Hello there!
Hello there!
And
welcome to Volume 8, Wikipedia and Book Cover
This is the eighth in a series about the state of fiction writing today along with updates on my debut novel, Becoming Amber, which will be released later this year.
My first newsletter covered the love of writing;
the second, the importance of a good idea;
the third, writing the book;
the fourth, looking for a publisher;
the fifth, the Acquisitions Editor;
the sixth, Contract Terms;
and the seventh, Develpmental Editor.
If you'd like to read back issues, go here.
To sign up for future newsletters, go here.Thank you for reading and replying to my newsletter. Your comments are welcome and appreciated.
Wikipedia
Last week, I left off just as my manuscript for Becoming Amber was being handed from the Developmental Editor to the Copy Editors.
Meanwhile two other things were happening.
First,
my author page on Wikipedia
was created, substantiated by references, and added to the online encyclopedia.
I plan to tweak and add to the page, but here is how it stands now, just waiting
for Becoming Amber to be added when it is published!
Book Cover
And secondly, the book cover for my first novel, Becoming Amber, was finalized!!! Over the past eight weeks I have been working with the art director at the publisher to come up with a cover that accurately represents the story and the protagonist, a cover that I love, and a cover that is properly formatted for the printing process - that is, with exact dimensions, color settings and the correct bleed margins.
To get the cover ball rolling, I'd previously sent the art director a list of elements that I felt were essential, such as the age and general appearance of the protagonist, a recognizable Alaska background, and an amber heart pendant that plays a crucial role in the story. I sent him this cover that I created to give him an idea of what I had in mind:
Almost as soon as I sent it, though, I thought, "Yes, I want it to be mysterious, but not goth. And I want the girl to be engaging, but not scary. And she lives in the Alaska bush, so where does she get that fabulous hair done?"
The designer modified my cover, and also offered me two other completely different covers. The one I was immediately drawn to was of the girl looking to the side and wearing the pendant.
But the first drafts had weird fonts.
And the girl had no shirt on under the jacket and her cleavage was showing. I certainly didn't want the book to be mistaken for a formulaic romance!!
Once I provided suggestions for the treatment of the series title and the other fonts and the designer added a sweater, our collaboration resulted in a cover I am very happy with.
What do you think? Let me know and I'll publish some of your comments.
See my next newsletter for the role of the Copy Editors along with updates on my debut novel, Becoming Amber.
Until
then,
