Behind the Scenes: The Cover

Everyone judges a book by its cover, despite the old adage warning us not to. In reality, it's a high stakes component to get "right," to grab people's attention, entice them to read the blurb, and decide they want to read the book.

If you don't know, I'm a professional designer with a Bachelors in Fine Art. I've worked in graphics, jewelry, furniture, packaging, and currently I design flatware and cutlery. Design is my wheelhouse... so, I bucked ALL advice against it, and I designed my own cover!

I started with market research, comparing other historical fiction covers. There's the ubiquitous tropes of a woman with her back turned or a fancy lady cut off so you don't see her face. Those tend to mean WWII or Regency-Gilded Age. Not quite right for my book. Strong typography with illustrated elements is also trending, but tend toward mythic retellings. Also, not quite right for my book. So, I thought about what would convey the setting, time period, main character, and emotions.

I'm lucky to be writing in the time of the Dutch Golden Age of painting—abundant with amazing still lives, domestic scenes, and portraiture. That led me to scour for Dutch Masters paintings on Wikimedia Commons (a great resource for high-resolution public domain artwork). I found Young Woman at an Open Half Door (1645) by Samuel van Hoogstraten, which is very close to how I imagine Sarah Raplaje at 20 years old! I love her commanding stance, yet her cheeks are flushed and she's giving a side eye (I have an idea of exactly when she looks like this in the story—a tale for another time). I edited the colors to be more vibrant and removed the necklace.

I love the Dutch half door, so I kept the framing and clipped away the bottom of the door to reveal View of New Amsterdam (1664) by Johannes Vingboons. If you're familiar with the history of New Amsterdam, you've likely seen this painting. I fixed the crease in the paper and added more clouds.

Then there's the typography. I spent a long time searching for fonts that looked "historic" but still legible. The final flourish was adding a golden glint to the title, to convey the wealth which every early settler hoped New Netherland would yield.

This is a simplified version of the process. I designed (at least) half a dozen alternate covers with different paintings (maybe I'll use one for a future novel). The "final" version also has about 30 versions, tweaking minor things. THIS is why I'm well suited to self-publishing. I'm very particular about both the big picture and the details.

FYI: I did outsource a developmental editor (Kelly Urgan) and copy editor (Sarah Dronfield). Although I'm self-publishing, I wanted the writing to be at a professional level and I felt that I had more blindspots in novel writing than cover design. I also had about 15 beta readers and 2 wonderful critique partners, Pat Advaney and Martha Bush.

From my early readers' feedback, they enjoy the rich details of historical setting interwoven with the emotional connections to characters, exactly the vibes I was going for with the cover.