Neil's Cover Story

​When I joined On The Scene in 19, I needed a cover for my book. Cole didn’t have one yet, so I copied this image from Suzanne Jacobs Lipshaw. She used it as a place holder for her book, and then she shared it with our group. It was perfect!

​Yesterday I revealed my cover, and today it’s time for Neil’s cover story!

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​This is the cover I didn’t pick. I loved it the minute I saw it, but a friend thought Neil looked too old for my 3rd – 5th grade audience. She suggested looking at covers online. I did, and they all looked younger than mine.

I emailed Cole, and we talked about what to do. We looked at Neil’s face, but we didn’t want to make it rounder and younger. That would mean changing half the illustrations inside the book. That was definitely a no-go!

We looked at Neil’s clothing, and I researched what boys wore in the 1940’s. I remembered Ralphie from the movie, A CHRISTMAS STORY. He wore a sweater so I immediately decided Neil could wear one too.

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​So how did we help Neil fit in with his audience? I looked at Cole’s illustrations inside the book. Neil and his brother Dean look like the kids at school, full of life!

Cole tried this smile on for size. Neil looks younger without changing all those illustrations. It was a win for Neil and for the book, AND everyone looks younger with a smile, especially Neil Armstrong!

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​These were Cole’s first and second submissions for the back cover. I changed the title from Headline Copy to Dreams Come True because it’s a better fit for Neil and his wind tunnel dream.

​On the first one, there was room for a quote and my biography/picture. I cut them because they’re already inside the book. In its place I thought I had room for 3 quotes from 3 very special people. ​

This is Cole’s first full cover submission. The color is a little off. That’s because all files go to the printer in PDF form. I couldn’t cut and paste it into this document so I took a picture with my phone. I wish it was perfect like the PDF, but I’m glad I could share it with you.

The biggest change Cole wanted was more white space. I talked to a friend who suggested cutting one of the quotes. I hated to do it, but it was the right thing to do.

This is the second and final cover. I submitted it to the printer using two PDF’s. One for the paperback version. One for the hardback.

The only change, I have two quotes instead of three. I think it looks better with more white space, but I hated cutting my friend’s words.
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The good news . . .  is that I still used that quote on my application to the printer, IngramSpark. I had to fill in eight screens of questions before they could check my application.