Why I want to Hire Bill Walko to design this Year’s Book Covers

Why do I want to hire Bill Walko to design this year’s book covers? Simple. I believe my readers deserve the very best. And I believe Bill is one of the best comic artists in the market today. His webcomic the Hero Business is one of the best strips out there today. And I want to help him get more exposure by featuring his art on my publications.

I believe when readers pick up an SJS DIRECT paperback or eBook they should get something special. And seeing one of Bill’s covers lets the reader know they’re going to get something spectacular when they take that moment to look at an SJS DIRECT title. One of Bill Walko’s covers gives readers that first impression that makes them go from that glance at a webpage to taking that look inside to read a book and possibly making a purchase.

A quality cover by a professional artist like Bill makes a statement to customers. That I care about the books I publish. And it shows how I’m making an effort to improve the quality of SJS DIRECT Publications. Bill has a reputation for producing great images on great products like Arizona’s Shaq-Fu Punch and he’s done an amazing job on the covers for Isis: Wrath of the Cybergoddess and last years’ Isis/E’steem Crossover. I’d love to have him design this years’ covers and give readers their first look at his interpretations of John Haynes and his interpretation of Dracula! And I’d love to see how he’d render Isis in a Golden age style for Isis: Imitation of Life.

Over the past two years that I’ve had Bill’s art featured on my books they’ve gone from lousy book cover lists on web pages to receiving Twitter likes and Facebook likes and there’s been an increase in sales on SJS DIRECT fantasy titles. Thanks partially to Bill’s great cover Isis: Night of the Vampires got over 200 facebook Likes and E’steem Undercover got over 60 Facebook likes on Smashwords.

I’d like to keep that positive momentum going this year by having Bill design all four of the covers for this year’s titles. But I can only do that with your help. I need to raise the entire amount of funds for the Kickstarter to pay for the covers on this years’ books. I’m offering more great rewards this year like eBooks so that my foreign customers can donate, and Bill is offering 10 donors a chance to get one of his single figure art commissions. (Shipping is included in the donation price.) Usually the only way you can get these commissions is through attending a comicon but if you donate to the Kickstarter you’ll be able to get one without having to pay for a con admission or gas!

 I’m making every effort to improve the quality of SJS DIRECT publications. And I’d love to get to the point where there is absolutely no difference between an SJS DIRECT paperback or eBook and that of a trade publishing house like Scholastic or Simon & Schuster. Thanks to everyone’s help with funding last year’s Kickstarter I was able to make another step towards that goal. I’d like to keep moving forward and I really need your help to take the SJS DIRECT’s books to the next level. So please donate to the Kickstarter today!