Cover Me!

Today we have one of Omnific author, Nicki Elson guest blogging for us. She’s talking about one step in the publishing process that Omnific tries to get the author involved in – COVERS! And so very apropos since she just got a brand new beautiful cover for her book, Three Daves. (Nothing screams 80s fun in my mind more than a pair of lacey socks with neon heels!) And don't forget you can pick up the ebook of Three Daves still for just 99 cents!

For me, the single most exciting moment in the publication process is the cover reveal. It’s just so cool to see the story encapsulated in a single image. But nothing’s as easy as it looks, and cover development, just like writing and editing, is a process. I’m sure every publisher has its own way of going about it, but I’ll give you a little insight into how it works at Omnific—from an author’s perspective.

The graphic design team is responsible for coming up with the specific design for a cover, but authors are asked for input along the way. Things like the overall tone we want conveyed—Light & Fun? Ominous? Sexy? Sweet?—and specific images important to the story, such as a raging sea, a pure white angel feather, military dog tags, or cupcakes. We also get a chance to mention any images or elements we’d prefer to avoid.

Then the graphic designer uses her artistic vision to incorporate all of that into an appealing design. While each of the book covers in the Omnific collection clearly express the story’s individuality, there’s consistency in that all cover graphics are kept simple, focusing on only one or two key elements. I personally describe Omnific Publishing’s “house look” in one word: classy.

An award winning cover

But author input isn’t over. We’re presented with at least three different cover options. At that point we can either fall completely in love or request changes, ranging from tweaks to mixing and matching elements from different cover options. The graphic designer then takes this input and once again works her magic to come up with the final cover.

For an author, there’s nothing quite like the feeling we get when we see our name printed on a bonafide book cover. The sensation’s even better when it’s on a gorgeous book cover that fits the story perfectly. But we’ve got to look quick, because there are precious few seconds before our vision becomes blurred by the tears that are inevitable when hit with the sudden and concrete realization that a dream has just come true.

Thanks so much Nicki!
Omnific is proud of our beautiful covers and are so lucky to have had some great graphic artists work on them. They are true artists.