How to Get the Best Cover Design with the Revision Process

A book cover is more than just something that needs to look appealing to your eye. It's something that has to sell that involves a lot of little details and a whole lot of understanding of what looks good in print and in digital format. If you missed the video before this one, on working with your cover designer, I'll link to that at the end because this is an immediate follow up to that one. And we're going to take you through the COVID design and comp process to help you get get the best cover design. So if you want to help your cover designer give you the best possible book cover. And I mean, why the heck wouldn't you? Well, this video is for you. Hey there. I'm Julie the book broad, founder of Book Launchers. In part one, I introduced you to Cassie Voors, who is the head of our design team at Book Launchers. She's brilliant, as you will soon see. If you missed part one, the first video walked you through what you need to share with your designer. As far as you know, likes, dislikes, fonts, images, ideas, all the things you need to get started in the COVID design process. Today we're going to dive into what the COVID comp and revision process looks like. So let's get right into it at Book Launchers. After we've collected all the information from our clients and, and done a bunch of category research and competition evaluation and done some image searching, our clients get three or four different cover designs to start the process. I'll let Cassy explain from here. Take it away, Cassie.

What to expect. I've given you guys some examples of some work that we've done just to show you kind of what that first round should look like. So these are some covers where the client had this idea that she really wanted and it was difficult because some of the items that she wanted on this cover were really specific and things that I just could never find or recreate. So my job, again, is to find a way like we talked about before, finding a way to satisfy her vision. Because this is your book, this is your project, this is your baby. My job as a designer is to create, you know, have this book come to life and give some vision to it. So whatever ideas you have are just as important. And the far right cover is really where I tried to merge her ideas. She wanted this ocean feel, but she wanted some aspects of the book, like this crown that was important and some other items that were important. But ultimately we just couldn't make it work on the COVID So this is kind of where we Met in the middle, but you can see the other two options. She really wanted blue, so that was really important. So I made sure that that was within all of those covers. But she also kind of wanted some fonts that were a little bit, I don't know, freer, I guess you could say, more freeing. And so we have some of these swash fonts, which is here where you can see soul and soul center. And then you can even see on this version where I've applied a swash font to kind of make some of the words pop out in the subtitle so that when you're looking at that cover, your eye as a consumer, as a reader, you're going straight to those words. And that's a really cool approach to covers. I think whether making it a different color or making it a different typeface helps your reader kind of, like, zoom right into that.

Oh, and if you're wondering how that book turned out in the end, isn't that a beautiful design? So, so good. But that author had a lot of clear ideas to begin with. What if you're someone without a clear concept in mind, which is usually me, I'm like, just make something look good. So if that's you, well, that's what happened with this book. So you can see what that looks.

Like at this point, since, you know, we don't have a direct concept or any idea of, like, hey, I really want dirt in it, or I really want some gardening aspect, or, like, I want gardening tools. So since we don't have that, we're kind of just coming up with some ideas, see what. See what happens. So you can see, like, we're using different typefaces, and all of your comps should look different, that your designer should be offering you different typefaces, different placement, putting your, you know, your name, the author name at the top, at the bottom, on the left, on the right, trying different layouts. Maybe your title is really big, like the second one. Maybe it's smaller here. Maybe it's thicker or taller. You should be seeing different examples, different ideas, so that you have something to choose from.

The icons were something he really wanted in there, so they remained. And this is where that book ended up. By the way, I didn't know anything about mound gardening before we worked with this author, and now I am convinced that it is one of the best ways to grow a garden in your yard. It is such an incredible way to go. Of course, I am a bit of a plant killer myself, but we did get a pear tree last year. So here's hoping it survives. Right now, I must admit I'm not feeling very optimistic as it's looking a little sad, but there are some green buds. I hope it lives. But one more example on book covers. This is from an incredible author who we've worked with, who's also one savvy and kind hearted businessman, Brent Pullman. His book is coming out really soon and it's a fun example because it illustrates why it's so important to get very different designs. The COVID he went with was not the one with the elements that he asked for.

So this client had let us know. I want my cover to include a skyline and office buildings. That's what I want. And so the first one on the far left is exactly that. Photoshops and things together we got this guy, he's looking over the skyline of office buildings and fulfilling that request. And he also said he loves black and he loves gold and he loves white. So those were the three top colors. So within that you can see we really stuck with that theme. And I'm also giving them different typefaces. They're lowercase, they're uppercase, they're sans serif. They're serifs. So we're trying different things on this middle comp. This was. Okay, well, let me stick with that office building skyline, but maybe from a different viewpoint, maybe it's not just what you're looking at normally. Right. And let me try something interesting with the type so that you're really focused, like all those buildings are coming in and focusing on that, that header or that title. And then the one on the right was my completely end of the spectrum. Let's try something different that the client isn't expecting. And the compass kind of gives you that look and leaders or leading feel with, you know, heading north and all of that stuff. So he actually ended up going with the far right. So this was something that the clients did not expect. And sometimes you get something that you really just hadn't thought of before. So some of the far left cover maybe we've seen a couple times, but the one on the far right really stands out. And I'm just patting myself on the back over here. So my covers are really amazing is what I'm saying now.

So this is one that we would call a hole in one where there were no revisions. He just was like, that's the winner. That's it, we're done. Wrap it. And it happens every once in a while and we always kind of celebrate when that does because Cassie hit A hole in one.

Yeah. It's pretty awesome to come back. And they'd be like, just send me the COVID I'm like, okay, great. That's awesome. And that's definitely. I'm patting myself on the back for that one. But it was really cool. It was really cool to see them, like, that's it. And sometimes that happens, which kind of leads me into the next part of the review process.

So your designer gives you comps. Well, what's next? Maybe you're like, Brent, and you go, that one right there. No changes. I love it. But most people aren't quite ready to say that. So here's what happens.

So sit with your designs. And just like we saw on Brent Pullman, sometimes you just know. And if you just know, go with it. If that's the kind of person you are. Some people are like that, and that's totally fine. Other times, you know, look at the comps, take a step away, Go talk to friends and family, go get a cup of coffee, come back the next day, and then look at them again.

Now here is where I want to jump in with a warning and a tip. Friends and family are likely not your ideal reader for the book. In some cases, they even have emotional ties to the book, and they absolutely have emotional ties to you. This means they aren't looking at the book like a reader. They're judging the aesthetic nature of it. And the only person who really, really matters in the book cover decision is the person you want to buy and read your book. So if you have access to your ideal readers, you could ask them for opinions and thoughts. My personal favorite technique is to put the book in the top 10 lineup of its category, the best sellers in the category, and see which one stands out. As I've shared before, self publish and succeed. Being Yellow was not my favorite or anywhere near my first choice, but my goodness, does it pop out in the category. So I went with it. Now you've thought about it and you have feedback for your design. What should you say or not say to your designer to get the book cover of your dreams and of your readers needs giving feedback.

Some things that are hard to work with are when we hear things like, well, I'll know when I see it. I don't like these, but I'll know when I see it. And that is difficult because now we're kind of stuck in this. Like, well, now I'm just guessing, right? Like, now I don't really have enough information, and now I'm just going to keep building and Building comps until they know when they see it. So that isn't as helpful for us. But looking for, you know, like, I really like the TypeFace on number three, and I love the colors on one. I just. I wish that they were maybe a little bit more muted. They're a little too bright for me. So you can always take different. Different comps and merge them together. We get that a lot. We get a lot of clients that say, you know what? Love the typeface on this. Love the image on one. Can we put those together? But can we also take this little thing on number two and add that? Because I love it. So, you know, mix and match and just be communicative about your feedback. And I actually wanted to bring Jacqueline into this because Jacqueline really deals a lot with that interaction with the client and hearing what clients have to say about the artwork and. Because then I get all that from her, and she's amazing. She shoots the his videos for me and tells me what to do, and I love it. So, Jacqueline, if. Do you have anything to provide for the feedback?

Sure. When we get cover comps, they're always, like, beautiful and amazing. And so I'll sit down with a client on Zoom and reveal them one at a time and get their gut reaction of like, ooh, I like this, but I hate that color, or whatever. And I just make all the notes. And then once we revealed all of them, we start making some compare and contrast. Because Cassie does a really good job of giving us different layouts. A lot of people will say, okay, well, a book cover, it goes title, image, author name, and we do different layouts. And so then we'll analyze the layouts themselves. What appeals to you? Do you like something creative that Cassie has done, or do you like the author name on the top? You know, they're different ideas. And then we'll look really at the fonts and go, okay, you know, you've got a swash font here. You've got a sans serif. A serif. She's popped out the subtitles. Do we like that? So that it's not just, yes, no reject, except that it becomes a more nuanced conversation.

Couple of other notes. And I know this is something that you will do, but I'm going to say it anyways. Please be respectful of your cover designer, because of course, you're a decent human being and you're not going to say, this one's trash. Have you ever done this before? Even if you hate it? What I mean is that if you have five designs to start with, please don't ask your designer to change each of them. Narrow it down to two concepts you like as a base and give specific ideas from there so they can play with colors, fonts, images, you know and those concepts and not have to spend hours and hours on each version of the COVID Of course, if there really is nothing you do like about the covers, put them back in and shake it up. But you can expect most cover designers to not be too pleased about that. And if you're paying them by the project, they will likely ask for more compensation because the time they have to invest in this project just increased dramatically. All right, that gave you a lot to work with and to speak with your designer about to get your best coverage. So please, please, please smash that thumbs up in celebration of all the work that Kassy put into this presentation, which was a deep dive we held in January 2023. By the way, if you're wishing you caught the entire two hour session. Well, my friend, make sure you're getting our newsletter so you don't miss this awesome zero cost session that we do for our community every month. Book launchers.com Newsletter gets you the invites each month and of course being subscribed to this channel is a smart move too. If you're not, I'll wait a sec so you can do that. Done. Okay, cool. The last thing I want to share is a question that came up on stock photography usage. I think Cassy shares an important little piece for you to know before you hire a designer. If you're not working with Book Launchers, which I hope we were your first choice because we have such a fabulous design team team. But if you're not, I want you to know this important point about stock.

Photography licensing becomes a little tricky. So a lot of the stuff that we do at Book Launchers is based off of stock photography. That being said, it's not just hey, I found this photo and I like pasted it on the COVID I do a lot of photoshopping work so I'm taking all sorts of different photos. Like that Jennifer Ruko one with the ocean and Soul Center. That is so much photoshopping work. That's like six different photos that I put together. So it's not always just one. If you. That's actually it's really great question. If you're looking for like a hand illustrated cover, then search for a graphic designer. That that's something that's part of their skill set. So make sure that you are asking someone like hey, I want this Hand drawn or can you make me, you know, a picture on your own? Can you brush it and whatever you want them to do. But I've worked on the COVID like that. I worked with an illustrator. I did all of the typography and cover layout and she did on her iPad through Creative Pro, she built this whole character and we use that as the front image. And then I did all of the other stuff. So, you know, if that's something you're interested in, absolutely. Find somebody to do that. As far as the licensing rights. So it gets. It gets a little complicated. But I did take art in the law. I swear, it was a class and I took it. So with stock photos, if I. So I sign up for a membership for my stock photography. So once I. You are paying me and I am downloading that image and I am putting it on your cover, you now own the rights to that. That image. That being said, you are not the only person that has the rights to that image. So if that were the case, you could. Yeah, if that were the case, then the image would go up and the image would come down. No one could ever use it again. Other people may use it. So stock photography can be tricky. I have a rule when I use stock photography, I always try to alter it in some kind of way and make it specific to your cover. So like I said about the life raft and putting on a money pattern or something to superimpose it, that's now an original image. It's not just download, click, put, type, done. So, you know, it's important to talk to your designer about that. Like, I don't want something super, super stock photography. Ish. I also really try not to put people's, like stock photography, people's faces on there because they're all like, super corny. And it's just like, you know, it's a stock photo and you're just. No one connects with it as far as, like marketing. And all of that stuff goes depending on the type of subscription that your designer has. You cannot use that stuff on, like, marketing materials and things like that. So check with your designer, ask them what rights you have to the image.

It's called a finished product thing. So you can use the image, a stock photography image, on a front cover for up to 500,000 versions of your book, like prints of your book, which is bestseller beyond category. And then if you wanted to put it on like a mug, a finished product with your book cover on it, that's where you start getting into trouble. And you need to have the higher license on it. So most cover designers are going to have the, you know, basic, have it on your cover thing, but they're not going to have the finished product license because that's more expensive.

And on that note too, I think I saw something pop up. Stay away from Google Images. Do not use any image. You know, we've had some people that are like, oh, I found this image online, it's really great. Use it. We don't have the rights to it. You cannot use it. Not to mention you start to get into issues with high res and quality. So high resolution. Anytime you print an image, you want it to be 300dpi. I could get into all the pixel talk, but I would love it. So if anyone wants to talk to me about pixels later, let me know. But it's a little boring. So you definitely want to make sure that it's a high res image, but also you just don't have the rights to it. So if you like Google search, you.

Know.

I was a piggy bank. I could not think of that word, a piggy bank. And you just find one on Google and you're like, sweet, that's awesome. Don't. You cannot use that. You need to have some kind of licensing rights to it.

That was a lot of amazing content and I'm sure you can see why. I love, love, love my team at Book Launchers. They are so amazing at their job and they care deeply about our authors and the books we hire. Book loving, author loving talent only at Book Launchers. Even our people who don't work on the books must love books. And we're almost always hiring for something, whether it's our in house team or our contract team. So do visit book launchers.com and scroll to the bottom for our links to any open jobs if you're interested. But now this video is the one that started the series on working with book cover designers. So if you missed it, click on right over there. And if you're now wondering about all the images you can and can't use in your book or on your cover, well, this is the video you must go to next. So go ahead, click one. I'm going to be there waiting for you.