Book Cover Under The Knife

I love my book cover. My book cover is changing.

Not majorly. Just a few nips and tucks. Colors will stay the same. The middle figure will get a bit of a refresher... baseball hat tilted to side, will lose an earring, maybe lose a chain, too.

Covers are an important marketing tool of novels. It's the first thing customers see and judge. Editorial boards discuss and debate their market research, who the target customer is, and what perception potential covers leave. Bookstore chains offer their feedback on covers and what they feel will compel customers to choose a book. Covers also affect how many books a store may order.

Last year when I met Eric Jerome Dickey at the L.A. Festival of Books, he offered that his biggest sellers have been books with some combination of yellow, red, and orange in it.

When I was asked for general ideas about the cover, I offered EJD's answer: some yellows, reds, or oranges. I offered a few photographs of people and fashions. Then Kensington and their brilliant artists Kristine Noble and Michael Storrings worked their magic. I loved the cover from the beginning, and had one or two ideas about enhancing the middle figure that I offered.

So now middle figure will be going under the knife and coming back slightly refreshed next time you see him in July.
:-)
fs