Friday, February 23, 2018

#amwriting, Yes…But There’s More by Margo Hoornstra




Most publishers, The Wild Rose Press which is mine included, ask their authors to fill out Manuscript Information and Cover Art Sheets to accompany completed manuscripts. In my case, for the recently released On The Surface. Book 1 in the Brothers In Blue series.

The Manuscript Information Sheet is self-explanatory and contains pretty cut and dried information such as the dedication, praise and reviews, blurb, excerpt, brief author bio and keywords. I won’t bore you with the details of those items except for the last one. Keywords. For On The Surface, I chose rebel hero, framed heroine, secrets and betrayal.

The Cover Art Sheet, obviously used by the artist to design the cover, can be a little trickier to complete in that it makes you think about your manuscript beyond the main characters and story itself.

Starting out, providing physical descriptions of the hero and heroine, is easy enough and can be as simple as blonde hair, blue eyes, slim build, and such. Casual to formal dress. Jeans, tank tops and T-shirts. That kind of thing.

Then there’s time period, season and setting. Again, easy peasy. “Present time/contemporary. Spring through Summer at the Rest Easy Bed and Breakfast on fictional Cascade Lake, a resort town in Northern Michigan. Also, some scenes take place in Metro Detroit.”

Next up is tone of the book. In this case, I entered “Deception, concealed identities. All is not what or whom, they seem with the undertone of big city crime set on the backdrop of a beautiful resort town bed and breakfast.”

Then we come to the question of what is the most important element of a book cover? Person, place or object? Animal? Couple? If couple, in what pose? I take that to mean what is the main component that explains what you’ve written? My reply was “A landscape of a lake. The title, On The Surface, refers to the deceit of the hero and heroine regarding each other and their relationship.”

Final question. What is the story really about? After months of writing, re-writing, editing and re-editing the story this should be a piece of cake, right? Not necessarily. Following much deliberation, I came up with “Deception and pursuit of vengeance by the hero. Independence from an abuser for the heroine.”

Whew! Done and done!

As many of you know, this is the finished product. And I must say I’m thrilled with the result.




My days to blog here are the 11th and 23rd. For more about me and the stories I write, please visit my WEBSITE

And please note. If I don't respond to comments right away, I'm away from my desk for a while.

17 comments:

Leah St. James said...

Fantastic cover, Margo! It IS work coming up with the exact wording for what you want to convey for the design. (Your designer nailed it! TWRP designers are phenomenal.) I remember the first one I filled out, I wrote something like: "My one request is no bare-chested men on with long, flowing hair." :-) Can't wait to read ON THE SURFACE!

Margo Hoornstra said...

Thanks, Leah on all fronts. You’re right about TWRP designers. They do rock! I agree with you. For what ever reason, bare chests and long hair aren’t my thing either. Hope you enjoy OTS.

Brenda Whiteside said...

Love the cover. And your story was great too! I'm anxious to get to my next series and request "no couples". I might write romantic suspense, but I'm tired of being pigeon-holed by a romantic couple. There's more to the book than that.

Rolynn Anderson said...

I've done a little random testing with people regarding my postcard with all 8 of my covers. It turns out that covers are a preference much like genre is. What I like isn't necessarily what others like...and what makes a reader click on a cover to sample the story inside, is difficult to presume. The whole business of changing covers to grab new readers seems nutty to me. I understand the 'Z' and the 'I' composition of a cover. Yours is an 'I', Margo...love the colors and the movement from detailed to mute.

Jannine Gallant said...

The cover artist did an awesome job with your cover! However, your key words are too specific. They need to be broader to get picked up by search engines. Here's an Amazon site that gives key words for each romance sub-category. You can also check the suspense/mystery sub-categories for other key words. https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201216130 Those forms are a pain in the butt. I'm pretty happy my current editor hasn't asked me to fill them out other than a general, "What would you like to see on the cover?" They sort of listen to my suggestions...

Vonnie Davis said...

I love your cover, Margo. As a reader, I tend to go with flowery covers with cute houses. Don't ask me why. If you look at my book covers, there's not a flower there. Just muscles and bare skin.

Alison Henderson said...

I have loved this cover from the moment I saw it. It will always rank among my absolute favorites.

Margo Hoornstra said...

Exactly, Brenda. Couples do pigeon hole us. Music to my ears you enjoyed my story.

Andrea Downing said...

Margo, I think you're allowed to name the artist that did such a lovely cover for you--which it is--and give her or him credit!! Very evocative, too.

Margo Hoornstra said...

Good points, Rolynn. At a recent book signing, people seemed to gravitate to this over over one with a tuxedo clad male and a couple. Go figure.

Margo Hoornstra said...

Check, check, Jannine. Thanks for the tips on the key words. Pain in the butt, for sure, but necessary I’m afraid.

Margo Hoornstra said...

Nothing wrong with muscles and bare skin, Vonnie. Nothing at all.

Margo Hoornstra said...

Me too, Alison.

Margo Hoornstra said...

Good point, Andi. Something I neglected. The talented artist is Diana Carlile. I request her for future covers now.

Diane Burton said...

They did a great job on your cover, Margo. Atmosphere, esp.

Margo Hoornstra said...

Diana Carlile, Diane. I need to remember that. She did do a great job.

Alicia Dean said...

Yes, they nailed it. You did a great job of conveying what you wanted, though. The cover fits it well! Excellent cover for an excellent novel :)