Ok – so I’ve been getting ready to blitz my novel in November, using National Novel Writing Month (or NaNoWriMo as it is known). Basically, you commit to writing 50,000 words in a month! If that doesn’t get me into this novel in a big way – nothing will!

The process itself has got me going already. You have to name your novel during October. You can change it, of course, but you have to name it. For years, this novel was going to be called Better Shoes T’ Walk In. But, now I’m ‘putting it out there’, that seems a little too cryptic. 

And, as part of the novel naming, the website asks for a book cover. A book cover! I haven’t even written it! But again, you don’t have to keep it ….. so I thought I would have a little play …

My main characters, Tom and Harriet, leave England on a tall ship called the Kapunda. Now I actually have a sketch of the Kapunda but I’m not sure how I go about using it commercially. But I know I definitely want a tall ship on my cover.

So I go searching on my favourite free photos website Pixabay for an image of a tall ship. Found a beautiful one with a sunset behind it: just had to have it! The tones were right for what I wanted, as well as the mast. 

Next step was to decide what else I wanted. I had a beautiful sunset – and in my mind, that was a good representation of them leaving their life in England behind. So maybe a sunrise in Australia would be a good contrast, something with the Australian shoreline in it to show the arrival in Australia.

Back to Pixabay and came up with this beauty. Loved it! The tones matched and it showed the ocean, 

And then a possible title came to me: Sunset to Sunrise! The finish of a life in one place and the starting of a life in a new place. And, while the phrase is usually ‘sunrise to sunset’, this was in reverse. Which I thought made sense with my story. I may not stick with it – but for now, I like it!

But I still had to turn it into a cover of some kind. Thank God for YouTube: found the perfect tutorial to do it. How to make your own book cover using Microsoft Word by Amanda Kulp. Very simple and easy to follow.

I am pretty happy with the result!

Cheers

Kerry

Categories: Book cover design historical fiction Naming a novel research stories

Tagged as: Amanda Kulp Australia Book cover design immigrants immigration Kapunda Pixabay title

Kerry A Waight - Author

A writer of historical fiction and paranormal stories.