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In this day of self-publication, writers need eye-catching, persuasive book covers for the Internet and print—browsers in bookstores and at websites DO judge a book by its cover. This workshop introduces authors to free or affordable resources for cover design: 

• free fonts for typography
• free high-level graphics software for working with images and type
• low-cost sources of stock photography and illustration

Secondly, the workshop introduces authors to using the software and techniques for creating low-cost but effective cover designs for fiction, memoir, and non-fiction. With detailed analysis of 14 book covers—more than 130 slides that show how to build covers bit by bit--instruction includes

• creative goals for book designs
• single-image designs
• modifying images for effect
• combining multiple images
• modifying a type font for a special effect

Today, more and more writers are self-publishing their books, especially memoir and fiction--in one of my recent writing craft workshops, 6 of 17 submissions were memoir. Many people don't have the resources to hire a professional designer. So they find a piece of stock art and slap a title on it, or they utilize the limited templates provided by vendors such as CreateSpace and Lulu.

But designing a strong book cover requires a lot more, and combining images in an artful way can greatly increase the impact and appeal of a book cover and enhance its effectiveness on a web page. This workshop uses real-world design solutions to illustrate ways to manipulate images--changing color, distorting, adding perspective, and more--to go above and beyond a mundane design. It looks at working with typography to enhance the cover's effect. The workshop also focuses on achieving readable titles and names, and understandable graphics, that will work at current small Internet thumbnail sizes.

Workshoppers will learn:

• Where to go for free and low-cost creative resources
• Insights on how to modify and combine images
• Insights on how to utilize layers to build a cover
• Insights on how to make sure titles and author names are clear and legible in thumbnail sizes

Summary

For less than $50, if you have talent for design you can create eye-catching, persuasive book covers for the Internet and print using free fonts for typography; free graphics software for working with images and type; and low-cost sources of images. See how to work with typography and to combine and modify graphics for powerful covers.

Bio

Ray Rhamey is an author, editor, and book designer who operates a book editing and design business called Crrreative Book Editing and Design. He designs book covers and interiors for small and Indie publishers (fiction, memoir, and non-fiction), including ebook versions, and he edits book-length manuscripts, specializing in fiction.

He has been editing book-length fiction for eleven years. Many writers know him through his “litblog,” Flogging the Quill, where he critiques opening pages of fiction submitted by writers.

Ray is the author of Mastering the Craft of Compelling Storytelling. NYT bestselling author Tess Gerritsen says, “It’s a must-have for any novelist, and one of the most readable, entertaining books on writing out there.”

He has also Indie-published 4 novels: The Vampire Kitty-cat Chronicles, We the Enemy, Finding Magic, and The Summer Boy.

Ray has been an editor at two universities, and was a story editor for Filmation, an animation studio. His screen credits include an adaptation of The Little Engine that Could and 20 half-hour screenplays for animated series. Before that, Ray worked in advertising for twenty-five years as a writer and a creative director.