Book Cover Art and Designers by Mandy Eve-Barnett

As writers our narratives are the core of our storytelling, but working with a book designer, or cover artist takes our vision to a whole new level. This visualisation gives a representation of our characters, or the setting and also aligns with the specific genre expectations. A book cover is after all, our reader’s initial attraction to the book, making them pick it up off the shelf. Book covers are vital in engaging potential readers. They give readers an instant visual story.

When deciding on the style of our cover art, we need to ask ourselves these questions:

How can the cover reflect the story? 

What will make it eye catching? 

Does it reflect the genre?  

What key elements does this story or genre require of its cover art?

Is there a specific style you want to emulate?

Does the genre dictate certain colour usage?

Will the defined age group of your book dictate artwork choices? 

Of course, there are trends in book covers within each genre, and recently custom book edges have become more popular especially for romantasy novels. So when you work with a designer make sure you are resolved in how you ‘see’ your cover and be specific on what you require. However, be open to changes and your designer’s suggestions. As an industry expert they will have more insight into what styles, colours and ‘image’ types are popular and what would work best for your novel. 

When researching cover artists, you will find a range of options on how they produce the artwork. This is down to your personal taste and preferences. Ask yourself how do you want the cover to look as a finished product? Some artists use pre-made covers, others will draw, or paint them from your descriptions, or your vision board, or begin with a stylized drawing, which can then be computer generated with the use of special design systems. To achieve the ‘look’ you want for your cover is a matter of teamwork between you and the designer. Be clear on what you want. Ask yourself how will a graphic style reflect your contemporary story, or how a dark image will express your thriller? Look at other books in your genre and notice the imagery employed on them. Which ones draw you in the most?

When we write, many of us mentally visualize our characters, so utilize that when deciding on your cover art. It is a great starting point as this knowledge helps you explain your requirements to the designer.

I have used several cover artists on my book covers, and was lucky enough to be able to employ them personally. These artists utilized different techniques to accomplish my visions from pencil drawings, to real paintings, to computer design programs to reimaging, stylizing and altering photographs or images. It is paramount to have good communication with your designer, the more information you can give them the better.

If your novel is a standalone novel your cover art will be specific and unique to that book, however if you are writing a trilogy or a series, keep in mind that the cover art should have some common thread, style, or imagery to give them a commonalty. I utilized this technique with my fantasy trilogy by having each character wear a cloak, but varied the colour to identify the different characters.

I employed, by pure chance, autumnal colours for three of my romance novels. Although, they are standalone novels, they are all romance based within the different genres.

Fiind out more about Mandy at: https://mandyevebarnett.com/