ABOUT JENNY Q

Hey, y'all! I'm Jennifer Quinlan (aka Jenny Q), independent editor and cover designer specializing in historical fiction.

Design has long been an interest of mine, and I have been able to pursue it professionally, collaborating on award-winning print and online advertising campaigns for my hometown daily newspaper and creating promotional materials for the fastest-growing real estate company in Virginia. I've combined my years of advertising and marketing experience with my love of visual art and books to offer my services to independent authors and have designed hundreds of covers over the past ten years.

Never judge a book by its cover? Yeah, right! The truth is that readers judge books by their covers every day. You've worked hard to craft your book, and you've got a lot of marketing and promotion ahead of you. Give yourself a leg up with an eye-catching cover that captures the theme and tone of your story and entices readers to click on it or pick it up from the shelf.

My goal is first and foremost this: To create covers that look just as professional as any of those coming from the big five publishers today. I do that by paying attention to cover trends and examining the covers of bestsellers to make sure I'm designing covers crafted to sell. I like to design covers that give an impression of the story within and aren't necessarily an exact literal interpretation. I aim to catch the reader's eye with an impact image that combines with title and font to intrigue the reader enough to check out what's behind the cover.

My specialty is historical fiction covers, simply because I spend so much time in the genre, but I'll take on any cover project if I think I can deliver what the client wants. My rates are affordable and are based on the complexity of the composition, the cost of artwork, and the design hours required. Send me an email for a free consultation and estimate: jennyq@historicaleditorial.com

But I'm not only a cover designer, I'm also an editor! I edit across all subgenres of historical fiction including romance, mystery, inspirational, fantasy, supernatural, time travel, steampunk, LGBT, and young adult. I also enjoy working with traditional fantasy and contemporary romance. I've edited hundred of manuscripts, and I now manage a team of historical fiction editors. Learn more about our services at Historical Editorial.

I hold a B.A. in history from Virginia Tech and a copyediting certification from UCSD. I am a voracious reader with an analytical mind, an eye for detail, and a passion for historical fiction and good books in general. I maintain a book review blog for historical fiction, fantasy, and romance, Let Them Read Books, I'm an Amazon Vine Voice, and I moderate the American Historical Fiction Group on Goodreads. I am a longtime member of the Historical Novel Society and have written features for their website and print magazine. I served as Chair of the 2021 HNS North America Conference and am currently serving as Chair for the 2023 conference in San Antonio. 


When I'm not working, I love to travel, visiting historic sites, having some fun in the sun, and eating good food! My hobbies include photography, gardening, nature and wildlife, and of course, reading. I am a farmer's daughter--my dad raises Black Angus beef cattle--and I was raised with goats and pigs and chickens too. I like to visit a city from time to time, but my heart belongs to the country. In addition to history and reading, I love dogs, music, craft beer, football, and hockey. I live on a farm in Virginia with my family and a spoiled rotten German Shepherd.

Contact me anytime to chat about your project: jennyq@historicaleditorial.com



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