Book Cover Illustrations

I’ve been in the publishing industry for several decades now, and have seen some amazing changes. When I started, anyone with reasonable talent could get into print with a big publisher.

Not so anymore.

Another change is the lack of promotion new books now get today. Most publishers — big and small — budget little or nothing for promoting books, with the exception of those written by the top tier, big-name authors.

In other words, if you are an author who wants your book to succeed, and if you’re even going to get published, you must do a whole lot of self-promotion these days, both before and after you get into print.

Here’s the good news: I was recently sent a book to review, and discovered it basically gives an author everything needed to promote both author and book – before it gets into print as well as after.

Premium Promotional Tips for Writers offers excellent advice that (even after decades in the publishing industry) I’ve never seen anywhere else. Page after page of fantastic ideas. Heck, I found myself not just reading it to review the book, but taking notes so I could apply her secrets to my own somewhat dogeared career.

And most of the promotional secrets are easy to execute and quite often free.

My advice to any author who has mastered all the basic writing skills and wants to move into top-list professional status: Read this book! You can find out more about it at (as well as order it) at Jo-Anne Vandermeulen’s site.

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Duncan Long is a writer/illustrator with titles published by HarperCollins, Avon Books, and other presses. You can see his illustration work (including is book cover artwork and graphic designs) online at: http://DuncanLong.com/art.html
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Many illustrators start with pencil sketches that are scanned and then used in a digital environment to be fleshed out for the final book illustration.

Back in days of yore, I loved working with pencils. Today I find it much faster to start with the digital tablet (Wacom) rather than pad and pencil, entering the material directly into the computer so it can grow into the final illustration the client will be using. The digital format also makes it simple to send early sketches and ideas to my clients.

I do find it important to save at various points along the way so I have earlier versions to fall back on should I go down a route that isn’t working, or if a client decides to head a different direction with the project. At those times having all the work in digital format can prove invaluable.

I am not sure when the transformation from physical to digital occurred, but one day I realized I wasn’t using my drawing tools and just boxed them up, with my t-square (once a treasured friend for my technical drawings and given to me by my dad) hanging in the closet unused for at least a decade now. Pen, ink, pencil… all seem like a dream of another age.

Sadly my drawing skills can be overshadowed by digital work. On a recent vacation I took a sketch pad and pencils thinking I’d do some work that I could later scan and use. But I quickly gave up on using them since all I produced paled in comparison to what I do on the computer. I just tucked the pad back into my suitcase and took the time off to enjoy life.

I suspect that was also a better use of vacation time.

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Duncan Long is a freelance magazine and book cover illustrator who has produced illustrations used by HarperCollins, PS Publishing, Pocket Books, Solomon Press, American Media, Fort Ross, Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, and many other publishers and self-publishing authors. See more of Duncan’s book cover illustrations at: DuncanLong.com
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This illustration is a “closeup” of some of the detail in “Midday Dream” (posted a few days ago).

Displaying book illustrations on the web is a little frustrating. First of all, the finer details of pictures are lost due to the lower resolution of a screen as compared to print (about a third to a fourth of print, that is 72 dots per inch as opposed to 300 or 350 dpi for print).

Second, there’s always the fear that someone who should know better will “borrow” illustrations that have been posted and use parts of it for their own “original pictures” or otherwise posting it on their site, thereby breaking the law and degrading the value of the artwork in the process. (And leading to a take down notice/closing of the site when they get caught.)

Those twin fears make posting artwork somewhat traumatic: Detail will be lost and if it’s a handsome piece, cyber thieves may be tempted to steal it.

But, in the end, if it peddling my book illustrations were easy, very likely no one would need to hire book cover illustrators, right? So I won’t complain too loudly.

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When not having philosophical thoughts about the resolution of illustrations and cyber thievery, Duncan Long labors as a freelance illustrator. His artwork has been published by HarperCollins, PS Publishing, Pocket Books, Solomon Press, Fort Ross, Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, and many other publishers — and self-publishing authors. See his book cover illustrations at: http://DuncanLong.com/art.html
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Another illustration that does not yet have a home… Needless to say, all book cover, magazine, CD, poster, and other rights are available for this illustration (on a first-come, first-served basis).

Art critics and teachers often claim that good artwork should avoid being symmetrical and that off-balanced pictures are more interesting to the eye. I suppose that’s generally true, but there are whole schools of art based on symmetry (Art Deco, for example) and the artwork produced is often powerful and beautiful.

I feel that a figure like this, when balanced, becomes more powerful and somewhat magical/iconic. As such, a supernatural subject like this a symmetrical viewpoint works quite well.

Yes, I am biased.

Yet I would argue that perhaps the conventional thinking that good artwork must be non-symmetrical and off-balanced is a rule that, at least on some occasions, is better broken.

Of course I’ve hedged my bets a little by putting the world on a tilt. Something some might argue is how it is in reality these days.

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Duncan Long is a freelance illustrator whose work has appeared in publications from HarperCollins, PS Publishing, Pocket Books, Solomon Press, Fort Ross, Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, and many other publishers and self-publishing authors. See his cover illustrations at: http://DuncanLong.com/art.html
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I do a wide range of illustration work from science fiction/fantasy/horror book covers to Christian and non-fiction books. I don’t turn down much except for an occasional title with dubious moral overtones.

A recent Christian illustration (shown above) created for a Gospel tract turned out well, in part I think because it taps into the subconscious yearnings of most of us, that need we feel to rise above our surroundings and culture to a higher plain. This thought is regularly reflected in our speech (“rising to the top,” “climbing the corporate ladder,” “rising above our problems,” etc.).

And the “stairway to Heaven” idea is an ongoing theme both in literature as well as music, secular and religious. So I think this picture taps into these feelings and that helps propel the idea ahead.

Sunsets of course lend themselves to beautiful lighting and convey a cyclic sense of eternal beginnings and endings, making the picture more powerful as well. And this sunset and sky scene also permitted some nice blending of blues and yellows to make the picture all the more attractive.

For those interested in seeing my Christian artwork, I have a gallery devoted to it. Some of the illustrations are of my early work (and, yes, even a little embarrassing to lay claim to), but I leave them online because they seem to fill a need among those publishing Christian artwork and/or in creating Christian PowerPoint presentations, videos, and movies. Here’s the link: Duncan’s Christian Artwork
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When not creating Christian artwork for Gospel tracts, Duncan Long labors as a freelance illustrator, with artwork published by HarperCollins, PS Publishing, Pocket Books, Solomon Press, Fort Ross, Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, and many other publishers — and self-publishing authors. See his book cover illustrations at: http://DuncanLong.com/art.html
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Here are the final two sci-fi illustrations that will appear in Ilex Press’s upcoming book SciFi Art Now. (I posted the other three in previous posts along with the details about the upcoming book coming out this Autumn).

The book is slated for release in October 2010. Pre-orders can be made in the US at Amazon.com or in the UK via Amazon.co.uk

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Duncan Long works as a freelance illustrator, with artwork published by HarperCollins, PS Publishing, Pocket Books, Solomon Press, Fort Ross, Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, and many other publishers — and self-publishing authors. See his book cover illustrations at: http://DuncanLong.com/art.html
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Here are two more sci-fi illustrations that will appear in Ilex Press’s upcoming book SciFi Art Now. (I posted the first in yesterday’s blog along with the details about the upcoming book; I plan on putting the final two online tomorrow.)

The book is slated for release in October 2010. Pre-orders can be made in the US at Amazon.com or in the UK via Amazon.co.uk

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Duncan Long works as a freelance illustrator, with artwork published by HarperCollins, PS Publishing, Pocket Books, Solomon Press, Fort Ross, Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, and many other publishers — and self-publishing authors. See his book cover illustrations at: http://DuncanLong.com/art.html
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I just got word from editor John Freeman that five pieces of my artwork have been selected for inclusion in the Ilex Press’s upcoming book SciFi Art Now which Freeman is editing. I’ve posted one of the illustrations (above) and will post the other four in upcoming blogs.

Created in 2000, Ilex Press has gained a corner on high quality illustrated reference books and has also produced quality collections of artwork covering everything from fantasy and digital art to comic book illustrations. And now science fiction illustrations. John Freeman works as a freelance editor; you can find out more about this project in his blog.

I’ll admit it. Upon receiving the news, I wore a stupid grin on my face for about 12 hours (well, let’s be honest: a more-stupid-than-usual grin).

Seriously, it’s an honor to get a piece of artwork in a book like this; among the other illustrators are science fiction greats like veteran SF illustrator Chris Foss, Bob Eggleton, Ron Miller, Lee Gibbons, John Picacio, Rian Hughes and others.

Nice company to keep.

SciFi Art Now is slated for release in October 2010. Pre-orders can be made in the US at Amazon.com or in the UK via Amazon.co.uk

Notice my grin yet?
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When not gloating, Duncan Long works as a freelance illustrator, with artwork published by HarperCollins, PS Publishing, Pocket Books, Solomon Press, Fort Ross, Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, and many other publishers — and self-publishing authors. See his book cover illustrations at: http://DuncanLong.com/art.html
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As readers of my past posts know, I occasionally work as a graphic designer, laying out books I create illustrations for. One such book was Richard Thieme’s Mind Games which I also “published” under my Duncan Long Publications imprint. With all the work that went into this book, it is a bit nearer and dearer than most of my other book projects.

The book itself is a unique collection of 19 stories of brave new worlds and alternate realities. The stories have all been previously published in literary, slipstream, and science fiction magazines and anthologies.

Here are some of the review it has received:

“The depth, complexity, and texture of Richard Thieme’s thought
processes break the mold.” Brian Snow, Senior Technical Director, NSA (ret)

“Thieme’s ability to communicate complex, abstract concepts and
personalize them is like verbal origami.” – Jeff Moss, Director, Black
Hat, a division of TechWeb/United Business Media, and a member of the
DHS HSAC

“Silent Emergent, Doubly Dark” is … very imaginative writing, with a
complexity that raises [the story] to the fringes of slipstream. We’re
left wondering what’s real and what’s not ….” Steven Pirie, The
Future Fire

“Beautiful descriptions and intriguing concepts …” The Fix (UK).

“Thieme’s clarity of thinking is refreshing, and his insights are
profound.” Bruce Schneier, security technologist and author.

“The reader is left reeling, dizzy with insight.” Robin Roberts,
Information Security R&D, CIA (ret)

“Richard Thieme takes us to the edge of cliffs we know are there but
rarely visit. He wonderfully weaves life, mystery, and passion through
digital and natural worlds with creativity and imagination. Delightful
and deeply thought provoking reading.” – Clint Brooks, former Senior
Advisor for Homeland Security and Assistant Deputy Director, NSA

“In his writing and speeches, Thieme has never let me down. Always
informative, relevant, unpredictable and thoroughly entertaining …
.one of the great thinkers of the cyber-world.” – Larry Greenblatt,
InterNetwork Defense

You can purchase a copy of Mind Games at: CreateSpace. Autographed copies are also available from the author for
$22 ($20 + $2 postage) via email – rthieme@thiemeworks.com/PayPal or
via check sent to Richard Thieme @ ThiemeWorks, PO Box 170737, Milwaukee WI 53217.

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Duncan Long is an illustrator who sometimes works as a graphic designer who does book layouts. His illustrations have been used by HarperCollins, PS Publishing, Pocket Books, Solomon Press, Fort Ross, Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, and many other publishers and self-publishing authors. See more of his book illustrations at: DuncanLong.com
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I’m back…. Brief vacation to visit a new grandson. Does that make a guy feel old or what?

And talk about the miracle of a small infant. Amazing! Equally amazing that each of us starts down the road of life in this helpless, totally dependent state.

Life is a miracle and we too often go about our business without remembering this simple fact.