1. How did you get started designing book covers?
Early last summer I read a book that I absolutely loved, Yellowstone Heart Song, by Peggy L. Henderson. On a whim, I emailed her to tell her how much I loved her work. Even though I’ve loved reading my whole life, I’ve never emailed an author before. We quickly became friends and I was a beta reader for her other books in the series.
Toward the end of the summer I mentioned to her that she should get some new covers (I was gentle). As we talked, I offered to make her a cover. For the past 18 years I’ve been a high school business teacher (Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Photoshop, InDesign, Economics, Yearbook/Newspaper, and others) so I had a skill set that allowed me to jump right in to designing cover art. She loved her cover and I ended up re-designing several covers for her. Peggy encouraged me to branch out and design covers for other authors and she referred me to Romance Novel Center, where I could meet other authors and cover artists.
Soon after, I purchased an image from Romance Novel Covers and I ran into a little glitch. I emailed Jimmy Thomas and he quickly responded with an answer to my question and a question for me. He praised my work and asked me if I wanted to sell pre-made covers on his website. I was so excited I almost fell off my chair. Working with him has really helped me improve my craft. He is very detail oriented and he has a great deal of experience in the industry. I know I can count on him for brutally honest feedback, which is critical to move forward.
Currently I sell pre-made covers on RNC, pre-made covers on my website, and I design custom covers for authors and three publishers. The main publisher I work with is Soul Mate Publishing. They are fabulous to work with and they have some excellent authors.
2. Why do you think a good cover can promote interest as well as sales for the author?
The cover is the single most important marketing tool an author has for a book. Every author needs to go back and read that sentence again. The cover is CRITICAL. The thumbnail gets a couple seconds to lure in the reader. If the cover fails this crucial test, the sale is lost. Even though authors see this all over on blogs, websites, and printed materials for indie authors, they still think it is ok to make their own cover or have someone without a designer’s eye do it for them. I’m pleading and begging indie authors to stop and think about what they are doing. Think about the hours you have invested into your writing and then think about how you present that to potential readers. Having an unprofessional cover is sending the message, “This book is not worth your time, move along.”
A professionally designed cover will attract readers and will help increase sales. Also, the investment is minimal. A pre-made cover is $35-45 and a custom cover is $50 and up with most artists. This is a very small investment. Last fall when I was just getting myself established, an author contacted me about designing a cover for her, R.E. Butler. She loved the design and saw a dramatic increase in sales.
Soon after, I re-designed several covers for her and I’ve done many since that time. She has consistently been on the Amazon Best Seller’s list for authors. She is an excellent writer and her books have eye-catching covers. This is the formula for success: excellent writing + professional cover = SALES. There are a lot of great books out there that will not sell because the cover is lacking.
3. What is your favorite part of designing covers?
Being creative is my fun, relaxing time. After spending the day with teenagers, I need some “quiet time” and designing is that for me. Also, I love helping people. Seeing authors achieve increased sales or having people send me emails about how much they love their cover makes my day. The majority of my clients are repeat customers and this is very important to me. Building these relationships adds to the pride I feel about the whole process. I want an author to love their cover and I want them to sell tons of books!
In addition, the “research” is so much fun. I’ve often wondered how many hours I’ve spend looking at these sexy heroes. R.E. Butler and I laugh all the time about our “research time” together looking for the perfect specimen to appear on the cover. Another part of designing I love is searching for fonts and thinking about how they will look on a cover.
4. Your covers are beautiful and range from sensual to sweet. What helps you visualize what the author wants in a cover?
Thank you for the compliment (blush). Some authors have a very specific cover in mind, which presents a real challenge to a cover artist. The best covers are where the artist is given freedom to create. An artist has the training to design a cover that fits the genre, tone, and heat level of the book. They know what elements will help book sales.
Before starting a cover I gather information from the author about the book. Then I whip up some mock up covers to show them and the tweaking process begins. So far, I’ve been very fortunate to work with such wonderful authors and many of them have become my friends.
BIO
For the past 18 years I’ve been teaching high school business in Northern Wisconsin.. When I’m not working on school things, I love designing romance book covers. My favorites….being creative, photography, Little House on the Prairie, reading, nature, camping, antiques, animals, interesting people, exploring new places, music, daisies, movies, challenges, chocolate….
You can visit Ramona’s site at http://coversbyramona.blogspot.com/
Leave a comment for your chance to win $50 toward a custom-made cover or one of Ramona’s fabulous pre-made covers.
Fabulous peek into the mind of what goes into a cover! Thank you for this post!
Lisa McManus Lange
Lisa,
I came across her covers by accident and I am so glad I did. Her work is stunning.
It’s true, a great cover can really boost sales. It’s the first thing we see when online shopping, and if I don’t like a cover, I don’t click on the book. Your covers are beautiful! Where is your website?
Thanks for asking, here is my website:
http://www.coversbyramona.blogspot.com/
How many hours do you typically put into a premade cover? A custom?
Thanks for the post!
Custom Covers–Sometimes they come together quickly 1-2 hours and other times, it’s much more. The most challenging part is finding the right images. After that is done, my creative brain works quickly. I spend quite a bit of time away from the computer thinking about covers (colors, fonts, etc.). The best covers are where the designers gets a lot of freedom from the author. If I really figured out the time commitment versus the fees I charge, I would be sad so I try not to think about that! I find a great deal of joy designing and working with authors.
Pre-Made Covers–These usually take less time because the decisions are all mine and my visions comes to life.
ooops…need to proofread more carefully
“my vision comes to life”
Love the covers – they’re amazing and I know what you mean about enjoying the opportunity to be creative after school. I substitute teach, mostly at the middle-high level and it’s always fun to come back to my fictional world after being in the “real” one.
What is the most important question an author should ask a prospective cover designer? Thanks so much for the information.
Ahhh, this is a tricky one. There are so many details to discuss in advance (prices, time frame, number of mock ups provided, follow up service). I use a standard design contract so the details are spelled out right away. The majority of the authors I work with are repeat clients and I am proud of that. I want an author to love the cover, but more importantly I want the cover to sell books. Some authors want tons of details on the cover and I strongly advise against that type of artwork. Simple and bold is what draws my attention and I try to stay true to that style when designing. If you’ve looked at a designer’s portfolio and you like their work, give them the freedom to create and trust that what they design for you will help book sales.
Thanks Suzanne, Lisa, and L.Williams for stopping by 🙂
This is a really great insight. I don’t think most readers realize how much work / thought goes into a book cover–or how much angst authors have about it. Great post!
It’s nice to get insight from a cover artist on their process! Have you done any covers for YA books?
I have done a couple YA covers. I tend to like the more romantic and steamier ones, but I’m open to all genres. I do have quite a bit of insight into the YA mind since I spend all day with them!
Thanks Shannon, Marlene, and Cecy for joining us.
In my opinion and experience, a good cover artist is worth her/his weight in GOLD!! And it’s soooo helpful when they ask for author input during the process. Thanks, Ramona, for your expertise! 😀
Thanks for stopping by today.
Loved this interview, Ramona! To others reading it, Ramona designed my debut historical romance, MUSIC FOR MY SOUL. It’s simply heavenly, and now she’s outdone herself with my upcoming October release, OUTLAW MUSE. She really works closely with an author and helps bring our book to life! We can’t wait for the final draft to be completed so we can both post it! Thanks for all you do, Ramona. 🙂
Thanks so much Lauren 🙂
Aw, you forgot one very important promotion tool for yourself, Ramona! You also create incredibly beautiful covers every month for InD’Tale magazine! tsk, tsk…. 😉
Ahhhhhh, TJ you are right, thank you for reminding me about the InD’tale covers 🙂
This might be the best post I’ve read in… forever. I think I’m going to highlight it on my blog. Thanks so much, Sonya, for letting us know about it! Absolutely GORGE covers!
Thank you!
Rebecca,
You wrote His Wounded Heart. That’s on my TBR pile. I love the way that your blog is set up-the design is super cute.
Hi Ramona – I noticed you have Jimmy Thomas on some of your covers. Are you going to the Romance Novel Convention in August? Jimmy will be the MC and there will other cover models there as well. http://www.romancenovelconvention.com
Hi Amy, This year I will not be able to attend, but I’ll be there in spirit. I’ll have a floor banner display and an ad in the program brochure. In the future I hope to make it my fun summer trip!
I have nothing but high praise for Ramona and the professionalism, care, and skill she puts into her work. What a pleasure she is to work with, (and (I’m not just saying that because the cover she made for my time travel romance Whisper in the Wind is posted in the blog). 🙂 Ramona went above and beyond to make the entire cover for both e-book and print absolutely stunning, and I look forward to working with her on all my book covers in the future. Yay, Ramona! ((hugs))
OMG, you are all so sweet! You are a dream to work with too. I’m so lucky to be doing something that I love so much with such wonderful people. Thank you for stopping in and for the kind words! 🙂
Could not agree more about the importance of a good cover! Thanks.
And you’re covers are gorgeous.
Thank you!
This is a great blog post. I didn’t even know about Romance Novel Covers. As a pre-published writer, I am happy to learn of a resource for book covers.
You are so talented, Ramona. Your covers are great.
Thank you! After you check out Romance Novel Covers stop in at Romance Novel Center (a place where authors, readers, and cover artists gather). Creating an account is free.
Ramona, You are the best. I found you when I began looking on the internet for a tutorial on how to make my own covers. Less than impressed and overwhelmed, I found you and the rest is history as they say.
You have a great talent and an absolute gem to work with. You will be my go-to cover artist for as long as you can stand me. 😉
Thank you Carra, you are sweet to work with also! 🙂
This was very interesting. I love your covers. I’ve been debating self-pubbing and had no idea of the costs of covers and yours are lovely and seem reasonably priced. Best wishes and Good luck with your endeavors.
Jillian, Thank you for stopping by. Hiring a cover artist is well worth the $. It will help you avoid all kinds of pain and suffering so you can focus on writing! After I wrote that I started to laugh….some of my author friends find writing to be full of pain and suffering!!!
Ramona,
Your covers look lovely. Right now, I am depending on my publisher to provide my cover. I can see where it is wise to give the cover artist a chance to design a good cover instead of the author insisting on her own view. However, I will probably self publish some of my previous unsold manuscripts and so I will keep your information where I can find it.
Carolyn Rae Author, facebook, Romancing the Gold, coming soon from Noble Romance Publishing
Thanks for stopping by Carolyn, I appreciate the compliment!
Wow! I love these covers! How fun, too, to hear from a cover designer. Such an interesting viewpoint.