Another milestone in the journey toward publication. Today, I saw the cover for my book (imagine screaming, tears and lots of smiles). I don’t know how cover reveals work for everyone, but here’s how mine went. One warning before I start: I’m extremely excited so there are likely to be a lot of adjectives, exclamation points and parenthetical comments (consider yourself warned).
My good friend, and soon to be published author of The Ceiling Man, Patricia Lillie (thanks for voting you can buy it on Amazon sometime next year – I’ll keep you posted), was browsing Kensington’s website and searched for my book (thank you Patricia). Low and behold, up comes my book, The Plot is Murder. She thought I knew and sent a message asking why I never posted this. I was shocked, excited (throw in several more adjectives for happy and you might come close to how I felt). Of course, sitting at my cubicle for the job that pays the bills, I couldn’t scream (our facilities manager frowns on screaming, apparently it scares the customers or something. Don’t ask how I know this, just trust me). In case you’re wondering, containing a lot of emotion might make you light headed and giddy (I’m just saying). I sent links to my buddies, family, agent, coworkers, pretty much everyone I could think of. Then, I posted on Facebook. Pretty amazing, right?
I have friends (e.g. Patricia Lillie) who have definite opinions about covers. To be completely honest, the covers were never that big of a deal to me. I’m not artistically inclined. My editor asked for my ideas for the cover. I am ashamed to admit, I didn’t really have any. So, I polled my friends (yes – I’m admitting the ideas weren’t my own – is that a problem? Don’t judge me).
I don’t know how I expected the cover reveal to go. My agent said sometimes you get an advance look and sometimes you don’t. I have friends (romance writers) who have had some not very pleasant surprises when they saw their covers. Changes to the heroine’s race are, unfortunately, not uncommon. If you are a cover snob (not judging, just saying) or have definite opinions about what you want your book to look like, I suggest you make sure you put it in your contract.
So, while I didn’t see the cover art before it was finalized, I’m okay with it. In fact, I LOVE it. The artists grabbed the essence of my book and the two poodles on the front look like my dogs, Coco and Cash. I get teary eyed when I look at the cover and see the poodle on the chair who looks a lot like my long time companion, Coco, who died in early October (one week before her 17th birthday).
So here we are, one step closer. I have a cover and an ISBN number. I’m a little less than one year away from my book launch when people will actually buy (I pray) and read (I hope) my book. In the meantime, I’m going to enjoy the thrill of looking at my cover and seeing my name on the Kensington author website. By the end of this journey, I’ll either have ulcers or will have developed a spine of pure steel. Either way, I’ll have a book with a really awesome cover.
http://www.kensingtonbooks.com/book.aspx/34872