Over the course of writing, editing, rewriting, revising, cursing, etc., I toyed with different covers for Find My Baby. These are several iterations of the covers I considered at one time or another.
This was the first cover, developed for my Nanowrimo author’s page way back in November of 2011. I liked this one at the time, but then an artist friend pointed out that the shadow on FIND and the shadows on my name were opposite of each other. My name was also a little too prominent on the cover. This works for known authors but does nothing for me. Eventually, I abandoned this one in favor of the next.
The font changed to give it a ransom note feel, and my name was reduced to a smaller font. It has a very dreary feel to it, and I abandoned this one pretty quickly.
This was the second cover, developed around the time of the rewrite of Find my Baby for the 3 Day Novel challenge, mid 2012. it has the ransom note feel to it and elements of an ancient manuscript – a storyline that was added to the outline for the rewrite. And look at that, my name is huge on the cover, again. The picture of the silhouetted child is a modified picture of my son’s passport picture, taken in Ukraine when he was 22 months old.
Here, I wasn’t even going to tell anyone I wrote it – my name is nowhere to be seen. Notice the cryptic writing is more emphasized. This is using a font based on the Voynich Manuscript, which the Heusel Manuscript in the story is derived. This cover was done in 2013, and I was tinkering with the story and emphasizing the ransom storyline over the adoption storyline. I never liked this cover, which may be why I never put my name on it.
It’s starting to have the feel that I wanted. At the recommendation of an agent, I simplified the title to one word, Find, since the focus of the story was less about the adoption at this time. I abandoned this shorter title. I abandoned the altered storyline and went back to the original rewrite that emphasized the adoption. I also abandoned the agent, but that was mutual. The photo is courtesy of M. Wej, by the way.
Finally, this is the book cover as it will release. Done in late 2013, the couple has been added, walking in the stark light. The title stands out clearly, my name is understated and not too big, and the dark cover thumbnails well. The book was in the editing phase at this point, and my preferential editor was not available. I was working with an editor I had not used before and we were developing a report, but it was slow going. Finally, the book was finished and scheduled for release on July 1st, 2014.
I love the last two cover pictures. It would make me pick the book up & read the blurb.
Kate
I’m glad you agree, Kate. It’s been a long road, bringing this one to print. Frankly – I’m terrified.
Reblogged this on Project words and commented:
Scheduled for release on July 1st, 2014!
I agree with Kate and think the final one has an interesting, noir-ish/ransom-situation feel about it. It also looks very professional.
Best of luck, my friend – will be biting my nails for ya! 🙂
Marion x
Thanks Marion. 🙂
PS terrified is good, it shows you care deeply about the work and are not complacent – on second thoughts, maybe just ‘slightly nervous’ would be less stressful.
Absolutely terrified.
I would love to read your book. Where is it being released?
Hi Laura! It will on Amazon and Barnes and Noble on July 1st, and the Apple e-Book Store a few days later.
The book is now available and thanks to some grass-roots promotion and a lot of help from friends, is off to a pretty good start. I will just sit here, wringing my hands, waiting for the first reviews to come in.
Specific Details on availability are here: http://lifein64squarefeet.com/find-my-baby/
Reblogged this on seaviewwarrenpoint and commented:
This is an interesting blog post from Mitch Lavender, author of the newly-released crime thriller ‘Find My Baby’ on how he arrived at the final cover for his novel. I would also have gone with the one he selected.
More details at http://lifein64squarefeet.com/find-my-baby/