Development of a Historical Book Cover

By Heather Day Gilbert

Ask any historical indie author, and you'll soon find that putting together a convincing historical cover (without paying for an individual model shoot) can be difficult. Stock art photos are very limited in terms of finding characters that a) represent your characters accurately, and b) are costumed authentically to the time period you're writing about.

For my first Viking historical novel, God's Daughter, my talented brother Jon was my cover artist. We found a stock art photo of a Viking woman, authentically dressed, who looked very similar to my main character, Gudrid. We altered her eye color, lightened her hair, toned down her makeup as much as possible, manipulated the background, and basically built a cover around that stock photo. The only problem is that many other Viking-era authors (mostly romance authors) used the same stock photo, so my cover was not as unique as I had hoped it would be (although it does stand out, both in Christian book circles and on the Amazon Norse bestseller list, where it's remained for three years).

For my second-in-series novel, Forest Child, I had a strong idea of how I wanted the cover character to look. Freydis is a deadly Viking warrior, and I hoped to show her facing the reader directly, a challenging look in her eyes.

My brother Jon and I set about finding a stock photo we could work with, this time hoping to add costuming and background to make the model look different. I found a photo that drew me in, and here's Jon's initial mockup of it:

Obviously, this wasn't the finished product (we would fix the leaves on her head, add more clothing, etc.), but I did love this girl's dead-on glare and her blue eyes and freckles. However, when I showed this one to a couple of author friends, they felt it looked more like a fantasy cover than a historical cover. Also, this girl seemed too young. She wasn't quite right.

We moved on to stock art woman number two—a woman with wild red hair like Freydis. I liked her serious, yet wistful vibe:

Jon took this photo and designed an amazing arrow for her, then integrated a photo of his wife's hand so she could hold said arrow. He added the cloak, toned down the makeup and added freckles and more hair, as well as a leafy forest background. I felt we were getting really close...

But something still wasn't quite right about her. She looked a bit too vulnerable and soft for my heroine.

THEN I found this stock art photo when I was trolling around, looking for just the right redhead:

Now, this woman HAD something—a glare, a haughty look, a challenge in her blue eyes. I loved how she was facing the reader, completely fearless.

But my brother was busy and didn't have time to work on all the elements we'd need to alter to go in this totally new direction. So I contacted my mystery cover designer, Jenny at Seedlings Design. Jenny felt she could integrate all the changes I needed. We proceeded to tone down the makeup, add freckles, make her hair redder, add a cloak and arrows, add curling hair tendrils, and tweak an amazing leaf-strewn background...

When the final changes were integrated, I KNEW I was looking right at the Viking warrior-woman I'd pictured for years in my head:

I'm a firm believer that with my cover art, I'll know it when I see it, and I knew this was the right cover for Forest Child because it was unique and represented my main character so perfectly.

Hope you've enjoyed this behind-the-curtains peek at the development of cover art for a Viking historical cover! I'd love input from other indie authors (especially historical) as to your cover design process!

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HEATHER DAY GILBERT, a Grace Award winner and bestselling author, writes novels that capture life in all its messy, bittersweet, hope-filled glory. Born and raised in the West Virginia mountains, generational story-telling runs in her blood. Heather is a graduate of Bob Jones University, and she and her husband are raising their children in the same home in which Heather grew up. Heather is represented by Rebeca Seitz and Jonathan Clements of SON Studios in FL. Heather's Viking historical novel, God's Daughter, is an Amazon Norse Bestseller. She is also the author of the bestselling A Murder in the Mountains mystery series and the Hemlock Creek Suspense series. Heather also authored the Indie Publishing Handbook: Four Key Elements for the Self-Publisher. Find out more at heatherdaygilbert.com.

Should I Join a Boxed Set?

By Heather Day Gilbert

Most authors I know are constantly seeking new ways of getting their books into readers' hands. One method of extending reach is to join with other authors to produce a boxed set collection.

Boxed sets might include novels or novellas that are previously published, or they might be all-new offerings published for the first time with the collection. A boxed set can be a collection by a single author, but for the purposes of this post, I'll be referring to multi-author sets.

Sets began trending a couple of years ago. Some benefits of boxed sets are:

-increased exposure to new readers (in particular, readers of other authors in the set)

-group marketing (which can be far more powerful than individual marketing)

-long-term connections made with other authors in the set

-an influx of personal author newsletter signups

But before you jump on-board a boxed set, you need to consider what will be required of you. 

Although sets vary, most sets require:

-participation from the ground-up, including input on cover art, set title/theme, release date, and marketing plans

-active participation in marketing (which includes contributing to any ads that are taken out and being involved with any online events or social media pushes)

-an determination to keep deadlines

-a willingness to share ideas and come to a consensus

-a willingness to promote the set instead of your individual book for the duration of the set

It is easy to nod your head to all the above, but when it comes down to putting these steps into practice; it can get tough, especially since sets are typically planned months in advance. Keep in mind that although other writing opportunities might arise during that time, maintaining your commitment to the set is important to its success.

The only way everyone can expect to have good royalties from the set is for each author to participate in marketing, especially since most boxed sets are priced around $0.99-$2.99 to extend their reach, and that is often split between 5-10 authors.

To avoid conflicts, many boxed set authors agree to a contract for the set. You can find a boxed set contract template here in my post on Novel Rocket.

I've been involved in two boxed sets, and I have enjoyed both of them. Yes, they required a lot of marketing, but my readership increased, as did my closeness with authors in the sets.

I would encourage you to keep boxed sets in mind as an effective marketing tool, but also be aware of the obligations that saying "yes" to a boxed set will entail.

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HEATHER DAY GILBERT, a Grace Award winning author, is currently part of the Smoke and Mirrors romantic suspense 8-novella collection. You can find this highly rated set on Amazon for only 99 cents! Heather's Viking historical novel, God's Daughter, is an Amazon Norse bestseller. She is also the author of the bestselling A Murder in the Mountains mystery series. Heather also wrote the Indie Publishing Handbook: Four Key Elements for the Self-Publisher. You can find Heather on her Website, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Goodreads.

Overcoming Sophomore Novel Blues

By Heather Day Gilbert

So you've done it. Your first novel is out in the world, garnering reviews and gathering readers. You're ready to brainstorm or edit that second novel in the series...

But out of nowhere, fears overwhelm you. It's your sophomore novel. Will readers love it like the first? Will the characters be as endearing? Will you totally miss the mark with book two?

This is a syndrome I'd like to refer to as the "sophomore novel blues," and I struggled with this myself. It came out of nowhere and nearly flattened me as I tried to write book two in my A Murder in the Mountains mystery series.

I was totally unprepared for these near-crippling blues, because I had two other books out (one is non-fiction, and the other is book one in a different series). Why did that second-in-series book cause me so much angst?

I think it is a culmination of reasons:

First, if you had characters people loved in book one, re-creating those characters and continuing their development in ways readers will still love can be daunting. What if you accidentally take them off-track or give them some habit readers can't stand?

Second, if you read your reviews (yes, I do), those negative words that have lodged somewhere deep in your mind kick loose for that sophomore novel, swirling before your eyes with every word you type. Oh no! That reader thought your main character was too serious! Maybe she needs to start cracking jokes every other paragraph! Or conversely, your main character struck that other reader as too glib...maybe she needs to get pensive at least once every scene?

I think the only way to tamp down these negative reviews is to focus on the positive ones and to realize–: negative reviews come from people who are not your readership. They aren't the ones who will even be buying book two, most likely. They didn't like book one. So don't let their harsh opinions stop you. No book can please every reader out there. Check out the reviews on some top classics and you'll see what I mean!

Third, each book in the series builds on the others. So this involves making sure all the details line up. We must double-check timelines and character traits. How old was this character in book one, and how old would that make her now? It was winter in book one...how many months have passed and what season are we in now? What color eyes did that secondary character have again? Granted, those things are relatively simple and easy to figure out, a necessary part of creating a believable series.

I think the only way to bust through the sophomore novel blues is to write the book. Don't allow yourself to get hung up in chapter five as those doubts assail you. Write through it. Get that rough draft typed out and send it to your critiquers. They will let you know if you've missed the mark and how to tweak, but you'll never get to that stage if you don't have a finished rough draft.

I didn't hesitate to send early reader copies of my first mystery out to readers. But when it came to sending out book two in the series, I hesitated. Was this book good enough? Would they still like my characters? The mystery was different—was it something they'd enjoy?

I am so thankful to say that many readers got back to me quickly saying they enjoyed this mystery even better than the first. This is what every author wants to hear—that with each book, we're reaching our reader demographic even better than we did with the previous release.

The thing is I'd never have gotten this book out if I hadn't pushed past those sophomore novel blues. I hope you can do the same, and are richly rewarded for it!

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HEATHER DAY GILBERT enjoys writing stories about authentic, believable marriages. Born and raised in the West Virginia mountains, she believes that bittersweet, generational stories are in her blood. A graduate of Bob Jones University, Heather has been married for eighteen years and has three children. Heather's Viking historical novel, God's Daughter, was an Amazon Norse Bestseller for an entire year. She is also the author of  Miranda Warning and Trial by Twelve, Books One and Two in A Murder in the Mountains mystery series, and the Indie Publishing Handbook: Four Key Elements for the Self-Publisher. Heather's website.