Making a cover design fit the book AND the author... ~by Linda Boulanger

For this blog post, once again I went to my author group to see what they might be interested in. The majority of them know me as a cover designer as well, so I wasn’t surprised when Chris asked about that. She wanted to know how I come up with my cover designs for different authors and their books, and how I mesh the story line with the book and also the author’s personality or preferences.

The basics of cover design are pretty much the same each and every time.

The process consists of:

1. Gathering information about the story

2. Searching for images that might work (often the longest part of the process)

3. Designing the cover

One thing that I feel makes me different as a designer is that I am what I consider an inspired designer… meaning I have to be inspired to create the piece, just like I do with writing or any other form of artwork. Some designers have their formula and can sit down … 1, 2, 3 … and they have their cover. It’s still work and can be just as time-consuming. I just can’t do it that way, even if I wish sometimes I could.

My process starts by gathering information about the story. I have a questionnaire that I will send an author, though oftentimes I just ask the questions via email. I like having a more informal working relationship because, to me, it’s the best way I know to really dig down and find out what the author wants to see in his or her book cover. That lack of formality also lets me get to know the author and what he/she wants. It creates a friendly atmosphere so that he/she feels comfortable telling me they don’t like something or that they love something, and when they say they love it, I know they really do and we have a cover that is headed in the right direction.

I get a lot of my inspiration from searching through images. I don’t see an image as a whole, but as bits and pieces. It’s kind of like working a puzzle… my mind is constantly taking these bits and trying them this way and that to see how they fit into the creation of a whole new image. Only each piece also has to fit with the information I have gleaned about the story. I think this is what Chris was asking about. How do I gather the information that I use to pull those tiny pieces of the puzzle out to create something that fits together, fits the story, AND fits the author?

 

The answer goes back to that initial email I send back that is filled with … QUESTIONS. Lots and lots of questions. I ask about the book’s characters: hair color and length, eye color, build… anything you can think of about a character, I want to know. I ask about the genre, and also the overall tone of the book. I also want to know if there are any particular scenes that stand out in an author’s mind that would make a reader feel connected. I ask for the blurb, and on occasion (but not often because I am super busy and not a fast reader), I will actually read the book to get a better feel for what the cover needs to convey.

I don’t usually have to read the book. Talking it out (preferably via email so that I have a written copy to look back through for details) is usually all I need and I often start to get a basic cover idea from that very first email. I’ve even conceived a couple of covers in dreams that have ended up being spot on. I love that and say it’s magic. My favorite thing is when an author tells me it’s like I could see the picture they had in their mind.

So, I guess the answer to how I get my cover designs to fit the book AND the author is that every cover I create is inspired by the information I get from each author. Talking a lot with the author, getting a feel for his/her likes and dislikes, and even their personality, or at the least, the tone of the book so that I can grab those bits and pieces of images to put back together in just the right way, is how I make the covers unique for each and every author I work with.

Next month I will continue with the part of Chris’ question where she wanted to know if I had a favorite cover and why. That, along with who is my favorite author, has to be one of the toughest questions I ever have to answer, but you can find out May 5^th, right here on Originality by Design.

Writing and Distractions ~ by Jacquolyn McMurray

In a world where multitasking is the order of the day and distractions are abundant, I’m determined to organize my life into chunks of time so I can concentrate on a single task. This takes planning and a promise to myself I won’t get too anal if my plans don’t pan out. 
  
I’ve been on this mission for about three months and have discovered a few tricks that help me carve out dedicated time for writing.  Fortunately, my plan works at least part of the time. 

A common topic among authors is how much time to spend on social media. My schedule is different from day to day, but I typically start my morning with a hot cup of coffee with plenty of cream, thank you, and a scroll through my email, lest I miss the email proclaiming my latest submission to be extraordinary.

Later in the day, often with a bowl of ice cream between me and my keyboard, I scan Facebook/Pinterest/blog posts. My latest obsession is following the Amazon rankings on the recent release of a boxed set I’m in—Christmas Cookie Kisses. I allow myself three visits a day. I only cheat occasionally.


I tend to get antsy if I sit too long, so I build in a few household/farm chores as breaks in my writing time. At least once an hour, I spring to my feet and start a load of laundry, chop vegetables, or feed the chickens and steal their eggs. 

My brain stays mostly in my story, unless I stumble across some fascinating distraction... like stubborn stains on my favorite shirt, unidentifiable food in my refrigerator, or baby chicks. 

Instead of my old system of using scratch paper to jot down things to remember and hoping the slips of paper don't blow away in a gust of wind, I keep a spiral notebook at my side while I’m writing.  When a random thought interrupts me, I jot it down and go right back to what I’m doing, except when the idea demands immediate exploration... like how many years Phantom of the Opera has performed on Broadway. 

Be assured, sometime later in the week after I’ve memorized every song from Phantom, and explored all other musicals scored by Andrew Lloyd Webber, I’m right back at my WIP.

courtesy: YouTube

Like many of us who work in a home office or studio, keeping distractions at bay is akin to fighting off mosquitos. They may not land and bite us, but they’ll buzz in our ears and get trapped under our bifocals until all we can think about is how to get rid of the pesky insects. 

Gotta’ go. Our daughter just texted photos of the grandsons.