Book Cover Reveal for "The Source of The Wind"!
Plus... My long & winding process of choosing a book cover designer (& why you shouldn't compromise).
Exciting news! I’M REVEALING THE BOOK COVER TODAY!
I can’t wait to show you the cover, as I’m honestly in love with it and can’t stop staring at it. But first, I want to share with you my process of finding and working with a professional book cover designer for my debut novel The Source of The Wind.
Because, boy - it was quite the journey to get to this point.
Side note: If you’re reading this via email, it might be best to read this one on the site or in the app. This is a looooong post and the end might be cut off. It would be a shame to read it, only to miss the cover reveal at the end ;)
Self-publishing your own book takes you on quite the journey, as it is. There are many tasks to get done, that you wouldn’t even have to think about, if you were going down the traditional publishing route.
There's the various stages of editing the manuscript, the interior formatting, choosing where to publish, buying ISBNs, deciding how to market the novel, etc.
And there's also the book cover. How is your book going to look?
I had particular ideas for my book cover, a strong vision, and a will to create it myself. But I definitely didn't have the ability to design my own book cover. Alas, my grandma’s artistic genes (she was a professional artist, her home covered with her paintings and sculptures), did not pass on to me. And between working full-time, juggling multiple jobs and trying to keep up with basic daily life, I definitely didn't have the capacity to develop a whole new skill set.
I needed help.
So, I first asked one of my sisters, who will go by the nickname “Snoopy”. See, I may not have been blessed with my grandma’s artistic capabilities, but my sister has.
“May you lend me your talent?” #1
Snoopy and I had an amazing first conversation where she helped me get clear on which of my ideas would work and which wouldn't. She gathered images on Pinterest and created a mood board of all my ideas. From our conversation, I gathered all of the ideas and inspiration neatly into a file and all of a sudden had references to pull from.
But, despite being a ridiculously talented artist, she decided to decline the task of creating a book cover, which I respect.
So I went looking for help from one of my best friends, Netta.
“May you lend me your talent?” #2
Netta is also an incredibly talented artist (that woman is multi-talented in many areas, it's ridiculous - and she's actually the one who created the Wide Eyed Ella logo!) and I asked if she could maybe help me.
We also had a great conversation on what's needed to make a book cover and what would and wouldn't work.
But Netta mentioned, very correctly and wisely, that since this is artwork that's meant to help sell a product, it might be wiser to hire a professional book cover designer who knows exactly what they're doing and has experience.
So following my wise friend’s advice - I began the task of finding a professional book cover designer.
Beginning the search for a professional
I went to the first place I was familiar with, where I had found other professionals who had helped me with the editing process of my novel - Reedsy.
Reedsy is a marketplace full of freelance professionals who help indie authors with the various stages of creating a book. Editors, cover designers, illustrators, marketing professionals, ghostwriters etc. I had a really great experience hiring a developmental editor early on in my process, and a copy editor recently. I was very satisfied with both, so I decided to try Reedsy again, but with the purpose of finding a book cover designer.
I found a few who’s work I liked and asked for quotes. But although their work was beautiful - in truth, I wasn’t feeling the vibe. It didn’t feel like an accurate match for the kind of cover I actually wanted for my novel.
So, I widened my search and tried scouring Fiverr, Upwork and Instagram.
It was on Instagram where I found the amazing book cover designer, who had designed the cover of one of my favourite novels that I’d recently read. A book whose cover I found inspiring for my own novel. Her portfolio was gorgeous and I adored her style. Let’s call her Cover Designer A.
Continuing the search for a professional
We were beginning to talk, and our chemistry was great. Having a good connection with my future book cover designer was important to me, so this box was checked. But I wasn’t locked in yet. I was still casting my net wide, just in case.
I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t found a designer on Reedsy, as I had found exactly what I was searching for through them, in the past. So I decided to do one last search for book cover designers.
I’m not entirely sure what it was that I searched, or exactly what I had found. But instead of searching their database, I searched Google and clicked on any Reedsy-related link that showed some promise of introducing me to my book cover designer.
I found an article, either an interview or a round up post, featuring a book cover designer who’s name I wasn’t familiar with. I googled her name and when I found her website and her portfolio, I got excited. She has a very diverse and top-notch portfolio and I could totally see her doing the cover of The Source of The Wind. Let’s call her Cover Designer B.
Choosing who to work with
I was talking to both at the same time and I really liked both of them. Both were awesome to talk to, both of their portfolios were gorgeous, and both gave me confidence that they would get my cover just right.
So, who do I choose?
I was deliberating for quite a while; longer than I had intended. But it's an important decision and I wanted to make the right one. The deciding factor ended up being a practical consideration that was important to me - merchandise.
My hope is that I will be able to use the cover to eventually create simple merchandise like bookmarks and tote bags etc. I wanted to go with a designer who's parameters and requests regarding the use of their work felt clear to me. I knew that many designers had no problem with indie authors using the artwork they had provided for the cover, to be used for merchandise too, giving the author free reign to do as they wish. After all, the author pays for the artwork that will be a part of, and help sell, the book. So I knew that this was an acceptable expectation on my part.
But I still wanted to know what the parameters would be and be respectful of them, when I eventually start researching and creating merchandise. Because the cover is still the work and creativity of the designer.
Cover Designer A articulated exactly what she was comfortable with and went into specifics, which was awesome on her part. But I did find all of the details and instructions of what I’d need to do, a little confusing. I still wasn’t sure what my merch-creating journey would look like, so I didn’t know if her instructions would actually be a good fit for me, or if I could commit to them.
Cover Designer B gave me clear guidelines that I understood and a lot of freedom within those guidelines. It was clear what I was allowed and not allowed to, and I felt I could easily commit to her requests. I still didn’t (and don’t) know what I exactly want to do in the realm of possible merchandise, or how I will go about it. But I felt her guidelines could inform my merchandise-creating journey, if and when I choose to embark on it. Still giving me the space and freedom that I needed.
I have no doubt that I would have enjoyed working with Cover Designer A; their style was gorgeous, communication was good and they were very professional.
But I'm very glad that I chose Cover Designer B.
I chose to hire Anna Woodbine from The Woodbine Workshop.
The process of working with a professional book cover designer
Stage 1 - Initial Call
First off, I just have to say that working with Anna was an amazing experience!
I left our first initial call feeling very heard, excited and reassured. We scheduled a 20-30 minute call, just to go over my ideas, discuss directions and tell her more about the story.
I came ready with my file of ideas and inspiration that Snoopy and Netta had helped me curate, and told her the big reveal of the story, so that she had more context for my ideas. It felt very reassuring when she said that she loved the idea and how everything comes together in the end.
Stage 2 - Rough Black & White Drafts
After our initial call, we continued to communicate almost exclusively by email. The first phase was receiving the black and white rough drafts. This phase was just about seeing the different possibilities and directions that we could go in. We discussed the ideas, and I contemplated between two very similar directions.
I ended up choosing one of them and we moved onto the next stage.
Stage 3 - Rough Colour Drafts
This stage was about choosing the colour palette that we wanted to go in. With the general direction of the cover’s structure picked, I received four images with the structure, but in different colour palettes. All of them were gorgeous, but there was a very clear winner for me. When I saw it, I literally said, “Oh my god! This!”. I couldn’t stop staring it and it made me so happy to look at.
I picked the direction I wanted us to go in and we moved forward to the next and final stage.
Stage 4 - Final Colour Draft
With the structure created and the colour palette chosen, Anna got to work on creating the various layers and perfecting the little details. The cover I received was basically like the colour draft, but fuller, deeper and with more work on the details.
Because I’m publishing both an eBook and a paperback, she also created the spine and back cover for the paperback version, once I had sent her the copy I wanted to include on the back. With some tweaks she made after I had given my feedback, we finally had our eBook and paperback covers for The Source of The Wind!
Why you shouldn't compromise on your book cover
Aside from the quality of the content of your book - the book cover is the most important aspect to get right. Because, despite the old adage, we do judge books by their covers. They are the readers’ first impression of your story, telling them whether it's worth it to take a further look and possibly purchase it.
I knew that I wanted for the book cover to be as eye-catching and beautiful as possible. I wanted for it to be happy, bold, pleasing to look at, and indicative of the spirit of the story.
Of course, if you don't have money to spare to hire a professional book cover designer, that's okay. There are more budget friendly options available, where you can hire a designer to customise a cover based on a template. These covers still look great and are often perfect for the genre! And if you have some time on your hands and are willing to learn new skills, you could even try creating your book cover yourself! I love a good creative challenge. But for me it felt like too much of a learning curve for me to take on right now.
Ella, this is all good and dandy, but - WhAt AbOuT tHe BoOk COVERRRR!?
Yes, yes - you're right! I've been keeping you at the edge of your seat, for long enough.
Ready for the book cover reveal!? Drumroll please…
Isn't it gorgeous!? Just looking at it, I get the same feeling I hope readers will have when finishing the book.
If you're looking to hire a cover designer, I can very highly recommend working with Anna Woodbine from The Woodbine Workshop. She was fantastic to work with and I couldn’t recommend her more.
I have a very exciting opportunity coming up for you guys, in preparation for my book launch. Stay tuned, because I will be revealing this opportunity soon!
What did you think of the The Source of The Wind’s cover? Have you also gone through the process of designing or hiring a book cover designer? Feel free to share below!
*13.3.25 Update:
Would you like to become one of my ARC readers? :)
*ARC reader = a reader who receives a free copy of the book, in exchange for an honest review.
If the answer is yes, I invite you to click the “Yes, please! :)” button to sign up!
If you know of someone who would love to read this novel for free and leave a review, please share with them this link. I can’t tell you how much I would appreciate it!
“The Source of The Wind” is available for pre-order everywhere in paperback & eBook!
If you’re interested in buying the book, click the button below to be taken to the directory of online bookshops and marketplaces, where you can pre-order your copy!
If you know of someone who would love to purchase a copy of this novel, please share with them this link. Thanks again! :)
Speak soon,
Love, Ella x
What a beautiful book cover! I am so excited for you and can't wait to read it. Congratulations