So... Uhm... What's a Cover Reveal?

A Literal Literary Loser Lags and Lacks Latest Lift

After almost 30 years in the book publishing business, I thought I’d pretty much done it all. I had a New York Times best-seller, and I had a highly touted, big advance book flop.

I’d written heavily promoted hardcovers and paperback originals that barely made a blip. I’d written fiction and non-fiction, romance and mystery, contemporary and historical. I’d traditionally published and self-published and now I’m trying small, independent publishing.

My publisher would like me to do a cover reveal.

Which is where I admit that, at 52 years old, I am not only restarting my career once again from Square One, but I’ve apparently slept through some major developments in the book biz. I have no idea what a cover reveal is.

I asked my 15 year old daughter, and she told me, “Yeah, people on Tik-Tok do it all the time.”

I am not on Tik-Tok.

I am on Facebook, and Twitter, and kind of, sort of on Instagram, though I’m still struggling to figure out how someone whose business is words, is supposed to turn that into pretty pictures.

I started this Substack as a confessional about everything I didn’t know in the hope that it might let other writers trying to restart their careers in this brave new, social media world feel like they aren’t the only ones out there, plugging away decades after they thought that brutal part of their career was behind them (us).

But now I am turning to you to ask: What’s a cover reveal? How does one do one? Where does one do one? Why does one do one? How will I know if it went well? What is it supposed to achieve?

All suggestions heartily welcome - and painfully needed!