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| OLD COVER |
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| NEW COVER |
Think about it. If your books are available online, all people see is a small little picture representing your novel. It better be good. It better capture people’s attention. Or it could be a deal breaker.
This created a great deal of anxiety for me. I had already chosen my covers and I was quite happy with them. I have them hanging on my office wall. Even though I wasn’t published as yet, looking at my covers gave me a feeling of accomplishment. They encouraged me when I was down.
“Your covers are good, Mom,” my daughter said. “But, they’re boring.”
Ouch.
She was right. While they matched my stories beautifully, they were not eye-catching.
I decide to send out an e-mail to close friends and family and ask their opinions. Would my new cover choices catch their eye? Or would you pass? The answers surprised me.
It was 50/50. Some loved the old covers. Some loved the new covers. One even said she’d hang the new cover pictures on her wall! Some said the new covers looked to young-adultish. Some said they’d be drawn to books with my new covers. Some said they would look at my new covers and have no idea of the genre.
I had a decision to make. In the end, even though the old covers were a perfect representation of the inside of the books, I decided to go with the new covers. It was a marketing decision. I felt they would be eye-catching. And I loved the new images, they just spoke to me, from the moment I laid my eyes upon them. Love at first sight. I look at them and feel happy.
Another thought. Going back a few posts, I talked about my novels not being like your average romance novel. (no explicit details) If my covers look DIFFERENT, then they ARE a representation of what you are going to get on the inside. Something different.
Perfect. The decision was made.
What do you think? Which one do you like better?
I love the new ones! I think they're eye-catching, and I think with the mystery of not knowing what genre the book is---well I think it'll make people want to look, and find out.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mo. I appreciate your encouragement and support! You're the best!
DeleteNEW ONES. But, I'm biased.
ReplyDeleteAh, but where would i be without you, Jules?
DeleteI like the new ones, but if I saw the old one I would have picked it up too. How did you go about doing your covers? You said in an earlier post your daughter did them, what kind of program does she use? I would think that creating a cover for someone who isn't artistic, like me!, would be very daunting.
ReplyDeleteThanks for asking, Brandy! I chose the images from a site called Istock. My daughter then takes the images and sizes them to the proper trim size. She also adds all of the writing on the front and back cover. This may seem easy, but when I did it myself, it looked horrible! She made them look professional and I'm eternally grateful!
DeleteThat's really neat. I am not very artistic at all so I understand! Thanks so much for answering my question! You're the best!
ReplyDeletei like the new one. makes you look at it and try to figure out what the hand is reaching for. as far as middle aisle, i have a thing about trees, so anything with trees with gives me pause, plus it easily connects the two books.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sherry! I love feedback. I'm glad to hear you like the covers. It makes me happy! Thanks for the comment!
DeleteI love both for both books. I think the new ones are the best choice though.
ReplyDeleteI love the new covers and think you did great. Loving Lancaster House and want to read the 2nd book too. You are wonderful and your taste proves that you have great character and imagination and your writing is just awesome.. Perfect choices for both books!! xo
You're a sweetheart, Linda! Thanks so much!
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