Refining a Cover

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Refining a Cover
Terry Odell

Last time, I mentioned that my cover artist, Kim Killion at The Killion Group, was working with a background image I took of a waterfall in Vágar in the Faroe Islands. This was the image I sent.

Picture of the Vagar Waterfall, blowing from the wind.

In keeping with the Blackthorne, Inc. series “branding” (see them here), I also sent her the stock image of the hero for the cover. We’ve talked before about how a cover should make the genre obvious, and these are romantic suspense books which fall under the “romance” umbrella. Once I admitted that cover design was a marketing task, I had all my previous Blackthorne covers redesigned to fit this basic look.

This is what she sent.

Now, had this been one of my former more “traditional” publishers, that would have been that. The title and my name were spelled correctly. Accept it. In fact, I probably would have approved this cover. However, Kim allows for some back-and-forthing, and I wanted to look at it more carefully. I also enlisted the opinion of one of my critique partners, who suggested the cliffs were too dark.

I let Kim know, and she came back with this comp.

At this point, I asked my editor for her opinion, which was that the white t-shirt was distracting. I agreed, and thought it would call attention away from my name, so I asked Kim what she thought. She thought those points were valid and sent this.

These were all subtle changes, but I like the final product. There’s also the fact that three comps are included in the price, but any more than that will incur extra charges.

With a cover, I can move forward with more of the dreaded marketing, such as working on promo images (memes?) to use on my blog, newsletter, and social media.

I also had to create the book’s page on my website.

But now, I’m busy going through my editor’s feedback.

Oh—one last thing (nothing like burying the lede, eh?)

Danger Abroad is now available for preorder at many of your favorite channels. Release date is set for April 17th.

New! Find me at Substack with Writings and Wanderings

Double Intrigue
When your dream assignment turns into more than you bargained for
Cover of Double Intrigue, an International Romantic Suspense by Terry Odell Shalah Kennedy has dreams of becoming a senior travel advisor—one who actually gets to travel. Her big break comes when the agency’s “Golden Girl” is hospitalized and Shalah is sent on a Danube River cruise in her place. She’s the only advisor in the agency with a knowledge of photography, and she’s determined to get stunning images for the agency’s website.
Aleksy Jakes wants out. He’s been working for an unscrupulous taskmaster in Prague, and he’s had enough. When he spots one of his coworkers in a Prague hotel restaurant, he’s shocked to discover she’s not who he thought she was.
As Shalah and Aleksy cruise along the Danube, the simple excursion soon becomes an adventure neither of them imagined.

Like bang for your buck? I have a new Mapleton Bundle. Books 4, 5, and 6 for one low price.

Terry Odell is an award-winning author of Mystery and Romantic Suspense, although she prefers to think of them all as “Mysteries with Relationships.”

16 thoughts on “Refining a Cover”

  2. Terry, the waterfall photo is beautiful (and the guy ain’t bad either!). So cool that you have a great stock of your own photos to choose from. Wishing you success with your new book.

    • Thanks, Debbie. Good thing I didn’t have to use film to get my images! Digital makes a lot more to choose from.

    • Not only was it amazing, we didn’t have to hike to get to it! Just get out of the van, walk along a real road for a couple of minutes.

    • Thanks, Kay. I took the cover photos for Heather’s Chase, Double Intrigue, too. Hubster took the one of the bear on Deadly Places, and the bone on Deadly Bones. I need to work harder on remembering to take more portrait orientations when I’m out shooting.

    • Thanks so much. I don’t find making graphics with Canva too time-consuming. Or maybe it’s because it’s something “different” that still checks the creativity boxes that I get lost in the process.

  6. I also find feedback on a new cover design very helpful in identifying any seemingly subtle but important issues, such as the t-shirt color or the cliffs being too dark in your original cover. The end result here is a striking cover all set to do what book covers need to do–give an instant impression of the book’s vibe.

    Congratulations and good luck with your new book!

    • Thanks, Dale. I agree that extra eyes on a cover are as important as eyes on a manuscript. I always have to curb my impatience to “move on” and force myself to wait and look at it many times to make sure I’m not missing those subtle elements.

    • Thanks, Deb. I’m waiting to work on the print version, where I can use one of my puffin pictures on the back cover.

    • One of the reasons I like being in charge of my covers. Some of mine from a ‘traditional’ publisher were sub-par, and did nothing to brand my series.

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