So, you have written a book. You even have a contract to publish your book. You know your settings, the buildings that make up your town, you have travelled every footpath and road, but you can’t find that perfect image for your cover that expresses your overall narrative. While your publisher will provide an image, you’re wondering if it’s going to be the right one. Let’s face it; readers judge a book by its cover. I certainly do!

That’s where I stand right now. Photos of the real town and surrounding area along with my fictional settings are swirling through my head. But the crucial, that ever so important cover art, alludes me. How can I start promoting without an image? No one is going to click on a blank page, right?

This is my approach. One, I have a theme that runs throughout the book. Can you guess it? Yes, the bystander effect. Two, the story is about a town and that town’s reaction to new arrivals, but it also about the response those newbies have towards their new home. So, I built a collage of images and hope and pray the cover artist gets my vision.

Fellow writer, new friend, creator, designer, editor, and publisher of WELL READ MAGAZINE, Mandy Haynes, offered this image of a cover reveal while I ponder what best fits The Bystanders. If you click this LINK, and click tp pages 34 & 34, you’ll see an image of one of the real settings of the Dew Drop Inn circa 1980s and you can read a synopsis of my story.

One great option I hadn’t realized was available is to create a mock or a temporary cover. You can start promoting and get the opinion from your readers. So, the great experiment begins.

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