I write the novels, but I also make my own novel covers. Many artists who do this for a living can charge an arm and a leg for a customized cover. Anywhere from $45 to $750 and I am not promised they won’t use photo stock. Most do use photo stock, and I hate that! Why?
Let’s take a look once again at what can happen when photo stock is used for a book cover. Remember, this is for many different titles, many different authors, created at different times, different publishing companies, but ONE photo used that became popular with the artists across the Internet.
This is NOT going to happen to ANY of my titles! So for now, the singular custom book cover I created for myself, and this is about the evolution of that cover. Meaning I started with a concept, and graduated my cover to something that looks great!
One of Two Covers Starts Now!
The title and art walk hand in hand. The Mutant Files is my new novel that is currently 55% done, and it’s coming along in a manner that says I’m going to be able to finish it long before my terminal illness claims me.
The words are easy to read, the author name is stylized, and the premise of the cover art implies a modern novel with Horror and Fantasy elements combined for a rich, satisfying story.
But this cover didn’t really pop for me.
The more I looked at it, the more I knew the style, the title and everything else needed to be kicked up a few million degrees. I wanted more scene details. The shadowy scary concept of the background didn’t give enough realism, in my personal opinion.
So I gave it a touch up with a new font style. I also upgraded the shadow monster a touch, giving the background more visual reality and not so shadowy. Plus, I added a little background glow from the street light to highlight the shadow monster some. This is how it came out.
The Reveal is… Now!
I do believe I have created a winner. The font pops for both title and author, with the author name not so stylized, but given more depth in the overlay.
When this novel releases for people to read and enjoy, this second unique cover will be the cover I use. Red title implies the threat, everything is 100% accurate to the book’s expected content.
The Character on the cover? That is the ‘first’ of the discovered mutants named David Reynolds. His codename as given to him by the FBI? Heartquake! The actual name of the government funded new department overseen by the FBI?
OPEN
What does OPEN stand for?
Official Parahuman Enforcement Network
Please understand, this is not a superhero novel. Far from it. None of these guys consider themselves super or heroes of any sort. In fact, they tend to scare the living hell out of each other at times, including the people they affect in their adventures.
For the rest of this cool as all get-out novel, you’ll have to wait for its release. When that happens? Not sure. But I do have to refine it for plot holes, get it spell checked and edited, and go through several Beta Readers in order to flesh out the entertainment value. When that is all said and done, the sales links will be put in a new post.
Do you want to Beta Read for me? What do you get for this unpaid service and what is required of you? That will be in my next post. If you have already done Beta Reading and know what it’s all about, and would like to Beta Read for me, leave a comment below. I will get in touch with you.
Or just comment on the covers. Let me know what you think! Don’t be shy, it might surprise you at how much I will talk back!
Stay safe out there!
The Strange Mind of Daniel A. Roberts 
Leave a comment