The post below was originally posted on April 20, 2010.

Fire your Book Designer!

No, I’m just kidding. Please don’t fire your book designer (if you have one). They are amazing people who know exactly what to do to make your book belong on the shelves at Barnes and Noble. Surprisingly enough, however, they charge for this service. The audacity! [AN: That's sarcasm!] As such, we understand it’s not feasible for every author to hire a pro. It’s okay!

While it would take a year of blog posts to discuss every habit of highly effective book designers, the good news is that there are a few simple rules to keep in mind that will make a world of difference in how your book is perceived. This go-around, we’re focusing on body copy or interior layout design. That is, the “meat-and-potatoes” text in your book, where all the magic happens. Since this is where your readers are going to spend the vast majority of their time with your book, let’s be sure they’re not cursing the gods of printing when they do so. (more…)

Once upon a time in a far away land called Tallahassee, there lived two young maidens named Toni and Shannon who had so much fun in college that they ran out of money…so they had to get jobs.

That’s the short version of the story that led to mine and Toni’s first jobs in college as graphic designers for Lifetouch Church Directories and Portraits. Having had our experience with retail and wanting desperately to avoid returning to it, we happened upon a pair of jobs where we could work together creating beautiful designs for church directories. On the surface, it seemed like a dream.

In reality, however, it was a little different.

Most of the churches in our territory were not in the metropolis of Tallahassee, but in the tiny towns speckled across the rolling hills of South Georgia and North Florida where the sound of banjos echoed in the wind. We conducted our meetings in fellowship halls with blue haired ladies who had been on the Church Directory Committee since before we were born. In previous years their directories were made by cutting and pasting (literally–with no CTRL+C shortcuts) photos onto blank paper and handwriting captions below. Us trying to explain graphic design to them was like trying to explain string theory to a four year-old. They were sweet and patient with us, but we may as well have been explaining our services to them in Chinese.

Somehow we survived two years at that job and along the way learned some valuable lessons–especially when it comes to communication. Designing for someone else requires that you’re able to speak the same language. You don’t have to know how to design and the designer doesn’t have to know how to write, but you must have some common ground to get a quality product you can both be proud of.

So without further ado, I give you (drumroll please)…. (more…)

Photo: db*Photography | Flickr

I’m sick of thrillers screaming at me.

As I walk through the Mystery/Thriller section of a bookstore, I feel my chest tighten with anxiety. My eyes are assailed by the PERMA!CAPSLOCK, high-contrast colors and striking imagery that adorns each cover.

But, perhaps that’s the point.

Mystery/Thriller authors WANT you to feel anxiety, tension — perhaps even fear. And that’s before you read even one word.

How would this change for a romance novel?

What about a memoir?

How about YOUR book?

As far as readers are concerned, their first exposure to your book’s message is through its (hopefully) appropriate and effective cover. (more…)

AN: We’re taking the week off from original posts to focus on returning some e-mails and answering your questions — so let ‘er rip! Today, I’m posting an excerpt and a link to a guest post I wrote for The Creative Penn. It was originally published on June 17, 2010.

I’ll never forget my first book cover design presentation. It was for a church directory and, man, I was on my game.

My passionate, detailed explanation of the design decisions made, coupled with reasons for their effectiveness – sprinkled with just the right amount of humor — was persuasive and professional. To this day, I still haven’t topped it.

I finished my presentation, ready to be bathed in the warm glow of “Wow! What incredible work!” and “Amazing! We’re so glad we hired you.”

What I received instead was Myrna and her 11 friends in the design committee staring back at me with varying looks of displeasure and confusion. Gulp.

Cricket. Cricket.

They totally didn’t get it and, therefore, hated it. Total book cover design fail.

I’ve never been so crushed. But, this led me to an important realization:

You’ll work better with some book cover designers than others.

[continue reading 'Choosing the Best Book Cover Designer for Your Book' at The Creative Penn]