Hi Everyone,
I have completed my new manuscript. I’ve done all I can. I hit send. I wait. It will take a while before hearing back from the publishing/editing gods. A few days go by. Still not enough time for anything to really happen. I manically search that little cyber envelop daily for some news. Then, what seems like forever, it arrives in my inbox. We’re ready to begin the cover design. It’s a go. The next leg of the trip is about to begin.
This is such an exciting time, seeing your creation come to life. It now begins to feel real. What will the end product look like? The design selected for the front book cover is so important and is key to catching a reader’s eye, especially with thousands upon thousands of books being sold online. Selecting the best visual for your book is a process. It’s where the writer’s vision and the artist’s magic converge. It doesn’t happen with the first attempt, or even the second. It could be many attempts to follow. But in the end, it’s a beautiful thing.
I’m doing something I wouldn’t normally do, I’m sharing with you the first attempt at a book cover for “The Fireflies of Estill County.” Why shouldn’t my readers have a peek into the process. I value your thoughts and will be honest about my first impressions of this cover. So here goes. I love the way the title is almost signed by the fireflies, concluding with a cascading trail of light. The girls in silhouette with a backdrop of deep greens, yellows, and purples make for a dramatic scene. However, it leans more to a mystical or fantasy vibe, and that’s not the image I want portrayed for the book. I also want to see the girls reflect more of the actual characters in the story. We’ll work on that. But what I feel is most absence, is the essence of the book’s setting, Estill County, Kentucky, a place cradled in the valley of the Bluegrass. So, stay tuned, This is a work in progress. But, please let me know your thoughts on this first stab at this cover. I’d love to hear from you. My graphic designer would also welcome your thoughts. In the meantime, stay tuned for the very soon release date of “The Fireflies of Estill County.”
Stay safe everyone!
Cheers!
