Covering the Bases

Covering the Bases

A book cover has a daunting job. Done properly, it will:

  • Grab people’s interest
  • Let them know what the book is about
  • AND give them reason to open it up and read a few pages

That’s a tall order for a small space – extra small if you’re publishing is limited to the E variety.

In developing the cover for Stan Finds Himself on the Other Side of the World, my goal was a cover that was artistically stylish, indicated world travel, appealed to both men and women, somehow included the dog, and offered just a hint of baseball. You’ll have to be the judge of whether we accomplished those goals.

stanfinds-cover

I started with a globe and some “before and after” images of a guy who could have been Stan. Stan looks pretty shaggy by the time he makes it around the world. Unfortunately, my Stan came too close to the friendly Jesus images from Bible-based stories I remember reading as a child for my liking – so we scrapped the idea of putting Stan on the cover at all.

I gave the whole concept to my artist friend, Dana Ball, of Art Guy Creative, and he came back with what I believe is a masterpiece. In his first draft, however, the ball representing the earth was pretty much just a crumpled piece of paper. That was the perfect place to add the hint of a baseball.

Since the book’s not quite done, the cover’s still in process. I haven’t settled on the dog image yet. Or the fonts. I keep trying different ones for the “finds himself on the other side of the” part, and I haven’t really loved any of them. Yet. Good thing there are about 1,000,001 more fonts out there for me to look at.

The back cover contains a brief excerpt from the book, the inciting conversation between Paula and Stan that causes him to take the trip. No author pic – I think that’s wasted space on the back of a novel. I’ve reserved that for the “About the Author” page.

Next step: finish the damn book. Thanks, Joe Torres.

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Read the FIRST 5 Chapters of Stan Finds Himself on the Other Side of the World.

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LAURA ORSINI is an author and self-publishing consultant who works with other authors who want to LO picchange the world. From concept to publication to the first-time author’s book launch, her expertise will help you make a better book and find more readers. Friend her on Facebook, follow her on Twitter, and check out her pins on Pinterest.

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