“Book Covers and more”

SillWill Land #31

A couple of weeks ago, I revealed the cover to The Secret Cage, the second book in The Witch’s Foundling series on the Facebook and Instagram pages for SillWill Studios. At least, I revealed the front cover. Below, I thought some of you might like to see the entire cover, including the dustjacket for the hardcover edition. I am truly pleased by the results from Tellwell Publishing with the look and I hope you are as well.

First, the full paperback cover.

There are a couple of scenes in an old cemetery so I wanted to show that on the back. Due to some weirdness with my computer, the font on the spine did not display the correct font when I adjusted the image for my blog. It’s actually in keeping with the front cover.

Now for the the dustjacket for the Hardcover.

You can observe by the shifting of information onto the jacket flaps that the image of the graveyard becomes more clear.

In the case of The Secret Cage I approached the designers at Tellwell with a fairly firm idea of what I wanted to see. For The Witch’s Foundling series, I envision keeping the young woman’s silhouette being repeated for each book; supporting images and colour scheme will change. This is intended to create a connection between the books in this planned five book series while allowing each book to have a distinctive look.

Each of the various formats, paperback, hardcover and ebook, require adjusted parameters so choose a design that translates well for each format. However, if you too are an aspiring indie author, remember that a cover needs to reflect the tone and genre of your story. You want a cover that is eye-catching but if it does not attract your target readers you risk poor reviews. And nobody wants bad reviews.

There are numerous factors to consider when trying to choose a cover design. This isn’t a concern if you’re a traditionally published. Such a decision will be made for you by your publisher. If you’re an indie author, you need to focus on different factors when it comes to the cover for your novel. These factors are: genre, target audience and if it’s a standalone book or one of a series. There are lots of independent book cover designers out there as well as services like Tellwell Publishing. They offer all the services from editing, cover design, interior design and more at one place. What you choose will depend on your goals and budget.

Moving on to the ‘More’ of “Book Covers and more” is my latest illustration (because I do that too). I’d like to introduce you to Miss Clover O’Hallahan, The Leprechaun Catcher. She promises to humanely address any leprechauns, fairies, sprites and kobolds who may be infesting your home. You can celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in peace and not worry about what might actually be in your green beer and know the mischievous creatures will be released into their natural enviroment far from your home. You can find Miss O’Hallahan at our Rebubble Shop on a number of high quality items. The fridge magnets are particularly cool.