Ye Will Be Judged: Preparing for Book Design
We periodically feature guest input from other publishing professionals. Please enjoy these insights from expert designer George Stevens, who has designed numerous (fabulous) book covers and interiors for our clients.
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When it comes to the editorial process, most authors inherently understand that they are expected to play a role. After all, it’s your name at the top of that document. Whether you’re commissioning a light polish or a wholesale ghostwrite, your editor simply cannot do what they do without your input.
But what about design? In my 17-plus years as a client-facing publishing designer, I’ve found that most authors are considerably less certain about their role in the process. And why shouldn’t they be? Collaborating with a book designer is something for which few of us have a frame of reference.
The good news is that you don’t need to have a creative bone in your body to meaningfully contribute. In fact, you can impact the results even before you hire your designer.
What follows are three pieces of advice to better prepare you for a productive and satisfying book design phase of your publishing journey.
Start Evaluating Existing Designs
Ever bought a home? You likely spent hours poring over listings and evaluating properties more closely than you ever had before. Even if you aren’t a real estate junkie, you probably developed trends in your thinking. Maybe you realized that having a garage was important, or that you’d be okay with less square footage if it meant a bigger yard. Evaluating listings—even those you don’t really intend to buy—narrows your focus and helps you visualize a positive outcome.
Transpose that thinking to book design. While you’ll work with a specialist who will guide and execute the process, it behooves you to begin contemplating book covers before you move forward with your own. Scrutinize bookstore shelves and search online listings of books in your genre. Make a file of your favorite covers, and see if you can put your finger on what about them resonates with you. (Don’t worry if you can’t; the collection alone will be supremely helpful for your designer!)
By the way, don’t stop with the cover. Page through the books and look at things like chapter headings, fonts, callouts, sidebars, etc. You may see stylistic touches that you want woven into your interior layout.
Bonus Tip: Repeat the above exercise for designs you don’t like. Letting your designer know what to avoid will help them refine their approach.
Hire the Person, Not the Portfolio
While you needn’t conduct a multi-stage interview process, it’s critical that your candidate evaluation goes beyond a simple portfolio review. Just because a designer’s portfolio dazzles does not mean that they’re automatically a personality or workstyle fit. A great portfolio is a prerequisite, but be sure to have a hearty conversation with your candidate before you hire them.
It’s important to ensure that your designer brings more to the table than technical skill. They must be capable of managing a complex project and communicate in a style that complements your own. They should also click with you on a personal level. If you can both let your guard down and let your personalities shine throughout the collaboration, you’ll be able to do your best work.
Bonus Tip: If you’re already working with an editor, ask them for recommendations. It’s possible they can point to a designer with whom they’ve worked in the past and can vouch for. This synergy can supercharge your project.
Understand the Investment
No matter how far and wide you search for a book designer, it’s important that you understand what you’re investing in. Don’t think of this piece of the budgetary puzzle as merely “buying a cover.” Remember: Design is not a product; it’s a process. Your investment is fueling a collaboration with a skilled professional. Over the course of this collaboration, they will fuse their technical ability and creative muscle with their mastery of the design process to arrive at a solution. How proficient your designer is in all these categories will inform their rate.
Note that if you’re requesting proposals from multiple design resources, you’ll likely discover that no two estimates are identical. Every designer conducts their process differently, and it falls on you to dig into what defines it. Ask questions about things like revisions, turnaround times, access, etc. You may even want to ask whether you will own your files. All of these factors will help paint the bigger picture of the value a given designer brings to the table.
“You pay for what you get” is no different in design than in any service industry. If a rate seems like too good a deal to be true, it probably is. (However, see the bonus tip for the other side of this coin!)
As with real estate, stocks, or retirement savings, the informed investor makes better, more confident decisions. As such, be sure to gain a clear understanding of the proposed value before hiring your book designer.
Bonus Tip: Don’t just assume that more money is the magic bullet. If a designer’s estimate is higher than you’d anticipated, ask them to defend it. You’ll either feel better about the value of the collaboration, or recognize that their rate is not commensurate with your needs.
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In this age of reputational publishing, nailing the book design phase of your publishing journey is critical to your book’s success. As I like to say: Self-publishing is great, but looking self-published is not.
As the primary stakeholder, the author must play a role in the creative process. This role should neither be a bystander or a puppet master; the best authors are collaborators who are eager, informed, and confident in the designer they’ve hired to breathe visual life into their manuscript.
