Covers, Formatting, and Trailers…OH MY! The Making of a Novel.
By Mallory Rock/ Okay so this isn’t a review of Collateral Damage. So what? It IS still related to the awesomeness that is Fred Brooke’s latest Annie Ogden mystery. That is all one really needs to know to proceed, right? I thought so, too! 😉
So what is this about then? Well, I should hope that the title may have given a tiny little hint. We are going behind the scenes of the making of Collateral Damage.
What all goes into a book once the story is written? Sunshine, rainbows, a few days to slap a brand on it–cheap, easy, and remarkable all at once right?
WRONG!
If you want a finished package that looks professional it will cost time, money, and effort. Fred Brooke knows this first hand, and I have been lucky enough to work with him on his last two Annie Ogden books to complete his covers, formatting–and, for Collateral Damage, a trailer!
Let's see, where should we begin?
How about with the cover for Collateral Damage…
Isn’t it fitting? I like to think so.
Anyway, how did this finished cover come to be? Well, Annie herself had already been established prior to this cover, so finding her was a no-brainer. But, then what? I took into account the previous books and their covers. Then, I thought about the genre and what's appropriate for visually representing it. Once the concept was done, our lovely man of the hour, Fred, took a look and we wentfrom there. In this case, being the 3rd book in the series and my 2nd for Fred, we finished Collateral Damage in hardly any time at all!
Next, we moved onto interior formatting. I worked with Fred to give Annie and the gang a polished look for print. What goes into that? Well, honestly, it takes many tedious hours on my part to shape the already wonderfully written novel into an amazing looking spread for print. Long story short… You may want to pick up a print copy of Collateral Damage to see just how big a difference a professional format job can make for a book. In the mean time here is a tiny sneak peek. 🙂
And last but certainly not least is the cinematic book trailer for Collateral Damage. While not a necessity to publishing a book, it sure can serve as an awesome marketing tool to lure potential readers in. Check it out right here to see what I mean…
The professional packaging provided to this novel is simply a preview of the real goods, which can be found in the fabulous writing provided by the one and only Frederick Lee Brooke. And so here I will leave you… Hopefully with the urge to rush over to Amazon and grab a copy of Collateral Damage.
[jbox color=”blue”]Learn more about Mallory Rock HERE, and her many awesome design services HERE.[/jbox]