Today, professional cover designer Farah Evers is visiting with me, talking about the process behind cover creation. Farah designed my new cover for A CAT'S TALE as well as all of the covers in my Loki's Wolves series.
Getting acquainted
with the FED process
Having created over 130 covers, I’m now familiar with what
passes as an appropriate and marketable cover in various genres. I’ve had a few
years to look into that.
Usually, when clients request a cover from me they have to
fill a form. Through said form they will answer questions pertaining to their
stories. Then there’s a “Thoughts” field where the author can tell me what
they’re thinking or hoping to see. I don’t usually allow the author to dictate
what goes on a cover, but I do take ‘thoughts’ into consideration.
There are many reasons I don’t allow full author control,
but one of the reasons is that you, as an author, are too close to your
work. Let alone the fact that cover design is a whole different beast from writing
in the genre. There’s more technical stuff involved, marketing and research
strategies really, rather than just pure creativity. Not that creativity isn’t
as important to the process. It sure is.
While some people regard covers as a matter of opinion and
taste, I’m here to tell you that because a designer doesn’t know your story
inside and out like you do, they have a secret weapon in the creation process. This
makes for powerful covers!
Professionals will look into the market (not the indie
market) and see how the industry approaches your genre.
I also have a “I want my cover to resemble the style of:” on
the form. This field is usually for authors to name other book cover designs
whose styles they’d like emulated into their own.
Exceptions to the
rule!
I’m uptight and rigid about my rules because I like to
maintain a high standard. However, my leniency will break through for some
people. What I’ve described above as the normal process doesn’t apply 100% when
I’m dealing with certain clients.
When Melissa Snark requested her cover for A Cat’s Tale, I
waited for her input. We have a special work rapport. Snark usually points to
models or images she prefers to see on her covers. I’m not fond of putting
models and faces on covers, but I will make exceptions in some cases. (If you’d
like to know why, visit my website. I have an article that explains when models
and faces should be placed on covers.)
Snark also requested her signature font be used, which I
didn’t fully agree with because fonts add to vibes and general feel of a cover.
Snark’s signature font is by nature quite harsh. Putting it on top of deep
bleeding scratches just didn’t give out the right feel. I decided to use a
soft, more subtle font, which was used on the final version of the cover, even
though I purposely chose it to soften the original concept.
Anyway, this time, Snark didn’t pick out a model. She
pointed to a cover idea she wanted. She
 |
| Concept Draft Cover |
showed me a female back with scratch
marks and said she liked that. It was an easy concept to replicate. We agreed
on feline scratch marks as opposed to human nail scratches to indicate that the
female was a werecat. The scratches were placed on a naked male back. The image
had an erotic feel to it from the couple depicted.
Trial & Error
The cat scratch marks, were a little too deep and red, which
gave off a bit of a scary vibe, rather than a paranormal feel. Of course, any
cover project can be salvaged, saved, changed, fixed…etc. until it meets the
right criterion. There were several revisions, but I didn’t present them. People
fail to realize that the cover process is mostly progressive work. Initial
ideas come about and are worked through until the cover reaches its final
design. I have a reputation for hitting a homerun 90% of the time, but when
there’s author input, I become nothing but an execution machine; a bit robotic
in my approach. I lose my conceptual edge, which is what separates me as a
designer. I’m not saying it’s necessarily the ‘correct’ way, I’m just saying
that’s how I operate.
 |
| Final Cover |
With a bit of patience and a few more revisions, the cover
could have been fixed. But, sometimes when a concept doesn’t catch on with the
client, it just doesn’t. Far be it from me to impose anything on anyone. At the
end of the day, authors need to like their covers. I know in traditional
publishing, they won’t have a choice, but this is the indie world! So, Snark pointed
to an image of a couple kissing, and a Siamese cat’s eye. Those were the
ingredients of a typical PNR cover. The collage effect is something we see in
most indie covers, whether they’re erotic, PNR, horror, or whatever. The indie
world loves collage. I assembled the cover, and quickly knew this was going to
be a big yes from her. It was a big yes from the indie community as well, as
this type of cover is what’s considered popular.
If you enjoyed this little rambling. Keep an eye out for my
next article on FED entitled “Book Covers Are Not Movie Posters.” I discuss
everything from the collage effect to indie cover trends, and much more.
About Farah Evers:
- 13 years experience in the field of Graphic art &
design. Scope of work includes professional website design. (Evers Hosting)
- Over 130 covers and counting...
- Award winning book covers.
- 2013 Epic Ariana Award winner for Paranormal/Fantasy genre.
Small Publishers that contract with Farah Evers Designs:
- Twin Trinity Media
- Random Distraction Publishing
If you'd like to contract with FED as well, email:
info@farahevers.com
Farah also talks about what makes for a sensational cover here.
