The Novel Process Day 3

Today’s stop on our quest to learn how books are created, is with the cover designer. The cover is probably best selling point of any book so this is a crucial step. We’ll be hearing today from Paul Higdon, the Creative Director at Bethany House Publishers.

Welcome, Paul!

When you think about the favorite books from your past, doesn’t the cover come to mind? My job is to create those memories. The design process for a book cover is essentially the first step in branding an author’s writing in visual form. Even though the packaging will eventually include the back cover, spine, and interior pages, the cover will become the visual expression of the words inside. In the same way a movie poster can represent the movie, or a cereal box represents the cereal, a book cover becomes the icon the reader or marketplace remembers when thinking about the book. This branding process will continue after the final cover design is completed. Marketing and Advertising will use the design we create and apply supporting visual elements and words which harmonize with the direction and feel of the cover to reinforce the overall message of the product. As the author continues to produce more and more books, the designer’s role shifts to bolstering that established brand with designs of similar quality, ambience, and expression. If properly done, the visual brand and the author’s name become synonymous—a powerful unique identity. It becomes an indispensable tool in the marketer’s arsenal.

Here are a few of the basic steps we employ to produce the book’s design: Each stage is crucial to the success of the cover. Since Bethany House excels in fiction, for this article I chose the historical novel, The Lady of Bolton Hill by Elizabeth Camden. She is a new author and this is her debut book.

Step One: Review the author’s manuscript or available information about the book. This entails getting the story’s synopsis, character descriptions, key scene descriptions and any reference the author has compiled. I also like to know what an author’s insights for the cover are since they’ve been “living with” the story longer than anyone else. At this stage I also Iike to meet face-to-face with the Acquisition Editor and the head of Marketing to get their input and expectations. For this project I met with Raela Schoenherr of Editorial (pictured here with me), and Steve Oates of Marketing.

Step Two: Assign the project to the best designer. Book design is a highly specialized field in Graphic Design. Book designers are experts in conveying the perfect message through typography, imagery, and composition. For this book I chose Jennifer Parker, Sr. Graphic Designer. She has designed many notable books and established her name as one of the premiere talents in Christian Publishing. Examples of her work include all of Julie Klassen’s books, including The Apothecary’s Daughter and Lady of Milkweed Manor; Janette Oke and Davis Bunn’s books The Centurions Wife, The Hidden Flame, and The Damascus Way; all of Kathy Hake’s books including Letter Perfect and That Certain Spark; books by Deanne Gist including A Bride in the Bargain and A Maid to Match; and many others for several authors.

Step Three: Art direction.  At this stage I meet with the designer or call them if they are offsite. We dissect the story and analyze the needs of marketing/sales, editorial, and author. We discuss other existing brands, new trends in the marketplace, color palettes, previous designs, and the overall attitude the cover needs to convey for the desired emotional impact. Sometimes we need to express romance, sometimes intrigue or mystery, sometimes humor, etc. If the main character is to appear on the cover we discuss scene and composition options, expressions, materials needed, photography or art resources, etc. If a similar product is being released at the same time we discuss ways to be distinctive to avoid market confusion. We generally have as much fun as we can and try not to get too bogged down in any one direction. For The Lady of Bolton Hill Jenny and I knew we wanted to begin establishing Elizabeth Camden as a serious player in Christian Publishing. Being her first book it was critical to give her a compelling look women could universally relate to and would want to pick up. So the attitude and composition were our focus. Messages of God’s grace and justice are infused in the story which involves a developing romance between journalist Clara Endicott and industrialist Daniel Tremain in 1870s Baltimore. A historic urban setting with our lead character in the foreground was the direction we decided to pursue. We wanted to capture a magical, romantic flavor.

Step Four: Explore design options. For most covers a designer will send me 4 to 6 various concept directions. I’ll give them feedback and suggestions for changes and will receive a second round. For Elizabeth’s book we researched historic Baltimore imagery to consider for interior and exterior concepts. Then Jenny juxtaposed existing model shots to use as placeholders with the city/home images in various compositions. We discussed the merits of each design option and made alterations in preparation of the next step.

Step Five: Draw up pencil ideas. After Jenny and I analyzed the direction options, she drew up thumbnails of various compositions depicting the model in different poses. Her background in fashion rendering came in handy during this phase. I displayed Jenny’s rough designs to a team of key individuals in our company named “The Creative Team” for their feedback. These include the editorial director, acquisition editor, the line editor, several marketing leaders, and administration representatives. At this stage all the designs are displayed and evaluated by the team who generally comes to a consensus on a direction. I like approaching the process this way because it keeps the final decision out of just one department’s domain. Everyone has an equal voice as we discuss the pros and cons of each piece. Each person represents their constituents, their personal preferences, and their perception of how the market would react. Together we all hear the group’s analysis. Once we have corporate “buy-in” there generally is good momentum leading to the final look. It eliminates hard feelings or unresolved departmental frustrations. Here are the pencils we reviewed. The third option was the approved direction.

Step Six: Model Selection/Costume Research/Photography Coordination/Photoshoot. Just as it implies, this stage involves a lot of busywork. We peruse local  model agencies for talent and choose our favorite model. We research available dresses from a variety of local and national sources and order the most appropriate outfit for the story and design. We arrange a photoshoot with a local studio and discuss all the logistics that will be involved. We also contract with a hair and makeup stylist and assistant if needed. We then all meet at the studio at the arranged time and proceed with the photoshoot. In this case, however, we met at a location in St. Paul, Minnesota that Jenny had scouted out earlier. It was at the University Club on historic Summit Avenue. The magnificent tudor clubhouse constructed in 1913 and fully restored in recent years, overlooks the downtown skyline and the Mississippi River Valley, with panoramic views from all rooms. The team included photographer Mike Habermann and his assistant Molly, Stylist Tessie Bundick, Model Kelley Havey of Wehmann Model and Talent agency, Raela, Brittany Higdon from marketing, Jenny and me. We can take as many as 400 to 500 shots before we get just the right look. Giving the model direction and feedback between shoots is critical at this stage. The essence of the cover occurs here. It is a “controlled chaos” situation where many voices and people are all working together in dramatic fashion to capture the heart of the story. Most photoshoots last 3 to 4 hours, and because of the emotions and creativity involved there is a true sense of camaraderie and relief when the session is over.

Step Eight: Final Presentation. Jenny will sift through the final selection of the useable shots from the photographer until she finds just the right look and expression. She uses her renowned Photoshop skills to combine backgrounds, colors, historic images, and lighting effects with her favorite model images to create a selection of tight full color mockups. Generally she will create as many as 4 to 6 wonderful designs based on the approved direction for the team evaluate. The Creative Team once again is tasked with the responsibility of choosing the best design. Here are two of the designs she showed the team. The image on the left was the preferred cover.

 

Step Nine:  Presentation to the author. At this point we’ll send the final approved design to the author and solicit their feedback. In a few cases an author will have the right to reject a cover design outright, but this rarely happens with our system, especially with our fiction books. Sometimes the author will request a small tweak to a part of the design they feel may not represent the story or the subject perfectly. At times the author’s agent may also contribute comments. Because of the strenuous market analysis and care going into each product we create rarely is an author disappointed with a Bethany House cover. For The Lady of Bolton Hill, Elizabeth was very pleased.

Step Ten: Getting it into the catalog. Jenny now will make subtle improvements to the design, create a spine design to harmonize with the cover, and send me her final files for inclusion into the seasonal catalog. We create a 3D version of her work and place it on its pre-selected page. This now begins the official transition from the Design Department to the Marketing team. From here the salesmen who will represent the book to the various channels meet and review the design. Even at this stage some minor changes may be requested which would help with key accounts. The image will appear in marketing campaigns including adds, promotions, websites, book trailers, social media plays, mini catalogs, publicity endeavors, and ancillary bookstore pieces. This is where the brand for the book, and possibly the new brand for the author is announced to the world. You can go to our website at Baker Publishing Group or Amazon.com right now to see this cover displayed:

Step Eleven: Final Design and Printing. As we approach the day the book will be released to the public, I’ll assign Jenny the full design. This includes the back cover, spine, front cover, flaps if necessary as on a jacketed book, and cover treatments designs. For Bethany’s fiction titles these normally include spot gloss and embossing. Some covers can involve more complex treatments such as specialty stamped foils, dye-cuts, special color touch-plates, or materials. All these need to be considered when the actual design process is proceeding.

As she is completes the full design I will discuss with Jenny any market feedback I received from the sales team that affects the cover. Jenny will make all these final adjustments and send me her files. A thorough routing process occurs in-house were every imaginable detail is scrutinized by Editorial and Production personnel to catch any errors in text or imagery. Simultaneously, Jenny will be completing the final design of the interior pages. The interior design of a book is very important to the success of the reading experience and requires careful art direction. As with marketing, interior design is dependent on the cover, and if done well creates a unified whole and supports the established. Jenny again harmonizes the interior pages by reflecting the essence of the cover. All files are then sent to the printer through the Production Manager who will oversee this final stage of the process. We are fortunate to have our primary printer, Bethany Press International, within walking distance of our offices. This allows me, on selective books, to press-check the printing of the covers to guarantee a perfect end product.

Final Thoughts: We have received a lot of very positive feedback on Jenny’s cover design and think it will be well received. Our desire is to represent the story, honor the author’s writing, and above all honor God. I hope your readers will take the time to go to the bookstore or order this book on-line to see the final printed book for themselves and fully appreciate our labor of love. Jenny is currently working on Elizabeth Camden’s next book: The Rose of Winslow Street, due out this fall.

Thanks, Paul!  Tomorrow we'll be hearing from the marketing team who will share with us the steps they take to promote novels to retailers and to consumers.