Designing A Cover For Your Book - A Guide for Self Publishers

Abstract:

In these days of computers, the internet, digital cameras, and on-line publishing companies, individuals can more easily express their creativity through writing and publishing their own written works. Whether it is a novel, a short story, or a how to guide, having a creative cover is important to help capture the attention of your audience. There is that old saying, "You can't tell a book by its cover" is so true, but your job as an author is to make sure that the cover best reflects your written works. With the growth of E-books and on-line books, having a well designed cover is even more important. The web surfer can quickly have tens if not hundreds of books at their fingertips, but why should they select your book over another? Without spending many dollars in marketing, one of the best tools at your disposal is a cover that will get their attention and hopefully pique their interest to make a purchase. If you are writing on a topic that already has many similar topics, such as "Vegetable Gardening", you have to compete even more for the consumers dollars.

You could purchase the different graphics tools of go off to a company to design your cover for you. Most of the covers that you are familiar with in a book store cost hundreds of dollars to design, and in some cases thousands. Now whether you are writing 10 pages or 5000 pages, this article will give you some basic ideas that will help you design your next book cover into one that is different, unique and personal. Remember that a well done book cover will boost your sales.

Designing A Cover For Your Book

- A guide for self publishers -

You have already expressed your creative side by writing a book, now lets express your artistic side. By using a collection of clip art, or a low cost digital camera coupled with some imagination can open the door for you to create unique cover that portrays your writings. Even with that saying, "You can't tell a book by its cover", the cover definitely gets attention. Think of the book cover as a marketing tool that promotes not only your book, but you as the author.

Software packages like Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator have many capabilities that allow you to customize your pictures and illustrations. The question often asked is; "What should I do?" The intent of this article is to give you a few ideas to spark your creativity and see what fits your personality. Our focus has been on pet and automotive art, so we will use an automotive car show judging guide as an example, although these ideas can be applied to many other topics.

With E-Books and on-line publications, having an elaborate cover is a one time upfront cost since there is no printing involved, so it is worth it to do it right since the book revenue in part will be dependent upon the cover.

Publishers for hard copied books have the ability to use different papers, and cover media such as foil, and other eye catching materials. On-line publishing has to leverage the graphics appeal to grab the readers eye and entice them to read further. A brief list of tips to consider when designing your book cover is as follows:

1. Always try to use high resolution images (clear and crisp) for any initial artwork. You can always lower the resolution later on.

2. As an author, if you expect to have multiple books you may wish to have a common theme where there may be a similar layout or border between books. Define your own brand identity.

3. Design your a layout with layers giving a three dimensional effect. For example the palm tree in the background of the "Pet Photography Book Example".

4. Some customers will also print out their book, so you want a design that is printable, and will still look good. Make sure that what ever resolution you use is sufficient for printing. Typically 150 DPI will work unless there is intricate details that may require higher resolution.

5. For best versatility and color representation use RGB color specifications versus CMYK.

6. Hard copied books use different cover effects to catch the readers eyes, such as fabrics, and embossing. You want to obtain a similar visual effect, so use different background textures to give a feel like cloth, diamond plate, fabric with out them being too pronounced. Select something that relates to the content. One example we used was a diamond plate border for an automotive engine book. The rugged diamond plate linked nicely to the bold metal engines.

7. Remember your target audience. If it is children, select clip art that they can relate to. For hobbyist, try to incorporate some aspect of the hobby on the cover.

8. Do not clutter the cover too much with images or text. It can make it difficult to read on line.

Use visual effects that reflect the contents and the value it brings to the reader. A consumer is more likely to purchase a book f they perceive the value more than the cost. Your cover needs to reflect the value, but it is equally important that the contents justify the cover. Do not mislead the reader. A judging book we have done has a trophy in the background implying if you follow the advice in the book, you could have a trophy on your shelf. Or the pet photography cover where it tells he reader it will help them create a picture like the one on the cover. These are things that have a tangible feel to them that reflects value. Many of the books we sold were purchased as a gift. The giver wants to make the receiver happy, and wants confirmation that it's a great gift and often looks for a smile. When someone sees your cover you want them to smile.

This value in a cover that gets attention is dependent upon how well the design is done, and what message it gets across.

Marketing studies have show that having a catchy box or cover for a product sells more products, so take the ideas presented here and sell some books.

7. Final Remarks On Designing Your Book Cover

Even though we are only presenting a few examples and ideas, you should realize that like the words you have written on the pages, the book cover is an extension of the writers personality. As long as basic principles are adhered to, there is no right or wrong way, as long as the message gets across. Accurate representation of the books contents along with a cover that is memorable are two of the keys to make your book stand out.

Competition for consumers will continue to increase as more titles compete with yours. Look at what other authors have done and open your imagination and embark on the first step to create yours. By utilizing the tips here you are one step closer.

So to get started, take what you have learned here, finish your book and get a cover designed.

For additional information and ideas on how to designing book covers, visit http://www.PalmieriConcepts.com There are many examples that have helped authors like you have a great cover.

How To Enhance Your Automotive Hobby Experience By Collecting Car Art

What with the explosive escalation of labor and parts costs to build a collector car or do a proper restoration of a car or truck, collecting automotive art and prints may be a substantial alternative to actually owning a great automotive icon. Artists from around the world are currently selling great works, and you can utilize them in collecting reasonable and provocative car art. You just have to be willing to make the effort to find them. Perhaps this article may prove helpful to you in that pursuit.

It matters little what type of car or truck you love to follow. There are artists who have depicted your favorite vehicle in one form or another, and you can find those artists using the resources suggested here in this article. You may favor restored vehicles, or maybe custom cars, hot rods, muscle cars, pickups, legal classics, vintage racers, drag racing vehicles, vintage antiques, or even foreign sports cars. Trust me.....it has been rendered in oils, water colors, or ink art work by someone somewhere, and you can buy it now. You just have to be able to locate what you want.

Thanks to the wonderment of the internet, typing in just a few key words into your search engine can reveal page after page of resources to review. You don't want to look at just the first page that pops up. You may find that the first five or ten pages reveal hundreds of sources of art work. Take time to look at a lot of these sources. Behind non-descript titles might lay fabulous renderings, many of which have found their way into the leading automotive magazines in America and other countries.

It amazes me how much it costs to get prints of the top art work when that art is done in color by a "name" car artist. Original works can run into the hundreds of dollars or even the thousands of dollars. But there is one way to enjoy it all much more cheaply.......buy the print of the original art. I know of famous painters who sell the actual original for $5000-$40000, but the print may cost only $35-$150 each. And the print may look every bit as stunning when hung on the wall and viewed from ten feet out. Many artists provide 10-20 printed renderings, while others sell up to 40-50 different prints on their website.

The artist who resides overseas from America can give you an exotic take on certain foreign sports cars and legal classics, and I find that particularly attractive if one is to diversify the type of vehicle held in one's collection. Some of the greatest prints or originals of Ferraris, Mercedes Benz, Masserati, Lamborghini, Jaguar and others come from those who reside overseas. Their inspiration probably comes from national heritage or from photography taken at some of the greatest concours competitions held overseas. Of course, many mingle with wealthy car owners and use photography of the cars owned by their friends as inspiration.

Here in America, older cars have always held court in the arena of favorable public opinion, and there seems to be a tremendous surge in custom cars, hot rods, muscle cars, trucks, and drag racing vehicles specifically. It seems everyone is into nostalgia, and what better way to preserve it all than through art prints or originals. Outdoor and indoor shows across the USA are filled with vehicles that look like they stepped right out of the fifties or sixties. The automotive hobby is alive and well, thank you very much.

Ever hear of a "rat rod"? This is a fairly new phenomenon. These are cars and trucks that have been heavily modified, made reliable with late model drivetrains but don't have much in the way of power accessories. And these vehicles are just as likely to be unpainted as painted. Primer finishes seem to prevail. If rat rods give the impression that unfinished is cool, they have succeeded in their message. And the lower you can make the vehicle by top chopping, body sectitioning, and chassis lowering, the better. Rust is the patina of choice, and headers packed with muffling steel wool (because there is no muffler system) is the order of the day. These cars and trucks look pretty obnoxious, and of course you'd be stylin' to the max if you had tattoos up the gazzoo and your lady had a pin-up demeanor about her. Go to any super market or bookstore and you'll see at least three or four publications devoted to rat rods. Be prepared to grin.

What did you drive in high school or slightly beyond? You'll find artists drawing up a storm doing Chevelles, Corvettes, Mustangs, GTOs, Buick Gran Sports, El Caminos, Dodge Chargers, Rivieras, Gran Prixs, old shoebox Fords, early Mercurys, etc. And then there are the incomparable inline six-powered Chevys, Chevy stepside pickups, Ford and Dodge trucks, and the wide range of drag racing cars out there. Top fuelers, funny cars, altereds, gassers, super stocks, and modified street machines were all the rage from about 1957 through 1975 or so.

Where do we find these artists and their works? Well, start by going to your local bookstore and reviewing what is on the newstand featuring the current monthly series of car magazines. There are easily 30-40 different magazines out there, and it seems the editors can't do some articles without help from an artist submitting a rendering or two to emphasize the article or accompanying pictures of particular car or truck types. Then there is the internet, within which you will find lurking all types of art, online magazine issues, and websites of the artists themselves. You'll find great renderings submitted by such artists as Thom Taylor, Dave Bell, Kenny Youndblood, Rick Wilson, Steve Sanford, and dozens of other household names in car art.

Some artists produce books filled with art work by not only the author but by many others in their chosen field of influence. Thom Taylor in particular has some great stuff out there for you to research and view. My personal favorites are Steve Sanford, Dave Bell, Chip Foose, and Darryl Mayabb. Then there are the high end artists who produce iconic art depicting the greats in autodom, artists like Kenny Youngblood. And don't get me started on all the tremendous artists who specialize in cars favored in car auctions and foreign racing cars. The list seems endless.

One of the deterrants to collecting auto art is price. Assuming the original piece is out of the question for you, your next logical step is to buy prints of original artwork. But there are choices here, too. Do you want color, or is line art without color sufficient? Colorization will lead you down a path of print cost ranging from $10 per print to $125 or higher. The problem with this is that everybody seems to regergitate the same subjects presented the way in the same size format. The best prices seem to come in the smaller sized renderings. This can be disappointing, to say the least, if you want a wall hanging to be of decent size and presence.

I personally prefer art that is a bit bigger than conventional 8" x 11" format. I like clean black ink art, whether it'sw colorized or not, and I want it to not have a busy background. This allows the vehicle to be the center of attention without distractions. I also want it to be large enough to be seen well even if I am fifteen feet away. Some folks like smaller art, and you can certainly reduce the size of your print at your local postal place. Most have great duplicators that will allow you to enlarge or shrink your print size. And make sure you get your print in a size where it is easy to find a frame to fit it.

So, where might I resource the largest choice of auto art? Galleries are a great start, and all you have to do is type in some key words in your computer's search engine, like "custom car art prints, hot rod prints, drag racing prints, foreign car art work", etc., and the search is on. You can also resource various leading car magazines, like Super Chevy, Hemmings Motor News, Hot Rod Magazine, Truckin' Magazine, Classic Car Magazine, Lowrider Magazine, Rodders Journal, or even Jalopy Journal or H.A.M.B. (both one and the same), and you'll be a happy camper. One source I love is HotRodHotlineNews.com. They don't necessarily have art resources, but you'll get an incredible car and truck fix that will hook you into that website forever. From there, you'll get ideas about which art work to pursue in the open marketplace.

If you attend indoor cars shows or various swap meets throughout the year, artists quite often rent space and pass out cards and sell prints directly on the spot. It's a great way to get your prints fast and be able to meet the artist in person. The very best artists take requests by doing special commissions for drawing your personal car or truck, or issuing a rendering of a vehicle type you desire and want to hang on your wall.

Prints have a great edge to them. You can interchange prints inside a wall frame and display piece. If you have several prints of the same size, you can change out your art work throughout the year so you don't get bored seeing the same old thing every day of the year. Let's say you're into muscle cars. Get a Mustang, a Chevelle, a Corvette, a GTO, a Charger, a Challenger, a Cougar, and rotate the art throughout the year. It's a great way to enhance your bedroom, living area, shop, or office. It's a great and proud way to promote your interest in cars and trucks, even motorcycles. I am amazed how many attorneys, doctors, accountants, home builders, etc., display what interests them automotively by posting car art in their work place.

Along the subject of posting key words into your internet search, don't restrict yourself by being shallow in the words or phrases you use. Let's say you really dig custom cars and trucks. Don't just type in "custom cars" and leave it at that. You'll get a pittence of response. Throw out a variety of words and terms. Use commas to separate the terms/words, and do not put a space after the comma. Search engines work that way, so you should, too. In this example, I would type in........"custom car,custom car art,custom car art prints,custom truck,custom truck art,custom truck art prints"......the results will surprise you.

A great source of art work in the automotive field is any website that might feature automotive artists worldwide. To find such sites, practice typing in key words in your computer's search engine. You can use such words as "automtoive artists featuring hot rods", or "automotive artists featuring muscle cars,", etc. You can continue on and you will soon find multiple pages offered to you to review. It is critical that you take the time to review many pages and not just the top one or two. Most times, great sites which have just what you seek are buried along with other content, and they don't reside in the first page or two under those key words. I have found great content by dedicating and hour or two to review content of the first 30-40-50 websites that pop up. If you find the first few give you the vehicle type(s) you seek, you're lucky. And get in the practice of writing down the website URL's that seem to be the most interesting to you. The content of these sites change, and you want in on the news several times a year. To be able to pop back into your favorite sites is priceless. Add those URL's to your persoanl list of "favorites".

I do automotive art, and I am forever amazed at how widely varied the prices and shipping and handling fees are. It pays to shop not only for subject matter and how it is presented, but shop to get the biggest bang for the buck. Of course, I expect the artists who have been out there the longest to command the highest prices. It's just Hollywood... some get the most ink, so to speak, and they can claim a higher degree of pedigree with their art. I also look for art that is timeless. I want my purchases to look as timely and "with it" in ten years as they do today. Not many people seek a rendering of a 2010 Mustang, since subsequent ones might have more to offer visually. But, the iconic 1965-69 Mustangs will always have a huge following.

Pay attention to the artists who give you a discount off the print cost per piece if you bulk order multiple renderings. It is annoying to pay a full-boat fee to an artist who should be discounting to you. You weren't a customer before, and you expect an enticement for doing business with the artist. The most aggressive artists eager to promote their works will offer this up front without being asked.

As mentioned earlier, many artists will do commission work for you. They can draw up a vehicle per your description, or better yet, they can do a rendering of your personal vehicle (past or present). All they need is a photo to guide them, and you're all set. Turnaround time for completion should be 30 days or so. I try to do it quicker, but even a 45-day wait is not too much to ask. The best artists are going to be busy and you'll have to "take a number". These rates can vary from $25 on up to as much as maybe $120-$150 per view, so expect a wide range of charges.

If you don't mind paying a fee on the higher end of the scale, you are probably going to get an artist who has a series of vehicles which have been built using his or her art work for the basis. That can be a big plus. Name artists attached to your rendering, resulting in your building the car later, can mean the difference in getting into a magazine feature story or not. Magazines, just like car owners themselves, are attached to their egos. That is why only a select few numbers of car builders, car designers, and car owners get their vehicles in the magazines almost guaranteed. That may not be a bad thing. Great art work leading to quality construction yields a superior show or street machine. The magazine crowd will pay to have that at their fingertips.

Well, I haven't covered everything, but my experience with car people is that it doesn't take a whole lot to light a fire under them. I hope I've lit a fire under you. Go out and treat yourself to some terrific car art. I hope you have enjoyed this article, and remember... cruise safely.

Sculpting in Automotive Art

If college students come home on spring break and tell their parents that they have decided to major in art and become a sculptor, many parents would be aghast. Their first thought would be how would they support themselves and next they would envision their child living at home forever. However, there are sculptors who are self-supporting and don't fit into the 'starving artist' category. And one industry that employs sculptors is automotive manufacturing. The concept of clay modeling in automotive design began at General Motors seventy years ago. Today automotive sculptors combine the designer's drawings with the engineer's specifications to create a three dimensional model.

Harvey Earl first introduced the idea of modeling sculptor's clay to produce three-dimensional models. Clay was more workable than the plaster and wood used previously so it permitted more flexibility and creativity. So sculptors as well as illustrators and engineers became an integral part of an automotive design team. However, when automotive art emerged as a fine art genre, some of the sculptors left the industry and started to freelance.

One of these is Steve Posson. Posson had majored in automotive design at the Art Center College of Design in California and did prototype bodywork for Jeep, Volvo and Renault. Now he has revived the ancient technique of lost wax casting to create bronze automotive sculptures. Lost wax is notable for capturing minute details. His sculptures usually feature people and scenery along with the automobile but still give an illusion of motion. He has exhibited his work at major shows such as the Pebble Beach Retro Auto, The Newport Beach Concours, the L.A. Roadsters Show, and The Grand National Roadster Show, to name a few. Steve also has many well-known corporate clients such as Petersen Automobile Museum, Ford Company, and Auto Aficionado Magazine.

Greg Johnson became involved in automotive sculpture as a result of a career as an entrepreneur in the automotive collision business.

Greg does both painting and sculpture. Greg's sculptures are unique in that his materials are salvaged and wrecked auto parts that he reshapes and combines before applying an acrylic urethane finish. Greg uses the same acrylic urethane paints to create abstract paintings.

Richard Pietruska is another widely recognized automotive sculptor. Richard's career in art began early in his life. When he was in high school, he was a winner of the Fisher Body Craftsman's Guild competition that earned him a scholarship to the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. He received a Bachelor of Science in Automotive Design and a Master of Fine Arts from the Art Center College of Design.

He now teaches at the Art Center College of Design in the Transportation and Product Design Department where he has been employed for the last thirty years. Richard's students have included many of the top automotive designers in the world. Some of Richard's work is whimsical such as his red and blue Viper salt and pepper shakers. He has also produced some non-sculpting art such as an interesting creation print and a Ferrari scroll. Richard recently received an invitation to the Automotive Fine Arts Society and is one of their newest members. The Society mounts two exhibitions each year to feature the work of their members.