Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Your Ideal Book Cover

Let's keep dreaming. There's so much rejection in writing that we need to stay positive and visualize good outcomes. So...I thought it would be fun if we imagined our perfect book cover. If you could select your cover, how would it appear? (And if you already have the cover of your dreams, what does it look like?)

Here are some ideas to get your creative juices flowing:

Pink cover with cute girls holding wine glasses or shopping bags
Black cover with blood dripping down
Purple cover with vampires and spooks in scary trees
A damsel in distress with a hulky guy
An older woman wearing a fur coat, a huge diamond, with a younger man
An older couple in rocking chairs
A gorgeous beach scene
A breathtaking mountain scene
An ominous storm
Fast cars and a sexy couple
A yacht or sailboat with a beautiful sunset
Cute babies, adorable animals or yummy food
A haunted house
Cozy fireplace, quilt and a cat
A big-city skyline with airplanes, traffic and mobs of people
A farm or ranch scene
Young couple with a stroller

My women's fiction novel would have four women sitting around a table drinking cocktails, holding leopard print menus, laughing, with tall palm trees in the background. And they'd all be wearing heels and dressed to the nines. (The hippie parents and cop might be in the background.)

My second novel, a romantic suspense, would have a university logo, show an evil, cunning professor, and a beautiful, unknowing woman with college buildings or students in the background set on a gorgeous, green campus.

Okay, it's your turn. The possibilities are endless! What would your ideal cover look like? By the way, I know the artists decide on covers, but we can still dream, right?

9 comments:

  1. Mine would look like a tooled-leather diary with silver corner trims and keyhole. An oval picture in the center that features a dark-haired, beatiful girl with a Stetson pulled down to shadow her face.
    While I'm dreaming--I'd like a brass key to dangle from the spine to use as a bookmark.

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  2. Nice imagery, Ginny. That might be an expensive cover, but then again, it would draw a lot of attention and suit your genre. Thanks.

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  3. Mine would have a picture of a house similar to the one in Psycho. But not on a hill. And it would be easily accessible. Maybe a light in the window. A barn out back, maybe with a severed head near the entrance.

    This is fun.

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  4. I'm lucky that the artist captured exactly what I had pictured for RAFE'S REDEMPTION. My publisher had an extensive questionnaire to help accomplish this, so definitely get that pic in your mind. That way you'll know exactly how to answer those type of questions for your cover artist:)

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  5. Shirley, to be such a sweet, caring person, I don't know WHERE you come up with this stuff! lol I would spook myself writing those scary scenes, especially if it were dark outside.

    Jen, your cover is beautiful. I love it and wouldn't change a thing. Good to know about the questionnaire so we'll all be prepared with our visual when that day comes!

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  6. For my Murder on Tour, the cover would have to be a tour bus parked with the beautiful Irish countryside in the background. The tourgroup and thier luggage gathered nearby. Nothing sinster. Just the the title to draw the reader.

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  7. Whoops -forgive the misspelling

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  8. Pat, I'm intrigued by your title and the serene cover you would choose--a conflict already!

    BTW, I KNOW I saw something about submissions for stories set in Ireland recently. I hope I put it on the loop for you.

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