First, we want the cover to appeal to readers ages twelve to one hundred. That is quite a challenge. The old cover featured two models: boy and girl. They will appear in the new cover as well. But we've changed the boy's clothes to blend better into the woods surrounding him. Plus the new outfit is more "modest" (and I'm not saying anything else about that. :)
Secondly, the old cover had too much of a Photo-shopped feel to it. It will look more like a straight photograph now (which I really love.)
Lastly, we want to ensure that the cover appeals to a global market. Covers that work well in the US might not work as well overseas, but with a few tweaks, we can give our cover a more universal feel.
When I signed with Spencer Hill Press, I was told that I would get solid input into the cover design. That sounded really great at the time. Since a publishing house owns the right to design whatever cover they want, the author rarely has a say. I have other author friends whose sales have been burned by bad covers.
But having a say can also be a case of be careful what you wish for. Many people on the Whisper Falls team voiced opinions about this cover, such as editors, the cover designer, other authors, my agents, family, and friends. Sometimes, the opinions aligned. Sometimes they didn't. And always, people came back to me. "What do you like?"
You know what I like? I like words. I love the book and the characters. I think about whether readers will adore this story as much as I do. I'm not a marketing person or a book-seller. I don't know the business end of publishing.
That is why I'm so happy to be part of a talented team. We can all be good and wise at the things we do best. And I can go back to writing the next book...
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