Yes simplicity is key the more cluttered your cover the more confused the reader will get about the book. No need for photos but great illustrations are always a plus
As an illustrator, I am so so happy that you chose to educate yourself in Graphic Design to create your book cover instead of using AI!! Thanks for showing others that this is a possibility with a beautiful outcome! Please use the knowledge & skill artists have trained for years to make their income, either by commissioning them or by taking a course, like you did🧡
This was a great story on not giving up and trying something new, and it paid off! The cover looks great! I come from a graphic design background so I'm comfortable with composition and color, and I've designed some of my personal projects' spreads before, but when it comes to certain genres and, like you said, certain ideas, I know I can easily fall out of my own depth. So I really commend you for the work and time you put in!
I love how your cover turned out. Thanks for this vid! I have gone through half of this journey too and haven't taken a course yet but these look like great options.
Hello again, Jane. 🙂 A great video as always! The Death Angels sounds like a great title, by the way. I love the look of the book. It seems I can't purchase it yet (I'm based in Canada), but I will once it becomes available.
Ok, thanks for letting me know, Jeremy. I think maybe it's not showing up in some markets. Can you tell me whether you were trying to buy the ebook or a physical copy?
I am currently working on a cozy for my 12 Days of Christmas series and I have a few questions: 1) what of the 4 motives for murder would sport’s rivalry (two athletes competing against each other) be? 2) what secret could the victim have that needs to be kept quiet or their athletic career is ruined? (I thought of drug addiction but that’s not really appropriate for a cozy)
I would think of that (and any other crime focused on professional advancement) as a Money/ Power crime. The villain is hoping to get ahead, get more acclaim and influence, which should eventually pay off down the line. In the case of a specific ongoing rivalry, there may also be an element of hatred, which can erupt into Power crimes- “I’ll show YOU who’s best,” that sort of thing. As for secrets, I think there are a number of ways your sports star could have cheated in the past. Throwing a game, gambling on sports, competing in a division which he shouldn’t be qualified for, getting another player unfairly disqualified. It could also be that he’s committed a genuine crime-murder, etc, that is now in danger of being exposed.
Hi, Jane. Your book cover is lovely and your video so helpful. I do have a question for you. Why did you choose not to work with a book cover designer to create your cover for you? Was it cost, designer availability, the overwhelm of picking a good book cover designer, or something else? All of those thoughts swirl in my head when I think about working with someone else to design a book cover, but I am curious what led you to design your own cover.
Hi, Jamie! I think it boils down to: 1) I found it difficult to give artistic instruction to cover artists, for a couple of reasons. (A) first, I just struggle to give negative feedback (outside of critique relationships with other writers, which I enjoy) It’s totally appropriate within the context of a cover artist/author relationship… but it still wasn’t comfortable for me, and I wound up feeling like I was never advocating as hard as I should for the level of polish I wanted. (B) I don’t always KNOW what I want, until I’ve played with an image for a while… changed colors, swapped out the main character, tried a different font. Artists can work with feedback like “it’s too desaturated” or “I think the font should better reflect the historical period.” But if I don’t know WHAT’S not working for me, it’s harder for them to respond to that. In short, the comment I most often found myself wanting to make was: “Look, I like it, but I don’t love it, and I feel like we should be shooting for something a little more spectacular.” A comment I struggled to deliver, and I think a cover artist would struggle to address. 2: I wanted to be able to do my own revisions. I changed a title once… and while it didn’t cost much, or take much time, it still felt annoying to have to pay and wait for a simple text swap. (This isn't a knock against the cover artist, who obv can't be on the hook for free revisions at the drop of a hat. But I wished I could have just popped into the file and changed the text myself). And it made me think of other reasons I might want revisions… what if I wanted to add additional backmatter, and so needed a wider spine? What if I wanted to stick “Author of {Other Book}” on the cover? Ultimately, I think this is a small enough issue I shouldn’t have let it influence my decision… but it is nice to know I can do these in future. As long as we’re talking, let’s hit what I see as the two major cons of doing my own covers: 1) The time I invested in learning this skill was really not small. It’s hard to put a number of hours on it, but it was significant chucks of free time, for months and months. 2) by doing my own covers, I’m giving up on the benefit of another person’s perspective on the cover-a professional’s perspective, no less. It’s hard to quantify exactly what that cost is, because it’s hard to know what graphic design flubs I’m making that I’m simply unaware of. All this said… I love doing my own covers! No one cares more about my books that me, and it feels amazing to have control over how they appear in the marketplace.
@@janekalmes Very interesting response, Jane. Thank you for taking the time to provide so much depth. It gave me a lot to think about, both the pros and the cons.
I would give strong consideration to changing it, yes. This is in fact what I did, changing The Perfect Crime to The Tangled Web. Your main consideration is probably searchability, so for sure if any of those books are ranking highly, that’s a sign it will be hard for people to find your book when searching for your title.
Hi! I just came across your channel, and I’m really impressed by your videos. However, after reviewing them, it seems like they’re not reaching their full potential in terms of views and engagement. This could be due to some SEO problems like unoptimized tags, titles, or descriptions. I specialize in UA-cam SEO and can help you get more exposure by fixing these issues. I’d be happy to provide you with a free report detailing the improvements you can make. Let me know if you're interested, and we can get started!
Hey Jane! I sent you this in an email too, but see you may not check that inbox often. I have loved watching your videos here and have gained great insights into the mystery writing process from you! Thank you! I am now taking a developmental editing course through a university and our capstone project is to edit someone's work (roughly 3000 words in length). I would love to connect with you and edit something you're currently working on for free. Please let me know through email if you're interested. Thanks, and keep up the good work on these videos!
Buy Murder on Lake Michigan! www.amazon.com/Murder-Lake-Michigan-Callahan-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B0DFVRHMBV
Yes simplicity is key the more cluttered your cover the more confused the reader will get about the book. No need for photos but great illustrations are always a plus
As an illustrator, I am so so happy that you chose to educate yourself in Graphic Design to create your book cover instead of using AI!! Thanks for showing others that this is a possibility with a beautiful outcome! Please use the knowledge & skill artists have trained for years to make their income, either by commissioning them or by taking a course, like you did🧡
This is a really great cover
Hi Jane, do you think you'll ever write your own mystery how-to book? I think it'd be great and I'd be first in line 👍
It’s written! Editing now; more details coming soon!
Love hearing about your journey through cover design! Thanks so much for sharing my course as well!
It’s awesome, I was so glad to!
This was a great story on not giving up and trying something new, and it paid off! The cover looks great! I come from a graphic design background so I'm comfortable with composition and color, and I've designed some of my personal projects' spreads before, but when it comes to certain genres and, like you said, certain ideas, I know I can easily fall out of my own depth. So I really commend you for the work and time you put in!
Thank you!
I love how your cover turned out. Thanks for this vid! I have gone through half of this journey too and haven't taken a course yet but these look like great options.
I just wasn't able to get there on my own. If you take a course, I hope it works out for you!
So gorgeous! 😍
Starrla, thank you so much!
Hello again, Jane. 🙂 A great video as always! The Death Angels sounds like a great title, by the way.
I love the look of the book. It seems I can't purchase it yet (I'm based in Canada), but I will once it becomes available.
Ok, thanks for letting me know, Jeremy. I think maybe it's not showing up in some markets. Can you tell me whether you were trying to buy the ebook or a physical copy?
@@janekalmes I was trying to buy the ebook, though now I've been able to. It seems whatever the bug was, it's fixed now for me. 🙂
I am currently working on a cozy for my 12 Days of Christmas series and I have a few questions:
1) what of the 4 motives for murder would sport’s rivalry (two athletes competing against each other) be?
2) what secret could the victim have that needs to be kept quiet or their athletic career is ruined? (I thought of drug addiction but that’s not really appropriate for a cozy)
I would think of that (and any other crime focused on professional advancement) as a Money/ Power crime. The villain is hoping to get ahead, get more acclaim and influence, which should eventually pay off down the line. In the case of a specific ongoing rivalry, there may also be an element of hatred, which can erupt into Power crimes- “I’ll show YOU who’s best,” that sort of thing.
As for secrets, I think there are a number of ways your sports star could have cheated in the past. Throwing a game, gambling on sports, competing in a division which he shouldn’t be qualified for, getting another player unfairly disqualified. It could also be that he’s committed a genuine crime-murder, etc, that is now in danger of being exposed.
@@janekalmes thank you! That helps alot:)
Hi, Jane. Your book cover is lovely and your video so helpful. I do have a question for you. Why did you choose not to work with a book cover designer to create your cover for you? Was it cost, designer availability, the overwhelm of picking a good book cover designer, or something else? All of those thoughts swirl in my head when I think about working with someone else to design a book cover, but I am curious what led you to design your own cover.
Hi, Jamie! I think it boils down to:
1) I found it difficult to give artistic instruction to cover artists, for a couple of reasons.
(A) first, I just struggle to give negative feedback (outside of critique relationships with other writers, which I enjoy) It’s totally appropriate within the context of a cover artist/author relationship… but it still wasn’t comfortable for me, and I wound up feeling like I was never advocating as hard as I should for the level of polish I wanted.
(B) I don’t always KNOW what I want, until I’ve played with an image for a while… changed colors, swapped out the main character, tried a different font. Artists can work with feedback like “it’s too desaturated” or “I think the font should better reflect the historical period.” But if I don’t know WHAT’S not working for me, it’s harder for them to respond to that.
In short, the comment I most often found myself wanting to make was: “Look, I like it, but I don’t love it, and I feel like we should be shooting for something a little more spectacular.” A comment I struggled to deliver, and I think a cover artist would struggle to address.
2: I wanted to be able to do my own revisions. I changed a title once… and while it didn’t cost much, or take much time, it still felt annoying to have to pay and wait for a simple text swap. (This isn't a knock against the cover artist, who obv can't be on the hook for free revisions at the drop of a hat. But I wished I could have just popped into the file and changed the text myself).
And it made me think of other reasons I might want revisions… what if I wanted to add additional backmatter, and so needed a wider spine? What if I wanted to stick “Author of {Other Book}” on the cover? Ultimately, I think this is a small enough issue I shouldn’t have let it influence my decision… but it is nice to know I can do these in future.
As long as we’re talking, let’s hit what I see as the two major cons of doing my own covers:
1) The time I invested in learning this skill was really not small. It’s hard to put a number of hours on it, but it was significant chucks of free time, for months and months.
2) by doing my own covers, I’m giving up on the benefit of another person’s perspective on the cover-a professional’s perspective, no less. It’s hard to quantify exactly what that cost is, because it’s hard to know what graphic design flubs I’m making that I’m simply unaware of.
All this said… I love doing my own covers! No one cares more about my books that me, and it feels amazing to have control over how they appear in the marketplace.
Yes! This is exactly how I feel too
@@janekalmes Very interesting response, Jane. Thank you for taking the time to provide so much depth. It gave me a lot to think about, both the pros and the cons.
I'm not a fan of the font you chose for the subtitle and your name, but the rest of the cover is excellent :)
Thanks!
Got a question. If there are six books with the same title you chose for your mystery, should you change your title?
I would give strong consideration to changing it, yes. This is in fact what I did, changing The Perfect Crime to The Tangled Web. Your main consideration is probably searchability, so for sure if any of those books are ranking highly, that’s a sign it will be hard for people to find your book when searching for your title.
Hi! I just came across your channel, and I’m really impressed by your videos. However, after reviewing them, it seems like they’re not reaching their full potential in terms of views and engagement. This could be due to some SEO problems like unoptimized tags, titles, or descriptions. I specialize in UA-cam SEO and can help you get more exposure by fixing these issues. I’d be happy to provide you with a free report detailing the improvements you can make. Let me know if you're interested, and we can get started!
I'd love to be able to subscribe your Substack.
I’m so sorry… I have subscriptions paused while I edit the book. The good news is I am getting close to a finished manuscript!
Hey Jane! I sent you this in an email too, but see you may not check that inbox often. I have loved watching your videos here and have gained great insights into the mystery writing process from you! Thank you! I am now taking a developmental editing course through a university and our capstone project is to edit someone's work (roughly 3000 words in length). I would love to connect with you and edit something you're currently working on for free. Please let me know through email if you're interested. Thanks, and keep up the good work on these videos!