Yesterday Girls – My NaNoWriMo Book Cover

No, you can’t run out to the bookstore and buy it…yet. According to the inspiration gurus over at NaNoWriMo, authors who create a book cover to inspire them are 60% more likely to finish the 50,000 word challenge by the end of November. So…

BOOM!

Note: This image is strictly for inspiration purposes. One thing I discovered while putting this together is that I am definitely NOT a professional book cover designer. When this novel appears on Amazon, it will have a much, MUCH better cover. Still, this is a fun inspirational exercise that I highly recommend for anyone in need to a little positive writerly mojo.

During one of his PBS specials, Wayne Dyer said that he geared up to write a new book by calling his publisher’s design department and having them mock up the cover design before he started writing. Now, if you have Wayne Dyer’s mega sales figures, you probably have publishing design professionals willing to do this for you too. The rest of us have free resources like Canva and PhotoPin.

What do you think? Does this cover make you want to pick up/click on the book to read more? Or does it miss the mark entirely? Have you ever used an image to inspire your creativity?

photo credit: Drift Bottle via photopin (license)

November is National Novel Writing Month – Join the Madness!

What do my first published novel and Sara Gruen’s spectacular novel Water For Elephants have in common?

If you guessed anything to do with sales figures, you would be wrong. However, they both started as NaNoWriMo winners.

Unfortunately, 2006 (the year I wrote the first 50,000 words of NSLA, NSFA) was the last time I won the month-long writing challenge. But that is about to change!

I’ve decided to dive head-first into NaNoWriMo this year. Here’s what that means:

• I’ve signed up (it’s FREE)
• Updated my author profile (I’m Slayzak)
• Designed a novel cover on Canva (Also FREE if you use free elements)
• Started planning a whole new novel (it’s going to be SPOOK-tacular)
• And volunteered to host 2 weekly Come Write In events in Dahlonega and Dawsonville (GULP!)

If you are participating in NaNoWriMo this year and are in the North Georgia region, please, please, PLEASE come join one or both of my write in events:

1. Tuesdays 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM at the Dawson County Library
2. Fridays 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM at the Lumpkin County Library

Yes, the times are outside of both libraries’ posted hours, but don’t let that scare you away. We’ll be meeting in the Community Rooms at both locations and I’ll have the key to get in.

Participating in NaNoWriMo in another region/state? Or just not interested in working on your novel with a group? Tap me as a writing buddy! I make a great writing buddy. Really, I do. Tap me.