Custom e-book covers - would you like them?

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Looking at the example again, I think you're right. It is, of course, done on printed books, but then the publisher's logo can be a lot smaller.

And on printed books, it's normally on the spine on hardcovers, and very small and unobtrusive on the front of paperbacks.

The publisher simply wants you to buy the book, and will have a cover design they hope will sell. I don't think many folks note the publisher when purchasing: they care about the author and the story. Ask them who published a particular title they read and liked, and they may have to grab the book and look to tell you.

(And I know a few artists who aren't at all happy with what the publisher does with their cover art. Steve Hickman waxes eloquent about what Jim Baen did to his covers.

The worst case I recall was the original Avon PB cover for Roger Zelazny's _Lord of Light_, where the Art Director wanted a type heavy cover, and shrunk Ron Walotsky's painting down to about one inch square to get it to fit the design. Geez. If you're going to do that, why bother to commission a cover painting at all?)

The best cover art series I recall were the ones Leo and Diane Dillon did for the the old Ace SF Special series Terry Carr edited. They threw out everything they knew about cover design, and came up with a simple format where the art was front and center and the title and author were on a white strip at the top. Terry inquired about how well the line was selling, and was told by the sales director that "If I tell you, you'll ask the publisher for a raise!" Leo and Diane were obviously on to something.

It helps that Leo and Diane do stunning work, and I'd consider mortgaging a body part to own one of their originals. (I've met them They're splendid people, too, and their son Lee inherited talent from both.)

For my own use, I made a set of covers for the Harvard Classics collection (example attached). I think on those, which were just text and the harvard shield/motto, the Mobileread logo would work. If we get a forum for cover uploads I'd consider doing a new set with the logo included.

For something like that, it can work. MobileRead can be thought of as the publisher, and there is no spine on an ebook to put the logo on.

I'm just sensitive to stuff overlaid on cover illustrations. Artists carefully lay out covers to leave space in the illo for title, author, and the like, and stuff still stomps all over the art. Don't get me started about bar code blocks...

But otherwise -- no MobileRead logo on the covers seems good.

Thanks for your comment.

You're welcome.
______
Dennis

[nekokami]

I remember David Cherry telling me how one of his first covers was modified by the art director without notifying him (on the original, no less!). The character on the front is illustrated holding a sword over her head, which the art director decided needed to be shorter so they could fit the title and author. (Admittedly, this was before Photoshop or its ilk existed.)

Then again, the author was his sister (C.J. Cherryh), so he wasn't going to complain too much.

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by nekokami

I remember David Cherry telling me how one of his first covers was modified by the art director without notifying him (on the original, no less!). The character on the front is illustrated holding a sword over her head, which the art director decided needed to be shorter so they could fit the title and author. (Admittedly, this was before Photoshop or its ilk existed.)

Then again, the author was his sister (C.J. Cherryh), so he wasn't going to complain too much.

I know David, and have met C. J. No, he wouldn't.

And things have very much changed for the better for cover artists in recent years. It used to be that the publisher bought all rights to a cover painting. If the book got reprinted, the author saw additional royalties, but the artist saw no additional fee. The publisher kept the original painting, too, and sometimes gave them away or threw them out. Now, artists sell specific reproduction rights, and what the Art Director gets is a transparency of the painting. The artist can resell the original.

It took some doing to get there. The late Mike Hinge was a fervent supporter of artist's rights, and largely shot his career in the foot. He was so paranoid about rights that he made himself more trouble to deal with than he was worth. Even AD's who liked his stuff passed on it in favor of other artists who weren't as good, but were easier to deal with. At the end of his life, Mike was basically living on a stipend provided by his brother in New Zealand, who had won a big state lottery and could subsidize him.

And in an ironic ending, given Mike's feelings about artist's rights, he died intestate in Pennsylvania, and a state appointed executor handled disposing of his inventory. (The job should have gone to a mutual friend of Mike and I, but the state doesn't work that way.) I picked up a gorgeous piece for a pittance because the executor simply turned the lot over to Jane Franke and said "Dispose of it fast!" Jane knew the potential value of the work, but wasn't given the time to realize it. She wasn't happy, but didn't have much choice.
______
Dennis

[montsnmags]

Just to bump this back up...

If a person was interested in creating book covers, what would be the proposed "standards" for doing so. What I mean is:

• should they be a predetermined ratio?
• should they be a predetermined pixel size?
• should both colour and greyscale be provided?
• should the title and author have any specific placement requirement?
• is it not just a "one graphic" thing (i.e. do separate thumbnails need creating)?

I guess what I am looking at is some kind of guide to creating them that would generally be satisfactory for most, if not all, users. My questions above might reflect my lack of knowledge, but perhaps establishing guidelines that can be "Sticky"ed in the forum might create momentum for creation (which is, I guess, the point of this thread...I'm just sayin', is all ).

My interest, apart from creating custom covers for my own books, is that I may be able to contribute photographs as requests for covers come in.

Cheers,
Marc

[nrapallo]

Originally Posted by montsnmags

Just to bump this back up...

If a person was interested in creating book covers, what would be the proposed "standards" for doing so. What I mean is:

• should they be a predetermined ratio?
• should they be a predetermined pixel size?
• should both colour and greyscale be provided?
• should the title and author have any specific placement requirement?
• is it not just a "one graphic" thing (i.e. do separate thumbnails need creating)?

My thoughts (since I lack the artist skills required to put all this together ):

• should they be a predetermined ratio?
  I think 600x800 is a "good" aspect ratio (0.75)
  
  
• should they be a predetermined pixel size?
  Again 600x800 is a nice size to start with and the ebook creating software can scale it down, if required (hopefully maintaining the aspect ratio)
  
  
• should both colour and greyscale be provided?
  Colour for sure! Then let the ebook creation software handle the grayscale down-convert. Devices improve over time and when colour screens are the "norm", the ebooks will "come alive"!
  
  
• should the title and author have any specific placement requirement?
  IMHO, I like to see title (first and above) in a larger point-size font than Author. Placement can be anywhere it works with the background image, if any.
  
  
• is it not just a "one graphic" thing (i.e. do separate thumbnails need creating)?
  Again, if you provide just the main graphic cover image, then hopefully the ebook creation software (like Mobipocket Creator) will provide the thumbnail.

I guess what I am looking at is some kind of guide to creating them that would generally be satisfactory for most, if not all, users. My questions above might reflect my lack of knowledge, but perhaps establishing guidelines that can be "Sticky"ed in the forum might create momentum for creation (which is, I guess, the point of this thread...I'm just sayin', is all ).

Yes, let's table all the different variations and see if there is some "preferred" format. Personal tastes will get in the way, but at least "talking" about it will allow others to use this "talk" as a guide.

My interest, apart from creating custom covers for my own books, is that I may be able to contribute photographs as requests for covers come in.

Cheers,
Marc

Let the custom covers roll-in....

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by montsnmags

Just to bump this back up...

If a person was interested in creating book covers, what would be the proposed "standards" for doing so. What I mean is:

• should they be a predetermined ratio?
• should they be a predetermined pixel size?
• should both colour and greyscale be provided?
• should the title and author have any specific placement requirement?
• is it not just a "one graphic" thing (i.e. do separate thumbnails need creating)?

I've done a bit of this for MobiPocket. I assume a 600x800 target image size, in color, and don't worry about pixel size. I assume the ebook software will handle gray scale conversion and thumbnails if needed.

Placement of title and author is one of those artistic judgments, as is font selection, size, and weight. Since the person getting the book already knows the title and author before they download, you don't have the concern a paper book designer would have in making it "front and center", clearly readable on a rack, but you do want it clearly visible.

Paper book cover images are generally created specifically leaving room for title and author, and the convention is title up top large, and author below, smaller, though you'll see variations on the form. With ebooks you have more latitude, because the cover isn't intended to get the reader's attention in the first place to get them to pick it out of the rack for a closer look. They've already done that. You're just trying to provide an attractive and relevant image to complement the book and enhance the experience of reading it.
______
Dennis