Latest Blog Posts
Just posting the link, but be sure to check it out. It’s very nicely done. http://www.fastcodesign.com/1664719/infographic-of-the-day-why-should-you-care-about-typography
Color is a tricky thing, especially when it comes to how we view color on monitors versus viewing it on a printed page in a book store. I’ve discussed it before, but it bears repeating. There are very basic differences between not just CMYK (printed work) and RGB (monitor-viewed work) but also in how your [...]
I have been asked to critique the cover for Love Pains, and this is going to be somewhat short, because there is a lot I like about this cover. It’s very clear, it tells me it’s short stories about love gone wrong in a humorous way. The typeface fits the book and is super easy [...]
A post on facebook today from psd tuts+ is well worth looking at. It’s a look at photoshop manipulated movie posters. But many/most of these would also make brilliant book covers. Look them over. Study them closely. Look at the way the artists have used the typefaces to offset the graphics or, in some cases, [...]
I’m noticing a trend in some ebook covers. It’s the Kitchen Sink syndrome. It’s kind of understandable. The author has told this story that has all kinds of specific detail; it could be a dog and a pony and a boy and a pond and a red barn in the story, so they decide they [...]
I have received my first cover to critique! This cover is for a novel called The Breadwinners. The author sent me the cover blurb along with the cover, and it’s one of those epic multi-generational family dynasty stories, this one beginning in the 1920s and concerning two bakeries (bakery? Breadwinner? Get it?) You know, I [...]
Sometimes what makes the difference between an average cover and a good cover is the most subtle of effects. A good drop shadow is one of them. See the drop shadow in the header of this post? Okay, maybe it’s a little difficult to see. That’s the whole point. But to make it easier, let’s [...]
Really, the web is pretty damn-fine cool. In addition to lots of sources for stock art and commissioned artists, there are also a tremendous number of sources for free materials, tutorials, etc. out there. For instance that amazingly cool header image. Can’t you see that on a Sci-Fi book? Well maybe not exactly that, but [...]
NPR just published their “10 Best Fiction Novels of 2011″ list. It popped up on my Facebook page. I am actually not much of a lit fic fan; it seems to me that for the most part, if a novel ends happily it’s not allowed to be lit fic. And some lit fic authors are [...]