Calling All Readers: We're getting close!
Now that we have the front of the cover, we need a back...
We are so close BECAUSE you have given input! Thank you. Each of you. I will keep the smiley as the front…but there’s more to decide.
It’s decided — the covers will maintain the smiley faces as the central theme.
It makes sense, but I guess I had to hear it from others. Having created the covers, then being told by David Farland that under no circumstances should I change to covers from using the smileys…well, after nearly a decade, I was doubting myself.
So I started playing with the idea. Here’s the quick doodle in movie from for you…
Here’s the breakdown
The front cover will be a smiley, animated, which is both a key element, AND the trademark of the series…I mean, even life of fiction is about the smiley face, right?
Right.
So smiley on the front, the title will be the series at the top, the book name at the bottom…oh, sorry, forgot to put my name on there. Huh, AND need the book number somewhere….
Whoops.
POINT is, the front will be easy enough, I believe.
The spine will also be black — I know we talked AND agreed to do the art on the spine, and I will…but since I don’t know the length of the other books, it’s darn near impossible for me to figure out the width of the…..
Oh, wait a second.
I’ve had an idea!
What if I draw a scene that is, say, xyz long…and I measure out the picture and cut it to the sine widths as the books come out? It might not work perfectly, and have to be adjusted in the end, but at least that would allow for the sine art in the meantime>
We can talk about that part…leave your thoughts in the comments, please.
Now, the back of the cover…
That’s where Wendell will have his arm in various positions, depending on the book, but a scene can be sketched out and drawn in comic book form/color. It could be Chuck and Dax, or other characters, or the heart of the storyline.
What do you think? I sketched Chuck and Dax there to give you an idea…but what do you think for this first book?
I really like this, I feel like the spines do need some form of artwork as that is generally what you see first, but I’m not sure what exactly. I think a continuous picture would be cool, but I don’t think it’s absolutely necessary. Also, if you add spine art, would that mess up the continuation from front to back with Wendells arm? Just a thought. Love the back concept, I feel like it adds a little bit of context for those who haven’t read your books yet. Yeah, I think that’s about all I’ve got.
Let me be clear this is my opinion and you can do whatever you want.
But I think you should make the smiley on this book more…. Smiley. It’s just personal opinion but I feel like it makes a standard and beginning point. Then the expressions change more as it goes. I don’t think it has to be the “inanimate version” like the old one I just think it’s cool to line all the books up and watch as the smiley changes expression. And I think a smile is a good place to start.