Potiphar’s Wife Cover Process

With the birth of the cell phone came pregnancy progress pics. Why? Because we’re all fascinated with the growth and development of our babies.

(BTW: That’s my baby in the photo when she was 34 weeks pregnant with twins!) 

Well, I’ve moved out of the baby business into book-babies, so I thought I’d share my version of “pregnancy progress” by sharing a little of the cover process for Potiphar’s Wife, my current work-in-progress (WIP).

Step #1

On October 17, 2020, a sweet gal I’ve worked with on several books sent me a 6-7 page document of questions to answer called an, Author Questionnaire. It asks thing ranging from:

• Your full name, phone number, etc.
• How will you market this title?
• Back cover copy.
• One sentence buzz line for book.
• What are your characters’ physical features?
• How do your characters dress?
• What is your characters’ context (setting/location/time period)?

The list goes on, but you get the idea. Let me mention that this is eighteen months BEFORE release date. I haven’t written the book yet! By the time I answer those questions, the document can swell to 17-30 pages.

That document is then circulated in the various departments of my publishing house, WaterBrook & Multnomah, and the UH-mazing folks in the cover design area start percolating on ideas from my descriptions of characters, location, and time period.

Step #2

I received an email (sometime during 2020 holiday season) from the cover designer with pictures of models to choose from (can’t show those copyrighted model photos).

This step doesn’t always happen, but for this book, I’d already started writing the first draft and knew Zuleika (Potiphar’s wife) was a petite woman but feisty. The model I chose is the woman you see on the cover!

Step #3

On April 8, 2021, I received an email from my editor, presenting four POSSIBLE cover choices. (Also can’t show those other three comps because those backgrounds are copyrighted. Ugh)

The cover on the left is the choice we went with, but I asked the designer to make a few changes. Can you see the differences? (the original cover on left and the final cover on the right)

My comments to my editor (for the designer):

1. Since it seldom rains in Egypt, would the sky have clouds? (I’ve never been to Egypt, so I don’t know for sure, but I wouldn’t think so.)
2. I liked the parched earth look beneath her feet, so I believe the designer made that more noticeable.
3. Because I mentioned the burning heat of Egypt, he also added the sun in the final cover that I think really adds to the overall depth and feel of it.
4. And the model–she’s just perfect, huh?

It Takes a Village

There are so many people involved to write, edit, design, market, and sell my books. The list of thank you’s in Acknowledgments would increase my word count dramatically (notice, I had to stop doing those!). The team at WBM is absolutely the best, and I’m so grateful for their passion to see the Lord work through what we publish together.

In a “standard” contract with most traditional publisher, the publisher has the right to choose the model, colors, background–everything–without even asking for the author’s feedback on the cover.

I’ve been so grateful to the gracious publishers and talented designers who have graciously allowed my input on every great cover.

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