In a previous blog post titled “Book Cover Part #1 – Getting Started” I discussed steps 1-3 (out of 5) that I am following to create the book cover for my first publication – Blue Violet – due out this August.
Step 1 was researching what’s needed for a book cover – basics like size of the image, typical covers for this genre, etc. Steps 2 and 3 were hiring and the communicating with an artist. Now on to the final two steps!
Step 4 – Edit the Book Cover Proofs
This was a back and forth process over the last two weeks or so. Did I mention that I worked for a web design company – with Jason – for five years? Consequently I often have a ton of ideas I want to try out, most of which are subtle variations – a LOT of variations – on a main idea. Here’s a short walk of what Jason and I went through…
- First – Jason first confirmed an image for the flower with me. He found a picture that is exactly what I was seeing in my mind. Then I got my first look at the book cover idea starting to come together. (See below image.)
- Second – I asked for the wording to be darker/larger. I suggested keeping the B & V in the title as the original fonts, but changing the rest of the letters to a different font. I requested seeing what it would look like with some “subtle swirlies” around the flower. I really debated that since the flower alone is such a pretty image. It becomes a question of preferring a more minimalist look or full on frou-frou. Below is what I received back.
- Third – So I have discovered through my wedding, the birth of my daughter, and now my book cover that I am a fan of full on frou-frou. The swirlies are definitely staying. I wanted the title to stand out a bit more. So we played with even larger text or offsetting the text, and tossed around a few other ideas like shadowing or bevels. Also added a small line of text at the bottom identifying Blue Violet at the 1st book of the Svatura series. (I’m already working on book #2!) Below is one of the options that came out of that round – my favorite of the options.
- I only asked to see it with one other change – some swirlies in the upper right corner. I debated this as well. The flower swirles come out of it, hinting at vines or leaves. So swirlies coming out of the corner might look odd.
Step 5 – Decide on a Book Cover
Without further ado, the book cover for Blue Violet is…
