Unless you’re independently publishing and overseeing every aspect of your book’s launch, you probably don’t give a lot of thought to the cover. I do both, independent, and through small publishing imprints, and until recently paid little attention to the covers the publishers chose to affix to what I’ve submitted to them.
I did not book, Toby Giles: Tarnished Badge, the story of a runaway slave who is appointed sheriff of the all-white town of Jericho, Ohio, at the suggestion of publicist Nick Wales, which was published with the cover below:
Not a bad cover actually, and I had no complaints. But I so enjoyed the story, and based on sales, so did a large number of readers, I decided to do a sequel, Toby Giles: The Walls of Jericho. Here’s the cover chosen, and, in my opinion, it is perfect for the subject matter of the book.
The publisher thought so as well, because shortly after the release of this one, book one was reissued with a new cover:
Now, the two covers are identical except for the book title, but they’re clearly related to even the most casual shopper, and adorned with covers that are guaranteed to catch the eye.—don’t you think?
Kudos to DS Publications and Nick Wale for bringing a whole lot of cheer to one author’s life this holiday season.
