No Fewer than Two Guns

I’m taking a break from the last edits of Death Benefits to blog about book cover and interior design. I predict (no crystal ball needed) that this is really going to take off in the near future. Apple is already on the move with a drag and drop ebook creation software that allows authors to add images and video easily. Amazon will have to step it up to compete. I’m sure they will.

But that’s the (near) future, and now is now. And what’s now? Color ereaders and tablets. They’re the hot thing, so make the most of it by adding images to your text. That’s what I’m doing. There are some limitations right now. For instance, I can’t hyperlink images on my Kindle books. (If anyone knows how to get past this, I’d LOVE to know.) But images are still a way to set yourself apart from other books.

And on the subject of art, I thought I’d break down my thoughts on the Southern Fraud covers. A couple of reviewers have commented that they thought my covers didn’t match the seriousness of the books. I’ve thought long and hard about this.

And here’s my reasoning behind the cover design. My books deal with serious crimes, but in casual language and with a more lighthearted tone than other thrillers. So the covers are bright and colorful to convey the feel of the book, but the content of the art is key. The covers contain no fewer than two guns. Why? Because of what I said above: these books deal with serious crimes.

So that’s my thinking.

What attracts you to a particular book? If you’re an author, why did you choose the art you did?

Ps. I’m hoping to hit the go button tomorrow!

5 thoughts on “No Fewer than Two Guns

  1. Your covers are perfect for the content of your novels. They convey exactly what I love about the books–the suspense, the fun romance, the humor. I look forward to hearing your advice on covers when I get my books ready.

  2. Hi Jennifer,
    I followed the trail to your blog from an email blast I received from Pixel of Ink. Your new book, “Charlotte Collins,” was included in their listing. Looks interesting! I haven’t joined the e-reading crowd yet, but as I plan on releasing my own e-books, it’s something I better be doing pretty darn quick!

    We’re not supposed to, but we all (pretty much) judge a book by its cover. And now that so many books are available in e-format, we have to make an impression at a thumbnail viewing size!

    Being a writer, it’s difficult to try and create the best visual representation of a novel. There are so many things to consider; font type, font size, colour, include images? If so, how many? By the way, I really liked your cover for “Charlotte Collins” – it caught my eye! It made me stop, click and read the excerpt on the Amazon website. The design worked!

    I’m an artist (for the joy of it), so I hope to use my own artwork for my book covers, but not if it means a sacrifice to the overall design.

    I also pay close attention to different types of fonts (typography)–it can make such an impact on the overall design. We also have to think about the expectations for a particular genre and target audience. We want to stand out, but we also need to fit in (somewhere) in order for readers to “find” our novels.

    I just finished off nine cover samples for one of my books. It took me that many versions to come up with what I felt made the best impression. When I’m nearing the end of the first edit, I need to see the “visual” to spur me on to finish the project!

    Promise – when I have that e-reader in hand, I will pop on over to Amazon. “Charlotte Collins” looks like something I would enjoy reading!

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