What Details Should You Provide to Your Cover Artist?

Recently, I posted a FAQ of questions that come up a lot when I’m streaming. I was somewhat shocked when I delved into the archives of my blog and discovered I had already spoken about a lot of the topics in my notes already.

One thing I haven’t talked as much about over here is working with a cover artist. When I have talked about working with a cover artist, I mostly focused on what it feels like. Because Molly, my cover artist, is amazing, and I will take any opportunity to sing her praises.

But the process has come up a lot during my streams. How you determine what kind of cover artist to work with? And once you have an appointment with a cover artist, what kind of information do you give them?

It should come as no surprise that the first time I worked with Molly, I had no clue about the answer to any of those questions. Even the first one; Molly was recommended to me by a friend, and I have never regretted following the advice that I should contact her.

Luckily for me, Molly was extremely patient and walked me through the process. She walked me through a lot of it again when we switched cover styles for the Aruvalia Chronicles as well.

But because it can be daunting to speak with an artist for the first time, and because you never know how someone might respond to your questions, I’m happy to both share the knowledge I have gained here and add this post to my FAQ so that others can more easily navigate the process.

How to find a Cover Artist

First things first: how do you decide which cover artist to work with?

You kind of have to shop around until you find a good fit. One way to do this is to look for covers you like on Amazon. When you find one, check the credits on the title page to see if the author has credited their cover artist. Most do.

You can also look up the websites of various cover artists and check their online portfolio. In fact, you should check an artist’s portfolio as part of the process regardless of how you find them. This will give you a good sense of the covers they create. If you can imagine those kinds of covers on your books, then they’d be a good person to work with.

One thing that’s really important to check is whether or not the artist has worked in your genre before. If you’re writing a common genre, it probably won’t be too hard to find a cover artist that works in that area. But if you’re writing a cozy mystery and you only see fantasy covers in a person’s portfolio, they might not be a good fit.

Finally, if you know someone who works with a cover artist, you can always ask for recommendations. I know I’m always happy to shout about Molly’s work from the rooftops!

When you’re choosing your cover artist there are 2 more things you want to consider: your budget and your timeline. Lots of cover artists have a queue. I always book my appointments with Molly a year in advance. (Though you don’t always have to go that far out.) So make sure you shop around well ahead of your release date.

Finally, check the prices for custom covers and what you get in the package.

Decide What Type of Cover You Want

Okay so you found a cover artist. What do you do next?

The next step is really just to have some idea of what kind of cover you want to have on your book. It will be helpful if you can give your artist some examples of covers similar to what you have in mind. In fact, Molly asked me what kind of covers I liked when we first started working together. And whenever we start a new series, we have a similar discussion.

It’s perfectly reasonable to go to Amazon and find a few sample covers. You can also look at an artist’s portfolio and tell them which covers you like that they’ve made.

From there, the information your cover artist needs will vary depending on what type of cover you’re hoping to have. If you want characters on your cover, then your artist is going to need to know what they look like. For character covers, I tend to send Molly an entire wall of text. I start with physical descriptions pulled from my series outlines and I occasionally supplement that with snippets from the actual manuscript.

If there’s a creature or background we’re particularly hoping to capture, I will try to pull descriptions of those out of either my notes or the manuscript as well. Molly usually also asks what kind of clothing a character might wear or what they might be doing with their hands so that she knows what kind of stock she can pull from.

Object covers, on the other hand, require less description. For the Aruvalia covers, I just tell Molly what type of object I think suits the plot or title. I suggest the element (fire, ice, ect) that will work best for whichever trilogy we’re working on. And sometimes I ask for a specific color. My emails are short and to the point.

Beyond the Proof

What other information does a cover artist need from you?

The most important thing is honesty. Usually an artist will send you a proof and ask for any changes before they finalize the design. It’s critical at that stage to be honest about what you want. Especially what you do or don’t like.

The first time I worked with Molly, I wasn’t entirely thrilled with the proof she sent me. It didn’t measure up to the other covers I’d seen her do. I was hesitant to ask her about it because I didn’t want her to think I didn’t trust her work. But she responded by telling me that her initial concept, the one we discussed hadn’t worked.

As soon as she realized I was looking for something else, she re-worked the design – and blew me away. To this day, that cover is one of both of our favorites. But it never would have been if I hadn’t spoken up.

In other cases I have asked Molly about changes and she has told me simply that they won’t work. Once she told me that the length of hair I’d chosen for a character made him look like a Karen. She offered to still do it if I wanted that, but we both agreed it was best not to go there.

Trust your cover artist. Trust their artistic instincts and let them have the freedom to create their design. That’s part of the process. But be open and honest about your feelings and desires so that they can address any concerns you might have. Like any artistic endeavor, a cover can’t fulfill its potential if both sides aren’t able to share a vision.