Book 7 is with my editor

I finished editing Willoughby the Narrator a few weeks ago, and rested for a little before checking it again and then sending it to my editor.  I’m on tenterhooks, because Willoughby was her guinea pig, and sadly passed away very suddenly while I was writing the first part of the book.  When I got to the end of that part I had to wait a while before I got on with the rest of it, but as you know, I finished it in July.

I’ve also done the first major edit for The Princelings of the North, book 8.  There is a bit of crossover business with book 7, and after toing and froing for a bit, I realised my planned fix in book 8 wouldn’t work, and I’d have to edit something that is said in book 7.  But at least I can do that now, before it’s out in the big wide world.

The cover for Willoughby is coming along well, too.  I imagine I might be able to do a cover reveal in late October or November, but I don’t want to do it a long time before I get the edited version back.  I know there’ll be a lot of things I have to work on once my editor has wielded her purple pen!

Ah – and now I remember I do pencil sketches for Chapter Illustrations for the Princleings books.  That could hold things up!

A new version of Pirates

Some time in the autumn I’m planning to bring out new versions of the three books of the trilogy in paperback.  As you might have seen earlier in the year, that means revised covers.

Here’s a sneak peek of the cover for Pirates… the titling needs a little adjustment, but… well, what do you think?

PATP_Draft05

Ideas for new covers

During the blog tour last year for The Princelings of the East, one comment made by a reviewer suggested I should rethink the covers for the trilogy, or at least for the first book.  Joshua, at Published Bestsellers said “Overall outwardly the book title and cover is very deceiving however the plot is absolutely brilliant.”

Asking around, I think the problem is the covers don’t imply action, although they might be slightly mysterious.  Danielle English (my illustrator) and I have been working on this off and on, and Dani has come up with these concept sketches.  I suggested we should be thinking about electrical sparks from Castle Marsh in the first one, and more action at sea for the second.  I’m still not sure about the third, since I love the original Lost City cover.  We’ve just gone more 3D with it, and Dani suggested trying it central.

PrincelingsThumbs

I also like the titling.  In many ways I love the freshness of the drawing, but then as you know from the illustrations, I tend to be a bit scribbly myself!  They will of course be tidied up and in colour for the final versions.

What do you think?

Can you judge the Princelings books by their covers?

During my blog tour for the Princelings of the East a couple of weeks ago, I had some lovely reviews, interviews and comments.  One very nice review commented it’s “an amazing book jam-packed with mystery and action.”  However he also went on to say “Overall outwardly the book title and cover is very deceiving however the plot is absolutely brilliant.”  As he is aged 13, he’s exactly the sort of reader I need this feedback from.  Would other boys his age turn away from it because of the cover?

This is good feedback, since although I have had comments that say they like the covers, I’ve always wondered how good they are.  Do they sell the books?  Do they entice people to read them?

There’s definitely development in the book covers.  As I start to think about the one for the latest book I find myself also wondering about the first.   I wonder what we might come up with if we did the first book again.  And should I change the title?  At one point I called it “The Princelings and the Great Energy Drain” but I didn’t think that sounded enticing, either.  “The Princelings and the Time Tunnel” rather gives the game away, I think, although you then know you’re in for a time travel adventure, and solves any problem of people reading book 4 first.

What do you think?

There’s a poll in the right hand margin to ask you which you think is the best cover – ‘best’ being what you want it to mean, but I’m thinking in terms of what attracts you to the story.

If you have time, please would you also take part in the questionnaire below.  To keep it simple, I’m asking you to check any of the statements below which you agree with.  But if you have a burning comment to make  you an either use the comments to this post, or add a new question to the poll, if you can think of a good way to phrase it, so that others and select it if they agree.

Thanks for taking part.