Book cover designer Stuart Bache joins us on the podcast this week debunking our theory that authors should not design their own covers. Stuart talks to us about his journey into cover design and how he started his business, Books Covered. He sheds some light into his process working with authors directly and the information he needs from an author to design their cover. Stuart also tells listeners tips they can utilize when designing their own cover.
- Stuart talks about how he got his start in traditional publishing and what made him decide to start running his own business.
- Stuart talks about the early days of creating his business Books Covered and what it has evolved into today.
- He talks about the controversy behind stock photos and how that has affected cover design.
- He discusses the difference between creating a cover in a publishing house compared with working directly with an author and the brief he needs to create a cover.
- Stuart debunks our theory that authors should not create their own covers.
- He talks about the limit to budgets of self-published authors starting out and where they can save money.
- He discusses what authors should research when deciding to create their own covers.
- Stuart recommends some resources/tools that authors can use to create their own covers.
Books Covered: https://www.bookscovered.co.uk/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BooksCovered
Canva: https://canva.com
Gimp: https://www.gimp.org/
Affinity Photo: https://affinity.serif.com/en-gb/photo/
I’m Art Director of Books Covered, a design agency for publishers, independent authors and literary agents.Before creating Books Covered I was Art Director at Oneworld Publications where I managed a varied and diverse list of Literary Fiction, Crime, Children’s Fiction, YA and Non-Fiction.I was also Managing Designer for HarperCollins, working on such authors and imprints as Lionel Shriver, the Tolkien Estate, Borough Press and Greg Iles.I’ve also worked for a whole host of publishers, including Canongate, Simon & Schuster, Little Brown and Hodder & Stoughton where I was lucky enough to work with Stephen King and John le Carré too.When I’m not designing and commissioning book covers I write an occasional blog on design (here), chat about book covers on Twitter (here) and have written for both the Guardian and The Bookseller.
Website: http://stuartbache.co.uk/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/stuartbache
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/stuartbache/
