Tag Archives: Reading

Book Covers, Illustrators, Sharon C. Williams

Your book cover: It’s important

Leave a comment

Jasper ebook cover small

Book covers are so important. It is the first thing readers will see when your book catches their eye. One has to spend some time with the illustrator, being willing to compromise and also knowing when to stand firm at the same time.

I am fortunate that I have two illustrators that are awesome. Squirrel Mafia was easy, with it being a non fiction book, since all the pictures in the book and cover are ones I personally took from around my area. For my Jasper series it involved me sending the team close to 100 pictures of Jasper so they could get a good idea of what he was like, his mannerisms and positions that he had. So the two covers reflect that.

6142qMHtHbL._UY250_61OYDUOn00L._UY250_

It again takes time. I have had to tell them a/Ah hmm can you lighten this portion of the book? b/ Can you lower the title a bit? c/ Can you make the font for book 2 a bit more bigger? d/ Ah hmm that is not the title I ended up with to f/ No that won’t work at all.

The team that does Jasper is wonderful and are willing and open to listen to my ideas and thoughts when it comes to the cover and the pictures inside . I am fortunate they give me leeway with each of my books and also welcome suggestions and don’t get upset when I say no that is not going to work period.

I want it just right. It is a tiresome process and stressful one at that for I want it as great as I can get it. Not everyone is going to like it. That’s okay for you can’t please everyone. What I need to do is get a cover that represents the material inside to the best of my ability.

Book club, Book nomination, Sharon C. Williams

My book has been nominated

7 Comments

IMG_0146

Jasper and I have been nominated by an online book club by the name of Noveltunity. This took me by surprise for I have no clue how that came to be. But let me take a moment to go WOOOOHOOOO!

I am going to be realistic and say I probably don’ have a snowball chance in heck. But I am still stoked that the book is up to be voted on. I did wonder to my peeps on Facebook if I could do like actors and actresses when they are announced as 1x or 2x Oscar nominee and so on. The peeps said sure why not. I have to admit I like the sound of that.

The voting ends in August and if nothing else I voted for myself for what it’s worth. My favorite reaction came from my friend Gina who said, “ It’s another feather in your cap Sharon.”

If anyone is interested in voting the link is below.

http://www.noveltunity.com/polls

Book Cover, children's book, Jasper Amazon Parrot

Choosing your book cover

4 Comments

Jasper amazon parrot

My publisher sent me illustrations for me to ponder over for volume two of my children’s series. This is normally a fun part of the job. Normally. Making sure I have a product I can be happy with I asked people in the business and those who had purchased volume one on what they thought.

I should have braced myself. I knew it was coming. It did. The only thing they seem to agree on as a whole was the cover. Everything else was a free for all as I received comments in my email box. It took me five people before someone agreed with what I thought on the pictures. I never tell people what my opinions are for I don’t want to influence them either way.

So now I need to sort out what everyone said, what I think and to put it into some kind of order before I present to the publisher what I like, don’t like, what needs to be fixed and what we will be keeping. It is still fun for I get to see the book progress to the next level as the company works on final edits. We are getting so close to the end it is getting very exciting.

Book covers. It took me just as long to go over the cover for the first volume which is shown above. Who knew it be so time-consuming to pick one that works for us?