Mary Catelli's Erraticly Updated and Exceedingly Ill-Organized Journal

To write a story, you need the first ideas, enough to go on (varies from writer to writer), and then the first draft, and then any revisions, and then and only then do you really need to worry about sticking a name and cover on it. I was mentally calling A Diabolical Bargain by its working title of Nick Briarwood (I generally call them by the main character's name) up until less than a month before release, when someone suggested it.

Meanwhile a story, at least outlined, but barely into the first draft, is pothering about its title. Starting with The Princess Wakes From The Curse but eventually changing to The Enchanted Princess Wakes, which is still a bit long and possibly awkward on the cover.

sigh

A book cover is a sales tool.  Should signal the contents.  Particularly the genre.

( Read more... )

The Non-Designer's Design Book by Robin P. Williams

A book I've found useful in designing both webpages and book covers.

Covers a great many issues in how to organize and display your material for most impact. Without reference to its content, which once or twice tweaked me as a little excessive. Particular attention paid to fonts.

The last two covers:
( Read more... )

Sometimes you get a title early, sometimes you get a title very late indeed. . . .
( Read more... )

Ducks are not quite in line yet for my next book -- the last one before I have to buckle down to a lot revision 0:) -- but I'm done with the cover:

( Read more... )

I forgot about titles when discussing it last.

The first point about titles is you aren't illustrating them, but the story.  I wrestled with it -- and won quite a few times.

( Read more... )