Writer's Aid discussion

Here's your folder, Holly :)

Hey Holly

hii

Hey Holly!

Hi everyone! I don't really know what to post here, so if anyone has any great topic ideas I'd love to hear them :)

We can bounce ideas with you here, so you'll have more ideas you can maybe work into your writing. Share with you music we think might fit one of your characters, etc. Basically like chat, but more to help you with your writing.

I'm glad you said that Sarah, because there is something I've been having trouble working out. I'm working on a new book idea, and I usually stay motivated with a story idea if I get the cover the way I want it, but for my new idea I have no idea what to do for a cover. It's a story about a secret government project from WWII that's discovered in the future, but the setting is a bed & breakfast in Utah. I wanted to include a few of the main characters into my cover art, but I don't know how to convey the mystery of the book while keeping the slice of life element in there. Does anyone have any ideas?

For a cover, there are different ways to convey mystery without letting go of the slice of life element. The title is a part of the cover, so the font, what the actual title is, color, and placement may help. Next, the whole color scheme of the cover can be another element to think about. Background setting, depending on how obvious you want the mysterious atmosphere to be, you might have some stuff in the background that provides an air of mystery. Character's position and body language could also convey a sense of something not right or mysterious. Just some ideas, don't know if I explained myself really well. I hope it helps! :)

Thank you, Sarah. Colorscheme is important to me, too. For my first book I knew I wanted the colors to be brown and green for a natural feel, let glowing for an unnatural feel. I'm a little lost for my new one though, but I considered a background that was heavy in greys and blues.

* Color scheme. I type way too fast :)

Think about all the things you can tweak, being subtle, and making the color scheme a slight bit more eerie might work, or you know, just tweak a little on many different things. You have a lot of things you can work with...

Well, what type of picture do you think would entice you to give a book a read? One that focuses on characters, the background setting, or maybe an item? I've considered characters, a shot of the bed & breakfast, blueprints, shadowy metallic parts, etc.

I would be enticed by a book with a title that suggests something off, while the cover at first glance looks normal and pleasant, but looking closely you'll find details hidden in plain sight that suggests something ominous. That will grab my attention, the title also has to be eye catching plainly seen from far away.

Well, I probably shouldn't give away so much, but the book already has a title. The Rose Fleet Drone.

Holly wrote: "Well, I probably shouldn't give away so much, but the book already has a title. The Rose Fleet Drone."

Okay, you still have a lot to work with. Font, title color, placement, background, color scheme of background, placement of characters, you know, everything I mentioned. The color of the title, can be different from the cover art, so that it pops a little.

Thank you so much for your input. I'll have to mull over exactly what I want. I have to describe it to the artist, so I need to be absolutely sure of what I want. You've helped me out a lot. Thanks :)

I'm no expert in this field, but have you thought of the size of your name on the cover? Authors who are more famous have their author titles bigger than their book titles, because it's the author name that sells the book. I take it that you're not as famous as Stephen King (yet), but maybe you should choose a big enough font for your name, so people can remember it. I've seen covers with the author names hidden in a corner, so I'm suggesting that you don't do that.

I usually put the book title at the top in big letters and my name at the bottom center in medium letters. I now people need to be able to read my name, but I'm prouder of my stories than myself. I think you need to be a Stephen King or Danelle Steele to get away with marketing with your name. Thanks for mentioning it though, because it has crossed my mind before :)

Okay, that's good to know. I hope you do get famous enough one day though! Your book sounds interesting and soon to be published, maybe I'll give it a read when it comes out. :)

Thank you :)