The Not-So-Easy Art of Cover Art

When I made the decision to independently publish my books, I knew that I would have to do everything. And that excited me!

I am thrilled to learn the business of publishing, navigate the world of marketing, build a much needed platform, learn to format my books, find a good editor, do the cover art, and the list goes on...

My journey  has been fun, interesting, and at times hard, but always an adventure!

These last few weeks, my journey through the world of self-pub has taken me into the depths of cover art.

And what fun!

I love being creative. I love to take pictures and work with photo layering programs. I love to cut, paste, enhance, fade, feather, invert images, use layers, blend, (And when I don't know how to do something- I love to learn and figure it out.) I also enjoy drawing, painting, crafting, oh I could go on and on...

The thing is? I have to sum up my entire story in one picture. Sounds easy, doesn't it?

Well, it feels a lot like writing the hook. One chance to say it all, and the first thing a reader will see.

So I have found myself re-working, re-drafting, re-layering cover sample after cover sample. I have done more photo shoots than I can count. (My last photo shoot consisted of over 250 photos and only 10 of them are usable...maybe...I guess that's what happens when you shoot action.) I have file after file of photos, sample covers, converted jpegs. My computer desktop looks like it exploded.

Regardless, I am still moving forward. I am excited to created this piece of my book and add to my story. It has allowed me to step away from the obvious and look at what will really represent the story. Do I have it yet? No, but I'm close and I will soon share them with you. (I'll share all the mistakes along with the choices for the Break From You cover.)

Here's to an exciting time in the not-so-easy art of cover art!

Keep an eye out for upcoming cover samples!