When I was almost finished with my book, I started thinking about what cover would be perfect. I must admit, I was having a hard time deciding what would look good. I knew the cover had to be one that would grab a reader, but would also, give the reader an idea of what was inside of the book.
I want bore you with how many photos I searched through but will tell you it took a while. Finally, I found a couple that caught my eye...but by then, confusion was rampant. So, I narrowed it down to three I liked, and sent them to one of my daughters. She picked one, and it was perfect.
So, I bought the rights to it, but still something was missing. I called Kristie Koontz of KK Designs and told her I had my cover, but I also needed a sword to go on the cover. And she found it, a perfect sword.
Sometimes it takes more than one person to find the perfect cover for the book you are writing. I am glad before I started looking, I prayed about it. If I had not, I would have probably missed the perfect one and not included my daughter's opinion and Kristie.
Through the years of being with Southern Writers Magazine, I have seen a lot of book covers. Some were terrible, some were okay, but now and then you would see one that would grab you. Looking at those covers (by the way, some of those not-so-okay covers were from the traditional houses) I always tried to put myself in the shoes of the reader, wondering whether or not the cover would catch their eye, enough to pick it up and at least read the first paragraph.
Most of us are sensitive to what something looks like–be it a dress, color of hair, a house, a car, and yes, even a book cover.
That is why it is most important than an author do their best to make sure of two things: The cover of the book and the title. Those are the first two things that are going to grab a reader.
Happy choosing!!!
Retired Editor-in-Chief of Southern Writers Magazine. Founder of Collierville Christian Writers Group, Owner of Southern Author Services, Gallery of Stars, and Suite T. Author of Storms in Life and just released book, God's Prayer Power.
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