Tuesday, July 12, 2011

At Play in the Fields of Keynote: On Designing Dancing Chiva's E-Book Covers



So what's Dancing Chiva? It's a company I set up a few years ago to do writing workshops, and recently expanded into publishing. Like many writers whose book contracts of yore left them the digital rights, I am bringing some of my already published books into new life as e-books. But with Dancing Chiva I am also publishing some new works as e-books, for example, a collection of blog posts on creative writing and my translation of Francisco I. Madero's Spritist Manual, as well as long out-of-print or, in some cases, never-before-published works of Maximiliana. Check out the Dancing Chiva catalog here.


AT PLAY IN THE FIELDS OF KEYNOTE:
A note on the covers by C.M. Mayo

As a writer, I've had the sometimes disconcerting (if othertimes also joyous) experience of having someone else—a person I have never met and perhaps never will—design the covers of my books. I am talking about the professional graphic designer. Book cover design is a specialty informed by both graphic design principles and marketing. A publisher wants a book cover that fits with their brand image and— everyone hopes— will fly off the shelves to the cash registers. Alas, though sometimes fortuitously, the author's vision for the cover is not always taken into consideration, and in fact, very few publishers will cede approval to the author in a book contract (believe me, I've tried). . .CONTINUE READING.



Follow Dancing Chiva Literary Arts on Twitter @dancingchiva




P.S. Tuesdays are the day I usually update the Maximilian ~ Carlota research-sharing blog, but, as you can see, I've been otherwise occupied. I still have several file cabinets worth of research to share there, and I'll get back to it, asap.