Brett Fitzpatrick's Blog - Posts Tagged "fantasy"
Starting the Third Book in a Trilogy
I'm starting work on the third book in the fantasy trilogy I have been writing. It has been quite a long process, with the first book published in 2012, so step one, for me, is to reread the two books from the trilogy that are already out there.
It's an interesting task. As I read, I'm reminded of details that I made up, more or less spontaneously, at the time, and then promptly forgot.
For example, there is a little scene where Willowtide, the young elf woman who is the hero of the book, buys an amulet just before she sets off on her first adventure. I had completely forgotten about this, but now I am very tempted to somehow weave this forgotten detail back into the ongoing story.
It's an interesting task. As I read, I'm reminded of details that I made up, more or less spontaneously, at the time, and then promptly forgot.
For example, there is a little scene where Willowtide, the young elf woman who is the hero of the book, buys an amulet just before she sets off on her first adventure. I had completely forgotten about this, but now I am very tempted to somehow weave this forgotten detail back into the ongoing story.
Branding My Fantasy Books
I have written a few books now, and they are a little all over the dial when it comes to genre. I have written sci-fi, fantasy, and horror, and I’m working on another in a genre best described as Stranger Things-ish. The various series all have different looking covers, and my name is usually written quite small. Today I have been thinking that this might be a mistake. I have decided that I should make more of a “brand” for myself as an author, and that means that my books shouldn’t all look so different. Instead, I’ve decided to make my books look more homogeneous.
I’ve started this process of “branding” my books with the first fantasy book in The Dragons of Westermere series, a book called The Pet Dragon. The new cover keeps the art of a dragon in a cave, but changes the font used for the title. I’m replacing the previous version with the font I have used on the covers of all my sci-fi books, which is Orthodox Herbertarian, the same font used on the cover of the Dune books by Frank Herbert.
Orthodox Herbertarian was painstakingly traced by a dedicated Dune fan from scans of the typeface that was used on the American Ace Edition of Dune. It was also used on many other Frank Herbert books, such as Whipping Star and The Jesus Incident, and it saw service for around a decade, from the early 70s through to the early 80s. Nobody knows what the font is called or who made it. It is likely that it is not a specific typeface but something done in house by the publisher – this fits with the fact that there are non-standard elements that vary from book to book (2 different As for example). The most likely candidate for its original creator is a man called Jeremiah B. Lighter who designed the Dune Encyclopedia and went on to work as a typographer.
On the covers of my sci-fi books, the title has a blue line above and below, so I have done this on the cover of The Pet Dragon, too. While changing the font for the tiles, I have also made my name bigger on the cover of the book. The idea behind this is that my name is my brand, as an author, and that is why this blog is called simply BrettFitzpatrick.com. I quite like the results of the redesign of the cover, and I think it works well for a fantasy ebook.
Covers are often the strongest, most influential selling point for a book. They have to draw a customer in, while giving hints about the style, genre, and subject matter of the book. People buy what they know they already like, so the cover has to reassure them that this is what the book is going to give them. The problem with this approach, of course, is that the books become indistinguishable from one another. They look like just another fantasy novel without any originality whatsoever.
I think my slightly unusual, old-school cover font might help differentiate the book a little from all the other books with dragons on the cover. The cover signifies to consumers that it is a fantasy novel, giving a feel of familiarity but also a tiny, tiny bit of originality. The cover is a marketing tool and serves a very important purpose as the commercial representation for the book. Yet it must be both artistic and commercial, where one does not preclude the other. Any cover has to succeed both as a lovely piece of art, and a powerful tool to get the book into the hands of readers. It takes a lot of work, and this is my third attempt at a cover for this book. I’m almost certain that it won’t be my last.
I’ve started this process of “branding” my books with the first fantasy book in The Dragons of Westermere series, a book called The Pet Dragon. The new cover keeps the art of a dragon in a cave, but changes the font used for the title. I’m replacing the previous version with the font I have used on the covers of all my sci-fi books, which is Orthodox Herbertarian, the same font used on the cover of the Dune books by Frank Herbert.
Orthodox Herbertarian was painstakingly traced by a dedicated Dune fan from scans of the typeface that was used on the American Ace Edition of Dune. It was also used on many other Frank Herbert books, such as Whipping Star and The Jesus Incident, and it saw service for around a decade, from the early 70s through to the early 80s. Nobody knows what the font is called or who made it. It is likely that it is not a specific typeface but something done in house by the publisher – this fits with the fact that there are non-standard elements that vary from book to book (2 different As for example). The most likely candidate for its original creator is a man called Jeremiah B. Lighter who designed the Dune Encyclopedia and went on to work as a typographer.
On the covers of my sci-fi books, the title has a blue line above and below, so I have done this on the cover of The Pet Dragon, too. While changing the font for the tiles, I have also made my name bigger on the cover of the book. The idea behind this is that my name is my brand, as an author, and that is why this blog is called simply BrettFitzpatrick.com. I quite like the results of the redesign of the cover, and I think it works well for a fantasy ebook.
Covers are often the strongest, most influential selling point for a book. They have to draw a customer in, while giving hints about the style, genre, and subject matter of the book. People buy what they know they already like, so the cover has to reassure them that this is what the book is going to give them. The problem with this approach, of course, is that the books become indistinguishable from one another. They look like just another fantasy novel without any originality whatsoever.
I think my slightly unusual, old-school cover font might help differentiate the book a little from all the other books with dragons on the cover. The cover signifies to consumers that it is a fantasy novel, giving a feel of familiarity but also a tiny, tiny bit of originality. The cover is a marketing tool and serves a very important purpose as the commercial representation for the book. Yet it must be both artistic and commercial, where one does not preclude the other. Any cover has to succeed both as a lovely piece of art, and a powerful tool to get the book into the hands of readers. It takes a lot of work, and this is my third attempt at a cover for this book. I’m almost certain that it won’t be my last.
