommodating.

Thanks so much for sharing these anecdotes. I suspected the smaller publishers would be more accommodating, but wasn't sure. I am completely taken by surprise by how many authors worked on their own cover art! Would not have guessed that.

I've been blessed with both my husband and daughter being artists while my husband also does graphic design. Fortunately, my publisher happily used the cover design we submitted.

Even thought it is YA fantasy, the idea was to make it stand out from all the kid illustrated covers by making it look like a fancy bound book of yesteryear in red grained leather with gold gilded accents and filigree- and it has WORKED in catching attention. We intend to do same with the rest of the series, so when it is complete, it will look set of old classic books.

ShawnLamb, based on the cover in LT, I'd agree it stands out and would catch my eye on a shelf. I always like to see how an idea like that is extended through a series, without becoming a simple "let's take the last red cover, except make it blue" idea. Given you have assistants close to you, I'm confident that won't happen in your case!

Thanks, elenchus. My "assistants" are always thinking creatively and have already figured out the colors and designs for the rest of the series. lol.

I was always so paranoid about 'rights', that all my books have covers with pictures I took myself!! So I can't sue myself! hahaha Of course, this means that if my next book is based in the Antarctic, then I'm going to have to hop in a boat/plane/dogsled and get my cover.

Road Trip! lol

13 - Sounds like a good reason to write a book set in Antarctica. :)

Problem is....I'm a romance writer. My plot will be slightly stifled when there's one man within 3000 miles of civilization, and one woman. Ooooohh...can't you just feel the tension?? Will she/won't she? hahaha Bet ya'all can't wait to run out and buy that one!

>13 mamiller: I quite like the lighthouse snapshot, don't think a marketing department could have done you one better.

Which prompts another question: does using your own image (photo / painting / drawing) lessen your appreciation of the original? I'm thinking of a scenario in which the lighthouse print proudly hung in your living room, for instance, but then seeing it on your book cover or author website or marketing materials ended up taking the burnish off the original for you.

>7 johnakarr: The cover for Dark Resurrection is quite arresting. Not sure I'd want the original image hanging above my bed, but certainly would have enjoyed coming up with the concept and then seeing the end result.

The original is actually a tad more panormic than what you see on the cover. My 'zoom in' cover was an attempt at being artistic, or meant to contemplate if someone is sitting up in that window, and if so, what are they thinking. Are they forlorn?
But in answer to your question, the original is actually sitting up above my desk right now. It inspires me because I wrote two books in the fictional Maine village of Victory Cove, so if I look at that picture long enough...suddenly Victory Cove isn't so fictional anymore.

And thank you for the compliment! :)

>2 JenLynnKnox: The cover concept for Musical Chairs is intriguing based upon what I learned from the reviews & description, but agree the final cover is distracting rather than compelling. Does not appear to have discouraged your readers from appreciating your work, however, based upon the reviews here.

Reminds me of watching a film and not really liking it, and upon reflection realising the various components are interesting, it's simply they don't quite fit together. In some ways there seems to be a parallel between the packaging of books and the inherently collective nature of filmmaking. Difficult to control or predict when different contributions will work, but when they do something can emerge that no individual contributor could have created alone.

And only now do I realise that it is interesting, really, that books -- predominantly the product of an individual -- are "packaged" by teams with little to no role in the writing.

Beautiful blonde girls with long legs get looked at, by everyone.

It's a fact. The cover does make a difference, and there are expensive and inexpensive means of creating one's own covers. My thought is that the key is finding a means to support and/or describe the contents to be found between the covers, by the use of an effective image.

Because I am computer-graphics-capable (is there such a term?) I was able to design and construct the cover for my first book, Impaired Ocular Acuity and Other Demented Synapses, using an image I secured from a model/friend in Australia. It was a perfect cover for the the book, and the cost was minimal. The model owns the copyright to the original image, and I have a one-time use provision for its use, meaning that I can use the image only on the cover of the book, and for any promotion necessary for the marketing of the book. (I also provide links to the model's websites on my websites, in an effort to cross-promote. He has added me to his websites, as well.)

For The Other Lamb, which will hopefully be completed by the fall of 2010, I commissioned an oil painting from a German artist, and then designed the cover from that image. I am very pleased with the results. As well as owning the original painting, I retain the copyright, so I can use the image in any manner I choose. (One also has to remember not to overuse an image.)

The other two books that I am currently writing are 'coverless,' for the moment. I have yet to decide my direction for a cover image, with either of them.

--> 10

fans said it looked as if my camera had puked

So sorry about the response to the book cover of your book's first printing. How did it happen that you, as the author, had no input on the book cover - which turns out to be a valuable marketing tool, if done well? Especially since you're a photographer!

Good luck with sales on the second printing.

> 10 Not sure that "puked" would have occurred to me as an adjective. But a picture of generic crowds for a photo essay on China definitely seems cliche.

One of my favorite pasttimes is creating covers for my books and certainly it has been the best part of publishing my books in paperback. I love picking out the perfect picture and then arranging the titles and such just so in just the right font, size, etc. I'm quite pleased with the covers on all my books in the Red Cross of Gold series. The cover for Tempo Rubato was very well received and in fact, one reader wrote to me and said that she bought the book simply because the cover was "so beautiful". I like to find something eye-catching that somehow imparts something to the potential reader about the contents of the book. That would only make sense. I like colorful, unusual and generally dark tones most of the time.

>13 mamiller: Don't do it, Miss Miller! I just heard today that one of our global warming advocates was found frozen to death in Antarctica! Imagine that. He apparently went down to film the devastating effects of global warming on the Antarctic Ice Sheet... in the middle of July... last year? Sooooo, didn't anyone tell him that July is the middle of the winter in Antarctica and even if it is warming up down there, it's still about 70 degrees BELOW zero in July? OK, so if you do go, pack extra socks and go in January... also, say "HEY!" to the penguins for me. :) ;)

Being the publisher and the author, I am intimately involved in production. All of it other than editing and painting the cover illustration, something beyond my talents. But the design, layout, and typesetting are business as usual for me since I've been in the printing industry for many years.

"How it looks" is very important to me, down to the minutest details. The typesetting for example, which some readers and authors may take for granted, is terribly important in my view. Fonts, line spacing, kerning and tracking, hyphenation are all part of the reading experience, if only on a subconscious level. Sometimes, regardless of the content, a book simply "feels good" to read. I strive toward that.

You ask about interesting relationships, I'd say mine with my cover artist is worth mentioning. His name is Alan Gutierrez. One of the reasons I chose him (besides his stellar pin-up illustrations) was because he would read the work. Seems logical, but as I've been told, many cover artists only illustrate based on either brief instructions or a short blurb (sometimes not even that, according to Alan, recalling his years in NY producing cover art). Alan reads it cover to cover and lets the story inspire him. I love this approach. He gets his own picture, we toss ideas back and forth, but for the most part I keep out of the way. Then once he's done, I do the rest of the design (titles, back cover copy, etc.)

Have a look at Dead Forever Awakening for a taste of his work. The full wrap (back to front cover) artwork without text is also on the book's website (see my profile). You can look him up on the internet also, for his own site.

As we speak, Alan is working on artwork for the second book in the series (Apotheosis). He finished reading the advance copy yesterday and says the story is great. We chatted some, and the ideas he has proposed are fabulous. I can't wait!

I'd be curious what others think of the cover art for Dead Forever Awakening. What kind of story does it appear to you, based on the cover alone?

Now that's interesting: illustrators often don't read the work, huh? In hindsight, I guess that shouldn't come as a surprise. I would think many authors would share your preference for the illustrator to arrive at a concept after reading the work -- after all, the author's cover concept can be good, but the illustrator thinks in images regularly, and I would expect such a person to come up with ideas that an author wouldn't.

The cover for Awakening is eye-catching, and the link to death & amnesia is there. My first thought was: "Lara Croft, in space opera, on a holodeck." So maybe 2 out of 3. The description did send me back to the cover art, though, and I like that dialogue. Covers that are either too literal, or seemingly out in left field, irk me. This cover does not irk me.

>26 WillCampbell: Initial reaction a Tomb Raider Sci-Fi with ghosts.
So a science fiction action adventure, probably what I consider a lighter read - that's not meant as an insult, currently it tends to be my fiction preference (and resulted in my purchasing your book).

>27 elenchus: ...This cover does not irk me.

Nice! Thanks for the quick response. I've gotten a bit of the teasing about Lara Croft. I tease back, nope, my girl has pigtails, Lara has a ponytail (grin). Well, that's the image Alan got when he read about Madison (the female starring on the cover). When we first discussed ideas, he said "after all that sexual tension, there is NO way I'm not putting that girl on the cover." Now there's the spirit. I love my cover artist.

The next cover will star the lady in the lower right of the Awakening cover, and will likely present a darker tone than the sex-on-wheels Lara Croft impression, to match the second book's shift to darker themes. I am looking very forward to this next book's artwork.

> ...and I would expect such a person to come up
> with ideas that an author wouldn't.

That was the pleasant surprise for me. The whole ghostly thing was Alan's idea, his take on the reincarnation theme, which he blended with the rescue scene of Madison coming down the ladder. My original idea for this cover... well, let's not go there. Alan has a far better imagination, at least, for art based on worlds I've imagined in only words. It's great working with an artist who knows the business of cover art.

Thanks again for the feedback, I really appreciate it.

>28 nuatha: (and resulted in my purchasing your book).

Thank you! I hope that you enjoy the story, and would love to hear your thoughts, either critical or praise, and everything in between.

elenchus
>7 johnakarr: The cover for Dark Resurrection is quite arresting. Not sure I'd want the original image hanging above my bed, but certainly would have enjoyed coming up with the concept and then seeing the end result.

>14 ShawnLamb: It's great when the cover artist is talented and takes the writer's ideas into account. That face on Dark Resurrection is from a scene within, where the one of the protagonists (there's two) is confronted by one of the infected neighbors in his apartment complex. She is that cover image for me now, thanks to artist Anne Cain.

#27 - elenchus - cover illustraters often do read the work. Not always, but often.

Sometimes production schedules for the art run so far ahead that the manuscript may not be turned in to the publisher, yet. In those instances, to have the art in time for the catalog, the artist may be forced to create on nothing else but a brief description from the editor.

Othertimes, the publisher/marketing/art dept already have a rigid concept in mind, and the artist is not encouraged to think outside the box.

A few artists take so long to read, and the demands of their schedule is heavy enough, it isn't feasable for them.

But for every author's book I was professionally hired to paint, and in the case of my husband, Don Maitz, long years in field - he always read everything he was assigned if he was given the manuscript and the liberty to do so.

I had a very positive experience with my first book, The Vaults, in that the cover I was presented with was great and I didn't have to do anything at all. The designer clearly read the book, or read enough that he understood the mood and themes. I really have no talent or imagination for graphic design, so I was happy to leave it to the experts.

I don't know if the book is up on LT yet (the release date is September 14) but the cover is on my website: tobyball.com.

My general sense of covers is that a bad one discourages more sales than a great one garners. I saw the first draft cover for Dan Brown's Deception Point and it would definitely have hindered sales. The one they published with was very good, I thought.

Toby_Ball, I hadn't thought of it that way but it's persuasive: "a bad cover discourages more sales than a great one garners."

If your book isn't on LT yet, you could add it to your library ... and then, it would be. Easier for people to find it / stumble on it, elsewise you're waiting for someone else to add it before the great unwashed get a peek.

elenchus - I'll try to upload it tonight. Still new at this stuff...

My wife and I got BFA's together in the field of interior design -- but while there, we learned a TON about graphic design. Now, we incorporate all kinds of design into our business together. She's also an artist. Anyway we usually design my book covers together, but for one of my romancy/time travel/murder mystery books, I let her design it completely. Here's what she came up with: (I love it!!)



The photographs of the current day Chicago Art Institute and of a Paris near the turn of the century are double-exposed (obviously faked in Photoshop...) to illustrate the dual-time periods in the time travel aspects of my story. Pretty creative, I thought. :)

Thanks Wife!

I had an idea in mind for my cover and just really felt in my heart that the picture of my aunt and uncle should be on the cover. My cover designer worked with me on this and also presented two other fabulous covers. I had a difficult choice to make, but decided to go with the cover I originally visualized, after all it does truly depict both the setting and the characters of moon dance.
Publishing is an extremely interesting journey and I've learned a lot over the past year during each step of the progress. Now it is sometimes difficult because I so want my book to be a huge seller, but I am also satisfied to wait on God's time. It's only been on the market since the end of January and is selling an average of three books per week... sometimes more. I think the period picture draws in readers that are interested in the historical aspect, as well as those interested in a good, clean romance.

MCliffordAuthor/37 - that cover caught my eye somewhere else here on LT. Thanks for sharing its story!

moondance2010/38 - I loved your cover from the moment that your book first crossed my horizon.

A few days ago I said I'd upload my book, The Vaults, and I finally did. I was really happy with both how the cover looked and how it captured the atmosphere of the book. The same designer (I heard his name in passing and can't remember it now) also did the cover for The Dream of Perpetual Motion which I also think is great.

Interesting cover, Toby_Ball. But strange experience - when I clicked the touchstone, it took me to the work, showing no cover and no cover options. When I went to your own library to look for it, it showed the book with the cover. However, clicking on The Dream of Perpetual Motion, that work shows with its cover. Maybe its a cacheing issue. How long ago did you actually attach your cover to your book?

>41 countrylife: I also had that experience with the covers: odd.

Regardless, I like the cover to The Vaults, I suspect it will resonate with many engaged LT users given the shelf of books, etc.

>37 MCliffordAuthor: I agree with your assessment, that is a clever depiction of the dual time periods, as well as capturing the historical nature of your story. I like when covers are not simply literal depictions of story elements, yet remain true rather than sacrifice at the altar of artistic license. A tricky balance but so satisfying when it is struck.

I just clicked on the link to The Vaults and the cover did come up. Maybe hit refresh on that page? I'm not sure...

I think its showing up for you because you, as member Toby_Ball, because you already have it in your catalog. If you sign out and follow that link, I ~think~ you would see what we do.

eta: speaking very, very cautiously, because I'm just not very computer literate.

44> I think you are correct. When I used the link in his message I got a page that showed no cover. When I went to his library and linked through there I got the cover. So I think you might be right.

I did like the cover.

With my first book, I was blessed with an excellent proof-reader-&-editor-in-one. Trusting the publisher's good sense, I used my first advance to take my first vacation in five years only to find my book given a horrid title (not among my suggestions) and utterly meaningless cover. To hear the name the publisher insisted on and, later, to see that cover made me nauseous. This was in Japan and the book despite some good reviews did not go far until five years later when it was republished in pocketbook with a better but still imperfect title and cover.

I could write a book on this, one poorly covered book at a time. Even the one published by my employer, a publisher, was horrid. I could see by the handwriting on the postcards -- all Japanese books include postcards for readers to send in feedback -- that sure enough the design did not attract the type of readers that I wanted (it still went five editions, but they were small). I was told that I, in the editing department, should not stick my nose into the design department's business.

I was only completely happy with 1 cover out of 7 of the books I wrote in Japan/ese. One book that did go right taught me something I would like to share with you, as it proves beyond doubt how important it is to get it right. That book, Goyaku-tengoku, i.e., "Mistranslation Paradise," had a cover with an old etching of mine and light square font. I recall using white-out on parts of the Chinese characters to make the feeling just right. The editor had been with the publisher for 18 years so they let him work with authors as he pleased. Once I did an all-night booksigning and sale of that book and four or five of my other books at the top bookstore for designers in Tokyo (Aoyama Book Center, or ABC). I recall the sumo wrestler Konishiki waddling by with an entourage at about 3AM. And, I recall a lady of the street who insisted on buying that particular book as the title and picture and color of the obi (the belt with the blurb that was blue) and not a more general book I thought she would enjoy more. Even if the author is there to explain, the would-be reader WILL read a book by its cover. I was happy to see her vote for the one cover I had responsibility for but sad for I thought that book best for people who were translators themselves or more serious students of English.

That book reached maybe 10,000 of 100,000 potential readers. I had another book with 5-10-million potential readers that was saddled with a name and cover guaranteed to get 5,000 readers and, by God, that is all it got. To me the measure of success with a book is the percent of potential readers actually reached. That is where the title and cover matter more than the content.

Back in the US, it is one reason why I became an author-publisher. Still, as a pauper with little software savvy, I can not always have it my way. My acrobat 6 cannot make the color what my printer wants, so I must accept the awful colors that they convert it to. And, recently, they refused to do that so I went black and white . . .

Up til now, I have had close to no feedback on covers. Reviews do not mention them. Recently, I was told that people at Librarything gave a high vote to the title of one of my 4 books published in the last year, A Dolphin In The Woods, which surprised me for I thought even Touchstones would not touch it (hearing that, I was enboldened to click on "others" after Walden, by Henry Thoreau, which pops up instead of my book! That is why you see it, here (or you may not as it has been "loading" now for ten minutes(?!)).

I would love to have some feedback from anyone! All my covers may be seen at paraverse dot org -- or, i cannot recall if google has all but if you go to Google Books and search "robin d gill," most may be there.

It's so fun to read about all the artists who are also authors. Unfortunately, I'm aesthetically challenged. For years my wardrobe consisted only of white and black things, so I could mix and match without thinking about it. We have a poster hanging in our kitchen that my husband brought to the marriage (30 years ago!)

So when I published my book Selene of Alexandria I was more than happy to put the cover design in someone else's hands. Imagine my dismay, when the designer came back to me and said, "Go to this site and pick some images. I'll work with that." ACKKKKK! I spent a couple of hours sorting through images until finally one jumped out at me -- a beautiful photograph of a piece of sculpture. It was perfect and the designer did a great job (IMHO) of incorporating it into the cover. We quibbled over the font a little, but I was generally very happy with the result.

I think the one thing that terrifies me the most about getting published is finding myself having no say in the cover, especially when I read that some illustrators work with very little (due to time or such).
I've the tools to do a cover for myself and use it on lulu for personal copies, but I doubt it would work on a mass scale as it looks rather amateurish. Maybe by the time I'm up to the whole book cover process I'll have progressed far enough to at least give the real artist an idea, especially if it is the novel with the non-humans.

For my wife's book Reading Roman Comedy I think the press were interested in her ideas for a cover. I had been playing with Wordles of her full-text ( http://www.wordle.net ) and Alison liked them, so I took one of those, and modified it somewhat, and the press then took the image and built the cover round it.

For an academic work about playing with language it worked well

Tim

49>

Oh, I like that cover very much. It looks perfect for that sort of work.

49>

Agree with lorax, like it a lot. And may have to get your wife's book, now. Drat.

50/51> thanks!

A few personal opinions (all of debatable value, as always):

1) Imagine Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, but with the cover of the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds. What a major mistake that would be. A cover must reflect the soul of the music. Likewise, it must capture the essence of a book. Yet, when it comes to books, some publishers think anything goes.

2) Have a say. You may regret it otherwise. An author whom I regularly meet told me that, for one of his books, the graphic artist hired by the publisher developed a cover page that bore no relationship whatsoever to the book. The artist, who obviously never read the book, just got "inspired" by the book's title - a one-word title that can have different meanings. Obviously, the cover page he ended-up with misrepresents his novel. Interestingly, the publisher accepted that cover page in spite of the author's objections.

3) Make sure a professional graphic artist does the cover page, and work with that professional throughout the process. Describe to him/her the book's underlying message or purpose. Work together in the brainstorming session. Review together alternative proposed concepts. Make suggestions and let him/her figure out the ways to get the best results.

I worked in that fashion with the professional graphic artist who did the cover for my recent novel Shaken Allegiances and am pleased with the results. I expect that some will like that cover, and some won't, as nothing in life ever pleases everybody, but so far though, all comments have been positive - some even saying that they enjoyed discovering added symbolic significance in the cover after having read the book. But, for sure, as an author, I am confident that it is an appropriate creative artistic representation of my work.

Michel Bruneau

Way back in message #4 on March 27, I said that I was considering a yellow painting for my new novel, The Fractured Hues of White Light and after many false starts and maybes, I slathered yellow washes over a sheet of 12 x 12 inch BFK Rives paper (my favorite paper for making cool art stuff on) and made this lovely little colorfield painting...simple. I scanned it and gave it to my Fred to design the cover. He wasn't sure about it, he tried to get too fancy with it, but I told him no, I just want it simple...goodness knows Samantha Ryder's story is complicated enough, the yellow is about her...and if you look carefully, there's splashes and puddles, rings and tide lines that mark it...It is the birthmark of the book now, I love it...she really glows and catches the eye from a distance.

http://www.librarything.com/work/9964353/60279446

from my childhood and teen year, paperbacks had the most wonderful cover art. Bantam' s William Goldlman's novels especially BOYS AND GIRLS TOGETHER (when Berkley bought the rights, they also bought the entire Bantam packaging), PEYTON PLACE and the Michael Shayne novels, Bradbury and Serling.
Endless classics.
i have lucked out with great cover art. But it seems all people see is that, a huge drawback, selling on line. you can't pick it up, feel its heft, skim the pages.

Hi, I have a small press publisher and I wanted input on the cover design of my memoir. I ended up designing the cover for My Schizophrenic Life: The Road to Recovery from Mental Illness and included a painting I did and blurbs from others. To be honest, it took me a while to learn how to use Adobe Photoshop software to complete the task but I think it was definitely worth it.

hi, it sounds excellent. Wish I had that talent. I'm self-published. Lulu comes up with these dynamic covers that people never get past. How can a cover intrigue someone to look inside and not be the thing itself. But virtual books make it impossible, compared with actual ones.
And Sandranne, congratulations on your mental health victory. I know how tremendously difficult it is and you should be given such happiness. You have the right.
Barry Eysman

Hi Barry,
Thanks! It seems to be in vogue to write about lived experience with mental illness. I see a lot of books written by people with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder on the market.
After years of struggle and isolation, I think I'm on the right path to reciprocate the care I received by sharing my story that recovery is possible and happiness attainable.
Good luck with your writing!

You're very welcomed, and how generous and courageous you are, to have come out on the other side, then to write about it,to help others in their own pain. That takes such heart really to remember it and say, this is what happened, and this is how I came out of it, and,here, let me extend my words to you, to tell you you are not alone.
Thank you Sandranne,
Barry

I am so sorry I'm so late. It won't happen again.'
Barry

Barry,
Thanks for your wonderful comments and words of encouragement! When I wrote the book it brought up a lot of emotion about the past. But it also gave me a larger perspective as I reflected on my life. Instead of thinking only about the negative things in my life, I recognized the positive.

sandranne

You're very welcomed, Sandranne,
It's a noble and brave thing for you to do. First, to come through it, and then to give it structure and words, because sometimes things don't have structure or words at the time. But to open a book--as i guarantee --will happen with persons opening to your words--my God, they will think, with their problems, their hurts, similar or not, somebody knows and maybe they are telling me about me. The alchemy between reader and writer will be a time to rejoice because you have done the finest thing a person could do. Smile quietly upon them with your words.
Take care,
Barry

Thanks Barry!
One of the interesting things about this book is that I describe delusions that were so real at the time but now I can separate them from reality. The movie A Beautiful Mind also uses the technique of introducing events and people that are actually Nash's delusions. Insight into one's paranoia, delusions and hallucinations and being able to write about it clearly can be a challenge.
Sandranne

Best of luck with your book, Sandranne. I agree that it's a brave thing that you do to share your personal world with others.

I was so shocked by the sudden realization of many of the characters in the movie "A Beautiful Mind" being only delusions or hallucinations. I think it was a great technique to introduce the movie's audience to how it feels to be in that situation and how one can , at times, truly not discern between reality and delusions or hallucinations.

Thanks SqueakyChu for your kind wishes!

There's so much stigma around people with mental illness, thus advocacy is so important. It may be a brave thing for me to share my story but I think of the courage of others with schizophrenia who fight an invisible foe everyday of their lives. If someone's leg is broken, you can see the injury. But for schizophrenia, so much lies below the surface.