Gregory Gunther, like many of the authors I design for, is self-publishing his political thriller, The Cupola Collusion out of his own pocket and is doing so while incurring many costs. The industry is changing so fast, that most authors will be going this route as traditional publishers are forced to used their “tried and true” authors in order to guarantee sales. Greg has a strong marketing background so he is taking it on himself in a startling upfront way with a company called INDIEGOGO. While many authors are quietly modest about their books, this is proving to result in modest sales! Too bad, because we might have wanted to read your masterpiece, but didn’t know about it! If Greg has his way, The Cupola Collusion will use all social media possible to unapologetically get the word out. I invite you to investigate!
Gregory Gunter’s Video and More at INDIEGOGO
A FEW NOTES ABOUT THE DESIGN PROCESS FOR THE COVER…
As designer for The Cupola Collusion, I had the professional privilege of reading key chapters in order to design the cover. It was a fascinating process as the setting of the book swung from the Vatican to Washington and I was surrounded by images of cupolas in both countries. One line in the book about “media choppers” approaching the White House was evocative of threats to the White House, a disturbing image, and I persuaded Greg let me use a tiny chopper image close to what would probably be a “no fly” zone of the White House cupola. We both loved the effect!
Greg wanted a rosary to bring in the Vatican connection and so I wrapped the rosary image around the cupola itself. Greg liked the effect, but wanted a combat knife in the foreground (no clues for the story, you’ll have to read it!) so I reluctantly removed the crucifix and replaced it with the knife. This was an edgy move, and I called the stock photo company to check as to whether it was OK. It was. Then my author wanted blood dripping from the knife and into the water. This is all congruent with the story, so this designer gulped and “plunged” ahead!
Happily, the cover turned out to be a teaser of the exciting thriller that lies within the pages of the book!
Margot Boland Book Design for Writers 