I was having a discussion recently about the importance of a good cover for a book. With my background in sales, it was something that made sense to me. When first I started in pharmaceutical sales, the Marketing Department would have designed a multiple-page detail aid, a sales process we were to follow, page by page, with the customer. A mix of words and graphics to highlight the key points of our product. Of course, the reality was that a customer would have perhaps a minute and a half to spare me. The reality was that we would use the ‘leavepiece’ rather than the detail aid, a single A5 or gatefold piece of literature, with key product bullet points.

Covers are effectively the leavepiece rather than the detail aid that is the online book listing or the ‘Look Inside’ feature.

But … where do you draw the line between stereotype and communicating your ‘message’? My own genre is paranormal romance. It is a crowded marketplace, so how can I ensure that my ‘product’ has a ‘unique selling point’, that makes it stand out.

The thing that seems to characterise a paranormal romance cover, at least at the moment, is a naked male torso. No head, and maybe just a hint of low-slung jeans. Abdominals, definitely. Perhaps an image of the paranormal creature involved in the story.  A picture of the moon wouldn’t go amiss, considering paranormals were affected by the moon. The image to the right is an early book cover which I used as a promotional item. All the requirements for a paranormal romance seemed to be there. But there was a technical hitch. I tried to run a Facebook advertisement with it. The advert was rejected, on the grounds that the image promoted a ‘negative body image’. Apparently, the abdominals made my model look emaciated. Yes, emaciated. One of my readers commented that she wished her husband looked that emaciated.

When I launched my first book, I chose a pre-made cover from http://www.selfpubbookcovers.com, because they offered options which were not too expensive, and I could customise the book title and author name, using a fairly wide variety of fonts. Their licensing scheme also covered the use of the image for a reasonable number of copies, certainly more than I might hope to sell, so it worked for me.

But then, my friends and I realised that we were writing a series, and that required a different approach. That required a brand identity. In the same way that products in a supermarket have a livery, so to speak, a series of books need to have a ‘look’.

So, here we have “Exhibit Three”. This is a collage of covers from one of my favourite authors, Sherrilyn Kenyon. The top row was from an earlier stage in the author’s career. The second row is from a more recent series of the books. The bottom row is from the author’s series of YA books, hence them having a different look from the earlier books. The key point is that each set has a clear ‘look’ to them.

Yet, there are no naked abdominals. Are they not essential? The difference here is that arguably, by the time the second row of titles came out, Ms Kenyon was a well-established author. The main information that needed to be communicated to her ‘customers’ was her name and a clear visual so a reader might know it was a new book. The title of the book was almost immaterial.

So, ask yourself what are you trying to achieve with your cover? Do you want your name to be known? Do you want it clear under what genre the book falls?

There is another aspect to be considered. Example #4 is a different genre from my own:

These books both come under the heading of military history, but they were bought from two very different sources. The book on the left was found in a bookstore in the Military History section. The book on the right was purchased from a supermarket in the Non-Fiction section.  Two very different marketplaces, so different rules apply. Arguably, the supermarket purchase needs to stand out, so you have a light-background and an easily identifiable image to match the title. The bookstore purchase doesn’t need to stand out, since a potential buyer knows what the subject matter will be as the book is in a specialist area. The ‘no nonsense’ look works, because it is a serious subject.

Another factor to take into account: Where will your book be sold?

A final note on covers, and for this I will use my own covers. I mentioned that my stories were clearly forming a series. As it happened, it was two series, so I needed clear identities to link them both together.

Row 1 is the original series. The images are tied together by the series title, the wolf image and the similarity of the couple in the heart shape. Row 2 is the follow-on series. It is linked to the original by the strapline at the top, but then it has its own identity. As a ‘shifter’ series, the image combines a picture of the lead male character, as a romance, and the animal into which he is able to shift. Although I have different co-authors, the use of the same style in the author name also serves to tie the books into a series.

I don’t sell my books through supermarkets or bookstores, but at the same time, I want a good quality image for a simple reason. As I said, my genre is very crowded. A reader is likely to search on a string of keywords, such as ‘shifter romance’. As you know, Amazon will bring up thumbnail images. A good quality cover image will stand out, and increase your chances of catching a new reader’s attention.

A final point is how much are you prepared to spend on the cover? I have paid between $69 and £200 for my covers. The higher end of the scale is because they were drawn for me. The lower end is for pre-made covers. The point is that a good quality cover can be purchased for a relatively low amount, but it is a worthwhile investment. It might delay launching your book if you have to think about finances, but it is worth it.

So, in summary, the four questions you need to consider:

1. Is it important for your genre to be clear because it is part of your identity?
2. It is more important for your name to stand out?
3. Where will you be selling your book?
4. Is the cover optimised for search engines?

And don’t forget, gut instinct. Does it feel right for your book? I learnt a lot as I searched for covers for my books. I know I made mistakes, but hopefully, others can learn from them.

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LINKS TO THE BOOKS IN THE DIARIES OF THE CWN ANNWN and HELLFIRE PACK SERIES

“Bound”, Volume 1 of The Diaries of the Cŵn Annwn
Amazon.com $0.99: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016TQFBNY
Amazon.co.uk £0.99: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B016TQFBNY
Smashwords.com £0.00 (Free): https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/589130

A guest blog co-authored by Casimir Gosselin and Fane Anghelescu

Fane looked up as he heard the distinctive sound of his cousin’s Ducati Diavel engine approaching the Chain & Sprocket workshop. He said nothing as Casimir strode into the small reception area, indicating the office with a jerk of his head. It always amused him when Casimir chose to show up in what was clearly his preferred clothing: leathers, one of several brightly-coloured Buffs around his neck. Fane laughed to himself. The difference between Casimir the businessman and Casimir the biker was quite amusing, given what had happened recently.

“Bhavita …” Fane called out to his human ‘desk jockey’ on the Reception desk, “… I will be in the office. No interruptions.” Opening the office door, he noted that Casimir had already helped himself to a mug of coffee, pouring one for his cousin. “So, what brings you to my den of iniquity, cousin?” He drawled, accepting the drink.

“A request from our author-creator.” Casimir answered. “She’s off work at the moment, stress issues. Wondered if we might explain how you and I can help her work through that.” Casimir raised a brow as he took a sip of his coffee. “That is, if you feel you are …” He smiled, unable to resist winding up his cousin, “… not quite up to it?”

Fane growled, throwing himself into a chair. Pulling up the WordPress site, he keyed in the login and password. “Of course I am up to it, you idiot.” He smirked at Casimir. “I will even modify my language, since I know her blog is read by humans. They just can’t take my usual turn of phrase.”

“So, how do you want to play this? You know she started writing about us because she was spending so much time away from home, stuck in hotels? I heard tell that it was expected she spend at least one night a week away from home?” Fane leant back in his chair, his long legs extended before him.

“It was deemed necessary to do her job.” Casimir responded. “Business requirements are such that it would have been impractical to drive everywhere on the day. She knew that when she took the job.”

“Yeah, right. And I am a fluffy bunny rabbit. You know as well as I do that she ended up doing a lot more than four nights a month. She is a people person, as humans say. She needs her family near her at the very least.” Fane snorted at Casimir’s words. “You going to be the bad cop here, or something?”

“If I need to be, then yes.” Casimir smiled over the edge of his mug. “But back to the point. You trying to say that the pressures of work proved too much. What about that saying, if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen?”

“What happened to ensuring a good work-life balance?” Fane barked. “Isn’t that what human companies are supposed to do. All work and no play makes for exhausted employees, and they tend to not work so well or as efficiently. A good businessman like you knows that.”

“She works in a high pressure environment.” Casimir pointed out. “She knew what was required.” He took another slurp of the coffee. “But that’s not the point. She told me that the last time it was this bad was over fifteen years ago. Fifteen years ago. The point was that yes, she was accustomed to a high pressure environment. She has been working in that place for six years. So why now? And more to the point, how do we help her?”

Idly, Fane picked up the six inch blade lying on his desk. “I have a solution …” He suggested with a smile. “Might be a bit messy, but it would solve the problem reoccurring. Even fifteen years since the last time is too soon.” He slammed the blade into the wood of the desk.

“Yeah, very subtle.” Casimir drawled. “I don’t think that will solve the problem. I think what she had in mind was how the process of writing about us has helped her deal with stresses do date. More to the point, how do we help her ensure that this doesn’t happen again?”

Fane sighed theatrically. “The fact is the writing gave her an outlet. I heard her say that when she had a bad day, she would write a fight scene. The book she published, “Merysekhmet”? That started after her co-author had a bad day at work. Each and every one of us helped her over the bad days, the exhaustion, the asinine behaviour, the empire building. All that shit that she said she can’t stand. She just wanted to be able to do her job.”

“Indeed. So when someone else’s cock-up cost her that £20k contract, that didn’t help. But no one was willing to accept the blame. Or rather the individuals responsible tried to pass the blame onto someone else. Very easy to blame our author-creator, particularly if she is not hitting sales targets.” Casimir’s voice had dropped to a growl.

“Wouldn’t it be great if you and I could just leap off the pages of the book and …” He smiled. “… explain to these individuals that it is not a good idea to have our author-creator feel so stressed.” Fane’s expression made it clear that he would ensure that such a lesson was not easily forgotten.

“Don’t I wish.” Casimir gave a bark of laughter. “Instead, all we can do is give her the means to release her frustration on paper.” He shrugged. “If it means I must kill one or two more individuals, who may or may not bear a resemblance, passing and unintentional, to real individuals …” Another shrug. “I can live with that.” His smile was cold. Businessman he might be, but he was protective of those who mattered to him.

“On that we are agreed.” Fane raised his own coffee mug in salute to his cousin. “We need to continue to help her come up with plots, perhaps incorporate some of the idiots who cause that stress. Last thing we want is for her to give up.” Fane gave a mock shudder of horror. “Having had a starring role in several of her blog posts, it’s been quite fun.”

“Perhaps we should come up with a few more ideas with her, ways that our stories will go that might be unexpected. If we can make her laugh again, that won’t be a bad thing.” Casimir nodded. “May I suggest you have a word with your Pack, and I will do the same with mine.” He coughed. “Of course, she is working on Josh and Dylann’s story, as well as Sergei and Karma’s story. Must mean it is your turn.”

Fane grinned widely. “It will be my turn with bells on. She is trying to turn “Ddraig” into a single volume.” He shook his head. “300,000 words by the look of things. I think she might bring it down by 50, 000 words once the takes all the repetition out. I don’t envy her the editing.”

Casimir wandered back to the coffee machine to refill his mug. “So, we are agreed. We work together to ensure that our author-creator continues to see that we are here to help her and support her.” He shrugged. “Not just us, either. All her friends, her co-writers, some of the other indie authors she has met over time. They all support each other, some more than others. But, when the ‘black dog’ starts barking, she needs to know that she is not alone.”

“Agreed. One individual can’t be permitted to kill her spark.” He toyed with the knife in his hand. “Still, it is a damn shame you are I are tied to the world of fiction. The fun that we could have.” Fane smiled. “The fun, indeed.”

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LINKS TO THE BOOKS IN THE DIARIES OF THE CWN ANNWN and HELLFIRE PACK SERIES