It goes without saying that if you've decided to go the self-pubbed route, you're job description goes far beyond writer. Some of that extra work is tiresome, and just about all of it distracts you from the main task of actually writing. That being said, it's not without some benefits--namely the ability to have complete control over your cover design.
Thanks to the ridiculous talent of artist Shaun Lindow, I couldn't be happier with the results of the cover for my forthcoming children's novel EVE HALLOWS AND THE BOOK OF SHRIEKS, so I thought I'd talk a little about the process of bringing the cover from concept to finished product.
Shaun and I tossed around some ideas early in the process. Basically, it was him explaining what works and me saying what I would like to see and the two of us meeting on common ground. Shortly after those brief discussions, Shaun sent me four concept sketches.
Already it was a hard decision. I liked them all! I felt the top right image truly captured Eve's moody attitude, but I also wanted the whole family on the cover. I told Shaun my concerns and he came back with something even better: How about a candid shot of the family getting ready for a photo? I loved the idea, and he sketched it out.
This was the one I decided to go with (above), so Shaun put together a more detailed sketch to make sure the colors and layout were exactly how I wanted them (below).
From there, I was like a nervous soon-to-be father pacing around my writing room. I've seen Shaun's work, so I trusted him completely, but there's always that worry: He didn't read the entire book. He doesn't understand the characters like I do ... and so on.
But then he came back with this, and all those little worries slipped away:
And here's the final design with spine and back cover.
I can't praise Shaun Lindow enough for his artistic talent and his ability to take my scatterbrained ideas and turn them into a beautiful cover. If you're shopping around for an artist, then you should add him to your short list of professionals who charge reasonable fees for quality work.
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