Here comes the bride - wait, what???

By Michelle Lee

BWL Art Director

Finding images can be somewhat of a challenge - especially for historical fiction.  The costumes are just so expensive, and each time period had such drastically different clothing styles.  Plus there were different styles within each time period depending upon where in the world the story is set.

Yeah, historical fiction can be a challenge to create cover art for.

So I was tickled when I came across a suggestion for a simple and easy way around it (in some cases at least).  You ready for it?

BRIDES!

That's right, most bridal gowns are poofy and have those small beading details that just add so much depth to the image.  And they really are very versatile in what you can use them for - plus the women generally have intricate hair styles, which also adds to the appeal of the images.

Now I am not saying that will work for all historical fiction (it will work best with romances), but it does offer some more options.  Like I mentioned in a previous post, not all details are going to be time period exact.  So sometimes you have to overlook the fact that some details won't be perfect ... and look at the cover and evaluate the images as a whole.  

Now for an example of how a wedding gown can be used ...

When the dress is white, it is very obviously a wedding gown.  But how I have modified it to dark blue?  It has the look of a ball gown ... and with that hair-do, she could easily fit in several different time periods.

Thoughts?

* * *

If you are interested in other rambling about cover art by Michelle Lee, check out the following Inside BWL Blog Posts:
Alas Poor Images, I Cannot Find You
Fonts, Fonts, and More Fonts

and other Behind The Cover Art posts ...

* * *

Michelle Lee is a self-taught cover artist who has an opinion on pretty much everything, and a love of the natural world that often means tidbits and trivia are shared on a whim.  You can check out her portfolio at: Stardust Creations

Two Sides to the Cover

By Michelle Lee

BWL Art Director

On the one hand ...

As a fiction writer, you probably already know that research is vitally important.  For example, if you are focusing on a specific time period, you want to use historically accurate words.  Your characters need to feel, to the reader, like they are coming alive - and are authentic.

You polish your work, pouring all of your love and attention and determination into it, and almost grudgingly hand it over to a publisher.  And then the fun begins.

You get a cover concept back - and *gasp* the clothing isn't exactly right.  The waist of the dress is too high, the sleeves not poofy enough, or even worse, the dress isn't flaring enough at the bottom to be a ball gown.

All that research - and for what?

* * *

The other side of the story ...

A cover art form comes in, and after looking it over, the task seems almost impossible.  Finding a couple, wearing the exact clothing in the exact colors, with the perfect hair and eye color, and without modern looking manicures on the woman.

How on earth are you going to come up with a cover that perfectly encompasses all of those details, with stock art.   Especially considering you are not a historical scholar.

The answer is - you aren't.  Which means you are going to disappoint the author in some way (even if it is only a small detail).  And that is a very hard thing to accept on a day to day basis - but it is the reality of the job.

* * *

As an author, I know how important cover art is in not only branding your books, but also giving hints (at a quick glance) of what the story is all about.  I know how frustrating it can be trying to get your vision for the cover across in a two-page form.  I know the agony of waiting for the cover art to come in.  And I know the frustration when details are slightly off.

As a cover artist, I am very familiar with the hours that can be spent (and quite often just wasted) trying to find the perfect image for a cover.  Sometimes the angle is off and it won't merge well with the background, or the model has a very obvious french manicure, yet is posing in Renaissance clothing.  You want to create something both you, and the author, can be proud of ... and yet ... the images just won't cooperate.

* * *

I guess what I am trying to explain with all of this is ... the cover artist-author relationship is a lot like any other relationship.  There has to be some compromise to it.  A lot of understanding.  And the product of the relationship - the cover art - might be slightly flawed by not being perfectly accurate but it is a reflection of both the artists efforts to provide a reflection of the author's hard work and the author's work itself.  So before you get frustrated at the details, take a step back and look at the overall picture.

And ask yourself these simple questions:

* does it overall reflect the tone or feel of the story?
* is is quality and something you would be proud to have showcasing your hard work?
* is is obvious that the artist tried to meet your needs?
* will this cover help your book sell? (and will reader feel it is an accurate - within reason - reflection of the story)

If your answer is no to any of these questions, then you should feel the right to request some serious revisions to the cover, or a complete start over.

But if you answered yes to them all ... ask yourself this ... does that one little inconsistency, that one historically inaccurate detail detract from the overall cover, and is it realistically likely that a better image will be found?

* * *

If you are interested in other rambling about cover art by Michelle Lee, check out the following Inside BWL Blog Posts:
Alas Poor Images, I Cannot Find You
Fonts, Fonts, and More Fonts

and other Behind The Cover Art posts ...

* * *

Michelle Lee is a self-taught cover artist who has an opinion on pretty much everything, and a love of the natural world that often means tidbits and trivia are shared on a whim.  You can check out her portfolio at: Stardust Creations

He's Sexy and you know it!

By Michelle Lee

BWL Art Director

This post is primarily for romance authors, readers, and those that love them.

We all know there are trends in romances.  Tropes many people call them.

Amnesia.

     One-night stand baby.

          In love with the boss.

               Cowboys.

                    Vampires.

                         Werewolves.

A vampire who has a baby with her werewolf boss, who is also a cowboy, and then he develops amnesia right after telling her he loves her too, so she has to make him fall in love with her again, while together they fight off the bad werewolf female who wants the hero for herself.

Ok, so that last one I might have been making up - but you watch, now that it is out there in the blog-o-sphere, someone somewhere will write it.  So long as I get creative credit, I'm okay with it.

Anyways, we all know there are trends.  Just like in the storylines, there are also trends with cover art, specifically cover models.

For example, anyone remember this guy?

If you read romances in the '80 and early '90 you should.  That's right - that's FABIO.

(want a blast from the past - check out this post of his 'Top 40 Covers')

Fabio was on more than 400 romance novel covers.  And that was a big deal at the time.

Now, let's fast forward to today.  And we have JIMMY THOMAS.  He is an even hotter commodity than Fabio was in his day.  At one point a year or so ago, Mr. Thomas mentioned he had been on something like a 1000 book covers, and since then he has become even more prolific.  Current stats put him at 6000 covers.

Think about that - 6000 covers!  Holy moly!

But then again, looking at him, I can certainly see why he is so prolific.

      

(Images (c) Jimmy Thomas) - I just LOVE that second picture.

Part of Mr. Thomas' appeal is his tall, dark good looks, as well as his versatility ... but also his support for the romance community.  He started up a romance stock image site.  He started a cover art convention (which welcomes big named authors as well as those just starting out) and occurred for this year just a couple days ago.  He started a newtworking site just for the romance community - readers, publishers, cover artists, authors, etc.  From everything I have heard about him, he is open, personable, and generally a nice guy.  I have hopes to eventually make it out to his cover art convention myself, and maybe get a first hand account.

So what covers from BWL can we find the prolific Jimmy Thomas on?

Alas poor images, I cannot find you!

By Michelle Lee

BWL Art Director

So how many of you, when trying to visualize the ways you want a cover to look, quickly get frustrated trying to find images?

(Waiting a moment as people start jumping up and down, madly waving their arms, screaming ME!  That's ME she's talking about).

I should have mentioned, make sure not to scare your pets with your answer.

(Waiting longer while poor Fluffy and Fido are coaxed out from behind the fridge and Tweets snagged off of the curtain rod in the shower; don't worry - Slither will come out of the sewer somewhere in the neighborhood - so just wait for screams to clue you in to his location.).

As you can imagine, many authors find themselves in the same ... exact ... boat when it comes to finding images.

So here are some tricks to image searches (from my own personal frustrated experiences).

* First off ... do some sample searches and see what comes up.  Go to images sites like 123rf.com and use their search function and search for random things, so that you can familiarize yourself with the site.  Like any skill, practice is going to work to your advantage.

* Don't get discouraged; sometimes cover artists have problems finding images.

* All too often, when it comes to something like finding the perfect image authors have to come to terms with the fact that they don't exist.  Going to wait a moment, and let that sink in.  The perfect images do not and will not ever exist.  We work with what is available, and within the bounds of what models are willing to pose for certain genres of images.  So sometimes, close-enough is what we work with.

* Now, if you're not finding images, not because of looking for the perfect one, but rather because nothing is showing up as a result of your search, just try new terms, and things that are close.  For example, I have found Regency era styled images by search for Medieval and Renaissance.  The terms Baroque, Vintage, etc also have worked when trying to find historical images.  So expand a little with the search terms.

* Generally one and two word searches work best.  This is by far the best advise I can possibly give.  ONE or TWO word searches.  For example: "Sexy Couple" is going to yield much better results that "Couple Sexy Embrace Bed Red Silk Lingerie Lace England Castle Curtains Blond Man Redhead Woman".  Yes, there will be more images to look through, but you are more likely to find what you need.  Many photographers put really good search terms to their images, but that can't think of everything.  So simple is going to yield better results.

* Also, keep in mind if Sexy Couple didn't work, maybe Attractive Couple, Nude Couple, Lingerie Couple, Embracing Couple, Couple Kiss, Couple Love, etc might yield better results so try alternative search terms.

* If I find a search term set that yields great results, and I know I might need to use it again, I will save the terms in a word doc.  I put what I am trying to find, and what terms I ended up using.

* * *

Now, I know that many authors feel they are not a good judge of images, and what would make a cover.  And that is fine.  That is the role of the cover artist.  But cover artists are not fluent in all fields.  So some genres are more difficult for an artist to find images for without author suggestions.  To that end - consider finding images that fit your characters, and suggest them.  Keep in mind however, the cover artist might not use them.  Because some images lend themselves to covers better than others, the cover artist and publisher is always going to reserve the right to opt for a different image.  But by suggesting possible images, you are more likely to get something closer to what you want than not.

For example, I am a biologist by training.  Specifically an ecologist.  So, someone saying to me 'I want a nice snowy owl on the fore-cover, and a timber wolf in the background, with a couple in between'.  As a result, I am able to fit those requirements without much effort, because I am familiar with both, and if not - I have easy access to field guides that will make me familiar with them.

But saying to me, 'This is set in Edwardian England, and I want the hero to have period clothing, and the background needs to be a period house, and so on', um I am going to space out at Edwardian, and my eyes will be completely glazed over by hero ...  So for that cover, I am so going to need every suggestion I can get.

So keep in mind that cover artists are not fluent in all fields, and thus not fluent in all genres terms and specifics.  We do the best we can, with what resources we have available - so make sure YOU are one of those resources.

* * *

Oh and one last, tiny little suggestion.  As you are searching, if you come across an image that screams at you - but for a book you aren't working on filling out the information for - SAVE THE URL, image number and site, whatever!!!! 

Either create a word document that you put all of them into, with the Genre/WIP Title etc with them, or bookmark them, something.  

So many times, authors lament that they had found the perfect image, but forgot to save it since they were looking for a different book's suggestions.  So don't let that be you.  Find some way to keep track of the images that stand out to you - because you never know when you will need to find it again.

Behind The Cover: Romance Heat Levels

By Michelle Lee
BWL Art Director

At BWL, part of the book information an author provides is a genre designation and if it involves a romance, either as the main genre or a sub-genre, they also include the romance heat level.  Now this throws off many people, especially since heat levels, just like comfort levels, vary from author to author, and reader to reader.

Something to consider, I started my career in the erotica field of the spectrum, so my 3 probably differs from someone who has never even read an erotic romance's definition of a 3.

So I have a basic scale that the authors are provided.
1: Sweet  --- 5: Melt your screen HOT

I had hoped that would be enough, but I forgot, not everyone is as comfortable with my level of screen melting.  So for some people, screen melting might be fairly tame to me.  So I still find at times, that authors have problems deciding what deserves a 3, versus when does it tip into a 4.  This isn't through any fault of their own - so please, don't read that into what I am saying.  It all has to do with our own perceptions of things.

So here in plain terms, is what I think of with each heat level designation.

1. We are talking sweet or inspirational romances, or those that only hint at a romance subplot, etc.

Cover results ... NO nudity or any kind!  Full clothing, no embraces that even hint at passion or lust.  Maybe dreamy eyes or holding hands, but that's it.

2. Close the door romances, and those with a bit more of a romance subplot, where a kiss is really all the readers are privy to.

Cover results ... Maybe a shoulder, bare male torso, or a soft kiss.  Nothing majorly scandalous.

3. Now we are getting somewhere - bedroom door is open, but details are flowery or fairly sparse in detail.

Cover results ... Bare skin, maybe an embrace with a more passionate kiss.

4. Details are flowing and clothes are flying. Yeah baby!

Cover results ... Nudity alert!  Might have a partially nude couple, bare torsos on guys, suggestive images, etc on the cover.

 5. These are generally spice releases, but I have seen a couple some through with a heat rating of 5 for a non-spice (generally because the romance is a sub-plot but it is still explicit!).

Cover results ... No holds barred, anything and everything goes on the cover, which matches the characters.  *wink, wink*

Can we tell what covers I still enjoy creating?

Fonts, fonts, and more fonts

By Michelle Lee

BWL Art Director

Hi, it's me again - the resident cover art geek.  I'm back with my latest in cover art related posts (after a fairly long hiatus due to graduate school).  I bet you can't guess what this post is about.  Come on ... give it a try ...

I'll give you a hint.  It's not images and it's not color schemes.  So what's left?  FONTS of course!

I touched on this a little bit in a past post, but it is well worth revisiting (at least in my mind).

Now I know what you are thinking, why would this be something worth talking about - twice now?  Well ... because the font typefaces used can be just as iconic as the images.

Let's look at a few examples shall we?

With the sharply pointed edges of this typeface, the artist brings to mind fangs.  Which is appropriate - anyone who doesn't know what Blade is about, it involves vampires.

 Another font that springs to mind right off is the one used for the Highlander TV series with Adrian Paul. Since she show is about sword-welding immortals, the font fits - because it has an almost blade edge like to it.

Ready for one that everyone should know?

Look at the elongated S's.  They almost see to be moving further away from the nearby letters. 

Another blast from the past - TRON.  Although the font was updated slightly for the new movie, it still have the same basic shape and feel.  The N especially is iconic.

Want a more modern example?  Then look no further than the Hogwarts school of magic.  It has a very wand like feel to it, and of course there is the lightening bolt end to the letter P.

 Now every author's dream is probably to be a household name.  Obviously the biggest part is creating a product you can be proud of.  However there are other things that go into the magic formula of success.  Part of that is branding, part of it is the wrapping, and of course a good deal of it is plain old fashion luck.  Since you can't control luck, an author needs to focus on what they can control - the product, branding themselves, and the wrapping of their product (namely the cover and blurb).

While the images are going to be what catches a reader first, they will notice the font.  And if it doesn't fit the overall feel of the product, then it can turn them off of the book.

Imagine a romance with a very stark, bleeding font.  Unless you are looking at a post-apocalyptic or paranormal genre, it probably wouldn't fit.

How about a fancy, script font on a horror.  Or a blocky, unattractive, bland font on a very visually stunning and provocative image.

The font selected for a cover can really say a lot about the contents.  So I strongly suggest authors take a little bit of time and scan through some of the options.  Including a few suggestions with the cover art form can help a cover artist to create the wrapping that will help to see your book.  At the very least, it will let you be able to explain to the artist what style you are looking for.

If you are not sure on what kind of font you are wanting, ie don't know the terminology, check out this quick resource - Basic Typography Terminology

If you are looking for something a bit more in depth - check out this article.

Some of the websites I personally use are:

DaFont     *     1001 Free Fonts     *     Urban Fonts

What I like about DaFont over some of the others out there is the option to see what specialized words - like a book's title - would look like, and the way they have the categories organized.  It makes it super easy to find something to fit.

To stress how important a choice picking the right font can be I leave you with one last iconic font.

Can you guess what uses this particular font?

...

...

...

...

...

If you guessed

 then give yourself a hand.

Now being realistic, your font typeface choice isn't likely to make you a household name.  BUT it is something important to consider when looking at a cover's creation.

Behind the Cover Artist's Curtain: Cover Branding

By Michelle Lee

BWL Art Director

When it comes to branding, there are many different schools of thought for each form of branding.

INDIVIDUAL COVER ARTISTS:

Some artists might suggest always using the same fonts for all of an author’s covers.  Others might want to keep the same style of images, colors, and so on.  Some could prefer just keeping series the same, and letting the rest of the covers have their own unique style.

PUBLISHER:

Each publisher might also have their own methods of branding.  That can vary from a logo on all covers, to a band along the top, bottom, or side of covers.

MY STYLE:

As a cover artist, I focus on making sure series books match each other (see my post on the subject).  Other than that, I tend to follow the authors lead on branding.

Some authors have requested a logo, image, or certain style to link all of their books.

As you can see here ... Rita has several different logo styles, depending upon the genre.  But for all her books, there is a logo with her initials in it.

Other authors have requested the same general style of fonts, or image layout.  

With Geeta's books, the first three are part of one series, but the last one is from another series.  Yet they all share similar styles with image layout.

 Still others have expressed no preference whatsoever, and so each cover is different from the others.

It does get more challenging the more genres an author writes in to help 'brand' the author's books with their covers … but as an author myself, I know sometimes I specific genre just calls to you.

As for how to brand yourself as an author, well, I am still trying to figure that out myself.  So if anyone has an ideas - please share them.

Now … this brings my original Cover Art series of posts to an end.  From here, I will be posting about whatever comes to mind, or addressing a specific topic I have been asked my opinion on.  So feel free to leave a comment if you want me to give my personal take on a cover topic.  I am certainly not lacking in opinions.

Behind the Cover Artist's Curtain: The X Factor

By Michelle Lee

BWL Art Director

Welcome to another exciting edition of Behind the Cover with your host – Michelle Lee.

*cue applause*

This time the topic is what I like to call the X-Factor in covers.  You know what I mean, that little bit of extra something that isn't easy to define, since it varies from cover to cover – but it is there. 

If you missed past episodes of Behind The Cover Artist's Curtain, you can check them out online.

Introductory Post 

The Cover Art Form

Image Selection

Cover Elements

Series

For my first example of the X-Factor, I want to look at series books, since it is easiest to pin-point that little bit of something extra when comparing books that belong together.

So let’s look at Gail Roughton’s War-N-Wit, Inc. series …

Now looking at the cover, you see similar elements.  The witch diver bar.  The guy is on top and the woman on the bottom.  The fonts (placement, color and style) are all the same.  Now you would expect to see something similar with series books – at least those covers I do for series books.  (Check out my last post if you don’t know why – just scroll down to the end).

So what’s different, besides the actual images themselves?

To start, let’s a close look at the divider.  Notice the stars?  See how they change from cover to cover?  Instead of keeping it stationary and in place, I have it shifting slightly with each cover.  That’s the X-Factor.

Also, see the cat in the first cover?  Here’s a hint – it is on top of the author’s last name.

Now look at the second cover.  Is the cat in the same spot?  Nope – in fact, when you do find it, you will see that it isn't even the same cat silhouette. 

Find it yet?

Now … let’s look for it in the third cover - again, different spot and different silhouette.  

Again, this is the X-Factor.  Just a little fun I had while putting the covers together. It also allows the author to have fun now with promotions … maybe even inviting readers to find the cat in the cover.   In this particular case, the author enjoyed the play on the witch’s cat so much she added one into the story.

(you can check out the details on Gail's blog - just continue on down to the comments)

I already mentioned in the series post about Jamieson Wolf’s Hope Falls series, how the background shifted with each book.

 

But what about covers that aren't for books in a series?  Do they still have X-Factor potential?

Well audience, let’s look at another set of covers - this time for Erin Quinn.

  

The X-Factor in these covers is a little more subtle … but if you look, it is there.  Starting with Kissing Kris Kringle … notice the I’s in the title … see the snowflake that dots it?  Also, the I in Erin’s name is the same way.

Now look at the I in Erin’s name in the cover Shaking It Up.  See the heart?  That’s a little X-Factor.

Now let’s look at a couple more covers.  

Jenna Byrnes’ Heads or Tails involves, well, a quarter coin toss. : )  So, if you notice, behind the word TAILS the headlight, it has a quarter.  Just kind of hidden there; a little bit of whimsy.

Oddly enough, another coin is found in Ann Cory’s Penny Serenade.  Pennies obviously play a key component in the story … so within the moon, which is also something that is important in the story, is the silhouette of Abe Lincoln from a penny.

Another good example is the cover for Jamie Hill’s Impulsive.  Since there are four stories in this collection, I wanted to try and get a little something from each of them worked into the cover.  There’s the bottle, for the genie story.  A trumpet for a jazz based tale.  Snowflakes and a mystical mist, for the other two stories – one of which involves a ski vacation and the other – you guessed it – magic.

 Basically, what the X-Factor boils down to is the stuff that I have fun adding in.  Something that maybe the author didn’t necessarily call for in their cover art form, as in the case of Micah the cat for Gail’s covers, or if they did, there wasn’t a real way to work it in except by doing something subtle, like with Ann Cory’s Penny.

Either way, planned by the author or not, these little things make their covers stand out just a little bit more.  It also helps to prove a basis for a “can you spot the ______ ” kind of question for contests.

And that concludes this edition of Behind the Cover.

I really do hope that you have enjoyed this brief glimpse into what goes on in creating a cover – or at least covers I create.

Next up is author branding.  

After that, I don’t have any ideas right off of what I will talk about, so if there is something you would like to see that I haven’t covered yet – leave that info in a comment.

Until next time!