Evolution of a Cover – Part 1

Greetings from Southern California!

I’m about halfway through the manuscript of Talon the Slayer, the first book in an action-packed new series that I hope space fantasy readers will love.  But behind the scenes, there’s more work to be done.  While I write the book, I need to set the wheels of marketing in motion, so that readers will be able to discover it once it launches.  And that means I need cover art!

A lot of people might be surprised to learn that book covers need to be planned so far in advance. But fantasy and science fiction covers like this one usually require original illustrated art to be created. And that takes time.  First, you need to let the artist know the general idea you’re looking for.  Then they produce a series of sketches.  Once you are in agreement on the rough layout, you need to choose a color palette, decide where the tile and other text will go, etc…

As a rule, I like to get my cover artists involved somewhere around the halfway point on the manuscript.  However, since this was the first book in a new series, I contacted my artist early.  I figured if I changed my mind, or went with a different approach later, the original cover would still be useful as concept art, and for promotions.

So without further ado, please check out the first rough sketches for the cover of Talon the Slayer… I’ll show you the one we decided, and the first color draft, in the next post!

What do you guys think?

AAW