Countdown: 8 days until Cover Reveal

June is nearly at end, and I cannot believe in only 8 days we'll be revealing the cover to Thicker Than Blood. While I might not be posting a countdown post everyday on the blog, I did want to today so I can catch you up on what I'm doing in the meantime. 

The cover reveal is in 8 days. In the meantime I've been formatting the book for paperback and decided to wait on ebook formatting. I don't want to format for the ebook until I have everything finalize. (Going through two different copies of the book for last edits would be a pain.) However, my proof copy should arrive today. I've been tracking it and it's out for delivery, and now all I need to do is wait. While I hate doing anything major to the book in term of edits without the hard copy by my side, I did add a new scene to the book. I also added an additional quote I found interesting and relevant to the beginning (before the prologue). Once I have the proof copy I read through that and follow along on my computer to fix problems as I come across them. It's makes it a lot easier for me, especially considering how I decided to edit my first time around. I'll talk more about the specifics on how I chose to edit for this book in a later post for anyone who's interested.

Returning to the topic of cover reveals, I decided to look back at my previous cover reveals. On August 31, 2012 I revealed the cover for Cursed With Power. That was my first cover reveal, and as you can probably tell I didn't know what to include. Looking back on it, I am disappointed with myself for not including the summary to let people know what it's about. Instead I talked about favorite character, most difficult character, favorite chapter and quote. Interesting topics, but fortunately I learned and improved. On July 16, 2013 (10 days before release day) I revealed the cover for Shadows and Embers. Here I can see how I improved; I included the summary, release date, and even did a side by side comparison to the CWP cover.

This time around I feel prouder of the cover reveal I have planned. Nearly every person who signed up to participate asked for a teaser. I am thrilled with how eager everyone is to find out more about the book. We have a lot to share with you come July 5th, and I can promise you this cover reveal will beat my previous ones.

If anything I love that over the years I've grown as a writer and have learned from my mistakes. Sure, I could go back and edits my posts to be more informational. I could fix up past cover reveals however I want, but I like looking back at the originals. I like seeing where I came from and where I am today. Also, I think it helps my readers and viewers see my growth. None of us are perfect, and it's okay to make mistakes you learn from. I've learned a lot about cover reveals, and what I aimed for this time is information and excitement. If you want me to go into more details about what I've learned and include advice, let me know. I would love to share.

Before I go, one last reminder that there's plenty of time to sign up for the cover reveal. The advantage you gain is being able to see the cover before the public. So far everyone's reactions have been positive and enthusiastic. And don't forget if you're eager for the reveal I set up a countdown on the right side of the blog for you to keep track of the time remaining. Only 8 days to go and counting!

In the meantime, tell me what have you learned about cover reveals? Do you enjoy hosting them on your blog and noticed people's reactions?

Lindsey R. Sablowski

The wait is almost over! Thicker Than Blood’s official cover is being revealed July 5th -an all day event. Don’t forget to sign up.

Excited for the release of Thicker Than Blood this August? Add the book to your “want to read” list on Goodreads today.