Cover Up: It’s True

Today's how-to is a non-fiction book, so it really is true! My grandmother had been working on this book for some time, and it's part of my Grandpa Ron's life passion, so I'm honored to be helping. The criteria for this cover are very different than they would be for a novel. For one thing... Continue Reading →

Cover Art: Make it Painterly

Sometime this week, a friend pinged me with a question. I was at work, but promised I'd write up a tutorial later... Sorry, it's going to be even later. You see, the question was about Filter Forge, and using it to make photos look painterly, and therefore suitable for SFF cover art. It's a great... Continue Reading →

7 Rules for Cover Design

I feel like I harp on this topic. Covers, cover art, cover design... if it’s ever too much, tell me. Here’s the thing, though. It’s not just that I’m an artist and designer and I enjoy the process of book creation. It’s that even though people will say they don’t care about a book cover,... Continue Reading →

Covering the Myths

I've written about this many times here at Mad Genius Club, but it's a topic that gets asked about over and over. And it's an important topic. The book cover is the first thing your readers see, and no matter how often they might insist that they don't judge a book by it's cover, they... Continue Reading →

Get a Blurb

Blurb always sounds to me like an onomatopoeia. This is a word that should mean something like the last sound you make as you are drowning, as the bubble of air leaves your lungs and breaks to the surface... blurb. Instead, it's not that bad but it feels that way. I can't count how many... Continue Reading →

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