First peek at UNEXPECTEDLY, MILO’s cover

I got my first peek at the proposed cover art for UNEXPECTEDLY, MILO today, and I love it.  There are a couple of tweaks that I think need to be made, but overall, my first reaction was quite positive.

This is good.  My initial reaction to the cover of SOMETHING MISSING was less than favorable, but I’ve come to like it a lot as well.  

When the cover is finalized and I’m permitted to share it with you, I’ll be sure to post it here. 

Prior to becoming  involved in the publishing world, book covers meant little to me.  I do not have a good eye for design and my attention to the visual realm is sometimes nonexistent.  While I can often remember every word spoken in a conversation from days ago, I often cannot tell you what color pants I’m wearing without looking down.  But ever since I saw the cover art for SOMETHING MISSING, I’ve started to pay attention, and while the cover of a book would still not influence my purchasing decision, I can now see how one book might stand out above another because of the appearance of the cover.

Recently, the miserable cover to WUTHERING HEIGHTS received a refresh after the book was featured in the plot of TWILIGHT.  Attempting to capitalize on Stephanie Meyer’s success, the redesigned cover attempt to capture some of the essence of the TWIGHLT cover, and while it feels a little cheap and commercial, anything is better than that original art. 

Instead, I have always been drawn to the titles of books rather than the art.  Intrigue me with a good title and I’ll give your book a shot.  Titles such as EVEN COWGIRLS GET THE BLUES, THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHTTIME, and THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE have caused me to purchase these books without any knowledge of the story inside, while a bad title is likely to keep me away.  My wife is a huge fan of Sharon Creech’s YA novel WALK TWO MOONS, but the title (and cover art) is so lousy that I cannot bring myself to read the book, despite my wife’s ardent recommendations.

And titling a book isn’t always easy, as I well know.  Neither of my books were titled by me, and I have no title for the book that I am writing other than THE CHICKEN SHACK, which will surely change upon completion. 

And speaking of changing titles, The Guardian had an interesting list of rejected titles for well know books that I found quite intriguing.  My favorites include:

Trimalchui in West Egg, the original, and I might argue better, title of THE GREAT GATSBY.

All’s Well that Ends Well, the unbelievably upbeat original title to WAR AND PEACE.