Pre-publication promotion of a book isn’t an area where I feel all that confidernt. So, I contacted David Wogahn, Sellbox, Inc., who helped me format, publish, and promote my first book. David makes it his purpose to help authors interested in indie publishing to do it well and successfully. He does a great job.
When I contacted him, he immediately had an idea for me to start on right away. It was getting a cover design done by 99designs. He explained how it works. I submit a description to 99designs of the kind of cover I want. They don’t do the design, but attract freelance designers who read my description and then submit one or more designs. (Tee-shirts and other items you want a design for can be done this way too, not just books).
It’s a great idea! Great fun too! The designers submitted such a range of ideas! All of the designers had to work with the particular art by John August Swanson (see previous blog) that I’d already chosen to be on the cover. His stipulations as the artist were that the art could not be compromised by cropping it or by putting words on it.
Over 40 designs were submitted within the timeframe that 99designs arranged. After the submission deadline passed, David and I chose the top five and asked the designers for particular modifications that we wanted.
Then came another fun part. I sent out a message to over 100 people asking them to vote on their preferred cover. I included a link where they could give each cover a star rating and make comments about it. People gave such thoughtful responses about which covers worked for them and which ones didn’t. My opinions changed because of their thoughts.
The winning cover (see above) was the favorite, receiving over 80 votes. Some voters had excellent reasons for preferring another design, but I liked the favorite enough to make it the cover. As some of the comments explained, “The deep blue gives the subject dignity and strength.” “‘Egos’ and ‘Eden’ being in the same font suggests the tension between them.” “The butterfly adds whimsy to what can be heavy and sobering. It also speaks of hope and metamorphosis.” “‘Keep Earth Livable’ is not only part of the larger subtitle but, by having a line of its own, conveys an imperative to us about what we need to do.” “The stream and lush ecology convey the sense of journey to a livable Earth.” Aren’t these great thoughts?
I learned there are other benefits to designing a cover this way:
- It is cheaper than paying cover artists their professional fee even when they give a break. My cover design cost $299 done through 99designs.
- Over 100 people have been alerted that I have a second book being published in the next few months.
- Many people took enough interest in my next book to vote on the cover. Many said it was fun to do so.
End total? Designing this cover has kept me smiling. I’ve loved the range of comments as people got involved in the process of choosing the cover. Some even said they’re eager for the book to come out. Nice music to an author’s ears, no?