Save the Book: Buy 99 cent sample

Save the Book: Buy 99 cent sample: Jane Sharp’s 20 psychic mysteries in the Vision series are available in a 312-page paperback, an eBook or as a reduced-price bundle of th...

Buy 99 cent sample

Jane Sharp’s 20 psychic mysteries in the Vision series are available in a 312-page paperback, an eBook or as a reduced-price bundle of the two.

Readers can buy the series through the four eBooks in which it first appeared.

The art and soul-searching science of a minimalist cover

By Bernie Dowling

DO we add the gun and should it have a pink or grey frame? I know. We will run it by our marketing team and see what they come up with. No wait, Bent Banana Books hasn’t a marketing team, not even a marketing soloist.

It is fascinating to think of all the complex decision-making behind today’s minimalist fiction-book cover. Most writers and many readers know that minimalism is considered the go in our era of eBooks and internet thumbnails.

I suppose, technically, designer Dhrupod’s cover of Vision: Complete Trudy Harper Psychic Investigations is a marketing fail in a minimalist world. (Why has minimalist four syllables? Surely that’s too many.) 

Before we consider the Bent effort, let’s take a look at the art and science of today’s cover design.

The publisher has complete creative control of only two aspects of a book: the title and the cover design. In-house editors only make suggestions to authors on copy changes. But what the publisher wants as far as a cover goes, the publishers gets.

As a publishing minnow, I am always trying to understand what the Big 5 are up to. Critics may well call them dinosaurs, but they have paid for and accumulated a lot of technical knowledge over the decades.

Did you read this story from earlier in the year: Computer scientists have developed an algorithm which can predict with 84 per cent accuracy whether a book will be a commercial success.

http://bit.ly/1abfKmN

I immediately thought, Wow, I bet the Big 5 are doing everything they can to get a hold of that algorithm. (There might be a Dan-Brownish thriller in that concept) The algorithm would not do me much good as I am living by the mutable Law of Serendipity. I only accept authorial submissions I stumble across. But that’s getting off-topic, so I need to stop trolling myself.

J.K. Rowling’s first novel A.P. (after Potter, but you knew that didn’t you) could be considered a minimalist template. No people are in it. You might think a person on the cover aids reader identification but that’s a problem as well. In an age of differentiated lifestyles and interests, universally identifiable images are non-existent. Often, far better to have a cover which various readers can interpret in their own way.

The colors while strong are also somewhat cheery and most importantly not a usual combination for covers so it will stand out among other thumbnails.

Both the author’s name and the title are in friendly fonts which suggest humor. But a big black cross connects them. So what do we have, black humor or satire, precisely the genre of the book. Of course a lot of readers are suspicious of satire so they do not read that into the title.

Most importantly, the fonts are easily read in thumbnail. As a general rule using all capitals, such as J. K. ROWLING, decreases readability. But, it is quite clear here, allowing the authority which goes with capitals. “Name” authors do not need any more favors but they get them with minimalist design and large fonts for author names.

Similarly the title The Casual Vacancy is easy to read despite an italic-style font. One of the reasons the title is so big is to render the font clearly.

For some reason, the Rowling cover made me think of the Anita Loos satire Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. I did a bit of research. Check out the colors and font selections for the movie poster. Nix Munroe and Russell and we have a “back to the future” vibe here with The Casual Vacancy.

The “The” in the title worries me. I don’t like The in a title but the Big 5 seem to love it. Remembering that publishers choose titles here are some of John Grisham's books: The Firm, The Client, The Chamber. The Rainmaker, The Partner, The Testament, The Brethren, The Summons, The Broker, The Appeal, The Associate, The Confession, The Litigators, The Racketeer. There are more Thes in Grisham. I have included only two-word titles.

We see the title neatly frames the top of the book (pre-fame) or the bottom (post-fame)

None of our Bent authors are famous enough to have their names up the top so it is a race to see who is first.

Now we are looking at Rowling’s 2013 novel, obviously under a pseudonym. It is almost like a template of commercial graphic design. (I am not up to date with principles of graphic design so I don’t know whether this would be considered classic or quaint.) The retreating man, head bowed, shoulders hunched, shrouded by foggy light provides an arresting image, if bordering on cliché.  In mysteries and thrillers, you see that same man with his back to you at the distant end of a tunnel or under a far arch. The main image is framed by a lamp above, a light pole to the left and a metal hence fence, bottom tight. 

Here are the first and last of the Harry Potter books to illustrate what I have been saying.

Here's what it looks on Amazon

Back to our Bent cover. Rowling’s peeps would kick our butts for Druphod’s wispy font on Vision. But it is a perfect representation of the book.  Similarly Jane’s name would have been easier to read in a different font in a larger point-size. But I was not going to argue against Dhrupod’s sense of proportion and perspective. I did ask for the gun, though.

I thought the subtitle was getting lost and it needed a gun and smoke to highlight it. The first gun had a pink frame and I asked author Jane what she thought. She straw-polled family and friends and this became our Marketing Department in full swing. 

In the end Jane and I were not sure about the color so I went for gray for indefinite reasons. I do not allow myself cognitive dissonance so I am good person to make the final call.

So that’s it. We have a fantastic cover for our print book. But it is a rule breaker under the regime of minimalism. Not that I care. I like it.

My Xmasbelly-ache by Charles Dorkins

Don't look: this image is EVIL!!

CHRISTMAS is not a good time to be #belly-aching BUT . . . You know what’s coming next, don’t you? My #Xmasbelly-ache is about the witch-hunt on self-promotion.

Give an eBook. Every book available at Amazon Apple B&N Kobo  Google Inktera

Every book on sale every day Dec 20-31 Please share this post

Bent Banana Books presents 12 Days of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me: A black book of comedy Naughty Nineties by Bernie Dowling Was $2.99 now $1.99 http://bit.ly/1GXr45E	On the second day of Christmas my true love sent to me: True Worldy Loves Christina Debi’s Women’s Fiction novel Was $6.99 now $2.99 http://amzn.to/1zaC4xc
On the third day of Christmas my true love sent to me: Great ghost yarns Jane Sharp’s debut psychic mysteries Was $2.99 now 99 cents http://amzn.to/1GbfAgg	On the fourth day of Christmas my true love sent to me: More Vision yarns Vision II Was $2.99 now $1.99 http://bit.ly/1zCKXNX’
On the fifth day of Christmas my true love sent to me: Live Ghostly Wings Vision III Was $2.99 now $1.99 http://bit.ly/1JcYG3j	On the sixth day of Christmas my true love sent to me: Mixed Yarns a Telling 20+ illustrated short stories Was $3.99 now $1.99 http://bit.ly/1GXxoKp
On the seventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me: Seven Yarns a Shouting Funny anecdotes & tall tales from Bernie Was $4.99 now $2.99 http://amzn.to/1AynwVr	On the eighth day of Christmas my true love sent to me: Ghost Tales a Waiting The fourth Vision Was $2.99 now $1.99 http://bit.ly/1GxhOH6
On the ninth day of Christmas my true love sent to me: Fine Lorde a Singing Quotes from Lorde & Kurt Vonnegut with commentary by Bernie Was $2.99 now 99 cents http://amzn.to/16yjoMc	On the tenth day of Christmas my true love sent to me: Tense Tales a Storming Complete Vision series in one volume Was $6.99 now $2.99 http://amzn.to/1C9DWow
On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me: A Lively Thriller Thrilling Bernie Dowling’s Classic Australian neo-noir novel Was $4.99 now $2.99 http://amzn.to/1DR2HKw	On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love sent to me: Swell Tales Gripping 2014 anthology of illustrated short stories Was $5.99 now $2.99 http://bit.ly/1wJSwTc

All 12 eBooks on special every day

December 20-31 2014

From Amazon Apple B&N Kobo Google and Inktera

Some titles also in paperback.

Please pass this onto your literary friends.

Here is our song

Funny woman ages

Guest post from Christina Debi Author

Available world-wide in paperback and eBook.

When Life Walks On Bare Soles

Available as an eBook from AMAZON     GOOGLE PLAY      APPLE STORE

KOBO      BARNES & NOBLE      INKTERA

Available in print from AMAZON        BOOKTOPIA      FISHPOND

What happens when a mature-age woman discovers that her best friend, her workplace, her daughter and finally her lover all begin to think of her as old?

Publish your anthology Part 2

Now available world-wide in every format

by Bernie Dowling

Our first thrilling episode on how your group can produce your own anthology ended with the cliffhanger of your being on the threshold of publishing.

As with those ancient pre-movie serials we quickly replay the action from the first episode. Our Writers Anthology Group (WAG) of the Arts Alliance Pine Rivers decided to do an anthology. We set up an editorial committee and found a sponsor, the late Peter Campbell.

We drew up a leaflet inviting writers to enter a short story and/or one or two poems. A  payment of $20 would buy one copy of the anthology if the story was accepted. If it was rejected the $20 would be returned.

We distributed the leaflets in libraries, our local art gallery and among writers’ groups.

(Anyone who buys a copy of either of our anthologies Serendipity (2013) or Alpha and Omega (2014) will have access to all out support material. Email bentbananabooks@gmail.com)

In the first instance, we requested the unpublished story as a print copy.

In earlier anthologies we asked for the phrase which was the book title to be included in the story.

For Sweet and Sour we asked for a comic story and/or a drama/ thriller. Each writer had only one story published.

The past two anthologies had broad options asking only that story in some way relate to the book title.

Our editorial committee edited the hard copy with two editors assigned to each story. Suggestions were sent to the submitters. Further edits were done through email.

After the initial run of the anthology, copyright reverted to the authors with Bent Banana Books and WAG retaining publishing rights for reprints with no further royalties paid.

Authors could pre-order further copies, last year at $15 each.

We had enough money in the kitty to order one copy for each author, 10 copies for our sponsor, the pre-order copies and copies for sale and giveaways to our local libraries and sometimes to our illustrators.

The editorial committee worked without pay as did out illustrations editor/ cover designer, Ken Armstrong. Not-for-profit WAG holds excess funds on behalf of writers. Last year we invested in trophies and prizes for senior high school writers.

Out editorial committee for at least the past two volumes has been Myself, Vera Murray, David MacLaughlin, Anne Olsson, Lorraine Noscov and Ronald Holt.

We send out our call for submissions in November and December and have the book launch 10-11 months later. It gives us plenty of time to get it right.

So how did we physically publish the anthology? That’s where we leave you on the edge of your chair, eagerly awaiting Part 3.

Here is our song about the contest for meaning.