{"id":3898,"date":"2019-01-22T08:48:20","date_gmt":"2019-01-22T16:48:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/?p=3898"},"modified":"2019-01-24T08:26:19","modified_gmt":"2019-01-24T16:26:19","slug":"the-hunt-for-the-right-book-cover","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2019\/writing\/the-hunt-for-the-right-book-cover\/","title":{"rendered":"The Hunt for the Right Book Cover"},"content":{"rendered":"

So much rides on the right book cover. Most of us have heard the expression: You can’t judge a book by it’s cover. True enough, but if it\u2019s appealing you\u2019ll likely pick it up and read what\u2019s on the back. And if you like what’s on the back, you\u2019ll open the book and read the first paragraph. The author’s way with words may then entice you to buy the book or borrow it from the library. It’s what every writer wants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finding the Right Cover is not an Easy Task<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

For the past six months, I\u2019ve been exploring ideas for a book cover that would portray the genre and emotional tone of my third novel, SUNFLOWERS UNDER FIRE<\/em><\/strong>, a family saga set in western Russia (today\u2019s Ukraine) 1915-1929. I wanted a cover that invited the reader in and spoke of a simple home and family, their joys and sorrows in war-torn Ukraine, and of course, sunflowers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deciding on a book cover is not an easy task as any author will tell you. A traditionally published author relies on their publisher to come up with a cover that will suit their work. If you`re an indie author like myself, the task is up to you. Thankfully today, because of the growing number of self-published books, there are many book cover designers to choose from. Each one will provide a cover\u2014usually a couple of options\u2014for a price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First I looked at novels that were similar in scope\u2014stories about individuals and their families during wartime or political upheaval. I admired the covers of The Nightingale, Do Not Say We Have Nothing, All The Light We Cannot See, Warlight<\/em><\/strong>, and A Fine Balance<\/strong><\/em>. These are beautiful literary novels with beautiful covers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"the
This literary novel’s cover came closest to what I was looking for. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Each cover of the above mentioned novels was attractive and fitting the current trend of less is more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Search for a Book Cover Designer<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Initially, I contacted Jun Ares<\/strong> , the Filipino book cover designer who produced the <\/strong>covers of my first two novels.<\/strong><\/a> I sent him a photo of a Ukrainian farmhouse and my story synopsis. Unfortunately, the cover idea he sent back was boring. At that point, I didn’t know that I had failed to communicate clearly what I wanted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frustrated, I decided to try someone else, a book cover designer whose sample book covers I admired. She was also Canadian and lived only a few hours away from me. She agreed to come up with some ideas (for a higher price than Ares). In the end, I didn’t like them either. I lamented about the dollars wasted but I wasn\u2019t about to select some illustration that poorly represented my story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After scouring other book cover design sites, even the ones that advertised 10,000 ready-made book covers<\/a>, I realized I would either have to pay big bucks to get a suitable cover or come up with some ideas myself which I could then communicate to a designer I could afford. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so I searched various stock photo sites to see if\nthere were any images I could use. I Googled: Ukrainian woman, peasant,\nUkrainian farmhouse, sunflowers. I found many pretty shots but nothing that\nprovided all the elements I was looking for. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My Design Attempts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One of the members of my writers\u2019 critique group suggested I paint something myself. Since I`ve done some artwork, I embraced the idea. I drew a rudimentary farmhouse with sunflowers in the yard and collaged a family photo. Then I burnt the edges of the composition to communicate the idea that destruction played a role in the story. My design\u2014a combination of a family photo and a painted background\u2014represented what I wanted but it looked amateurish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"the<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I then stumbled upon a Ukrainian folk artist, Maria Prymachenko<\/a><\/strong>, whose paintings moved me in another direction. Here is one of her pieces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"the
Painting by Maria Prymachenko<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

My attempts to get permission to use one of Maria Prymachenko’s works were initially ignored. So I tried to imitate her style and came up with an image I liked, but it wasn\u2019t right either. It seemed more suitable for a children`s book than for a historical fiction for adults. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Acrylic painting \u00a9<\/strong> Diana Stevan<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Back to the drawing board. I contacted Jun Ares<\/strong> once more. This time, I was clearer about what I envisioned and sent him copies of my attempts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ares came up with a cover that worked except for a few small elements. Initially, the house wasn\u2019t a Ukrainian peasant\u2019s house and the detail around the title was pretty generic. I sent him a photo of the kind of house I wanted and examples of Ukrainian embroidery to put around the title. I also suggested a bit of smoke in the distance behind the house to give a hint of the trouble beyond. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a very satisfying experience working with this designer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cover Reveal of SUNFLOWERS UNDER FIRE<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"the<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

How about you? If you’re a writer, <\/strong>what has been your experience with finding a book cover you like?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And if you\u2019re a reader,<\/strong> how does the book’s cover affect your impulse to pick it up?<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So much rides on the right book cover. Most of us have heard the expression: You can’t judge a book by it’s cover. True enough, but if it\u2019s appealing you\u2019ll… <\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3902,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"The Hunt for the Right Book Cover Author Diana Stevan outlines the steps she took to find the right one for her third novel, SUNFLOWERS UNDER FIRE, a family saga set in war-torn Russia (present day Ukraine) 1915-1929.","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,744],"tags":[1028,610,78,988,1027,9,1021],"class_list":["post-3898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-writing","category-books","tag-book-cover-designer","tag-cover-reveal","tag-diana-stevan","tag-do-not-say-we-have-nothing","tag-family-saga","tag-novel","tag-sunflowers-under-fire"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/author-149694_1280-1.png?fit=1280%2C880&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1LuVB-10S","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1610,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2014\/writing\/the-challenge-of-book-covers\/","url_meta":{"origin":3898,"position":0},"title":"The Challenge of Book Covers","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"26 \u041a\u0432\u0456\u0442\u043d\u044f, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"When I was writing A Cry From The Deep, I never gave any thought to a book cover. That\u2019s not unreasonable given that I had to write the novel first. Mine took longer than most because I chose to write about subjects that I didn\u2019t know much about. Also, since\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Art"","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/art\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"From 123f.com","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/a-cry-from-the-deep-alt-watermark-196x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2597,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2016\/writing\/book-cover-wins-gold-star\/","url_meta":{"origin":3898,"position":1},"title":"Book Cover Wins Gold Star","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"23 \u041a\u0432\u0456\u0442\u043d\u044f, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The Winning Cover I'm thrilled that the book\u00a0cover for THE RUBBER FENCE has won a\u00a0\u00a0Gold Star from Joel Friedlander of the BOOK DESIGNER. When I submitted the cover for their monthly contest, I wrote, \u00a0\u201cAs this story takes place largely on a psychiatric ward, I thought that Jun Ares\u2019s book\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Books"","block_context":{"text":"Books","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/books\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"writing world","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/TRF-OLD-POSTER.jpg?fit=417%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3532,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2018\/writing\/looking-for-a-book-cover-design\/","url_meta":{"origin":3898,"position":2},"title":"Looking for a Book Cover Design","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"24 \u0421\u0456\u0447\u043d\u044f, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"This January, I finished revising my third novel, a historical one, as different in feel from the first two I've written, as the second was from the first. It's about a Ukrainian peasant farmwife, who shortly after her husband joins the Tsar\u2019s army has to escape with their six children,\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"book cover design","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Oleksander-Murashko-Peasant-Family-1914.jpg?fit=498%2C510&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6242,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2023\/writing\/designing-hard-covers\/","url_meta":{"origin":3898,"position":3},"title":"Designing Hard Covers","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"13 \u0427\u0435\u0440\u0432\u043d\u044f, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Designing hard covers for my trilogy\u2014Lukia's Family Saga\u2014was never part of my writing plan. As a self-published author, I know my limits. I've hired Jun Ares, a professional book cover designer, Polgarus Studios for my formatting needs, and multiple editors, both copy and substantive (story) editors for all my novels\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Books"","block_context":{"text":"Books","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/books\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Designing Hard Covers","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/LUKIA-FAMILY-SAGA-transparent-png.png?fit=390%2C368&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1638,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2014\/writing\/cover-reveal-for-a-cry-from-the-deep\/","url_meta":{"origin":3898,"position":4},"title":"Cover Reveal for A CRY FROM THE DEEP","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"23 \u0422\u0440\u0430\u0432\u043d\u044f, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019ve neglected my blog for the past month, as I\u2019ve been figuring out when to publish my romantic mystery, A Cry From The Deep. If you've been reading my blog, you know that I've rejected a few book covers for one reason or another. The one I've chosen illustrates a\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"a cry from the deep-ebook cover","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/a-cry-from-the-deep-ebook-cover-672x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2902,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2016\/uncategorized\/cover-reveal\/","url_meta":{"origin":3898,"position":5},"title":"Cover Reveal for ALONG CAME A GARDENER","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"14 \u0416\u043e\u0432\u0442\u043d\u044f, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Cover Reveal Thrilled to reveal the cover for my next book, ALONG CAME A GARDENER. In this inspirational book, I'll share some tips on managing life's ups and downs. Tips I gave my clients during my twenty-five years as a therapist. Human Pain Does Not Discriminate I've been blessed to\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Therapy"","block_context":{"text":"Therapy","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/therapy-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"untitled","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/untitled-197x300.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3898\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3902"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}