Cover Designs

I am extremely excited about this coming week. By Friday I should have the finished, approved cover design for Second Chance!

A couple of weeks ago, my designer sent me three choices, all of which were unique, and had different appealing characteristics. I immediately printed each choice, took them to church with me (it was a Wednesday night) and asked all of my friends' opinions.

Most of the people at church had heard about the fact that I was writing a novel, but none of them had read the manuscript. I received varied opinions, but more people liked the second choice than any other.

Next I began to email copies of the choices to my friends who had read the drafts. Without a doubt, each of them said they liked choice number three (some suggested minor changes to it, however.)

This was an interesting dilemma for me. Did I go with the second choice that appealed to people who had no idea what the book was about? Or should I choose the third option, which seemed to match the book the best, according to those who knew the story?

I decided to trust my cover designer, who felt the the third choice was the "strongest" option. However, I wasn't completely sold on parts of the design. So I emailed him with these suggestions: I wanted to go with the third choice, but change the font of the title, add a subtitle, and change the background colors to resemble a sunrise. (The background was very pale, and I thought vibrant colors would attract attention on a book shelf. Plus, dawn is a recurring element in the story.)

Now for those of you who have not seen the choices, I apologize for this seemingly senseless rant. I am posting this to give those who have seen the choices and voiced their opinions the "news" of what I decided to do.

As soon as my designer sends me the final design, it will be posted for all to see!!