by M. A. Lossl

Do you judge a book by its cover?

My journey, to find the perfect cover for my latest memoir, Betweenwhiles

The challenge

Amazon Kindle has a brilliant wizard for uploading new kindle books on Amazon KDP. But, I could not find an appropriate book cover in their design feature. So I have been using a temporary cover, while I set about to find the right theme.

Finding Rachel

Then one day in December, I chatted to the landlord of our local pub. I commented on the brilliant artwork on his beer- pump, handles.

Chris explained his wife Rachel, is graphic designer. She had created them for him. Casually, I asked if Rachel designed book covers. Chris said he would enquire.

Bearing in mind that Rachel, was due her first child, imagine my delight, when she accepted the commision.

Our design journey

Staring out

I was away, traveling, so our working relationship was long distance.

Rachel asked me for some ideas. And I gave a few. The book is set in the Art Deco Era, so themes and colours from there, were my choice.

Next step

Rachel soon came back with two amazing designs. One was geometric, like the one pictured. The other, included a Swastikas emblem. This emphasized the books theme, rebellion against Nazism.

I put the draft pictures on Facebook.com, to see what my readers thought of the designs.

An interesting dilemma

A wonderful friend and beta reader of my work, from Germany, pointed out an issue. Swastikas are banned there.

So Rachel and I decided to go with the other design.

Rachel’s patience

Then in January, while sailing on the cruise ship Queen Vitoria, Art Deco pictures caught my eye. I sent a colour scheme to Rachel and asked if she could recolour the design. She had already had her baby boy, but I was not in a rush. My kindle book was not ready to be published yet.

Rachel, amidst all the challenges of a new mum, completed the task. Then I realised that I found the font for my name was difficult to read (my ageing eyes).

Again, Rachel with the patience of a saint, made the changes.

Rolling out the new cover and hiccups

My plan was, to roll out the wonderful new cover with the paperback version. I have been working on this illustrated version for some time. Then a couple of weeks ago, I lost all my work, when the template corrupted. I had not done a backup!

Thankfully, the book manuscript and pictures are fine. But I have to recopy  them over to the paperback template from Creatspace.com.

The big reveal

Today, I decided to update the Kindle version’s cover, to lift my spirits. Celebrating Rachel’s excellent craftsmanship, spurs me on to complete my task.

Rachel Powell’s cover for Betweenwhiles is pictures above, but my sites logo and details are on top.

See full details, please click on:

USA: Betweenwhiles: a family betweentwo wars- a true story of rebeliion against Nazism

UK:  Betweenwhiles: a family between two wars-a true story of rebellion against Nazism

Or go to your local Amazon site.

What do you think of my cover design?

Do you judge a book by its cover?

 

 

25 thoughts on “Do you judge a book by its cover?”

      5. Hi ya. Thank for the blog idea. You can check it out here margaretlossl.com/2018/06/27/counting-bees/. Have given you a mention with a link to your site. All the best Margaret

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  4. I absolutely judge books by their cover. As someone with a degree in visual communications, I guess I should. It decides which books I pull off the shelf to read the summary. Personally I prefer book covers without photographs. I prefer illustrations or graphics. I feel they leave more to my imagination. Photographs are more for non fiction. I think your Art Deco cover is very nice!

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    1. Thank you. I will let Rachel my graphic designer know. I also rather judge a book by its cover, to pull off the shelf. Unless an interesting description catches my eye. I love, memoir, true stories historical fiction based on historical events. At the moment I’m reading, Bomber Boys by Patrick Bishop. Based on the RAF during WW2, it’s prep for my next novel. Thanks for dropping by, and contributing. Great to hear from you. All the best for your family story.

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  5. Pingback: Counting bees? – M.A. Lossl

    1. Interesting. I would be fascinated to understand your process of choosing. For instance, I am often drawn to books other than, by the cover. A title may catch my eye, or a volume will somehow be under my hand. Thank you for your comment and interest.

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  8. Pingback: Here is my interview with Margaret Lossl | authorsinterviews

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