Virtue Cover by Claudia McKinney
For those of you who haven’t heard Amanda Hocking is the paranormal romance writer who earned millions by self-publishing e-books alone. However, behind every amazing writer is an amazing artist. Claudia McKinney of phatpuppyart.com is Amanda Hocking’s artist.
When researching how to become as rich and famous as Ms. Hocking I couldn’t help but notice the amazing cover art on all her books. I will admit I was quick to dismiss the cover design initially. Us writers have big egos and can be a bit touchy, and we like to think that our books are all about us and our writing skills. I’ll be the first to admit it. “What, you didn’t get this scene? But, I explained everything. Arrghhh!!” Still when my friend Rachael told me on the phone one day the name of the artist behind Amanda Hocking’s covers I had to look Claudia McKinney up.
I found Claudia McKinney’s website, phatpuppyart.com, saw the artwork being displayed by the very talented Ms. McKinney, and decided that I could only delude myself so far. Her artwork manages to make fictional characters seem both ethereal and real. There’s just something about the way some of her characters look right out at the reader while remaining a seamless part of their background environment. I’m not saying a reader should judge a book by its cover. Good fiction writing is good fiction writing after all. However, a writer definitely should judge even if the reader shouldn’t. Here’s why.
According to BusinessInsider.com, Amazon.com sold over 22 million Kindle books in 2010 alone, and that was by July. As of October last year, Barnes and Noble operated 717 regular book stores and 637 college stores. In the middle of these giants are smaller presses that sell on their own sites, and writers who simply post web fiction for free. In this sea of books a great cover is essential for catching attention when people are just browsing amongst the shelves or on the internet.
True you can go blog, be on Facebook, be on Twitter. It all counts, but it doesn’t hurt and it can definitely help to have an awesome cover by an awesome artist. A good cover, a unique cover, will catch the eye and make you stop and go “Hmm, what’s this?” Admit it. I have.
Yes, readers shouldn’t judge a book by a cover, but they do. That means a writer should too. Think of it this way. Decades later people still complain that Disney butchered the original artwork in Winnie the Pooh. Those pictures by E.H. Shepard made Winnie the Pooh. Yes, I realize the Pooh Bear is a different genre, but Claudia McKinney is still most definitely that kind of artist. Amanda Hocking isn’t the only author to figure that out either. Check out Claudia McKinney’s site, phatpuppyart.com. You’ll see what I mean.
For those of you who haven’t heard Amanda Hocking is the paranormal romance writer who earned millions by self-publishing e-books alone. However, behind every amazing writer is an amazing artist. Claudia McKinney of phatpuppyart.com is Amanda Hocking’s artist.
When researching how to become as rich and famous as Ms. Hocking I couldn’t help but notice the amazing cover art on all her books. I will admit I was quick to dismiss the cover design initially. Us writers have big egos and can be a bit touchy, and we like to think that our books are all about us and our writing skills. I’ll be the first to admit it. “What, you didn’t get this scene? But, I explained everything. Arrghhh!!” Still when my friend Rachael told me on the phone one day the name of the artist behind Amanda Hocking’s covers I had to look Claudia McKinney up.
I found Claudia McKinney’s website, phatpuppyart.com, saw the artwork being displayed by the very talented Ms. McKinney, and decided that I could only delude myself so far. Her artwork manages to make fictional characters seem both ethereal and real. There’s just something about the way some of her characters look right out at the reader while remaining a seamless part of their background environment. I’m not saying a reader should judge a book by its cover. Good fiction writing is good fiction writing after all. However, a writer definitely should judge even if the reader shouldn’t. Here’s why.
According to BusinessInsider.com, Amazon.com sold over 22 million Kindle books in 2010 alone, and that was by July. As of October last year, Barnes and Noble operated 717 regular book stores and 637 college stores. In the middle of these giants are smaller presses that sell on their own sites, and writers who simply post web fiction for free. In this sea of books a great cover is essential for catching attention when people are just browsing amongst the shelves or on the internet.
True you can go blog, be on Facebook, be on Twitter. It all counts, but it doesn’t hurt and it can definitely help to have an awesome cover by an awesome artist. A good cover, a unique cover, will catch the eye and make you stop and go “Hmm, what’s this?” Admit it. I have.
Yes, readers shouldn’t judge a book by a cover, but they do. That means a writer should too. Think of it this way. Decades later people still complain that Disney butchered the original artwork in Winnie the Pooh. Those pictures by E.H. Shepard made Winnie the Pooh. Yes, I realize the Pooh Bear is a different genre, but Claudia McKinney is still most definitely that kind of artist. Amanda Hocking isn’t the only author to figure that out either. Check out Claudia McKinney’s site, phatpuppyart.com. You’ll see what I mean.
Information Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnes_%26_Noble
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winnie_the_pooh
http://www.businessinsider.com/sorry-amazon-kindle-e-books-outselling-hardcovers-isnt-that-impressive-2010-7
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