This week I wanted to go into more detail about the cover for Adorkable and how it came into existence :).  The first thing I knew I had to do was find a fantastic cover designer.  A lot of indie authors make their own covers, but I sadly was not blessed with this talent, and I felt more comfortable leaving it up to the professionals.  There was a good bit of research involved, some soul searching, and several opinions from my most trusted advisers (aka my family!).

After narrowing it down to four…then to two…I finally selected Stephanie Mooney of mooneygraphics.  I chose Stephanie for several reasons:

1. I am a huge fan of her previous work.  I knew she’d done the original covers for both Abbi Glines’s Vincent Boys series and Tamara Weber’s Easy (one of my favorite covers ever).  Love these books and their covers definitely stood out in my mind.
2. Her cover gallery has great examples of romantic, light-hearted, swoonworthy covers.  A lot of the designers I researched seemed to be more focused on the dark and sexy, which simply would not work for my humorous romantic YA.  Stephanie had a great sampling of covers, and I loved the variety.
3. Her website is very transparent.  It’s the most transparent of any of the designers I researched.  Everything from pricing to a rundown of the step-by-step process is outlined.  As a first-time indie author, I wanted to know what I was getting into, and even before I contacted her, I had a very good idea of what I’d be signing up for with Stephanie.  She was just as fantastic and transparent throughout our correspondence.
4. My family and I loved her vibe.  This one was my deciding factor.  When I asked my family who I should go with, all of them said Stephanie.  I already had a gut feeling, but for them to have the same gut feeling?  That sealed the deal.

I felt so incredibly lucky when she responded to my inquiry and agreed to work with me.  The cover she designed for Adorkable is exactly what I had in mind.  Love, love, love <3.

If I had it to do over, I would make the same decision.  I’m so thankful to Stephanie for all of her talent and help.  Hope I get the chance to work with her again in the future!  If you’re looking for a cover designer, all I have to say is go with your gut–and your heart.  Most of the time, they will steer you in the right direction.

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

P.S. People have actually added my book on Goodreads!!!  It still surprises me–in the very best way :).