podcast friday

[sabotabby]

 I was going to recommend something else but nah. Check out this episode of Writing and Editing, "What to Look for When Hiring a Cover Designer with Rachel Rosen" for a brief, rather funny discussion of cover design do's and don'ts and how to approach working with a cover designer, particularly for indie authors.

Also to make this more interactive, feel free to post covers in the comments and I'll critique them.

Comments

Who.gif?

[greylock]

I can post covers 'til the cows come home.
Buuuuut, I won't.
I'll ask about trends.
Such as the boob-and-butt pose era of a few years back, the horse rider in a wilderness era of the late 1980s, or the random shit on a cover era of the '70s.

How do you use and avoid the tropes? And all that? Digital covers can be not great, but it doesn't mean the old painted covers (with boobs) are any better?

And WHY is this THE WORST?
https://ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/avmedia/9/7f/97f50a3e-8c72-4294-9bdf-2eff9967ddea.webp

[gingicat]

One of my least favorite covers is the book jacket to the umbrella edition hardcover of The Dark Is Rising series.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1538496

On the other hand, any book cover (or inside illustration) by Garth Williams is simply awesome. For example: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24384

*

[minoanmiss]

makes a note to return

[blogcutter]

This is a topic I find endlessly fascinating. I'm not sure if I totally agree about the ideal length of a blurb. Certainly it shouldn't give away any crucial plot surprises, but I do want to know a bit about who the main characters are, and the setting (place and time) if it's important to the story. The amount of attention that a designer should devote to the front cover vs. the back and spine is also very interesting, given the way books are marketed and displayed in libraries and bookstores. I would think that while a front cover must be eye-catching, all three are important these days, when so many readers are seeking out specific books rather than indulging in the joys of in-person browsing and serendipity.

What about dust-jackets? Are they important at all in the indie-publishing world where there are very few hardcover books?

I'm also intrigued by publishers who offer a choice of covers within the same market. Or a kids-oriented cover and an adult-oriented one but the identical text between those covers.

I vividly remember all the covers that were available for Alvin Toffler's Future Shock when it first came out:

https://fontsinuse.com/uses/18879/future-shock-by-alvin-toffler-random-house-ed

[gingicat]

Also, I remember when Debbie Ohi, whom I knew in person and on IRC through filk, did some really nice Judy Blume covers.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18280799
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/216958743

[radiantfracture]

What do you think of the hyper-romantic fantasy covers of the late 1980s / early 1990s?

There's a literary publisher with almost fascinatingly terrible covers that I want to show you, but I can't remember the name, so this is a placeholder.

Where do you think the inexplicable still life photographic cover (mostly but not universally reserved for mysteries and thrillers) came from?

[radiantfracture]

You sound fantastic in the ep btw

Now I am just scrolling genre book covers

[frenzy]

A pal of mine does freelance book adverts. I think maybe they've done covers too but lean more into animation. (theyre also looking for a job :x) Their highlight reel is here: https://www.jmawork.com/ It was neat to see the things you said in some of the covers featured in their highlight reel.