For the first four books of the Redemption Saga, I created the book covers. Though I am proud of the covers, it is not my favorite part of the book publishing process. In fact, creating the covers caused me quite a bit of stress since graphic design is not my area of expertise. I decided that if I wanted to continue writing books, I needed to hire a professional for the cover design.
Let me tell you, I am thrilled that I did.
I found a marvelous designer--a fellow author but also a cover designer--named Vivien Reis. She created two concepts for me then I chose my favorite. I was a little nervous because the designs weren't exactly what I had in mind, but the second of the two layouts had great potential. This was that layout.
I have always wondered how a graphic designer could possibly lift ideas out of an author's mind and translate it to a design. Thankfully, the marvelous Tamara Leigh has posted her cover evolutions on instagram and on her website which gave me an idea of how to explain the things I'd like to see changed. (Tamara Leigh will probably never know just how much she has helped me as an author by simply posting about her writing process and the art of publishing a book. Oh, and by recommending the writing program Scrivener.)
After detailing the things I'd liked tweaked, Vivien assured me the changes would be no problem then turned me loose to hunt down the cover model for our heroine Tirzah (Vivien had already found just the right model to star as our hero Trent). As it happens, I was able to find a suitable picture of a female model I had saved on my pinterest inspiration board.
Using her magic graphic design skills, Vivien fit her in perfectly and also made the changes I requested. The cover was shaping into something incredible!
Vivien then worked more magic and took the cover from beautiful to glamorous and print ready, adding in flourishes and a sunrise and lighting that made me swoon. She applied an artist's touch to the spine and back cover of the book also, and WOW! isn't it incredible!
Now that we have this cover nailed and I'm working with the graphic designer of my dreams, I can't wait to start designing the covers for the next books.
More about the release of Redemption's Grace and an exclusive sneak peek (probably a giant one!) coming soon!
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