Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Affordable Paradise - Skip Thomsen


Affordable Paradise, ISBN: 0971853, Skip Thomsen

Did you design the cover?

Yes! I'm lucky to have a long art and graphic arts background, so I wrote the book, did the cover and my small-publishing company, Oregon Wordworks, published it.

Is there an interesting story behind the cover design? If so, please share the details.

I wanted a photo that would allow me to share my feelings about Hawaii in general and the Windward side of the Big Island in particular. (That's where I live and work.) The photo was taken from Coconut Island in the beautiful Hilo Bay, and of the many I took that day, I chose this one because of the way the clouds played into the area where the title would go. I did the text and layout in PhotoShop and Illustrator.

Are you happy with the cover?

Well, there's always room for improvement, but generally, yes. When placed face-out on bookstore shelves, it sells well. People will pick it up just based on their impression of the cover, so it must be working!

If not, what would you change and why?

I'm not sure about that. The Third Edition is almost sold out, so I am working on the Fourth Edition and I'm undecided whether I should run the same cover again. It is essentially unchanged from the first two editions.

Tell us what you think is the best part of the cover.

Visually, the photo. Sales-wise, the title is good because it is the ONLY Hawaii title that includes the word "affordable." That seems to work with a lot of people!

Is there anything else about your cover that we need to know?

Not really . . . I submitted the TIFF file in CMYK, 600 dpi to my printer and it came out great.

Please provide your website link.

http://www.affordablehawaiiliving.com

What is the link to buy your book?

http://www.affordablehawaiiliving.com

No comments: