by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
Here’s a quick reminder for those of you who get book covers from your designers before working on the book. Make sure, before the paperback version goes live, that the back cover copy is still accurate. Sometimes even the ebook cover might need adjusting.
Why be in this situation to begin with? For me, I’ve got to get on my cover designer’s schedule early or else my releases won’t launch in time. I usually get books covered three months prior to even starting the draft.
Early book cover design works great most of the time. It definitely helps me stay on schedule. But I can run into problems if I decide to change a character’s name, the name of the town (which happened for a new series I wrote), or the series name (new series issue, again).
Although I think we’re all programmed to edit the manuscript text and the book descriptions we upload to retail portals like KDP and Draft2Digital, it might be easier to forget to check the covers that were designed months earlier.
I do have to pay my designer for changes for finished covers, but it’s well worth it to keep readers from being confused. And I’ve had to change at least two covers.
That’s my tip of the day. :) Do you have any helpful reminders for writers that you’ve run across?
Proof Your Covers Before Publication: Share on X
Paying for the covers in advance definitely keeps you on schedule! At least committed to finishing those stories.
It definitely means you finish the books!
That's a great tip, Elizabeth! Those details sometimes do change at the last minute. I've also found that, when you're choosing cover designs, it helps to imagine what the blurb will look like on the cover, so you don't choose a design that'll mess up the blurb print. That happened to me once, and it was a pain to fix!
Great tip, Margot!
Fortunately I don't request a cover until the manuscript is done and headed to the editor. Sometimes things still need to be adjusted before final release, but they are minor.
That’s a good thing!
Hi Elizabeth – we need lists to remind us of important things – and I'm sure a book list of 'to do's' is essential … we probably remember, yet the memory jogger will appear randomly – maybe even in the middle of the night or when showering – not helpful. Be organised I guess would be essential – cheers Hilary
The number of times I’ve woken up in the middle of the night realizing I’ve forgotten something is alarming!
Good idea! I often forget to update that back cover copy – especially on paperbacks!
It’s so easy to forget!
Getting covers done ahead of time is such a great motivator to finish a book. And a great idea to check the back cover again! Thanks for the tip.
Thanks for coming by, Gwen!
That's good advice. I don't do my covers before the draft because I don't write fast enough to worry about it and from completion of my pre-editor draft to release is generally 8 months per my publisher, it's not an issue, although it prevents me from early promotion and having a nice long pre-sale window. I may try it sometime, but it would be crazy to have to wrong title or place depicted on the cover as it goes out. That really would confuse readers.
It would *definitely* confuse readers. I do like the pre-order period, which gives me time to get all my ducks in a row with the production, while being able to get some visibility for the book early.