Wylde Wynde is about cover art. Yes, I design other things like bookmarks and business cards. But mostly I design exciting covers for e-books and traditional print books.
I've been an author for a number of years, and began my publishing career in e-books, so I understand just how much an author wants his or her book to have a cover that's evocative of the story. But it's also a luxury most authors published by the bigger publishing houses never really get to enjoy. Often, especially with e-books, an author pays for a cover design if she wants something really special. It's usually not a lot of money, but e-books still don't make a lot of money, so the author's budget can be really tight. There's always been a need for artists who can produce cover designs authors feel they can afford.
I began making my own covers in 2000 because I wanted to have a cover that was special. I soon found out I liked my own work, and even more, I loved doing it. My editor, Dick Claassen, at Awe-Struck E-Books, kept nagging me-- needling me would be more like it-- to get my business set up to give other authors the covers they wanted too. But it was a long time before I felt I was ready to meet the dreams of other authors without losing too much time from my other love, writing historical romance. Finally I took the big plunge.
WHO LOVES WYLDE WYNDE?
"Read the book and you find that Delle Jacobs pays attention to details. The hero isn't going to have the wrong color hair on her covers. Three cheers!" ~~Ann Tracy Marr, Author of Thwarting Magic
"Delle Jacob's cover for The Princess and The Promise perfectly reflected the emotional nature of the story in a manner that is effective both for an electronic website display and for a print book. Delle's work remains true to the spirit of the book and the desires of the author and publisher. I would happily commission covers for future books from her." ~~Elise Dee Beraru, Author of The Princess and the Promise
"Delle Jacobs has provided me with a truly beautiful cover for my regency romance The Caledonian Privateer. After reading a summary of the story, Delle was able to come with a wonderfully representative illustration that both my editor and myself agreed was excellent. Working with Delle has been a pleasure. She's made finding the perfect cover material an experience that has left only the best of memories. I highly recommend Delle Jacobs and her careful work to any author seeking a 'just right' cover." ~~Gail MacMillan - (Two-time Maxwell Medal winner and author of The Caledonian Privateer, Ceilidh's Quest, Shadows in the Wind (writing as Fiona Fowler), A Wolf in Winter, Biography of a Beagle, and The Horseman.
"I am completely delighted with the two covers Delle has done for me. She is very cooperative and willing to work with authors whose vague concepts she manages to bring to beautiful life. Her cover for January Gets Her Gunn is perfect, capturing the essence of my story in an artistic masterpiece." ~~Gwynn Morgan, multi-published author
WHY CALL IT WYLDE WYNDE?
I suppose that is a bit esoterical, isn't it? But it comes from my love of history and research. I was off on a wild toot, Googling around for a book title. Wanting something medieval, I tried some Early English spellings of Wild Wind. I found"Wylde Wynde" in an Early English poem called Legends of the Holy Rood (Cross).
Cros, he sticketh uppon the steir
Naked in the wylde wynde
I know, I know, getting out of hand here. But it's about Mary mourning her son Jesus on the cross, naked in the Wild wind. With just a bit of effort, and some help from the notations, the poem is both readable and beautiful.
Then I found the two words in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
The snaw snitered ful snart, that snaped the wylde,
The werbelande wynde wapped fro the hyghe,
Did you get that? Snaw snitered ful snart? Can't figure all of that long passage out, but it's a wonderful description of some wild weather. I'd say that wind is really blowing the snow around.
So when I started looking for a domain name, I wasn't surprised that Wild Wind and its common variations weren't easily available. But then there was Wylde Wynde, and I knew it was mine.
WHAT'S THE PROCESS?
The cover is the first page of the book. Its job is to evoke the story in a pleasing, exciting way, to grab the reader's attention. It should get the reader to open the book, and from there, the story should take over and tell itself.
At the same time, I want to express something of the author, and in a way, something of myself. I'm not likely to design a cover I find personally distasteful even if its what the author wants. I do cover art as much for the joy of it as I do for payment, so why do work I don't feel good about? At the same time, why take money from an author for a design she doesn't feel good about?
I want to know some basic things about the story. I talk to the author about her vision of it, of scenes in her mind. I like to know how she feels about color, texture, styles, moods. Especially in working with e-books, I prefer to do simpler designs that are more visible when rendered down to those tiny postage-stamp-size thumbnails. And simpler designs often catch the eye better. A "kitchen sink" cover takes a lot of time to design, so it will cost the author more, but in the end it is often less pleasing. But before we reach an agreement, we'll have to have an idea what we want.
Then, sometimes, just as we set upon one track, some shard of serendipity will strike, and we'll suddenly go in some unforseen direction. Trust me, it happens, and it's a wild, fun ride. I don't charge extra for the new loops in the road.
Like most artists these days, I don't "paint" from scratch. It's too time-consuming, and so it's too costly. Most images come from other images. I purchase a lot of royalty-free photos, and I own a lot of old engravings (and buy more too), that can often be made into wonderful covers for historical or paranormal stories. Some photos I've taken myself. (And I have a brother who is always coming up with marvelous photos of sunsets and things.) I've had some authors send me photos they want used. That works, too.
I use Photoshop CS2 for most work. Font Twister is a terrific program for making titling unique and interesting. But all this costs money, too, so there's always a cost involved in producing cover art.
So I can't tell you what the cost is. I've done a few covers for $60, but they are very simple, and usually are derived from designs I've already worked up as experiments. I can just make a few changes and put the author's title and name on them. When I start adding more components, the cost goes up. Especially when people appear. The average is around $100, and my top price at present is $150. That's because I don't go beyond beyond a certain level of difficulty and complexity. That's just not my style. But we'll have a good estimate and some trial ideas before beginning actual work.
And there's a contract. I'm just getting used to that, myself. It's fair and reasonable, and it clarifies rights and responsibilities so we both know where we stand. I think once you read it, you'll agree. I just want to be sure we're both happy.
Any questions? Just email me at
dellejacobs@gmail.co