Increasingly Artsy Books Part 1
Indie Authors Making Waves in the Publishing Industry By Adding Art
Before I became an award-winning author of novels, I was an award-winning artist. I did the weird stuff (don’t take that out of context, kids ;) ), multilayered papercuttings of mythological critters, gods, and goddesses, heraldic beasts, silhouettes of people dressed in Renaissance Faire garb. I helped teach college kids in Wisconsin how to do old-school animation with jointed papercuttings. Using that “particular set of skills,” they created an animated film featuring pirates (as one does), and set it to live orchestra music. I was invited out to attend the program (it was amazing). Before that, I was (briefly) the president of a national guild of papercutters (which got me an invitation to stay in Germany with a member of their guild, allowing me a day in Tübingen where I studied Lotte Reiniger’s work up close and personal. That was all after my foray into comics and my education in that computer program that was, at the time, only coming onto the scene (you may have heard of it) Photoshop.
All that to say: I love art; I’ve studied art; I’ve made and sold lots of art. I appreciate art. Now, watching the increase in artistry in books of all sorts (and by all sorts of authors) has been like watching a bookish Renaissance as page edges are decorated through formatting or paint, and maps, foil, reversible dust jackets, and the inclusion of maps, and full-color illustrations becomes more and more common.
What I’ve enjoyed almost as much as the inclusion of more art in books is the fact that the authors making the “big moves” in the industry are “little.” They aren’t members of the “Big Five,” but (mostly) clever women writing fantasy, romance, or romantasy who essentially wondered, “Well, why not?” and “What if…?”
Even we added art to BEASTLY BABES and the newly released editions of 13 TO LIFE (including a flipbook-style animation in the lower right corner of pages so readers can see Pietr turn into (spoiler alert) a wolf.
Watching my fellow indies shake up the industry has been wonderful. Inspiring.
In recognition of their efforts in making books even more beautiful, I want to share some images from their work. This first set of images is from Gentry Lee Burke (who I’ve known since 13 TO LIFE was a serial novel on Textnovel.com). When Amazon started Vella, Gentry Lee wrote her rump off and attracted quite a following by posting quality serial story segments frequently (like I did years ago with 13 TO LIFE). She built that following further with TikTok, and, like a handful of women writers I know, it changed the trajectory of her career and life.
I have an interview with her to share with you, too! I just need to get the audio ready.
Note the colored page edges. The trilogy actually has a continuous design, so you can display them on a shelf spine-out, face-out, or page edges-out. I haven’t yet read them, but they are so pretty!
She also has the paperback version with black and white edges (did I mention I have some of her books and swag to give away)? I do.
Below you can see a cover flat for one of her books. She (like other indie authors, myself included) hires artists from around the world to create art for her. This is one of many cool things about being an indie author: We make money and then can invest it in the creative efforts of other artists we want to support.
Below you can see one of the vellum inserts which add more unique artistry to Gentry Lee’s novels. The inserts are printed on vellum paper (so they’re see-through), and can be moved from place to place in the book, adding to the visual aesthetic.
The point is that books are not such simple things now—authors and artists are teaming up, engaging their imaginations to take the reading experience even further, making each novel a deeper and richer environment in which to escape the every day world.
If you want to find out more about Gentry Lee Burke and her books (she’s awesome in lots of ways), you can find her on TikTok, on Facebook, and her books are in her TikTok Shop and Amazon.
If you’re like, “Is SHANNON on TikTok? I can’t get enough of her!” Well, lucky you, I AM on TikTok. Not often and not necessarily gracefully, but for the morbidly curious… Go here.
Get creative, writers. Envision grand books. Be inventive. Make it memorable. Heck, make it weird. Have fun with the journey. Readers love the results of such things.