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Posts Tagged ‘Cover Art’

Two of These Things Are Not Like the Others

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , , , on June 24, 2015| Leave a Comment »

The covers for the Dual Magics series (so far–the release of BEYOND THE PROPHECY is planned for September):

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????The covers of the two tie-in short stories:

???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????You see the problem, don’t you? The two short story covers don’t look like they belong to the same series.

Heck, the covers don’t even telegraph that they’re fantasy stories. “Becoming Lioness” could be something about an African safari for all you could tell from the cover. Well, except for the subtitle. Dual Magics might give you a clue.

“Modgud Gold”, again, except for the subtitle, could be a gold rush story.

In my defense, “Becoming Lioness” was released long before I had covers for the series. I have no excuse for “Modgud Gold” other than the image is a really good representation of a scene in the series. But, see, that’s not what a book cover is supposed to be. It’s supposed to entice a reader and give them some idea what kind of story to expect. This one fails.

I think I need to do a couple of new covers.

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Cover Art and Fonts

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , on April 5, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Possibly the single most important factor, especially for indie-published books, is the cover. It’s the first thing potential readers see. If it doesn’t intrigue them, they won’t click through to read the blurb or buy.

I started out doing my own covers because I couldn’t afford to do anything else. And my early covers weren’t just bad. They were horrible. I had to learn to do better.

Now, I probably could afford to hire at least some of my covers done, but I find I actually enjoy doing my own. But, of course, they still have to be good. I’m still learning. (I got a book on graphic design for my birthday, which I haven’t finished reading yet.) I also belong to a couple of cover art critique groups, now.

One of the areas it’s clear I’ve needed to work on is typography. With the cover for the upcoming BEYOND THE PROPHECY, Book 3 of the Dual Magics series, I changed the font to something less standard.

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Which, of course, means I now have to change the other covers to match.

Here’s the first cover for THE SHAMAN’S CURSE:

????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Not bad. But here’s the newer version, which just went live yesterday:

????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????I also changed the font on the cover of “Becoming Lioness”, which is a tie-in short story. And on the cover of “Modgud Gold”, another tie-in short story that I expect to release in the next week or so.

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I’m also very happy with the font choice for DAUGHTER OF THE DISGRACED KING, which is available for pre-order. It releases May 18th.

???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Love that font for the title.

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Graphic Design and Book Covers

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , on March 1, 2015| 2 Comments »

I’ve been reading–admittedly slowly because it’s just not as much fun as reading fiction–a graphic design book, trying to improve my understanding of what I’m doing when I design a book cover. I actually looked for a course at my local community college, but they didn’t have one. Graphic Arts, yes, but not Graphic Design, specifically.

I think typography will likely be an area where I need to get into more depth. I have a tendency to just pick a standard font and go with it.

This is particularly apropos because I’m trying to get a start on two covers right now. The one for BEYOND THE PROPHECY, the third book in the Dual Magics series. And one for DAUGHTER OF THE DISGRACED KING, a young adult fantasy romance that I wrote over a year ago.

I actually have the concept for BEYOND THE PROPHECY pretty well in hand. Not that it will hurt to have a better understanding of the principals of design. But the background theme–blue and red on a dark background–is already well established. The backgrounds advance from lightning, to a veritable storm of lightning, to smoke, and finally to flames. The only thing I really need to choose for those covers is the foreground image. For BEYOND THE PROPHECY it will be a white eagle (or as close as I can get, which may be a gyrfalcon. There aren’t very many images of truly white eagles.) That might, or might not, give you an idea of what happens in the story.

DAUGHTER OF THE DISGRACED KING is proving more difficult. I think I may finally have a concept. Something I may try out on a couple of Facebook groups I belong to, to see how it flies. That’s very helpful, too.

Indie authors have to wear a lot of hats.

 

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Cover Reveal – Prophecy of the Six

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , on December 8, 2014| Leave a Comment »

 

Three of my writing friends also have a book launching soon. Also the second book in a series. And it even also has Prophecy in the title. I’ve had a chance to read both books in this series and they’re really, really good.

LOGOWNAMESFINAL

I’m excited to host the Cover Reveal of Prophecy of the Six, Book Two of the Prophecy Breakers series by Sheena Boekweg, Melanie Crouse, and Sabrina West. The cover was designed by Darren Boekweg of Boekweg Books Publishing and Cover Design.

Sabrina Front-Cover-FinalHQ

We didn’t know how much we had to gain by being infected with magic. We found a purpose, we found a destiny, and we found each other.

But California isn’t the new start we were promised. Dr. Child may be gone, but now we must face a military school, dangerous secrets, and a prophecy that has half the country wanting us dead. When the line between enemies and allies blurs, Sam, Juliette, Ana and I need to choose between love and sanity, between magic and survival.

Paradise has a cost. When the authorities are suddenly giving you whatever you want, they’re going to demand everything in return. And that’s a price not all of us are strong enough to pay.

Freedom feels like safety, but it’s not. There are no walls here. No place they won’t be coming for us.

No place we won’t destroy.

FullbookwrapAlchemy Cover

About Alchemy

Book 1 in the Prophecy Breakers series

We didn’t know how much we had to lose until we were infected with magic. Sam was in love, Juliette was the main caretaker for her siblings, and Ana and her dad planned the best parties in New York. But we lost it all when we were shipped to Chebeague, an exclusive school for newly infected mages.

Everyone knows about the mages, those who survive the infection and end up with magical abilities. We’ve seen the power of magic, the high-paying jobs, and the world fame. But we never saw the cost. We didn’t know we’d be forced to give up everything: sanity, family, even the right to talk on the phone.

We didn’t know mage was just another word for prisoner.

In 2014, Alchemy was named on of the top 50 self-published books worth reading. On December 8,9, and 10th you can buy it for free on Amazon.

For a limited time, Funny Tragic, Crazy Magic and Hidden Magic are also available for free.

About the Authors

Sheena Boekweg, Melanie Crouse, and Sabrina West met online, (which isn’t as weird as it used to be) and blog together at The Prosers.

Their first collaborative project, Alchemy (Prophecy Breakers #1), was voted one of the top fifty self published novels worth reading by Indie Authorland.

Sheena Boekweg is the author of Funny Tragic Crazy Magic, and The Waxling (forthcoming). She is a mom of three from Utah and is prepared to survive a zombie apocalypse.

As a mom of four, Melanie Crouse thinks that parenthood is exactly like a zombie apocalypse. Melanie Crouse is the author of excuse notes, thank you cards, and the novel Hidden Magic.

Sabrina West is a writer and wildlife biologist living in San Diego, California. Her short fiction has appeared in markets such as Cover of Darkness; Strange, Weird and Wonderful Magazine; and Kayelle Press’s Night Terrors Anthology.

We love hearing from our readers, so drop us a line at theprophecybreakers@boekwegbooks.com, on facebook, twitter, or Internet stalking Benedict Cumberbatch.

Add it on Goodreads HERE
There’s also a rafflecopter giveaway. Unfortunately, that code is incompatible with WordPress. Just go over to The Prosers to enter.

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Cover Reveal, Revisions, and the Sale’s Still On

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , , , , , on October 8, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Want a sneak peek at the cover of THE VOICE OF PROPHECY (which used to be called THE IGNORED PROPHECY)?
Here it is.

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Love that feeling of a wave about to crash (as opposed to the lightning strike on the first cover). Both are very apropos for the character’s experience in those books.

Look for a possible pre-order on Amazon as soon as I have a good handle on the needed revisions.

Meanwhile, I’m busy going through my beta readers’ comments in detail and planning the revisions to make the story even better.

Not surprisingly, some areas need to be tightened up. Some may need a little extra attention. The main thing is that I need to do a much better job of reintroducing the world, the cultures, the locations, and the people (just in case someone picks up this book first)–all while not bogging the story down for people who did read THE SHAMAN’S CURSE. Okay, that may not be as easy as I just made it sound.

Also, THE SHAMAN’S CURSE

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and FIRE AND EARTH

Fire And Earth Cover (Provisional)

are both on sale for only $0.99 thru the 11th.

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Book 3 and Cover Art

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on August 27, 2014| 2 Comments »

Well, I think I’ve done about as much as I can with THE IGNORED PROPHECY until I get some reactions from beta readers. It’s down to 108,500 words, which isn’t bad. There may be a bit more I can cut, but not much.

So, it’s time to start turning my attention to a couple of other things:

  1. Cover art. Naturally, I’m going to want this to have some similarity to the cover of THE SHAMAN’S CURSE.????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????I can find similar backgrounds with out much trouble. The trick is going to be coming up with a good central image.
  2. The map. If I’m going to include a map in THE IGNORED PROPHECY (and maybe go back and add it to THE SHAMAN’S CURSE, I probably should get that ready pretty soon.
  3. Book 3. Poor Book 3 doesn’t have a title yet. This is the book where everything falls apart. I need to settle the main outline of the plot. I’m a modified discovery writer. I don’t do a detailed outline, but I do find that having at least the main turning points as guide posts is helpful.  Also, without having a good idea of the plot makes it hard to know where the story starts, and I really want to include an excerpt in THE IGNORED PROPHECY when I publish that in December.

Meanwhile, of course, still working on my new writing space. I got the ceiling painted yesterday. Progress!

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It’s Working

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , , on July 20, 2014| 6 Comments »

Well, my marketing plan for THE SHAMAN’S CURSE seems to be working.

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As of this moment, I’ve sold 253 copies, just on Amazon. That’s since it launched on July 7th. It’s hit Amazon’s popularity lists, as you can see below.

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,727 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

It’s doing even better on the Hot New Releases lists, where it’s #14 in Sword and Sorcery, #15 in Epic Fantasy, and #11 in Coming of Age. All that goes to getting more people to just see it and know it’s out there. I don’t think it hurts that the cover is different from those around it, either.

TSC Placement

I’ve already gotten three reviews, too.

This won’t last, of course. When the price goes up on August 1st, I expect a drop. But it’s sure been fun checking in on how it’s doing.

I have a much better idea of how to do this in the future now. And I owe most of it to reading LET’S GET VISIBLE. Highly recommended.

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Cover Reveal

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , , , , on June 1, 2014| 6 Comments »

I’ll probably try to work up a more widespread Cover Reveal when it’s finalized, but you get to see it first.

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This is very nearly the final cover for THE SHAMAN’S CURSE. (Just fussing with fonts at this point.)  What do you think?

I like the way the two colors suggest the two kinds of magic of the DUAL MAGICS series. I think I can work with variations of that background for the other books in the series, possibly with different foreground objects. (I’m considering a scroll for THE IGNORED PROPHECY, for example.)

I just need to finalize the cover and finish about 50 more pages of the final edits. Then I can start formatting and be ready to prepare for a (hopefully) July launch. This time, I’d like to round up a few reviews before it actually goes live.

 

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Revising Sometimes Means Deleting

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , , on May 25, 2014| 2 Comments »

So, this week and probably next, I’m concentrating on getting through what will hopefully be the final edits/revisions to THE SHAMAN’S CURSE. I want to get this formatted and ready to go for a July (or possibly August) launch. Having it ready early will allow me to do something in the right order for a change–actually send out advance review copies so the reviews can hit at around the time of the launch.

I’ve made good progress this week. I deleted four whole chapters. And I have my eye on two more that might very well get the axe, too. I always felt that the first third to maybe half of TSC was a bit too slow, a little too distanced from the central conflict. (I physically separate my MC from the antagonist as his first try/fail cycle, so this is at least somewhat inevitable, but that doesn’t mean things have to be drawn out.)

Some important things happen in that section. But there were a few other chapters that were establishing things for later. The thing is, despite the common advice “Show, don’t tell”, you don’t actually have to show everything. In fact, you shouldn’t. Some things can and should be told. In this case, it’s going to do more for the pacing of the story than the scenes/chapters did for set up. And I can still put in a paragraph or so to provide the necessary set up–just somewhere else.

But, the thing is, just a couple of months ago, I couldn’t see that. I needed the critiques that pointed out that some things didn’t seem to really move the story forward. And I needed the time to get enough distance from the story to see what those scenes were.

Sometimes, progress actually means deleting portions of your story, but it takes some distance from it to be able to see that. And those deleted scenes/chapters? Expect to see them during the launch.

Oh, and I think I’m finally making progress toward cover art for this series. There may be a cover reveal before too long.

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Early Launch Preparations

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , , , , , on June 26, 2013| 2 Comments »

Sometime this fall, I’ll be e-publishing BLOOD IS THICKER, the sequel to BLOOD WILL TELL. I haven’t picked the exact date yet. This time, I’m really determined to do a better job of preparing for the launch. This is a learning process for me

There’s a lot to do.

  1. The final draft would be a good thing to have, I think. Actually, I’m almost there. In the past, though, I’ve always had the final draft essentially burning a hole in my . . . my storage drive, I guess . . . and it’s made me the thing out a little too fast. Like I said, it’s a learning process.
  2. I still have to write a blurb and a pitch, which I haven’t even started.
  3. I have to finalize the cover art. This is what I have so far:
    Provisional Blood Is Thicker Cover

    Provisional Blood Is Thicker Cover

    There’ll be a formal cover reveal when I’ve settled on the final cover. What do you think?

  4. I’ll need to start working soon on things like a blog tour and lining up reviewers much earlier than I’ve done for FIRE AND EARTH.
  5. Mostly, I’m still trying to figure out how to do what I really want to do–offer a short-term two-for-one deal. Buy either BLOOD WILL TELL or BLOOD IS THICKER and get the other free. I know other people have done something similar. I just need to figure out how to make it work.

Meanwhile, I’m still lining up reviewers for FIRE AND EARTH. Fire And Earth Cover (Provisional)Yeah, should have done that sooner. Oh, and answering questions for an author interview to go along with one of those reviews. That’s new for me, too.

The last chapter of BLOOD WILL TELL is now available on wattpad. I’ll start the sequel, BLOOD IS THICKER, on Sunday, hoping to get some people interested in advance. This one, I think I’ll update once a week.

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