So now we’re at a wonderful stage again, where I’ve received the initial concepts for the cover of tEXt me (the new title), from those wonderful people at Blushcreate. It is so hard to choose which direction to take, needing to reflect the content, but at the same time appeal to the current book-buying market, and again I have to remind myself that the cover isn’t for me, it’s for you lovely people, and needs to work well as a thumbnail as well as a physical book cover. I also want to retain some level of brand identity for myself (ooh get me and the big words). The marketing is always the hardest part for me, but I’m learning as I go.
So the designer sent me a range of initial concepts which couuld be developed, based on my pitch and description, and my first job is to narrow it down to a couple of preferred versions which we can develop. The one at the top of this post (with the kind permission of the design team) is one I really like, but unfortunately I’ve decided to reject for the cover. I definitely need a reference to the Nokia 3310 on the front, as it’s integral to everything, and also dates the setting well, but how to draw people in to want to read? The reason I didn’t go for this concept is that it’s too specific to the phone for me. The graphics and image are spot on, but for a younger demographic it might seem too old school, and the story carries on right up to 2020. I’ll show a couple of others as we go, and if I’m wrong and you love one, please do shout!
I’ve vacillated several times about having a subtitle (A Brief Encounter with a Nokia 3310) as it explains the story tone, but does it work on the cover?
I shall update you as I go.
Stay safe,
Kit