This is Part 1 of a 4 Part decision to expand on my most popular blog, because it seems that many want to design their own book covers, but are hesitant to do so. As I said in my shortened blog, I don't like "stock photos" for my book covers. I wanted something different - something unique. Something that no one else had, and I certainly did not want a "stock photo".
(Please feel free to read it if you haven't, yet)
Now, how did I do it?
If you are a regular blog reader of mine, you know that I not only wrote my book, but I as a book editor, I also edited it. I also love taking photos, and playing around with Photo Shop as well as other photo editors. After speaking with my publisher, finding out how much it cost to design a cover, and not wanting a "stock photo cover", I felt I would just do it myself, and save some money. Most writers don't have unlimited supplies of funds, and I am no different.
I began by envisaging a concept cover, and just put something together as a guide for my finished cover. While I liked it, of course, it wasn't exactly what I wanted. I needed more.
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| Original Concept |
As an avid reader, author, and book editor, the cover is always what drew me to a book, first. It has to be interesting to grab my attention.
Veteran writers always say:
"Write about something you know, or somewhere you've been"
I am amending this to:
"take photos about something you know, or somewhere you've been"From here, I proceeded to design the cover. I wanted my book to be truly my book, and it has been. From writing the story of The White Wolf Prophecy to editing it to designing its cover.
Background Photo - Step One
Choose an overall background. If it's your photo, you don't have to worry about any copyright problems. (However, make sure you do copyright the photo, and the cover of your book). This can be a full view of just about anything. Nothing close up, unless it's all you are putting on your cover. If you plan on putting a face, or body, or whatever else on it, the background should be something that you can see, but not something that you are afraid of covering up by other photographs.
Examples would be:
- A setting that applies to where your story takes place
- A photo that you, or maybe a family, or friend's photo (who doesn't mind letting you use it). Make sure, though, you always attribute the photo to that person if they let you use it. Never use a photo without doing this wherever you get it.
- A "stock photo" that is public domain
Since my Trilogy, The White Wolf Prophecy Trilogy , takes place in two places - St Louis, MO, and in Colorado in the Rocky Mountains - I chose one of my photos that applied to one of these places. Since I have up to the minute photos of Colorado, and the majority of the story takes place in Colorado, my choice was already made. So, after a lot of pouring over tons of photos I have, I chose these four to pick from I took in and around Evergreen, CO to Idaho Springs.
(All photos are copyrighted by © LK Kelley)
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| © LK Kelley |
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| © LK Kelley |
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| © LK Kelley |
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| © LK Kelley |
So, I came up with the idea to put all of them into Photoshop saved to 8.5" x 11.5" and 600, then cropped them as a front and back of a book, and I displayed them. The choice was no contest, and made immediately. I chose my background, and it was absolutely perfect!
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| © LK Kelley |
Next, I played around with the name on the cover.
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| © LK Kelley Yep! I was on my way to working with my cover photo, and adding my faces onto it! I used this as the "pre-reveal" until I was finished with the cover. |
Choosing a background photo for a book taught me that it takes a lot more time than I EVER realized, but was it worth my time just to get to this step?
Absolutely! A resounding YES!
I also happen to be a Freelance Interior Designer, and I realized, after choosing the cover photo, that I was putting all my knowledge from that into the cover on the book! So, now, I had an area of expertise that I was able to put into my design, and that's how I chose my book cover. I realized that putting the photos into Photo Shop, cropping them for the front of the cover, and viewing them in that way made all the difference in the world.
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Part 2 - How I chose the concept "Faces of The White Wolf Prophecy".
Part 3 - Photoshoots with the characters, and why I had these done.
Part 4 - Assembling the entire book cover for publishing
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