Many people liken the process of creating a book to the experience of growing and birthing a baby. I would agree on many levels. For the most part growing a baby is a behind the scenes job. Many of the tasks are accomplished beneath the mother’s flesh, unseen to the world, except for the growing bulge of her belly. Even the writers who work in public places and are visible, rarely show their work in progress. It’s all a mystery, until the final reveal.

There are some people who are very good at showing their creative process to the rest of the world. Creative entrepreneur Austin Kleon discusses this idea in his three-book series (which I highly recommend).

I try to take Austin’s advice. I do my best to show you where I’m at along the way, and I hope you find these sneak peeks enjoyable and interesting.

But today, is one of those big reveal kind of days. The book, the birth, is not happening until Monday, November 11. (Unlike a real birth, I’m 100% certain of its due date!) Today could be compared to one of those gender reveal events. Today I’m going to share with you… the book cover.

The cover of a book is easily the most visible portion of the entire writing process. Often times, if done well, the cover is more memorable than the name of the author and sometimes even the title. Have you, in a bookstore or library, ever said, “I’m looking for the books with the green cover. I think there is a woman/house/train on the front.” and then without another word, the book seller or librarian walks you to its exact location? Point proven.

When I started researching book covers for this project I stumbled across this image.

I loved the watercolor, the presence of the city, the pages fluttering across the scene. It seemed to embody the sense of place and mood I had been creating with my words. I thought about my past book cover creating methods.

Designing on Canva (Orphan Train Riders)
Designing on publisher (Under Construction),
Finding an image on Shutterstock and hiring a designer via Fiverr (Champion Chocolatier Series)
Looking for a freelance cover designer via Facebook forum groups (The Birthday Cache)
I wasn’t confident I could replicate the essence of my inspiration image.

I was stumped for a bit, but then I remembered Rachel. I first learned about Rachel Wunsch and her work when she had a meet and greet event at Full Circle Supply. We bonded immediately over our love of REAL MAIL and I left with a print set of postcards featuring watercolor scenes of La Crosse. Immediately I knew Rachel was perfect for this project. After we worked out contractual details, I shared the original inspiration book cover with Rachel and also emailed her a few notes. A few days later, she responded with this.

And a couple of weeks later, she emailed me this.

It was perfect. I absolutely loved it. (By the way… this beautiful piece of art could be yours! We will be auctioning the framed watercolor painting off at the book launch party on November 11!)

But it wasn’t a book cover yet.

I again turned to Canva. And through a little digital software magic, I was able to create this.

TA-DA!!!

I’ve been writing and self-publishing books for six years now. In each book I implement lessons I’ve learned from past projects, causing each book to be better than the last. I am acutely aware of the stigma towards the self-published products in the marketplace, but thanks in part to this book cover, I feel more confident than ever, that I have created a book that truly worthy of the consumer’s dollar… just as much as any other title on the bookstore shelf.

I am so excited to share this book with you and can hardly wait until it’s birthday on November 11. If you’d like to celebrate with me in person, consider this your official invitation!

If you are unable to attend please know that you can purchase books via Amazon starting November 11 (pre-orders for eBooks are available NOW). Starting November 12 paperback books can be found for sale at The Local Maven (Holmen) and Olive Juice Quilts (Onalaska). If you aren’t local and would like an autographed copy, please email me and we can make it happen!

P.S. This entire blog post is made better by knowing that the cover artist is expecting a baby any day. Rachel, thank you so much for helping me with my book baby. I wish you all the best as you meet your sweet creation for the first time. I look forward to your own big reveal!

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I wasn’t confident I could replicate the essence of my inspiration image.

But it wasn’t a book cover yet.

TA-DA!!!