Writing journal
What a book cover needs to say
A practical look at choosing a cover that sets the right promise before a reader opens the book.
A cover does not need to explain the whole story. It needs to make the right promise.
For A Paper Sea, the useful question was not which scene looked most dramatic. It was what a reader should feel when they first meet the book.
That led us towards texture, distance and a single line of light instead of a literal map shop.