By: Tom Williamsenn
Submitted: 2009-04-20 06:19:59 | Word Count: 541
Most self publishing writers fail to recognize the value of an effective book cover. They spend most of their days writing the book and once it is done, they will have it shelved without putting any consideration on what impression it may elicit from a potential reader. It is not entirely true that bookworms do not judge books by their covers. Book covers should be considered as a significant part of the content itself.
Although writers do not need to create their own book cover design, their inputs are of utmost importance. In fact, coming up with ideas for the book cover should begin with the writers. They have to at least know how to design a book cover if they do not have the capacity to do it by themselves.
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To begin the process of designing a book cover, writers and publishers should get insights and inspirations from book covers that they love. This is not to tolerate plagiarism. All they really need is to determine the elements that make a particular book cover work for them. Besides, writers are also readers. They can probably look around in a bookstore with the intention of finding out how the books that they grab were able to get their attentions.
Once they are aware of their personal preferences, they can begin brainstorming these ideas with a designer by showing them copies of the book covers that influenced them. Some designers would find it difficult to understand what the writers wanted shown on the book cover. Giving them examples help them as they are most probably better with visuals.
Once this first step is over and done with, they are now ready to proceed with the most crucial part—compressing the subject of the book into a single artwork. If writers have a general idea on how to design a book cover, all it takes for them is to explain the book to the designer in order for him or her to capture the essence of the book on the cover art. This is to avoid any unnecessary element on the cover design and to make sure that the book cover effectively draws the attention of those who might be interested with the book content. Stuffing in artworks that are unrelated to the theme of the book will only create the wrong impression. If this is an intended purpose, then it has to be critically furnished just the same.
Self publishers should take time researching on a designer’s portfolio. The designer might show them excellent outputs but it may also happen that his or her style is not appropriate with the theme they wanted to convey. Other than that, some designers are expert doing covers for a certain genre or form. Writers would not want their instruction manual to look like a science fiction novel. This aspect should also be taken into consideration.
Being hands on with the process is the best way for self publishers to learn how to design a book cover. Those who refuse to cooperate with the designer during the process are most likely to get dissatisfied with the results. This may cause revisions and delays that could have been prevented if writers would only suggest clear inputs.
Author Resource:-
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