I like to take a chance on new authors and hardback first editions. If a book catches a browsers eye, he or she can then turn to the dust jacket s back and flaps to find information about the author and a synopsis of the book. Everything you need to set up an afterreading book jackets independent reading center. The most famous example is the jacket on the first edition of the great gatsby by f. Be sure the setting, colors, clothing, and mood of your photo are appropriate for your writing style. The importance of book jackets the balance careers. Book cover design is a complex balance of images, text, and information and you need someone who understands how each of these elements interacts with the others to best sell your book.
Dust jackets provide the vast majority of books published today with their only color and art. The first edition of harry potter and the philosophers stone is the only book in the series that credits joanne rowling as its author j. Novelist jennifer miller on what a photo says about the author. On the jacket was a pensive young man with thinning. Write it in your own words, though youll have to research to find each of. A brief history of the dust jacket books tell you why, inc. Its unlikely youve heard of the shorttimers, a book thats currently out of print, but you may have heard of the movie based on it. Often the back panel or flaps are printed with biographical information about the author, a summary of the book. This author wanted his headshot not only to represent him, but his writing. What began as a grad school hobby is now a top food blog, with millions of readers coming to her site for easy weeknight recipes and.
Here are all of the books that have been written about the trump white house so far. The back cover bio is a chance to impress a potential reader, while the inside bio is often the last impression made on a. Sometimes the book without the jacket is bland looking and not very appealing. Dressed in our custom book jackets, your books can become a stunning centerpiece on your bookshelves, bringing eyecatching visual impact to your collection. Book jackets can libraries put pictures of book covers on the websites.
This space can be used for any number of things, such as a book summary or an about the author section. They are items that provide hours of enjoyment for the recipient. Dec 26, 20 chrisann brennan, author or the bite in the apple in 20, i had the opportunity to work with many authors to create photos for their book jackets. To herculine for testing this and making sure it works as its intended. Cuyahoga county public librarys speaker series takes readers beyond the book jacket to meet their favorite authors and go behind the scenes of their favorite books. Despite the fact that dust jackets often include useful information about a book and its author, including biographical notes and often a portrait, it has long been research libraries practice to remove the jackets from new books during processing for their permanent place in the stacks. What you look like may affect your book s promotions. Get cozy and expand your home library with a large online selection of books at. We scoured our vast selection of vintage books for the most beautiful dust jackets, and soon discovered that selecting just 30 was a nearly impossible task. The only fault i could find with the book is that in many of the photographs it fails to identify the jacket type and specification. Book jackets are a lot more involved than first meets the eye. Jun 11, 20 primary author main author secondary author is a separate thing from the role.
Oct 8, 20 portfolio of the best of my book jacket and cover design 19842007. Create a book jacket project book jacket templates. Book dust jackets are essential to ensuring a books longevity. Having a book blurbaka a book jacket or an endorsementfrom a famous or even semifamous author is a marketing strategy that can have a positive impact on your book sales. Students need to comprehend the storys plot and themes enough to provide a good summary without giving away key points and create an appropriate cover image.
Jun 25, 2019 the book jacket is a sales tool, inviting readers to the text, telling them much about what they will find on the pages between the covers. However, nonfiction authors must include an author bio as part of their back cover copy to convince readers of. Protecting your books should be high on your list of priorities if you are a book lover or intend to keep your book for a long period of time. Use this project as a class on the same book, or encourage students to create book jackets for books in your classroom. Our friends at bookbub carried out an ab test in which they sent group a a book description with a testimonial and group b. Visit amazon author central, click on your book, and add it in the about the author section or if you published a paperback version of your book on createspace, you can enter the bio in the author biography section for your book. While many book bindings of the period plain, annuals and gift books tended to be more ornate, and publishers sought to protect these books in transit. My stack of flower books looks better with flowers on the cover than the brown, green, gray, and blue cloth covers alone.
In the clothing of books, lahiri details how she feels about book covers, really feels about them. This outer cover has folded flaps that hold it to the front and back book covers. Michael siemsen is the usa today bestselling author of 6 novels, including the dig, a warm place to call home a demons story, and exigency. Now you have to decide what goes on the back cover. The book centers on the experiences of the charismatic 64yearold linda may, who embarked on the nomadic lifestyle after a lifetime of hard. What to do with book jackets reluctant entertainer. She has published 5 books and that sums up to over 100 different book covers jackets. To add some visual to your book cover, add in an image. But when you include this information on createspace, it. Despite the adage, the book jacket generally broadcasts to the consumer much about the book, ideally casting it in the best light possible to draw in its target readers. All of the books that have been written about the trump. He lives in northern california with the wife, the kids, the dog, that cat, and he occasionally wears pants.
When the book came out, the editors words from the letter were on the cover with a wellknown authors name underneath. For those who do, it will be nothing less than a thrill. Primary author, secondary author, main author common. For those who never paused to think much about jackets, this book will be a revelation. Dust jackets only sets are perfect for adding personal flair to your favorite series. Most books are titled on the spine and books in a series are also numbered. Use this project as a class on the same book, or encourage students to create book jackets for books in your classroom library. These headshots needed to convey something of each authors personality, but at the same time fit into the tight conventions of a book. The book set comes wrapped in custom jackets featuring a palm frond motif in a subdued nautical palette sure to get you in the mood for a summer read. The book is well set out, has large high resolution photographs and is a well constructed hardcover.
Testimonials are incredibly persuasive in transforming potential readers into readers. In addition to providing protection to the cover of your book, our dust jackets include two 3. Even though very few authors think about it, and even fewer publishing guides talk about it, the author bio section impacts sales, reputation, book marketing and social media. Book summary and author bio on the back of the book. Her debut novel, wonder, has been on the new york times bestseller list since march, 2012, and has sold over 5 million copies worldwide. How to build the back of a book cover with template reedsy. Create a fake critic to give a fake quote about what this book meantdid for himher and how wonderful it is. Why you should ignore the superlatives on book jackets books.
This is such an exciting book for me to help reveal, because im a huge fan of kuehns first two books. When writing a book, there are two potential places to include your author bio. Palacio lives in brooklyn, ny with her husband, two sons and two dogs bear and beau. See more ideas about book jacket, cover design and my books. Naval institute provides an independent forum for those who seek to advance and strengthen the naval profession. Follow this simple process to protect and maintain your books without breaking the bank buying professional book. Jul 11, 2017 ted morgan, who wrote a book on churchills early life, described the discrepancy between the author photo and the books subject matter. Dust jacket covers custom book dust jacket printing. Wed open this post with the obligatory joke about judging books by their coversbut we all do judge books by their covers. Knowing and understanding the constituent parts of a book cover will help you make the best marketing decisions when you design or.
Amanda ripley is an investigative journalist for time, the atlantic and other magazines. To the gimp, a wonderful little imageediting program thats almost as good as ps. When designing a thoughtful book cover for a novel, you must know a lot about its author and. In todays guest post, editor jessi rita hoffman explains how to craft professional and compelling backcover copy. For fiction writers especially selfpublished ones, who you are matters little in comparison to the quality of the story youve written and an attention grabbing synopsis. A designer who specializes in book jackets understands how readers respond to layout and typography.
Book flaps contain information designed to help sell the book, as well as information about the books author. Cuyahoga county public librarys speaker series takes readers beyond the book jacket to meet their favorite authors and go behindthescenes of their favorite books. I shant say which book, but its doing rather well right now, and the author quote on the cover is plucked straight from the letter that accompanied. Collection of book jackets nypl digital collections. If you want to take good author photos, keep the following things in mind. She is the author, most recently, of the smartest kids in the worldand how they got that way.
The dust jacket of a book is the detachable outer cover, usually made of paper and printed with text and illustrations. Oblivion is a basic retexture for all of the stock hardcover books in oblivion, giving each title a unique texture and matching icon. In this deeply personal reflection, pulitzer prizewinning author jhumpa lahiri explores the art of the book jacket from the perspectives of both reader and writer. But that doesnt mean you shouldnt take full advantage when youre encouraged to talk about yourself. World war two jackets are covered in detail as are korean and vietnam period flight jackets. A book is also a considerate option when giving to an acquaintance such as a coworker. Book jackets kotn at oblivion nexus mods and community. In 2009, the bodleian library, oxford discovered what is often cited as the earliest known example of a dust jacket. You can also follow this same process if you want to add an author photo on the back page of your book. Despite the adage, the book jacket generally broadcasts to the consumer much about the book, ideally casting it. They are a onesizefitsall solution to the problem of what to buy for a loved one. Rowlings birth name before she took a pen name and a.
Here are some reallife author bios that combine most or all of the tips above. Finished books that are more than pages long also need spine text that shows the main title and authors last name as part of the cover design. Without their jackets, most books are visually dull. In every box, we also include the original publisher jackets so that you can choose. Students will use information about a text they have read, the author, and the illustrator to create a new jacket for their book. This selection ranges from 1917 to 1969, and really is. Different covers for hardcover, 74 pages on thoughts on book covers.
The book jacket is a sales tool, inviting readers to the text, telling them much about what they will find on the pages between the covers. Book flaps, also called jacket copy, are either written in house by staff writers or by the author himself. Probing the complex relationships between text and image, author and designer, and art and commerce, lahiri delves into the role of the uniform. About the author examples that youll actually want to read. How to write an amazing author bio book marketing for. The character of nancy drew ghostwritten and credited to the pseudonymous carolyn keene has appeared in a number of series over the years 533 nancy drew books have been published as of 2019, in nine series, as follows. What you should know about being a published book author. For authors and publishers one of the most fraught parts of publicizing book is what photo to put on the jacket. How to build the back of a book cover with template reedsy blog. Juniper books offers dust jackets only editions of some of our most popular sets so you can decorate books you already own, making it a great option for any bibliophile.
I leave the jackets on if they make the book look better. But those who are publishing a book for the first time, or who aspire to, might have unrealistic expectations of the publishing experience. You can do so by clicking on the insert tab on the template. This is such an exciting book for me to help reveal, because im a huge fan of kuehns first two booksthe morris award. Deans doesnt even mention the most practical part of the dust jacket. Book jacket definition, a removable paper cover, usually illustrated, for protecting the binding of a book and usually giving information about the book and the author. How to take good author photos how to publish a book. A book flap also typically includes a photograph of the author. Tls is the leading manufacturer in highquality book jacket covers. The back of a book cover is the perfect place to put this social proof. Meanwhile, peter tells me that lj announced that a million book covers are now available for download and display in library opacs via librarything. The books message of kindness has inspired the choose kind movement, and has been embraced by readers, young and. The third example shows how part of the back cover copy the author bio, in this case can show up on the inside flap of a hard cover book.
Why you should ignore the superlatives on book jackets. Along with the book set, each box comes with a beautiful notebook and a set of pencils from sloane stationary. Some authors choose one or the other, though i recommend taking advantage of both. One copy in a near mint jacket was listed for sale in 2009 for half a million dollars. Your name in print on a book jacket, having your words in print, and the respect of having accomplished publishing your work. He wasnt pleased at having the camera turned on him usually hes the observer, not the subject but his publisher as most do insisted. Oct 22, 2015 michael siemsen is the usa today bestselling author of 6 novels, including the dig, a warm place to call home a demons story, and exigency. For nonfiction, establishing yourself as an expert and differentiating your book from the others. Click picture and browse to the cover photo or picture of your choosing and click on it.
Dust jackets are detachable covers that wrap around your book and are held into place with folded flaps. What do you do with the dust jacket from a hardcover book. Chungah rhee is the founder, recipe developer, and photographer of damn delicious. The illustration is creatively designed and relates to the books theme. Hasford wrote this semiautobiographical novel about his experiences in vietnam and intended it to be a trilogy of vietnam war books. How to get a famous author to endorse your book writers.
Book jacket definition and meaning collins english. But, whether youre a new writer or a veteran, asking someone for a cover quote may seem intimidating. If two or more people share main responsibility for a book they can all be main authors. The dust jacket sometimes book jacket, dust wrapper or dust cover of a book is the detachable outer cover, usually made of paper and printed with text and illustrations. Who survives when disaster strikesand why, was published in 15 countries and turned into a pbs documentary. Draw a barcode and isbn number inside back cover flap list the author s name and a biography of his life, including education, current residence, hobbies, etc. So youve written your book, youve chosen your title and cover design, and youre breathing a sigh of relief. This mod is compatible with book placement as explained in the readme. If you own one of these rare books, youre sitting on a. See more ideas about book jacket, book cover design and best book covers. A first edition published by stackpole sons in 1939. If youre an author being published by a traditional publishing house, dont count on having a lot of say on your book cover. Jul 26, 20 deans doesnt even mention the most practical part of the dust jacket.
I once got sent an arc for a book that went on to be a bestseller. New authors sometimes rush this decision, writing the first. Dressed in our custom book jackets, your books can become a stunning centerpiece on your bookshelves, bringing eyecatching visual impact to. We proudly offer six different styles of covers, including center slit book jacket covers, multifit book jacket covers, open edge book jacket covers, polyjac book jacket covers, processor book jacket covers and profit book jacket covers. Mar 23, 2017 book flaps contain information designed to help sell the book, as well as information about the book s author. If a book catches a browsers eye, he or she can then turn to the dust jackets back and flaps to find information about the author and a synopsis of the book. Author reputation is consistently cited as one of the main factors that influence a book buying decision. The washington post vivid, gorgeous art graced books in the mid20th century, and martin salisbury has collected the most stunning examples in the illustrated dust jacket, 19201970. The beautiful airstream myth and painful rv reality of.
480 563 1209 448 136 137 743 1403 1591 139 894 769 252 394 784 132 1232 451 1028 1347 1114 233 491 1410 1073 924 526 1153 851 577 749 1070 263 518 375 748 86 483 198 1488