When Your Book Design Arrives: That Magical Moment for Authors
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When the cover design came back, I was thrilled. Actually thrilled — not politely pleased, not relieved it wasn't terrible. Genuinely excited in a way I didn't expect.
I had written them a very detailed description. The room, the egg, the gold veins running through the red shell and peeking out. The kittens. I gave them everything, and they used all of it. When I saw what they sent back, I went and checked my original notes just to confirm — yes, it was all there. Every detail I'd asked for.
What got me most was how childlike it was. That was intentional. This is a young adult book, but I was also thinking about my grandchildren — kids who might not be old enough to read it yet but could look at that cover and want to. The picture does that work on its own. A child doesn't need to know the story to be drawn in by that egg, those colors, those kittens.
That's what a good cover does. It's not just packaging. It's an invitation.