Having recently relaunched my Redcliffe novels series with new cover designs, I am in the process of working through my back catalogue and carefully planning any design work for new books that I have in progress.
It is understood that humans are visual beings, for the most part. We take in the physical appearance of things, people and pictures when we make our initial judgement about whether to approach, touch or interact.
The Art of Book Cover Design
This is very important for book cover design, and I knew this right from the start, but budget restrictions were a factor. Anyway, as time wore on and the book industry changed again, so have our attitudes and understanding of common practice. A very good friend of mine is a big fan of the Redcliffe novels series, and she happens to be an accomplished professional photographer. She offered to design the cover for my new novel Eye of the Tiger (A Redcliffe Novel), because apparently, she had something very specific in mind. Since I was mostly clueless about the visual aspect of my new book, I gladly accepted her offer. And I love the result!
Today I would like to take the opportunity to showcase the work of NEJ Photography. Based in Herefordshire, Natalie specialises in portrait and boudoir photography, local events and business portfolios, and she is now dabbling in book cover and digital art design. I have already commissioned her to create a new cover for my self-published novel The Vampire of Blackpool, and I cannot wait to see what she comes up with… no doubt it will be a Gothic masterpiece!
Download your FREE copy of LGBT fantasy short story It’s Complicated (The Redcliffe Novels) and meet the werewolves of Cornwall, England. Click here.
SpookyMrsGreen 
I agree with you absolutely – cover design is very important. People do indeed judge a book by its cover. Having a “brand” design over a series is vital and I think your designs are stunning and should appeal strongly to your target audience. I can think of books I’ve been attracted to because of the cover, and then having read the blurb, have gone on to buy them. In some cases, the stories did not fulfill the promise of the cover design, but I can say I still found the story interesting and worthwhile, it’s just the picture on the front gave me a totally different impression. One of those was Meg Rosoff’s book “What I Was.” I bought this book loving its dreamy cover and thnking it would be a sweet story of a coming-of-age romance. It was very different indeed, and some of it was heartbbreaking and truly shocking. The cover did not indicate this in the slightest. However the cover still did its job – it drew me in, won a reader and defied expectations!
Exciting stuff! You’re right about the cover – though they say you should never judge a book by one, we all make instant judgements, first impressions count and selling an intangible product like a story needs something to suggest its promise. I think your designs are really good!