skip to main |
skip to sidebar
I did not know about this. Apparently there is a genuine Book Cover Archive that you can peruse for ideas or just to admire. A friend suggested I take a look at it to get an idea the difference between science fiction covers and genre fiction covers like steampunk or fantasy.
I also realized that a lot has changed design-wise from when I was tearing through Wells, Lovecraft, and Verne as a kid. Gone are the black spines with white titles all lined up on a library shelf. Covers now look a whole lot better as thumbnails than before. The colors, large images, and huge text speaks to a market with digital considerations.
In the past, I thought publishers just told you what your book cover would look like, but that is not the case. They are entire packets and meetings to get through with words like, vision and theme. These are questions you'll want to know how to answer.
For the savvy Indie Publisher, you'll have a whole lot more say and control over your cover. The great thing about the site is there are links to cover designer portfolios as well as to sites all about cover design if you want to do it yourself.
Pretty cool, huh?
Anyway, I thought I'd share it with you all in case you hadn't heart of it either. A big thank you to my writer buddy who pointed me in the right direction!
Until next time...Go Write!
Publishers Weekly had an interesting blurb this month in their Publisher News section. It had to do with ebook sales for publishing giant Random House. It seems that for some titles released this fall, nearly half of the first-week sales were in ebook format. The article goes on to state that they expect digital format sales to increase significantly in the coming year.
I tell you this because I've been hearing in the blogosphere lately, the constant murmuring of authors who want to ride the same lucrative wave as the big guys. They're using self-publishing to do it. Internet giants like Amazon and Barnes and Noble offer the opportunity to get your stories out there.
This can be a wonderful thing. On the flip-side, doing so may hurt your chances with royalty publishers down the road. So there are some things to consider...
Terry Burns, my agent at Hartline Literary, posted an interesting article on his blog, Cowboy Musings this week. It had to do with question of whether or not the decision to e-publishing your book on a site like Amazon might have a negative effect on your proposal to publishers. He surveyed over 100 editors in both main stream publishing and the Christian market. Their responses were surprising, and I encourage you to head on over to his blog to read them for yourselves.
You see, publishers expect the digital rights to your book to be part of the package they're paying you for when they offer you a contract. The problem, is that once Amazon has your book available in Kindle form...they're not going to give it up. And that is a dilemma that could knock your proposal out of the running.
Of course, ebook publishing is a wonderful opportunity for a lot of authors. Those who write non-fiction field, are a part of a larger organization, or who have a following all do exceedingly well with this route. Speakers and teachers get in front of their audience and self-publishing goes hand in hand with immediate sales at conferences where you make a real connection with your reader.
I encourage you to consider your future plans and hopes for your manuscript when deciding whether or not to self publish a digital version of your book. As always, its your dream, your direction, and ultimately your decision.
Until next time...Go Write!
Photograph by Andrew Mason.
