Here’s a slightly embellished conversation regarding my book cover:
Publisher: “Have you given any thought to what you’d like the cover of your book to look like?”
Me: “Yes, I would like it to have a big sticker in the top corner. One that says Newbery, or Man Booker, or Pulitzer.”
Publisher: “Those are awards. You have to win them first.”
Me: “So we can’t just stick one on? I mean, it doesn’t seem so hard to find a book that already has one and just -”
Publisher: ” – no.”
Me: “Darn. Okay, in that case, here are two designs I’ve come up with on my own – which do you like best?”
Publisher: “These are the covers of The Giver and Harry Potter. You’ve just duct taped over the titles and written From Ant to Eagle.”
Me: “That obvious, huh?”
Publisher: “Yes.”
Me: “But I REALLY like both of these books. And The Giver comes with its own stickers. I think we should go with one of them.”
Publisher: “You can’t just take someone else’s cover.”
Me: “Even if we keep all the text inside the same? We wouldn’t change anything except the title.”
Publisher: “That sounds suspiciously like plagiarism.”
Me: “Not if we have a bibliography!”
Publisher: “How about I just design the cover.”
Me: “Hmm… you know what… that sounds like a much better idea.”
And so it is that I owe a huge thanks to the amazingly talented Michelle Halket of Central Avenue Publishing for designing the cover of my book. It is – in my humble opinion – perfect. I owe another huge thanks to my daughter and Michelle’s daughter for doing the drawings that grace the cover. They are supposed to be the drawings of the eleven-year old protagonist and since I draw like a 5-year-old, we required their services.
I hope you like the cover as much as I do!
Look for it in bookstores April 1, 2017 or preorder online today at:
— Alex