Changing a book cover is often a big decision for an author. They may have spent a lot of time thinking about the design process, and letting go of something you've worked hard on can be difficult. However, the importance of a good cover can not be underestimated, and sometimes it may be the thing that's holding back your sales.
Charles Carfagno Jr takes here about his thought process when changing his book cover for A Demon's Quest: The Beginning of the End
Changing the cover was something that I’ve toiled with for some time. I picked Katara as a character to feature, because I wanted the readers to know there was a strong female character coming in the next book and she was the perfect candidate.
A little background about Katara’s story. She was sent to the town of Mirkin on a training mission and while there strange things began happening and it involved her mentor. During her investigation, she has a random encounter with another main character named, Torhan. Together, they begin to unravel the strange occurrences, and what they discovered leads them into an adventure on all on its own.
The original cover depicted a very intense battle, between a band of adventures, led by their leader Gilex, and a giant bug called an Earwig. I designed the cover for a few reasons. First and foremost, I wanted to pique the reader’s interest by showing them a fight scene that was actually in the book. The other reason was because the story of Gilex, was the first chapter I had ever written, so it was an homage to my labor. And lastly, the bug is cool.
Katara officially enters the Demon’s Quest series in volume 2 and is one of my favorite characters throughout the story. She is strong willed yet vulnerable, determined, curious, resourceful, and not afraid to oppose injustice. In addition to those traits; she’s proficient with weapons, a master healer, and has the ability to conjure a Tirip to fight by her side (Tirips are spirts from another dimension.)
Ultimately Charles decided that it was more important for him to showcase this main character than the fight scene, and I think you can agree that the result is more emotionally gripping. Something to think about when trying to figure out how to represent your story in the best possible way.
