I chose to release Chronicles of the Ancient Sea Kings with different cover art for the paperback/ebook and hardback editions. That’s a bad idea for a lot of reasons. The branding is confused and less-recognizable to an audience. Readers may not be sure if these are, in fact, different books. Those who realize they aren’t may wish they could get the paperback or the hardback with the opposite cover. And from a financial standpoint, paying twice for artwork is just dumb.
But I never claimed to be short on bad ideas. The reason boils down to cowardice. A new parent buys the most expensive baby gear they can find, including every niche accessory, with all the latest safety features. As a new author, and no artist of any kind, I wasn’t sure what I wanted the cover to look like. I only knew that I can’t stand the usual fantasy fare that consists of a luminous purple glow and a distant land behind a painted stock photo that fits the protagonist’s description if you turn it sideways. I don’t want to call out any current books, because authors have a right to like what they like. You know the drill.
So I hopped onto a covert art marketplace, spent hours scouring portfolios, and found a few artists who I thought could pull it off. After initial inquiries, I narrowed it down to two, intending to make a choice before I swiped the card.
I gave them a very blank canvas to work with, and the concepts the artists returned were both so different and interesting in their own ways, I just couldn’t decide. I decided to buy two car seats for my one child, just to be extra safe. I could always toss the one I didn’t like when they came in.
Then they came in. Both artists were incredibly talented and easy to work with. I recommend them wholeheartedly to anyone looking for book cover art. At the end of the day, though, I couldn’t bring myself to throw away all the hard work that either one put into my cover. So now I have two.
The paperback and ebook cover was designed by Diego Alcala. The awesome color palette, clean lines, and tiered design make it instantly recognizable, yet adaptable to future installments. You’ll already notice that I was able to nab a lot of the components for the website design, which was another plus. I love the sense of motion he captured, as well as the subtle touch to add the threads—the onik—from the story.
The hardback felt like a great medieval folio, which is why I opted to use it in the more enduring form. Especially striking is the color and texture of the lettering, and the weathering of the map. Andy Bridge has formal cartographic training, and he did an excellent job of juxtaposing the modern and the ancient with the square lines of longitude and latitude contrasted to the older wind rose. Don’t miss all the detail in the high resolution image.
There you have it. My indecision becomes your option. Both versions can be purchased here.