Cover Tips

Are you new to writing?  I know many new authors don't have the funds to have beautiful covers made up, and often resort to using the static covers that Createspace has to offer, or they make up their own, thinking through one theme for their book.

Here are some recommendations if you just don't have the funds to hire an Illustrator, or pay someone in the Cover Creation field.

The first thing you should do, is look up some of the covers within your genre that are selling on Amazon right now.  I came up with this idea when doing a book promotion on Instafreebie.  One of the authors mentioned that all of the books with naked men's chests on their cover were flying off the giveaway like hotcakes.  As I scrolled through the listings, I saw his comment was dead on.

You can see that the Covers with some flesh showing got a lot of downloads.  This is a real time indicator, as there is little indication on these books as to what the interior file is, until you download them.

Evidently, a good set of abs and a chiseled chin was a major draw in that genre for your book to be downloaded!  You really need to know your Genre.  Look at the Fonts used and their layout.  Every little detail you can use to make your work stand out, you should try to use it.  For example, look at the fonts used on these books:  

See the difference?  Even a shadow of a character makes readers give it a try, Military men are buff, the first cover uses the reader's imagination!  Try to see what is selling each book, through the cover for your Genre, then go for it!

Sometimes, that might not be what you WANT to do, but you can't go wrong with following trends with a little bit of your own spice mixed in.

Often, if you must create your own cover, you don't have the right tools to do them.  When I first started creating my own cover art, I ran into an immediate issue.  Where could I find royalty free art that I did not have to pay for, nor deal with a lot of restrictions for the use of the art?  Many times I would see something that looked great, then it was from a site that charged a lot for that picture, and it could not have any commercial use.

Then I found a site called 'Pixabay'.  Now, just know, I REALLY didn't want to share this website with anyone, cause I don't want someone taking my cover art.  But I realized that most of the people who read my blog don't write within my genre.  And even if they do, I can personalize my covers so they don't look the same.

The second issue was, HOW do I create cover art without a really good Illustration program?  Then I hit upon just using my Powerpoint.  At first, KDP made you jump through hoops for work that was not at a correct size for their covers.  I must admit, I don't know if I tinkered with my Powerpoint measurements or if their size just worked.  I do know ONE thing though.  You HAVE to DOWNLOAD the picture, then INSERT it into Powerpoint to keep the DPI intact.  You cannot 'Click and Drag' or do a screenshot, THEN 'Click and Drag' that photo onto your Powerpoint file.  It will come out grainy when you stretch it.

Always choose 'Word Art' rather than just use a 'Text Box', so you can stretch and enlarge your text but not have to increase the font size.  You can find Fonts that will enhance your Book Title and Author name on many free font sites.  One I use is Fontcubes.  After you download the fonts, open them by clicking on them.  Then open your Font Book and import the new fonts.  You might get some warnings, but unless they say really dire stuff, I use them.  You have to judge that yourself.

Also, you will have to make a Front AND Back cover, so decide on a theme for your series and stick with it.  That way, readers know what they are viewing and they will get used to the continuity in your series.  If you update covers as I did for my Peace series, I used the old covers with a few changes for the Back Cover, and created new covers.  I got the pictures off of Pixabay for the new covers.  I deleted the backgrounds on some, which you can do on Powerpoint, then created new covers.  Here is an example:

ORIGINAL ART:

This was the original picture

This guy JUST happened to look like what I envisioned for
my main character 'James'.  James is a Serial Killer of Child Abusers
who manage to beat the rap.

And This is the Cover that I managed to combine.  I kept the text in Fall Colors, which worked well. 
See how I got some RED in there?  You may have to work to get it to shine, but don't give up!

It takes a little time and vision to create your own covers, but you can do it.  Inspiration can come from anywhere!  Look at covers in your genre and think, "I would love that for my book, but I would do X, Y and Z."  You can do ANYTHING you set your mind to.  Go outside of your comfort zone, and just CREATE.

I used the cover that was my original on the back cover.  I tend to just make a transparent box for my back cover text and drop a picture behind it.  I stick to a theme for each book.  This first picture is from my Peace Series.

This second cover is from my Consortium Series.  I love the front and back cover of this series! Each subsequent book will have a similar theme.  Use your font's to keep things consistent.  Figure out what color fonts tend to draw your eye in.  Just remember, you won't love every cover you see, but try to find out what sells and do a close approximation with a little twist of your own.  I have read that injecting RED in any cover draws the eye of the reader.  Red stimulates people's imaginations.

 

You just import your work, drop in your fonts, then save your cover as both a Powerpoint file (in case you have to go back and make changes) AND as a JPEG file.  Make sure you save the JPEG file to your Desktop first, so you can write over the file each time you have to make changes.  You may have to make changes to incorporate a barcode (Createspace puts theirs at the bottom of the page on the back cover on the right), or to incorporate the outer fringes where the copy won't print.  

Createspace has one cover Choice, MAJESTIC, that allows you to drop in your Cover as a JPEG file.  Just remember, they only have about 30 Spline Choice colors, so if you make a cover, make sure you can match it up with the Spline covers which will be in the middle of your book cover.  If the colors are off, it will look crazy.

So, don't be afraid to step outside of your comfort zone!  You can make up a great cover, all you have to do is open up a Powerpoint file!  If you have any questions, please reach out to me!  You can do it!  Be encouraged.

Putting yourself on the line

Does your art imitate your life?  I believe there is a little part of our lives in everything we write about.  Sometimes, your readers will have to read between the lines to see you in your writing.  Other times, we can make a concerted effort to write something that is highly charged and personal to us, as a catharsis or a memorial.

I wrote a Memoir with my one of my best friend's from High School, Yoshika called "Cold War Memories", it is a compilation and History Primer of Berlin and the interactions of Military Dependants with the city and populace from 1946 until the US left Berlin in 1994.  It is so hard to know your High School still exists, but no more American Students, no Military Brats, go there.

But the Peace Series was my own story, reaching way back into childhood memories I suppressed due to fear, shame and pain.  Writing from a point of understanding, strength, and clarity, I was able to make peace with my past over the many long years of putting this series together.  It is the only one I have put out there then yanked from publication, re-editing it with a machete, because it was too graphic with too many heated situations that did not add to the story.  It was raw with rage, anger, and retribution.  But the process was necessary because it had to come out, no matter how you write if your emotion and passion is not on the pages, it's like an empty rendering of letters and spaces.  You have to open a window or door to your soul so readers can follow that light out of the dark.

It took 5 Books, but the story is now told.  A 6th book gave me the strength to take the initiative and republish the other 4 books, then finish the 5th book to complete the story.

 

 

 

Don't worry about writing in a straight line when you choose to write your story.  Just sit down and start, just write!  You can go back and arrange your work later.  You may come to find that you will work in a certain a pattern after you get started, that changes based on your mood, or what you encounter as you write.  Don't get so locked in with doing things in a linear way, that you become overwhelmed.  You can flip from the middle, to the beginning, then to the end if that works for you.  You will have time to tie things together properly when you edit your work.

Childhood abuse is a topic not spoken of, still in the shadows after thousands of years.  Light needs to invade that darkness so that people can find their peace, from the point of view of the strong adult they now are, versus the scared, hurting child they used to be.  Victims need to know it is safe to heal wounds placed on them by others, many years before.

There is a section for victims help and with an explanation of who I am, at the end of each book.  I hope you will reach out for help in your adult life for childhood trauma, knowing you are not alone, and help is there for you.  There are many agencies that can help you, if you take that step to heal today.  Don't let another day pass without you taking back your life, and dismantling what was meant for evil towards you by a monster, turning it into something good.

All of the books in the series will be available on Amazon.com by weeks end, and I will try to post an Instafreebie Link for Book One next week!  You can find all of my books on my Amazon Author pages!

Trisha A. Lindsey Author Page

Ronin Schtihl Daire Author Page

Take your peace back, you have lost enough, it is a new year!  Walk into it with a new attitude.  God bless, be encouraged.

Interracial Romance Books on Instafreebie!

Hi all!  I have joined an Instafreebie giveway once again, joining other authors of Interracial Romance who wish to give readers free access to their books.  Joining an Instafreebie Giveaway is a very good way to get your work out there, especially if you have more than one book in a series.  I placed my Josef and Blair Series Book 1 up for download, because it gives readers from the other

author's exposure to my work also.  Just click on the book cover on the Instafreebie site, at the following link:  http://bit.ly/2CB4YPX  

If you only have one book, it might not be a good idea to put it in a Giveaway, but if you have several, then go to Instafreebie and sign up.  I have another Blog post that explains the reasons you should look into Instafreebie so please refer to it if you need more information about setting up your books to make them available to new readers.

This is the header for the Giveaway, the link and further info is below it.  If you want to help spread the word, just copy the Twitter Ready blub below and post to your page, we authors and readers have to stick together!  If you already have my book, go look at some of the other great authors, and please leave them a kind review.

Amazon is very review driven, a review does not have to be long and involved, they go a long way towards helping authors receive more exposure and  success.  Get your read on, be encouraged!

Blurb for Twitter, retweet to your heart's content please:

Come get your Swirl Love on! This is a free collection of #InterracialLove! Book One in the Josef and Blair Series is here for you on this #instafreebie giveaway! http://bit.ly/2CB4YPX  #amreading #interracialdating, #multicultural, #interracialromance