Beth Camp Historical Fiction

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Last Word on Covers . . .

The elusive cover floated just outside of my reach. Weds check-in brought lumps of coal (worthy and appreciated), but now I faced empty sheets of watercolor paper. Unused brushes. Expensive cover art that hinted at what could be!

And then Lee McAulay, a wonderful historical fiction writer from ROW80, suggested checking Wiki Commons for images in the public domain. And there she was, the mermaid for my cover! Of course, my editing friend from Oregon trounced me for using pedestrian fonts, BUT that only meant another several hours of trying this and that.

My goal remains to go live by the end of August via Kindle. Any comments re the cover are appreciated!

I can report that working on the Kindle edition of The Mermaid Quilt definitely triggered another, very different part of my brain. I have conquered (I think) the formatting, wrote the blurb, and have just the ISBN to figure out, the author bio for Amazon to write, and then the acid test of uploading and waiting to see how it all worked. This is not an easy journey, testing skills I didn't know I had -- with promises of more to acquire re marketing.

ROW80 keeps me focused. As we wind down through these last hot days of August, ROW80 challenges me to set monthly goals for September. And I'm dithering a bit for I'm between projects. Years of Stone (70,000 words, historical fiction set in 1840s Tasmania) will go out before the end of the month to potential agents. I have two months before the great disruption (month-long trip without computer), so what to do? The next book (Rivers of Stone) will take on the Great Pacific Nor'west, also in the 1840s, and involves plunging into lots of research, outlining, freewriting, in other words, starting from the beginning -- though I know my characters, setting, and have a few thousand words as starters.

What works best for you between projects?



3 comments:

  1. Since I'm never without projects, I can't help you there, Beth! *g*

    Concerning the cover, I have to agree with your friend that the font is too pedestrian. Have you tried Font Squirrel or Dafont? (If you use Dafont, just make sure you search for fonts that are free.) The image is lovely, though! Now just find a font that's worthy of it! :)

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  2. Looks like you are almost there with your cover. I think the image is perfect but I'm with Ruth and Lee regarding the fonts. I'm okay with the font for your name but the title font just doesn't do the image or your work justice.

    Your upcoming projects sound really fascinating, and the time period is a favorite of mine. I look forward to hearing more about both of them. Some time ago, I realized I would never be without a writing project, which is not to say that I will complete all of my writing projects but I don't seem to find time in between. Now that you've mentioned it, I don't know why.

    Go with your instincts on the cover, Beth. We're giving you our feedback but ultimately, it is your book and your cover.

    Karen

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  3. I, like Ruth, am never without projects. Ever. Lol.

    As for the cover. The image is beautiful. The font - and font color - is bland. Plus, the title covers too much of that wonderful picture. The background shades of the cover change from top to bottom, so you might have trouble finding a color that will show up, but will also be 'easy-on-the-eyes'. Maybe a creamy/gold color if you place the title at the top - over the rocks? I'd center your name at the very bottom and choose an all capital letter font/style. The mermaid reminds me of the age of mythology, so I'd look for a script reminiscent of that 'age' for the title.

    Just my opinion (which isn't worth a whole lot! Lol) but I hope it helps. In the end, you have to be happy with the cover/title/fonts/colors...in this profession, the cheese stands alone. Ha! Best of luck!

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