I’d imagine few things make the whole “I’m going to publish a book” thing feel more real than the day you receive your book’s cover from the designer. It’s one of those moments where it starts to come to life, where you see the first artistic vision of the world you created with words.
That’s the step I’ve reached. I’ve been running through some options with my designer, along with a revision or two, and now I’m ready to reveal the cover for my first novel. Take a look below.
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below, on the Facebookz, Twitterz, whatever. Let me know what you think.
Here’s what I was thinking with it, and why I selected this — keep in mind, I’m a dummy when it comes to visuals, so it was great to be able to lean on the better eyes of Jamie McAtee and Cullen Boudreaux:
- I liked the subtitle in red at the top. I wanted a subtitle that, like (hopefully) the title, prompts the reader to ask a question that can only be answered by reading the book.
- The serif font on the title has some style to it, and I think the white font works well. I thought it was important that the title be the most prominent text on the cover.
- The cross hints at the religious themes in the story, and the gravestone indicates death will be prominent in the story. I also like the splashes of color with the flowers. Overall, it’s a stark, somewhat bleak-looking image, which fits the story well.
- My name isn’t terribly large, and it’s at the bottom. I’m not exactly prominent, believe it or not, so I think leaving that at the bottom so the eye is drawn to other features is the best way to go.
So, that’s mainly what I was thinking. It’s really exciting to have this, and hopefully it gets some of you kind of excited about seeing the book eventually too. The countdown to publication continues.
Jeff, I think it’s great! A bit eerie and unsettling — perfectly suited to the title. And clearly well on its way to being a best seller. Congrats.
(Also, as someone who labored over a 4-page direct mail letter, I just can’t believe how fast you wrote this book. It’s downright amazing, and I’m really impressed by your discipline.)
Thanks, Jeff. Appreciate the kind words. I can’t really take any credit for how great the cover looks. That’s all about my awesome designer, Sasha Illingworth. Really lucky to have found her.
As far as the discipline to write the book goes, writing has never been my problem. I can sit down and pound out words all night. But, man, has writing 80K-90K words ever been a grueling, but rewarding, little adventure. This definitely won’t be my last. Lots more fiction madness to come from here.
I’m digging the cover, Jeff. The line at the top–“When nobody dies, who gets to live?”–is fantastic. I’m instantly drawn in. I want to read it!
Excited to hear that, Mindy! Thanks for commenting.
The subtitle took a long time — close to 6 months — for me to get right. I couldn’t tell you how many of those I wrote down and crossed out before I came up with that one. I knew I wanted a subtitle, pretty much from the beginning. I like it as one more way to sink the hook in the reader on the cover, which is the first thing most everyone’s going to see. But I’d rather go without one unless I really have one I believe in, and I think accomplishes my goal, which is mainly to prompt the reader to ask a question that can only be answered by reading further. “When nobody dies, who gets to live?” What does that mean? Better keep reading to find out.