Someone, draw my book cover! (How to find a graphic artist for your book)

You have written your bestseller (fingers crossed) and have done the research on how to get it up on Amazon.com... but you still don't have a cover to go with it. Time to panic?

Luckily, that is unnecessary. In this blog post, I list some steps and useful tips on how to find your own book cover designer.

This topic is covered (hahah) on several other online place, of course, but here is my personal experience of how I got in contact with a graphic illustrator and struck a deal for my novel "Mine Looks Purple". The journey was both scary and exhilarating!

Useful places to look:

• I first decided to make my own cover in Photoshop and save some money. Bad idea! Don't even try it unless you're actually good at moving pixels around. You wouldn't want to serve a gourmet meal (your story) on a garbage can lid either. Fortunately, I quickly saw the light. 
• (Note: if you do use photos or illustrations, make sure they are not licensed/unavailable for commercial use. It's best to go to istockphoto.com, for instance, and pay for good quality material.) 
• I went to a local Comic-Con to get in touch with artists at their stalls. That didn't work out. The high-energy atmosphere didn't lend itself to chatting in detail. I did take home a couple of their business cards, and I discovered that I had been looking in the wrong place. It is at online portfolio sites where all the cool kids hang out...
• Deviantart.com, for example, is a great site with thousands of incredibly talented artists showcasing their work. Awesome! I spend hours browsing and I contacted several artists through the site. Sadly, none had interest in commission work... I wasn't going to freak out, but my deadline was getting closer...
• Fiverr.com, hopefully, was going to ease my troubles. The site exists specifically for artists looking for commission work. After posting my request, I received 20 replies within a day. Hurray! Although there were talented artists among them, they didn't do the style I was looking for. So I politely declined them all. (Always do this. It is common courtesy and they'll be grateful to you.) There are, of course, other sites like it: upwork.com, elance.com, 99designs.com to name a few.
• Artstation.com was the next site I tried. It mostly features artists who have already worked for corporations in the entertainment business. Undeterred, I sent off messages and found out from one artist what he would usually charge per hour. Yikes! I mean, I'm convinced the cost would be worth it, but my budget didn't stretch that far.
• Behance.net, finally, was the site where I found Alexandr Pushai's portfolio page.

In total, I think, it took me 20 hours over a period of three scary weeks to find the graphic artist for my book. Hurray!

Step by step negotiation:

• Keep the initial commission request short, but add in attachment a detailed description of what you're looking for, including info on: file formats, who will hold copyrights, the amount of revisions you can request without added fee, etc. It will save both parties time. The artist will ask for those things anyway.

My initial request

• Make sure you know what you want: Cover concept, style, colours,...? Don't expect the artist to magically come up with this in your place. I found that out after contacting the first artist. Good communication is very important. If communicating with an artist feels like pulling teeth, look elsewhere or expect poor results.

The artist asked a simple sketch to explain the exact angle of the bathtub. Great!

• Agree on the commission fee. You can try to haggle over the price, of course, but make sure it stays a good deal for both parties. As an example, for this cover, we agreed on two partial payments: one part before starting the detailed sketch. The second part before finishing the full-colour illustration as commissioned.

• Draw up a contract and demand a (digital) signature. Obviously, do not make any payment before you've received the signed version. Add your detailed description and relevant correspondence as an appendix to the contract. You'll sleep better at night, I guarantee it. (Search online for 'template contracts for commissioned illustrations' to get examples.)

The initial artist's sketch

Useful tips to remember:

• The cover is the first - and often only - impression you can make. So the cover needs to be interesting and it has to show the potential readers exactly what they'll get from your book.
• Most of the talented artists are very busy, naturally, because they are so great at what they do. So start looking for an artist early, well ahead of the release date of your book.
• It's a numbers game. Chances are, you'll get rejected by the artist whose work you really love. It happens. Maybe you'll get a No from the first three artists you contact... Maybe you'll only get a Yes from the fifteenth artist...
• I strongly recommend you only contact artists who already have done artwork in the same style as what you are looking for. Otherwise, you set yourself up for disappointment. You wouldn't ask Van Gogh to paint Micky Mouse, would you? (Though, that would be interesting.)
• Hang in there! Remember, you've put a lot of work into writing your book. It deserves a great cover.

The final version in colour

Did you like my personal journey of scary exhilaration?

Did I forget a very important tip or website?

Then let me know, or write your feedback below in the Post a Comment box. Thanks!

- Jonen
novel writer of 'MINE LOOKS PURPLE' available at major online retailers.
jonengleewell@gmail.com
jonengleewell.blogspot.com

And I shall name you.... what? (Tips on how to come up with a book title)

Why is it so difficult to come up with a book title? Beats me, it just is.
Well, okay, it's mainly because the title, somehow, has to condense all the aspects (theme, genre, style,...) of an entire story into just a handful of enticing words. No pressure.

That's a hard enough task to accomplish for non-fiction books - although 'How to cook acorns for squirrels' is pretty straightforward, I think - but for fiction books, the reader usually expects something extra. Namely, a title that only indirectly describes what the story is about and that makes the reader curious enough to pick up the book and have a look-see.

In other words, the title has to be perfect. Nothing less will do, because we all know how hugely important the title and cover are in our decision-making.

One of the earliest titles (with mock-up cover)

Before moving on to the tips, I'd like to share with you my personal tale of woe and wonderment, or, On how I found the final title of my first book after bouts of gut-wrenching disillusionment. (Okay, maybe that title needs a bit of work.)

An epic search:

Ten years ago when I started writing my story, the first title floated into my head on a gentle breeze. The book was going to be called 'Hijinks'. How exciting, except... that word was really vague (and difficult to spell on Google.)
Halfway through writing, I worried that I wasn't going to find the right title by the time the book was finished. (Larks!) After a lot of brainstorming, I settled on 'Accidental Soulmate'. It was clever, and it fitted the story. Except... A year later I found out that were already another thousand books starting the same way: "Accidental dentist", "Accidental acid",... You name it.

My stress level was rising. Curse you, ill-tempered Fate! Won't I ever find the right title?
After a lot more effort, I came across this new title - Final title, damnit! - that was sure to never change again: 'Soulmate Pending'. I was convinced that this interesting sounding title was a keeper, and for a couple of years it was. But eventually, it just didn't sound funny enough for my hilarious story.

So I had another go at it. With reluctance, I released these others titles back into the wild: 'Love, Life and a Dead Sailor' (too romantic), 'Me and my dead sailor' (too zombie-ish) and 'Weird Boner' (Don't ask!)

Then, one morning, I got up and I saw the answer right in front of me. It became the title that's now proudly displayed on my book: 'Mine Looks Purple'. Hurray!
The good news is, anyone can find the right book title... eventually.

Another title idea I was mulling over.

Tips and ideas:

• Brainstorm with friends. You'd be amazed at what more brainpower can do. Of course, don't go with someone else's title unless you think it's perfect.
• Think about the major theme(s) of your story. What is it about? You may want to try and sum it up in a few words.
• Look for a phrase in your story that sticks out and that might make a browsing shopper wonder.
• Go to thesaurus.com and type in a (boring) word that best describes the theme, and look for a great synonym that you can use. 
• Look for a short sentence or expression that everyone knows and enjoys. But be careful not to use buzzwords.
• Open a word processor and simply start typing as if you're thinking out loud... Type anything that comes up (or scribble on a notepad). Don't delete anything. Just press return and keep writing, finetuning the string of words. Abandon one idea and start a new one... Replace words... Change nouns into active verbs... Anything goes.
• Of course, always check your title on Amazon.com and Google.com to make sure that it doesn't already exists. (Note: 'Lord of the Rings' is already taken. Tough luck.)

Another attempt at a perfect title. (Notice the typo.)

Tips on how to proceed:

• The important bit first: once you've come up with your brilliant title, make sure to jump up and down your bed and sing loudly in merriment - You deserve it! - because chances are that that merriment may disappear shortly after.
• Because the next important thing to do, is to get feedback: tell a friend

what the title is. Better still, show him/her the title on a piece of paper, and then watch the reaction. I would bet that in 95% of the time, the friend isn't going to cheer "Eureka, you've found it!". Usually, you'll get a "Yeah, that title is okay."

Devastating, I know. How come the friend isn't as excited about it as you are? News flash: A lukewarm response is normal. Don't feel bad. This is exactly the information you need. How else are you going to know if you're on track or not?

So, after the soul-crushing devastation, make sure to keep going and do these next steps:

• Ask that friend for more feedback. (Why doesn't the title blow your mind? What type of book do you think it is, based on this title?...) The reason to ask is, when people on Amazon see your book title, you won't be around to explain how to correctly interpret the brilliance of the title. It has to work on its own.
• Secondly, always go to at least two other friends and show them your title. Why? Because, when one person gives you a reply, that is just their opinion. When two people tell you the same thing, it's just a coincidence. But when three people basically give you the same feedback, then it is time to pay close attention.
• Look for quality feedback. I am in a writers' group, which is a great luxury, because it means I can quickly get feedback from ten or twenty fellow writers. I think highly of what they have to say (and inveriably, I'll get ten to twenty slightly contradicting opinions.) How to find your own group in your area? This website helped me out: meetup.com
• In my experience, the feedback will often voice the same doubts that I had myself about (parts of) the title, but that I sort of hoped others wouldn't think was confusing, misleading, and so on. In those cases, take notice. You'll be glad afterwards that you kept looking for a better title.

The final title (with another mock-up cover)

So remember, don't get annoyed. Be grateful for people helping you out. Return to your writing desk, and keep delving deeper. It's all just part of the process. It would be great if you could find the perfect title as easily as snapping your fingers, but most of us, we're just all thumbs.

Did you like my personal journey of scary exhilaration?

Did I forget a very important tip or website?

Then let me know, or write your feedback below in the Post a Comment box. Thanks!

- Jonen
novel writer of 'MINE LOOKS PURPLE' available at major online retailers.
jonengleewell@gmail.com
jonengleewell.blogger.com