Thg Progression of an Idea from start to finish

Embracing the concept of an indie author as much as possible I do most of my own work from the writing of the project to formatting and designing the cover.

The only aspect of the project I do not trust myself with is the editing of the manuscript. For that I use the services of an old friend of mine who has been writing a bit longer than I have. A well regarded speculative fiction writer in her own right, Patricia's work has appeared in a wide range of both pro and semi pro markets over the past twenty years, and she has managed to make it onto Ellen Datlow's best of lists a number of times throughout the previous years.

Editing aside I wanted to take a moment to talk about designing my covers. In a perfect world I could easily afford to have award winning designer Jerone Ten Berge design my covers for me. Alas, tis not a perfect world, and as such I am forced by circumstances beyond my control to create my own covers.

My upcoming release is Parasite, part II of the Shadows of the Past series. My initial thought for the cover was something along the molecular level to show how this invader was taking over the planet one person at a time.

Starting out simple I sketched the idea out in Photoshop. A group of cells in the center with one bad cell slowly taking over the others. the Chemical diagram in the background was to represent that molecular level.

Got to looking at it and thinking about it and realized I didn't really like  the way the cells looked in the first one. kind of amateurish. Yeah, don't remind me, I know  I'm an amateur. I wanted something more realistic so I came up with this. 

But then I got to thinking, I sometimes believe I think too much, but anyway, while the cover above did portray the cells in a more realistic manner, would anyone catch its intent? What if I showed a neural network? Thus the cover below was born.  

 But what about the cells taking over the system? Oh no! Attack of the flower mites.

What if I showed the change in the network? Now we're getting somewhere. Fully subscribed to the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) theory. But how did they get there?

 

Much better. Clean and simple with just a few cells that blend more with their surroundings. 

What do you think?

Caveat emptor

Many of us are familiar with the meaning of the title of this post. Let the buyer beware. Those two simple words couched in an ancient language have always been a part of our lexicon. For today’s writer who has already, or is considering following the self publishing route, they are words of wisdom.

Let the buyer beware.

What was once the final option for those unable to secure the interest of an editor, or agent, has now become a first choice. Every day the stigma associated with self publishing diminishes as more of the mainstream learns to accept the existence of self published material as a viable route.

Of course any industry that experiences the growth self publishing has seen over the past few years is bound to attract its share of those unscrupulous enough to prey on the dreams of others.

Their ads are everywhere.

If you have ever performed a search for self publishing you may have noticed that practically anywhere you go online there are an increasing number of ads calling for you to self publish today. While writing this post I checked and counted 11 sponsored ads all directed at those thinking about self publishing.

Most of the ads you see will take you to a form to fill out so the company can get more information to you. Personally I've always felt that if they can't be upfront about their pricing structure, they're hiding something.

Some companies will charge the aspiring author thousands of dollars for an end product that has little chance of selling. These companies are in business for one reason, and one reason only, to sell a dream. You too can be a bestselling author, they shout out while presenting examples of bestselling authors you have probably never even heard of.

Other companies are small start ups that were born with the dream of creating opportunity for writers, usually opened on a shoe string budget that leave little room for mistakes. While most end up failing, there are some that make it through their first trials to emerge with a better grasp of the business.

These are the companies you want to search out. Sadly I don't have a list as I'm a do it yourselfer, the only outsourcing I do is editing to an English teacher I've known for over twenty years who is herself a well regarded writer of speculative fiction. She understands my particular style of writing and works to help me improve those areas that need the most help.

If you know of any of these companies let me know in the comments and I'd be glad to feature their services in a future post.

Buyer beware. If you're new to self publishing take your time and research each company you approach. Find their recently published titles on Amazon and Barnes & Nobles websites.

Ask yourself the following questions.

1. Do the covers look professional?
1A. Do they look like the end result of cookie cutter templates?

2. Is the pricing in line with similar books of the same page count?

3. Open several samples and read a portion of the book.

Are there editorial problems such as misspelled words, clunky grammar, bad punctuation?

Any mistakes should be minimal. I'm a perfectionist but even I understand no one is absolutely perfect

Are they any layout problems such as indents changing from paragraph to paragraph?

And remember. Take your time. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Get it done right the first time so you can move on to other projects without the last one hanging over your head.

Don't be afraid the cut your losses and run.

And when you do find that perfect match. Take care of them and they will take care of you in return.

Judging a book by its cover.

I've recently read a few articles about bad book covers and quite honestly, as a self-published writer, it got me to wondering about my own work and how it is perceived. For everything I have out there now I designed the cover. Two short stories, a novella, and a novel. But I've never heard any comments about the cover. Nor have I asked about it.

So now I am. I'm asking for your honest opinion. Be as brutal as you want. I can handle it. Hell I sold Kirby's door to door for two years, and made a living at it. So don't worry about hurting my feelings. I ask only one thing. A reason for your dislike, if that's how you feel about a particular cover.

Reviews, both professional and amateur,  help me gauge my ability as a writer. But honestly I've never asked how anyone felt about my covers.

First my novel's cover, Shadows of the Past,  the old and the newest one. 

 

OLD

 

NEW

What do you think?

Now for the cover of my novella, Enter Night

Now the covers for my two shorts.

Opinions please. As an added bonus everyone who responds will receive a free digital copy of my current work in progress, Reprisal: Vengeance knows no boundaries. When it is completed this spring. I will contact you through my bog.

Thanks for stopping by.