If you're publishing on a small budget or just for personal goals, there are options for cheap cover art! While I will always recommend paying a designer and/or artist (even if it will take you a while to save up), I also know that's not reasonable for some. For a more professional look, try premade covers. I explain all that is premade covers for you. To have the experience and bragging rights, teach yourself to do it! I recommend programs and methods for teaching yourself cover art, and give you some general rules. Your cover art should be special to you first. How do you picture your book? Is it for you or your readers? Do you want it to sell? Fit in? Or be unique? If you want a more professional look, be prepared to spend a lot of time learning or pay for a premade color. If you have a specific look or logo in mind, set time aside for practice and Google searches and #DIY!
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You've got a general idea for your cover, now you just need the artist! There's more to consider than searching and accepting your first find. In Part II: Picking your artist, I'll explain all the steps up to making your choice: where to look, quotes, pricing, and a contract. Each of these steps are important and should be taken into your consideration! And then finally you can pick away! Your cover art should be handled like a baby, carefully and lovingly. You need to give yourself multiple choices and think thoroughly about your decisions. Not only is the cover art important to you, it's very important for marketing.
Judge your book by its cover! Good cover art catches passerbys' attention! Cover art may seem challenging, but I'm here to lay it all out for you. From the general idea, cover dimensions, to artist's quotes, expectations, and more! The process of cover art will be broken down into two parts: before you search and picking your artist. This is Part I: Before You Search. Before you even start looking for an artist, there's plenty you need to do! Mainly, you need a general idea for the artwork. This'll be its main elements, dimensions, medium, and due date. All these will influence your artist search and the decisions of the artists you find.
The blurb is, arguably, the most important part to selling your book. And, arguably, it can be the hardest part to write. However, I have discovered a formula that reads well, and other authors seem to agree: the fishing pole. Like your blurb, a fishing pole needs a hook, a fishing line, and a reel; I explain each section of a blurb for you. Now catch some readers! The blurb not only needs to sell your story, but it also needs to tell your story. Many writers can find writing a blurb frustrating: "how am I supposed to describe my 200 paged novel in 300 words?" Well, this thinking is part of the problem. You don't have to describe everything, not even most things, just the VERY MAIN things.
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More InfoErin blogs because she wants to help other young adult writers and new writers. It's aimed to educate others on the writing and self-publishing process. If there is anything you'd like to know that she hasn't covered yet, please contact her! |