A new rant from me

[dgcasey]

I sent out an inquiry to a cover artist on one of the many pre-made cover websites, about one of their covers. I told them I liked the cover and thought it would work great for my paranormal series. I just needed a couple of minor changes so that my branding would fit at the top better. They did a mock up and sent it back, WITHOUT the branding, just my author name. They said the branding looked amateurish with the font I'm using and didn't think it would look good on the cover. They advised me to not use the branding anymore.

This kind of irritated me. Just a little. Would they tell R. L. Stine to remove Goosebumps from his covers? Stine's novels are kind of my model, though I'm not aiming at the 8-13 year old reader market. I'm aiming more for the teen and young adult market.

I want my novels to have a strong branding on the cover, so that when a reader sees the series, they know it IS a series. Not a serial, a series.

Anyway, that's my rant. Much as I liked the cover, I am NOT going to remove A COLD SHIVERS NIGHTMARE from the covers. I guess I'll just find another cover that I like.

[LilyBLily]

When it came to arguing with cover designers, sometimes I've been wrong and sometimes I've been right. I'd prefer to have been wrong, actually, but even very experienced ones do make mistakes and I have been proved right. Which didn't do me any good because then the cover designer got all huffy and didn't want to fix the problem. Arrgh.

Re your covers, I can see why they said that, since at the thumbnail size (on this site) your branding at the top is hard to read. It's bigger on Amazon, I believe. The top is similar in style to the title down below, so they're of a piece. That's branding. There may come a day when you'll want to redo your branding, but that's not what you're looking for today. Often, people do not listen when you give them very clear instructions.

Everybody's a critic. In the past I've shown off finished, paid for covers to my writers' group and they've told me what was wrong with them, which at that stage was too late, and I didn't ask for, anyway. I try not to do that to them.   

[Cobbah]

One would hope that the advice giver was attempting to be helpful in a professional capacity.

As to branding. You're author name isn't consistent across all your books so you aren't really pushing your 'brand' per se. You are using a font for a series of books for which I would question whether it's having a good effect on the reader.  I suspect you could get a different font that both gives the look you are wanting to achieve and comes across as professional as well (to the level of your cover designer requires it anyway). I generally trust my cover designer and would certainly consider their choice. As LiliBlily says, 'everyone's a critic'  and that's my two cents worth.

[dgcasey]

One would hope that the advice giver was attempting to be helpful in a professional capacity.

As to branding. You're author name isn't consistent across all your books so you aren't really pushing your 'brand' per se. You are using a font for a series of books for which I would question whether it's having a good effect on the reader.  I suspect you could get a different font that both gives the look you are wanting to achieve and comes across as professional as well (to the level of your cover designer requires it anyway). I generally trust my cover designer and would certainly consider their choice. As LiliBlily says, 'everyone's a critic'  and that's my two cents worth.

First off, my author name IS consistent across all six titles that are out. I use the same font on all of them. As for the A COLD SHIVERS NIGHTMARE line, that is only on two books because that's all I have published in that series. The third and fourth to follow in the next 3-6 weeks. But, that line doesn't appear on the covers of the other books because they aren't part of that series.

What I was taken aback by was the idea that I needed to remove the branding line altogether. Having an issue with the font is fine. I've been wondering about it myself and have been toying with different fonts to make it look a little more grown up. I just haven't created anything that strikes my fancy yet, but I continue to look. My intention is to build a series akin to Goosebumps. Dozens of books under the same banner, set in the same genre. And this is why I love self-pub. I can make a change to the covers with the click of a couple of keys and it's done.

Anyway, I have no problem with a well-earned critique. I get just as much from them as I do a great review. I have massaged my blurbs and covers many times based on ideas tossed out here in these forums. I just had to pick my jaw up when I read that I should remove the branding line completely. As I said earlier, would that cover designer tell R. L. Stine to remove Goosebumps from his books? But, I'm over it now and moving on. I'll continue to play with the line and see if I can come up with something that will look good across all the titles in the series.

Okay, rant mode off. I have some writing to do!   

[notthatamanda]

I just had to pick my jaw up when I read that I should remove the branding line completely.

I understand if you don't want to spend anymore time on this but if you decide to ask them why they recommended removing the branding completely, I'm curious as well.

[Lorri Moulton]

I agree about the branding.  We all have to find something to make our books identifiable to a vast sea of readers. 

[Cobbah]

First off, my author name IS consistent across all six titles that are out. I use the same font on all of them.

Clarification:
I was referring to the fact that two of your books have "D G Casey Presents" the other four have "D G Casey"

[Bill Hiatt]

I agree about the branding.  We all have to find something to make our books identifiable to a vast sea of readers. 

It does definitely seem like the cover designer is going too far with that recommendation. It may also suggest a lack of understanding about what the market is like today.

[Alexa]

I think the artist went too far. They can make a suggestion, even give their opinion, but in the end, you're paying. Who cares HOW you like your book covers? They get money for doing the work. If they don't like the result, they can always ask you not to put their name on the copyright page. No big deal 

[MaxDaemon]

I come from a time when typesetting was done one character at a time on photographic paper, and cut/paste was really - cut and paste.

One thing I was taught very firmly, you do NOT editorialize your customers' work. If they want that dang typo in there, then you set the page with the typo in it.

Of course, it's a good idea to get the whole thing signed off by the customer as being exactly the way they want it. Then it's their responsibility if they don't like it.