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MY 2 CENTS?

 

How to give your book a face? I jot down ideas whilst reading, make sketches, and image research before I sit in front of the computer to design anything. In many cases, being the editor, I have a unique, detailed insight into the story, and know exactly who the audience is. So I have what I need for the direction, sometimes I get guidelines from the publisher, or a sales team have input on which direction a concept should move in, based on audience response and where the book will be sold.

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Deadlines can vary from a few weeks to a few months. Often, a publisher wants to brand the author with a certain look so they are easily recognizable to their audience. Sometimes, an author will come to me whose first book cover was not a success, and I start over. For many self-publishers, art direction is new ground. It could be that you've created your own brand and you have a fan-base, but that you want to call the shots – GREAT!

It’s important for me to be true to every book and author, and try to present their writing with a unique look. Design is not the same as making art but it is creative! Design is led by function, structure and objectivity. When designing for fiction, I think about imagery and what the feel and audience are. I begin with a handful of specific concepts and work on developing those ideas. The type should be legible and large enough to read, and, like people, every book has a personality—if the cover were a film poster, it would encapsulate the content of the movie, convey the tone and appeal to a certain type of audience:

 

Your book cover is the first, and sometimes only door into the world of your story. I want people to stop, look, and step inside.

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I work with artists and designers who have the right style to create what I 'see.’ I am not a graphic designer, but I conceptualize your story. Depending on the set-up, I work with the author to create an initial cover brief, which I then develop with a graphic designer/artist/illustrator. My job is to provide clear visual direction, overseeing the overall artistic style and giving life to a concept.

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The benefit to self-publishing authors is that I can take an objective view of your work with the GOAL of doing what is best for the book: solid representation, impact and selling it.

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PRICING

Please contact me for a tailored quote.​

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