Luke Tarzian – On Book Design

As a reader, I interact with a book at the last stage – when it is a finished product. As a reviewer and having read Advanced Reader Copies, I have learned that creating a book is a lot more complicated than pressing print on a huge printer. Today I have Luke Tarzian with me who recently launched his Book Design service.

From his bio – Luke is a Fantasy Author. Long Doggo Enthusiast. Snoot Booper. Shouter of Profanities. Drinker of Whiskey. These are all titles. Luke is the Khaleesi nobody wanted and the one they certainly didn’t deserve, but here we are. 

Luke is also a graphic designer, specializing in books.

---

Welcome to Creator’s Roulette, Luke! What got you interested in offering book design services to authors?

Thanks for having me! The answer is pretty simple—I want to help authors put a quality product to market. I’ve seen a lot of great books storywise that struggle from a marketability perspective because they lack exterior and interior polishing. A great cover is going to help sell a book; a properly formatted interior (spacing, typography, etc.) is going to help make the reading experience a smooth one.

What aspects does book design cover? How important are each of these aspects in the final product that reaches readers? 

As far as my own business is concerned, it covers cover art, cover design, interior formatting, and interior design. I think it’s important to note that these are four completely different things; they aren’t synonymous as is a common misconception. 

Cover art is the image itself. A great image is going to pull prospective readers in, it’s going to set the tone of the book.

Cover design relates to the layout of cover elements: title and typography (and title placement). If you want a really good example of a cover designer who knows their trade, Shawn T. King (STK Kreations) is a perfect example.

The cover art of your book is what draws a reader in, but it’s the interior formatting that makes them stay (that, and a good story, obviously). Interior formatting refers to the typeface, margins, and text size, all of which are absolutely vital when it comes to presenting a readable book. Poor font choice, tiny margins, and text too small to read will immediately detract from the reading experience.

Interior design is basically the “Let’s add some character to this book” stage. This includes unique fonts, images, and graphics—elements that will provide readers with a personal reading experience while helping to convey the tone of your story. I wouldn’t say it’s a requirement for every book, but it definitely gives readers that something extra. 

*As a personal preference for my own books, I love black pages and interior art.

Which of these aspects are the most underappreciated by authors and readers?

Cover design and interior formatting, at least in my opinion. Cover art might be the simple answer (I’ve had a decent number of prospective clients tell me cover art shouldn’t be more than $100 because “exposure” and all that nonsense), but I don’t think a lot of people really understand the attention to detail that goes into designing a cover or formatting an entire book. A crappy font is going to detract from the value of a great piece of cover art (think about slapping Comic Sans on a Todd Lockwood piece), and an unformatted interior is going to making reader a book a nightmare.

Let’s talk about book covers! They are the visual snapshot of the story. How do you work with an author to create a cover? Do you read their story or go by feel of the synopsis?

It really depends on the project. With my own stuff I have a vague idea to start and I sort of wing it as I go (it’s a lot easier to do since I know my books in and out). With other authors, it’s sort of a combination—summary or tone of the story and artist intuition. I’ll put together a few rough ideas and then spitball back and forth with an author until we come to an image that we think really represents the book. I’m a pretty solitary worker, but I LOVE the collaborative feel that working with an author on their cover art brings.

You offer two different services: cover art and cover design. What is the difference between them?

Cover art is just that—the art without anything extra. 

Cover design is adding all the extras to the art: title, blurbs, back cover copy.

Let’s talk formats! We have PDFs, Mobi, ePub as the popular ones. Is the formatting for one different from the formatting for another? 

I would say formatting for Mobi and ePub are probably more rigorous than formatting for PDF. 

Between the ebook formats and physical books, which format do you like to read in?

I’m not really sure. I used to be firmly in the paperback camp, but that’s changed a lot since I started self-publishing my own work. A decent amount of indie fantasy and indie books in general are ebook only. I’d say I’m probably 50/50.

You also address the typography in the book through the interior design service. What are some of your favorite fonts to use? Which one do you use in your books? How does the ability of ebook readers to change fonts affect the typography?

As a personal preference, Palatino is my favorite to read. I think it tends to come across cleanly without being too sharp if that makes sense; it’s what I set my own work in. I think typography selection matters more for paperbacks because it’s something static whereas ebooks are quite fluid. 

---

What do YOU look for in a book cover?

I hope you enjoyed this conversation about book design with Luke! Connect with him on Twitter and Instagram. Check out his website and book design services for more information or find his work online at Art Station.

Banner image from Unsplash.