November is National Novel Writing Month. I’m so happy to share that I contributed a cover design to the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) 30 Covers, 30 Days project.
If you’re not familiar with NaNoWriMo, they are a non-profit “that provides tools, structure, community, and encouragement to help people find their voices, achieve creative goals, and build new worlds — on and off the page.”
About the 30 Covers, 30 Days project from the NaNoWriMo Blog:
Every November, during National Novel Writing Month, thirty professional designers volunteer to create book cover art inspired by novels being written by aspiring authors from around the globe. Why? To encourage new, diverse voices and help build a more creative world.
30 Covers, 30 Days, is presented in partnership with designer and author Debbie Millman.”
For this assignment, 3 book synopses were sent to choose from. I’m a psychological thriller junkie (Gone Girl, Girl on the Train, A Stranger in the House, anyone?). So, of course, I chose the suspense novel “Self Titled.”
By the Young Writers Program participant, Corey Ault, “Self Titled” is a story about a teenage girl who mistakenly gets admitted to a mental hospital and her journey to escape. Here is the synopsis in the author’s words:
A nineteen-year-old girl named Ashley is admitted into a mental hospital against her will after her friends misread a short mental breakdown she had after a breakup as something requiring genuine concern. The hospital is one in a bad neighborhood with one-star reviews, and while staying there, Ashley realizes how much power the doctors have over her.
Despite her insistence that she’s not actually in need of hospitalization, the doctors still keep her there for weeks against her wishes, injecting her with medication she doesn’t need, calling her crazy and looking at her with annoyance when she asks for basic necessities like food and water. She meets a man named John, who was also admitted against his will by his crazy ex-girlfriend, who lied about him being suicidal, knowing he’d be detained against his wishes.
“The novel will follow Ashley and John’s struggle to escape the mental facility, and all of the smaller conflicts they face along the way on their fight for freedom.
As you can see, Corey’s description gave me a lot to work with when concepting the cover. I wanted to incorporate a powerful image with a connection to the storyline while creating a sense of mystery about what would happen. I looked at some options that included a picture of a woman or of a syringe.
Ultimately, I kept coming back to the title “Self Titled.” And I liked the idea of this being the main character’s story. So I made it look like the cover of a student’s short story and incorporated this striking image of a glass-heart shattering.
I’m so happy with how the cover came out, and the feedback in the NaNoWriMo forum is giving me the warm and fuzzies. Please go check out all the great novels and book covers on their blog!