Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Mock Cover and Real Blurb Release

I wasn't planning to post today, but you know what? I'm going out of town in about 20 minutes, so I figured I'd probably better do something. The chances of me getting another post in before next week is unlikely. So, I decided to release my mock cover and blurb for my novel Martin Hospitality.


First, the blurb, because that will fix an idea of the story in your head that you can use to assess my cover :)

Gemma Ebworthy is eighteen, pregnant, and alone. And now that she's been evicted, she finds herself sleeping in a barn, never dreaming that tomorrow could bring kindness of a life-changing magnitude.
The Martins aren't your typical family--even for rural Kansas. With more kids than you can count on one hand and a full-time farm, Gemma must make a lot of adjustments to fit in. But despite their many differences, Gemma finds herself drawn to this family and their radical Christian faith. When her colorful past comes to light, will the Martins still want to provide for her future?

It's so much better than my first draft, and I hope it encourages all of you guys to write your own blurbs (if you haven't yet). It's not that bad. And it's really fun to share. Any feedback, negative or positive?

Now for the cover:


Yes? No? Does it click or resound? While it's not ideal (because you can hardly read my name, etc), it's not bad. I like it because it gives you the setting and the journey vibe with the path. I also like it because there's no person on the front of it. That's one of my pet peeves and tends to be a thing for the Christian Contemporary genre :) However, this is the only idea I have had for a cover. So if anything else strikes you, let me know and I'll draw up another one. No I did not draw this, it's edited from Pinterest.

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That's it! Let me know what you thought (in all honesty). If you want find out more about this story or any of my others, I just got Pinterest collages up on My Writings page. Hopefully I'll catch up on reading some of y'all's posts while I'm gone :) You can follow my travels on Twitter. Like Wicked tomorrow night with my aunts. *screams* Have a great week!

38 comments:

  1. Your book sounds soooo good! I love contemporary. You don't like book covers with people on the front? Those are my favorites usually :D
    I like the picture you used for your book cover! I think if you used fancier fonts the book cover would look a lot better. And maybe if you added more to it... like embellishments or another picture for part of it (maybe the barn?). But that's just my personal opinion...
    I'd love to read your book when it's done! :)

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    1. Thank you! I don't mind /people/, but I'm not a fan of faces. :)

      Okay, good to know. This was definitely bare basics. My sister hit upon a good idea this afternoon that's a little trendier and more unique, so we'll see! I'm so glad it got your attention :)

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  2. I really like your book cover- the simplicity is nice, and as you said, it's pleasant to find a book cover of any kind without a person on the front. My only comments would be to move your name above the title, shrinking the font size on the name, and perhaps add a border of some kind . . . though I could be wrong on the border.
    As for the book itself, it sounds nice, though not really the type of book I'd normally read. (I have very little patience for contemporary books of any kind.)

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    1. Great to know. Thanks for the feedback! I'll put up idea #2 before too long and see what y'all think. I've got an uncle who's snazzy with design so he's been helping me out this evening.

      Good to know. I honestly don't read a whole lot of contemporary myself, except for some Amish stuff. But that's one of the reasons I'm heavily relying on the cover to attract new people :) Thanks for your honesty!

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  3. Nice! Now I want to read your book...

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  4. I think the cover looks nice! It may need a little something else on it, and I'm not quite sure what, but I love the picture. And now I want to read your book!

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    1. Thank you! I can't use this exact picture because it's via Pinterest but I fiddled around with Shutterstock some. I may end up having my brother do more of a sketch look for me. So stay tuned! I'm so glad you're interested :)

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    1. Thanks! It's not exactly what I'll end up with but it's great to get feedback :)

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  6. I LOVE THAT COVER!!!
    And the blurb sounds really interesting, too! :)

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    1. OMG. Lol, I didn't think I posted it twice
      #embarrassingtwicepost

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    2. Haha! No worries. I did it a lot when I was new to blogs :P I'm just OCD, so I had to reply ;)

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  8. Your book sounds so awesome!!!! The mock cover is great and the blurb sounds super interesting. =) When do you think it will be published?

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    1. Thanks, Hannah! Glad you like it. Hopefully it will be published by the holidays so I can pass them out to family. This year for sure :)

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  9. Oh, they live in KS! My homeee!!! :D I already adore the story just because of that. ;)
    And the blurb is really good! I took the easy way out and had a friend write a new blurb up for me ... ;P Your blurb definitely makes me want to read more!
    Oh, and I think the cover is beautiful!!! I think the title may need to be a bit bigger, just so that it stands out more as a title, but it's really nice! I love it!

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    1. Haha, just a little bias. ;) I'm glad the blurb does it's job! I must say my first draft was not nearly this great. I had Jamie Foley and Katie Grace give it a face lift and that did wonders :)

      Okay, I'll remember that. Hopefully I'll get another cover idea up on the blog soon that my sister came up with and my brother needs to draw ;)

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  10. I love your novel! It sounds FANTASTIC!!! The cover is good as well, but there is a bit of editing that would improve it. (mainly your name) =) Also (as someone else said), flourishes, embellishments, or a barn on the front would improve it. =) I can't wait to read "Martin Hospitality"!! <3

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    1. So glad, Hosanna! Yes, the cover still needs a makeover. I have one totally different idea (thanks to my sister) but otherwise, it will be something along these lines :) I'm very happy it caught your attention!

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  11. That looks really good! It could use a bit of tweaking, like you mentioned with your name, and maybe a bit more of a scripty font for the title but I really like the picture. The blurb definitely makes me want to read it! Very interesting! Great job!

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    1. Sweet! I'm glad the blurb did it's job. It was a lot of work :P Thank you :)

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  12. Wow, this sounds like an amazing novel, Abi! :) And I love the cover – it has a really nice 'feel' to it. Perfect for the blurb!
    Have a great time! :D

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    1. Thanks, Faith! I'm glad you think it goes together. I'll be pinging another cover off y'all soon, so don't go away.

      Thanks! It's been a great little trip :)

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  13. This book sounds really good, Abi! The cover is awesome, I love it so much! I wouldn't change anything about it, I think the simplicity of it makes it all the better :).

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    1. Yay! That's really good to know. I'm going for simplicity in a different form for my 2nd cover idea, so I'd love to hear your feedback on that one, too.

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  14. This sounds great, I also like your cover idea :D

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  15. Awesome blurb and the cover looks great! Do you think if you changed your name to a white font it would be more visible maybe?

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    1. Goodie! Yes, I think white would help with this particular picture. I didn't work too hard because I know I won't be able to use this exact picture in the end :P Lazy, I know. With any luck, I will be able to get my brother to draw something for me.

      I've been loving editing your novel by the way!

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    2. Ah, I see, that makes sense for sure. That's one thing about the traditional publishing process I dislike, not being able to choose your cover.
      Is your brother an artist?
      I'm really glad you have, and you're speeding through, which is awesome! Thank you so much! ^^

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    3. Yes, I thonk I will be going the self-publishing route.

      My brother is very good at drawing, but muscley men with lots of scars are his favorite. His shadowing is what I need, though. Even I can draw corn and a city ;)

      Of course! Still loving it :D

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  16. Sounds really good! Thanks for adding me to your circles I noticed you had a blog :-) Following

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  17. This sounds like a really good book, Abigayle! :)
    When do you hope to have it published?

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    1. Thank you, Rebekah! I was originally thinking Christmas, but too many details ;) So now my new goal is February! It's on Goodreads under the name Abigayle Claire if you have an account there! :)

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