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| Insecure Writers Support Group Blog Hop |
| #IWSGbloghop |
Happy IWSG Day!!
Happy February!
Hello and Welcome to the IWSG Blog Hop!!
What is the Insecure Writer's Support Group?
Founded by author Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writer’s Support Group offers support for writers and authors alike. It provides an online database, articles and tips, a monthly blog posting, a Facebook and Instagram group, Twitter, and a monthly newsletter. To find out more, click this link: Insecure Writer’s Support Group
The purpose of the group is
* to share and encourage.
* Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak.
* Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance.
*It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!
You're invited to become a member of this supportive group.
Click here to sign-up and/or to visit the bloggers this week.
The awesome co-hosts for the February 1 posting of the IWSG are
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February 1 Question
If you are an Indie author, do you make your own covers or purchase them? If you publish trad, how much input do you have about what goes on your cover?
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| My Non-fiction Books Covers Designed by J.Q. Rose |
When I self-published my first e-book, I decided to splurge and hire a professional cover designer. I asked a cover artist who was in an online group with me to create a cover for my book. I interviewed 15 amazing women about their successful careers. They generously shared their stories to inspire girls to dream big.
I waited and waited and waited for the book cover to be completed. I waited some more. Finally, the file arrived in my email. I was so excited to see what the woman created for this, my very first eBook.
When I opened the file, the excitement turned to disappointment. My sparkly eyes turned into teary eyes. A plain, tan background with a small dream catcher in the upper right corner and the title of the book, Girls Succeed!, in the center of the cover was nothing like I had mentioned when we were brainstorming for the cover design. I was dumbfounded! Being new to the business, I accepted the cover. She knew I was not happy, so she never charged me for the book cover.
After that, I turned to Fiverrr and commissioned a young man to create something that would be cute for the book for girls and eye-catching to draw in readers. I received a cover with a boy standing to the side of the text with some doodles on it. I told him that was nothing like I wanted. I tried to explain better what the book was about. There must have been a language barrier. He said he could not do the project. Have you ever had an artist on Fiverr turn you down???
I gave up on buying book covers when I discovered Canva. I have not hired anyone else for my self-published books. I have a great time creating the covers and then letting friends pick what they like. And yes, they are honest if the covers need more work on them!
My traditional publisher is pretty easygoing. She subscribes to a photo site. I think it's 123photos. The author picks out an image or two that fits the story. The designer can use one of those or come up with something different. I have requested changes in the font so it is easier to read and to place the title in a different place on the cover. One cover had the main character with brown eyes. I requested blue eyes, so somehow the designer changed the color, and it was perfect.
I can spend hours looking perusing amazon's bookstore and studying the book cover designs, backgrounds, font size, placement and colors in the genre I am writing. I look at the top 100 sellers to see what is getting the readers' attention.
My present WIP is to the point where I will be designing the cover. I took a lot of photos on trips this summer thinking I could use one of them for the background. I'm anxious to see how that will work out.
How about you? Have you tried designing with canva? Hired Fiverr artists? Engaged a cover artist?
Please leave your thoughts below in the comment section.
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| Tips and Topics for Writers Image by Mwaka Suza from Pixabay |
EVERYTHING CHANGES.
New year. New beginnings.
After twelve years of sharing blog posts on Focused on Story, I will not be posting every week. I will be connecting with you on the first Wednesday of the month for IWSG and on the third Wednesday of the month with a new series, Tips and Topics for Writers.
I have a WIP, so this cutback will free up more time to work on this special writing. When I get further into the project, I will share it with you. Ooh--keeping you in suspense?
Be sure to click on the link below to follow this blog so you will be notified that I'm "in the house" on those days, and you may pick up some new tips. I'd appreciate your contributions of helpful writing tips and insights on the topics discussed in the series, Tips and Topics for Writers. Looking forward to seeing you here!
February's topic is adding A+ Content to your amazon book pages. I'll be letting you in on my experience when creating the content and submitting it to amazon for approval. Come back on Wednesday, February 15 to get the whole story!!
The first posting in the series was in January and covered converting your photos to 300 dpi--the requirement for images in print books and for A+ Content. Click here to discover how I did it.
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If you want to stay up-to-date with JQ, the Rose Courier is delivered quarterly to your inbox. Filled with articles, freebies, photos and fun!
Click here to get your copy of the Spring edition in April!
Click here to be notified when a new article is posted on this blog.
To visit more bloggers during this month's IWSG blog hop,
Click this link: Insecure Writer’s Support Group
Happy IWSG Day!!
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