My Research

To start my FMP, I had to do some primary and secondary research. Research is important as it means you can create work that is accurate and, in this case, relatable.

I started with looking at book covers online, and what were popular. I used Lee. J's article available from Buzzfeed (online), to see what covers were impressing people. I, then, created a pin-board on Pinterest of the ones that impressed me. Ones that caught my eye were the ones with 3D looking features. You can see these on this blog. I liked the creative flare the covers had, and yet they had a modern twist. I also liked the fact that the covers represented the titles and themes of the books. This made me decide to illustrate something that represented support, as the book is about support after loss, and have a nice twist. 

Next, I did some research on target audiences, as I wanted to make my book as relatable as I could but I didn't have a target audience. According to Penn. J's article (2013), available from The Creative Pen (online), it's important to 'isolate what types and/or groups of people the content of the book would interest.' The theme of 'loss' could be related to anyone, as the majority of people have to grieve and go through loss. Because of this, I decided to look at other themes and genres my book came under. For instance, it's about one of the main characters getting out of an illegal trade - so people who read adventure books and like action will enjoy it.

Finally, I wanted to know whether or not people enjoyed knowing much about the author. I found this out from making an online survey. This helped me get direct information which I was collecting myself. As you can see, people enjoying reading the biography at the start of the book, and some also enjoyed watching interviews. This helped me decide to film an author's interview, and publish a biography in my book - and on my website.