A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words: Getting Inspired
The cover for my novel, FIRE ANGEL, was released last week, and when I looked at it, I realized how important images are in an author’s world. The cover of a book is critical to its sales potential, and I have to say Crimson Romance did a fantastic job on mine. It’s eye-catching and I think that will go a long way in generating interest in the book.
When I am looking at new books to purchase, whether they’re paperbacks or e-books, it’s the cover that draws my attention first, then the title and author, and finally the blurb on the back. Truth be told, there are a lot of books I’ve bought over the years simply because of the cover image, and others because of the author, but there are also a lot that I never looked at twice because they just didn’t have a visual that appealed, interested, or excited me.
It isn’t only cover images that matter to me though. Photographs and images serve another purpose; they give me ideas that lead to plot and character development. As I get ready to go to nano camp, I’ve decided to do something different. I’m doing some pre-writing. That’s right, I’m doing the synopsis first this time — the dreaded synopsis, the must-have for every book pitched.
For each of the five novels I’ve completed, I finished the book before I wrote the synopsis. Now, you’re probably saying that makes sense — write the book first, then write it’s resume, but when you realize how few words and pages you can use to accomplish that, and how easily you can get bogged down in minor details that do not advance the plot, you realize why most authors refer to them as they do.
In BLINDED BY FEAR, the book I’ll be writing next month, I needed ideas and where did I find them? I found them in images on the web. I’ve set the story in a small time that does not exist in upstate New York, along the Raquette River that does. I looked at pictures of the river for inspiration and pictures that I have taken at HIgley Floe State Park, one of my favorite camping places. That image has provided me with the location for the isolated cabin in the story. Things are so much easier to describe when you can see them. So, how would you like to have a cottage just around the bend?
