A few weeks back, I asked Reddit for feedback on the cover of my illustrated children's book, Jimmy's Two Homes.
And people started roasting me over my cover.
I was so attached to my original cover that I hadn't noticed the obvious. It was cute, maybe even cute enough for a bookstore shelf. But as a tiny Amazon thumbnail? Did not work. And worse, it didn't really tell the story.
So, between looking after my baby daughter and questioning just about every artistic decision I'd ever made, I spent a week redesigning it.
Here's the result! (First picture is the new cover, second one the original one.)
When Mom and Dad don’t live together, life can feel confusing.
No one knows that better than Jimmy.
His Mom is a hippo, his Dad a lion, and each of his homes feels like a different world. When Ms. Zebra asks her class to draw a picture of their home and talk about their family, Jimmy doesn't know which one to choose. He wishes he had just one home, like everyone else.
But Jimmy is about to discover that no family is perfect, and that having two homes can also mean twice the love.
I'm still a very small indie author, but something lovely has started happening: people I've never met are buying my book. Not just friends and family anymore. Actual strangers!
No bestseller story here, just a small milestone that means a lot.
I'd love to hear what you think of the new cover.
Book: Jimmy's Two Homes on Amazon