“You can’t judge a book by its cover.”
That’s a popular saying we’ve all heard more than a few times. And it is true. Take Sarah Butland’s novel “Arm Farm”, for example. The first time I saw the cover, I had images of a delusional, psychopathic farmer chopping the limbs off of people that he had murdered, then planting them in hopes to grow a new person. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth.
When I signed a deal with Synerge books for my novel, “The Vision”, the graphic artist asked me what I’d like to see on the cover. I simply said I needed something that bridged ancient native culture with modern society. I didn’t guide him anymore than that. And what he came up with was pretty cool, if I do say so myself. Whenever I’ve done book signings, or advertise the novel online, one of the first things people say is, “I really love the cover.”
The Pitch
When I got to meet Canadian Film producer Sam Grana for the first time, I was pitching him my novel “Rum Runners” which is to be released this fall. I was hoping he’d fall in love the story about prohibition in Atlantic Canada. Well, he didn’t. He thought the story was fine, it just didn’t interest him for a multitude of reasons. Then I showed him my novel, “The Vision.” The first thing he said was how much he liked the cover. After a second meeting, he decided to purchase the movie rights from me. So while it is true that you can’t judge a book by it’s cover, having a good one certainly helps.
Thanks, Sarah for letting me be a guest blogger on your site.
And thank you, Jason, for taking part!
And, as always, thanks for reading,
Sarah Butland
author of Sending You Sammy
