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March 16, 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n Interview your cover designer (even if it’s you!) (Talk about other covers they have worked on, what you love about their work, etc.)<\/strong><\/p>\n I got lucky in having a personal acquaintance with a graphic artist (okay, she’s my sister!) to design my covers. I’m always astounded by her skill in being able to interpret my books’ characters and bring them to life. Although she’s on the road this week, she took some time to answer a few questions for me. I’m tickled to finally get her on my blog. Please welcome K.M. Guth.<\/p>\n *****<\/span><\/p>\n Describe your process for designing a book cover.<\/em><\/p>\n I work closely with my authors to make sure they get exactly what they want for their cover. We trade images and ideas back and forth, starting with the front cover. After that’s been drafted out, I move on to the spine and back cover. Because I often do covers for series of books, I try to use the same fonts and color families for each cover in the series so it all has a cohesive look while still maintaining individuality for each book.<\/p>\n *****<\/span><\/p>\n Do you have a favorite among the covers you’ve designed?<\/em><\/p>\n This one is easy! “Wolves Knight”, the second book in the “Free Wolves” I love that cover too! Tasha is such an interesting personality, and the cover reflects it. The intensity in her eyes\u00a0 gets me every time.<\/em><\/p>\n *****<\/span><\/p>\n Do you ever look back at one of your covers and wished you’d done something different?<\/em><\/p>\n Always! I don’t think any creator of any type will look back at something they’ve created and not want to change *something*. Whether it’s how I spaced pieces of imagery or the fonts or colors I chose … I’m always wondering how a cover would have looked if I’d done something differently. Even small changes can make a big difference!<\/p>\n I’ve watched you play with fonts until you get the “look” you want. No Times New Roman for you!<\/em><\/p>\n *****<\/span><\/p>\n Have you ever designed a cover for someone besides me? How was it different?<\/em><\/p>\n Thanks for taking time out of your busy week to ‘talk’ to me. May your travels go well. We’ll talk again in a few weeks when you’re ready to tackle the cover for “The Samurai’s Inro!”<\/em><\/p>\n On an off-topic and personal note…I hope each and everyone of you is safe and well. Please pay attention to the professionals in your area and wash your hands often!<\/p>\n \r\n
I love what you’ve done for each of my books and the overall design of\u00a0 each series. It amazes me how well you can take different elements and put them together in a total design.<\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pjmaclayne.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Amazonknight_2500-192x300.jpg?resize=192%2C300\")
series. Everything went together perfectly and the image turned out so badass we used it to make a large banner for the table at conventions and signings!<\/p>\n
I have! I’ve done a couple of covers for another independent author whose books have a completely different audience and topic. The books were non-fiction and didn’t feature any people. Designing them was a totally different experience because I had to figure out where to focus the elements of the cover since there wasn’t a face to concentrate on. I had to be more creative with the text to really draw the audience in.<\/p>\n