COVER Judging a Book by Its Cover

“You might want a cover to appeal to everyone,” says Aleks C. Tan, of OMF Literature Inc. (www.omflit.com), in Manila, Philippines, “That is a mistake. If you want to succeed, design for the target audience.”

o not judge a book by female teens and twenty-some - its cover,” goes the things. popular adage. While The new cover shows the close- it holds a valuable up of a teenage girl’s face, made-up truth, it is not the and with a fashionably disheveled Dkind of saying that a cover designer hairdo. This is not the stereotypical should frame and hang on the wall. portrait of a Christian girl pursuing And neither should anyone who sexual purity. The title, set against a works in Christian publishing! white text box, cuts horizontally When we send out a book into through the area where the girl’s the big jungle that is the bookstore lips ought to be. The covers com - shelf or the church book table, before mittee approved the design with it can impact a life, it first has to arrest minor revisions. We hoped our the attention of a potential reader. design, a departure from the origi - And it is not the book’s first paragraph nal’s conservative concept, would or chapter, no matter how clearly appeal strongly to the target market written and impeccably edited, that and send the radical message that achieves this. This practical and cru - purity is more than external appear - cial responsibility rests on the cover. ances. It did not hurt that the Book buyers make impulse decisions— design stood out from among other to pick up or simply ignore our titles in its category, with the kin - book—based on how the cover affects dred appeal of a fashion magazine them. After all, reading and book-buy - cover. ing are visual activities. “Designing a new cover saved us the cost of acquiring Our most senior bookstore staff the rights for the original cover design,” says Tan. In the creative section of the mar - member was arranging copies of Sav - keting department at OMF Literature, our bookstore. There I scan covers of our ing that afternoon I was roaming the the largest Christian publishing house stock—a mixture of local publications bookstore. He frowned at the cover and, in the Philippines, I oversee the work of and books imported from the U.S. and upon my inquiry, expressed that he did our designers and preside over the cov - the U.K. not like it. Just then one of our female ers committee. This group—composed On one such “reconnaissance” exer - colleagues, who is in her mid-20s, hap - of the CEO and representatives from cise, I noticed that one of our newly pened to pass by. She looked at the marketing, sales, and editorial—brain - licensed books had arrived. With this same cover, smiled approvingly, and storms, critiques, and approves cover title, Saving My First Kiss , we had decided exclaimed, “Cool! I like it!” I felt then designs. To keep abreast with trends in not to use the original U.S. cover; that this book stood a good chance of cover design, I browse book catalogs. instead, we designed one that we hoped getting noticed by the target market seg - During short breaks at the office, I roam would hook our local target segment: ment. A month later, we started receiv -

4/INTERLIT JUNE 2006 ing feedback from readers—females in We now steer clear their teens and 20s—about how the from doing white or book has ministered to them. very light motifs. When Publishers can make the mistake of we do choose a light wanting a cover to appeal to all kinds of motif, we make sure the people, but what we should seek is for finish is laminated and our identified target audience to gravi - not matte so that it can tate to our cover—yes, sometimes even readily be wiped clean if at the expense of negative impressions necessary. Feedback, from other non-targets. Merely three both negative and posi - months after releasing Saving, the initial tive, helps us develop run of 3,000 copies was almost sold out covers that work on and we were up for reprinting. both artistic and practi - We have had our share of missteps cal levels. too. With our edition of Cook’s Know In bookstores in the What You Believe, we designed a cover Philippines, more than that was almost entirely white, except 90 percent of the books for the title, which was set in red, along on the shelves are in with a big question mark in gray. It was English. Most titles are a no-nonsense design, simple and imported from the U.S. strong, to appeal to college-aged readers. and U.K. Only a few are “The medal is a strong symbol for rewarded excellence in Philippine The creative people were quite happy Filipino-authored and culture,” says Tan. “ Our senior designer was right on target in with it, but our retailers were not. The locally published. This is using it on the cover.” white cover in matte finish was easily true for both Christian and secular In a book market dominated by soiled, so stocks became less saleable. books and bookstores. In fact, one local imported products, the unspoken—and, We had to individually seal our remain - publisher observed that bookstores in if I may say, unfortunate—standard for ing stock in plastic. the Philippines have a Filipiniana sec - professional book packaging is to be tion when everywhere else in the “imported-looking.” When we design a world there is a foreign section. cover for a licensed title, we must It is in this context that OMF remember this. With the book’s Ameri - Literature provides Christian can or British cultural references and books—publishing original works style, it would not be appropriate to

It was a no-nonsense design, simple and strong, meant to appeal to college-aged readers.

despite the dearth of national have a distinctly Filipino or Asian design writers and the limited market for element on the cover. The product indigenous publications; import - would strike the reader as inconsistent. ing books from Christian publish - Although we may work to make our er-partners in the U.S. and the covers look “imported” to suit the fancy of the market, there are local visual pref - Good design requires U.K.; and acquiring licenses for attention to practical concerns too. some titles to be produced locally. erences to be considered. Covers with

JUNE 2006 INTERLIT/ 5 high-contrast and warm color schemes gone one cover revision are well-received in the Philippines. In a in a span of less than two country of brightly-adorned jeepneys years since its release. and endless fiestas, cool colors can be Obviously, we do not dismissed as too bland or boring. With always get it right the another of our licensed titles, Top Perfor - first time. mance by Zig Ziglar, the decision to redo In the past, locally the cover was almost instantaneous. We published books were shed the pale yellow of the original deemed amateurish, but cover for the deep blue of our edition. in recent years, local Designing covers for an original products, ours included, manuscript is an exciting process. Natu - have greatly improved rally, we put special care into this and enjoy relatively because the product is homegrown. The stronger patronage. editor briefs the covers committee about When our current CEO the manuscript; the target market is dis - assumed office almost a cussed; the group brainstorms to get the decade ago, one of his designer started; the designer then first priorities was to ele - works on several concepts which are vate the quality of our A bold type treatment and rich colors gave greater appeal to this presented in a subsequent meeting. Our cover designs and pack - title for church leaders. most recent bestselling local title is This aging. Up to now, in addi - Is My Story , a compilation of 31 first-per - tion to developing covers publisher’s vision is for the product; son conversion accounts featuring many for new products, we are constantly how well he or she understands the mar - prominent personalities. In response to rethinking the covers and packaging of ket and its design preferences; and how market feedback, this book has under - our backlist, and then redesigning when well these are communicated to and needed. Titles sitting idly in the implemented by the designer. backlist for years are given By all means, judge the books you fresh covers, and we start see - publish by their covers. Because you ing movement on the sales know your readers will—whether they charts. Examples of these are are aware of it or not. You make sure Servants Not Masters, an original your content is fresh, biblically-sound, OMF Lit. book on servant lead - and relevant—why not create attractive ership; and Hope Again by covers too? Take the cue from the God Charles Swindoll. We want to we serve and proclaim in our literature. keep on improving the way we The Great Author and Designer has visually communicate our imbued His creation with beauty to cap - books’ messages. ture our attention, invite us to know I am proud to say that more, and prompt us to draw closer to OMF Lit. is blessed with skillful Him. When you find yourself yearning and versatile designers who for more of God after admiring a sunset approach the challenges of our or gazing in awe at a star-dotted night context and arrive at solutions sky, remember that your book cover, in on a par with, if not more its own humble way, can have a similar attractive and effective than, effect on your readers—encouraging those of their foreign counter - them to engage the message of your parts. book, and there encounter God. v A great cover design is not just the work of a talented designer. Its success is a direct The cover for this OMF Literature title capitalizes on the consequence of how clear the fame of its contributors by showcasing their photos.

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