Book Covers

Hello Humans!

Today I want to discuss book covers.

Now, in the past I have mostly made my own. I don't think I do a bad job. They are not vomit-inducing, they don't make anyone's eyes bleed ... and people download my short fiction so they can't be all too bad, right?

On the road to self publication I came to the fork with a sign dangling precariously from one nail, swinging, squeaking. It read "make my own cover" one way and "hire a cover artist" ... which way to go?

I have been doing my research and I have come to a solid and basically final conclusion; I am broke.

Now, some of you will be thinking "I hear ya!" but others may be rolling your eyes. But, truly, I am totally poor at the moment. I am super lucky that work pays for my internet or else I wouldn't be typing here. I swear the electricity company will be knocking on my door any day now.

So, what have I have on my research?

There are SO many options out there for self pub authors! SO MANY!

I will give you a list. Some I can personally vouch for, others I have just found on my travels and they seemed pretty awesome. When it comes down to it, you have to find someone that fits you, your style and your book. I just want to point out that none of the people below are paying me to talk about them... I wish they would, but they are not!

• Keith Heptinstall -  I can vouch for this guy! His price is good, his digital art is great and he is amazingly easy to get on with. If you like something a little dark, he is your guy! I would have used him, but as I said I am poor. His price is good, but it isn't free!
• Canva -  Now this is not a bad option to go if you are new to book covers. But don't be fooled. It says free but you still have to pay for some of the stock images. It isn't much so it is still a lot better than some. I suggest ducking over and giving them a try. I couldn't find anything to suit my novel (but my shit is WEIRD) but you would be surprised at how easy the program is to use.
• CreativINDIEcovers - This guy has helped me a lot. If you are like me and just can't afford the expense, then check this out. He GIVES AWAY templates and teaches you how to use WORD. Yes. Word. As in the thing that we write in... I know right! I didn't realise what word could do. And it can do a lot. He also creates covers himself, so if you still don't feel up to the task of DIYing it, then you can just hire him.
• SpiffingCovers -  I have to be honest. I clicked on this link because I liked the name. It kinda looks like "spiffy" - it kinda looks dirty if you have a gutter brain like me. So, I am thankful I did, because these guys don't just do covers (as the name would lead you to believe) ... They do just about everything you will need to self pub. They do page layout, ISBNs, editing, marketing, POD, book launch website! and there is more... I just want you to go check them out.
• CreateSpace - If you don't know who these people are then you should click the link and get nice and familiar with them. Get all cosy and up in their website. Because you will probably spending a bit of time in their vicinity in the near future. They are one of the biggest indie publishing houses for paper back books. It makes me so happy that being an indie author no longer means eBook only. One of the best things about the amazon owned CreateSpace is that they are POD, which is Print On Demand. No more forking out to get 10,000 of your own books printed and then trying to find a place to sell them, like the back of your station wagon and at the Sunday markets. They print them as they are ordered from Amazon. But I am getting side tracked. They have a cover creator too. 
• DesignCrowd - This is a pretty cool idea. I like DesignCrowd. I have used them for business logos in the past. It all runs pretty smoothly and I have never had a problem. If you don't know how they work and you are in business, then this might just rock your freaking world. So, you put in a job request and and pay one of the set amounts up front. Depending on a) how much you want to spend and b) how many responses you want to get. You get a whole bunch of artists competing for your work. Then you pick the one you want. Watch this little cute video ... They describe it better.
• ME! - No this was not a shameless way of saying hey hire me to do your cover design, but ... as I said I am poor! lol ... Feel free to check out my covers, if you like the way I do things, I promise I won't charge much. Just the stock images and a little for my time... (I thought it was worth a shot!)You can even download some of my free short fiction while you are there! I have also done a number of covers for Alex Focus another awesome writer you should check out.

So, I have decided to go the DIY road. The style I wanted to go for my book is basically ... crazy and really hard work because every quote I have received has been $3000 and over... and that is USD not AUD so I don't know how much that works out to, but either way I don't have it.

I want to put a sneak peak of my DIY cover up ... but I am not sure. If you would like to see it, comment below! Also, if you are a cover creator or an artist wanting to get into book covers, comment or contact me on Facebook or Twitter if you would like me to give you a shout out, share your work or hire you, LOL (only if you work for love and words and blog space and love)

I hope I have helped you out, or at least given you a place to start.

Hugs

AMC xxx

Simplification

Hello Humans!

The other day I totally over simplified the self publishing process. I just said, "And then self publish" but it is not as easy as just that.

There is a lot more to it and I suggest you do your own research after reading through my notes. Everywhere I have looked has suggested different things, so do as much research as possible. I have done some of the hard yards for you, so hopefully I can help.

1. After finishing your MS, Editing is number one. You must get your MS edited. Yes, you do. No arguments. If you don't have the money (like me) then find someone that is willing to edit your MS in parts. Mine is getting done 10,000 words at a time, so the payments are small chunks periodically, rather than a big amount at once.
2. Get a web site. If you haven't already, go get yourself an author website. I was once told by a MS assessor to "Dream Big" and go get an author page. So I did. WIX offers free website and have a great range of templates to choose from.
3. Research. Research all your options. At as many different websites as possible.  
4. Choose a self-pub option. Whether it be KDP, or Smashwords, or POD through CreateSpace or, ACX, or the any number of offset printing presses or vanity publishers. Pick one or a few and start researching them. 
5. Tax info. Organize your tax stuff, especially if you are not a US citizen.
6. Hire a book cover designer. Do your research on these too. I have found some as cheap as $69 and some as expensive as $3500. You do get what you are paid for though,so save up and try to get an artist that fits your style and budget. We all judge books buy their covers, People!
7. Hire a MS interior designer (if your chosen method of self-pub doesn't include that service)
8. Apply for an ISBN, copyright, etc. Also the cover info like blurbs, Reviews (ARCs, which I will talk about later) Hashtags, bar codes etc.
9. Set a cover price. Once again this comes down to research. Look at what price books sell for. And think about what you buy yourself. Normally, if I don't know the author, I won't pay any more than $5 for an ebook, or $15 for a paperback.
10. Select a publication date.
11. Develop press materials.
12. Plan and implement a reasonable marketing PR and add campaign. Think about the things you know you will stick to. There is no use in starting a Tumbler account for your author page if you will let it fall into disrepair. Also, do some research on how other Indie authors have done it.
13. Begin the pre-sale of your book. Start promoting to distributors and lining up booksellers and taking out ads and have your book listed with online retailers.
14. If you are not already, get yourself on Goodreads. If you have not published anything at all, maybe think about publishing a few short stories just to get yourself out there and start building a fan base. Offer them for free so it just gets your name out there. Smashwords is awesome for this.
15. Make a book trailer for Youtube. Start a Youtube channel. (I won't be doing the Youtube thing because I am shy. I haven't even got an author photo yet. Oh yeah, get an author photo!)
16. Publish your book! (and ship to people if applicable)
17. Continue to promote yourself. But remember, you are not a dick. Subtle promotion always works better than being shoved down peoples throats. 

I am positive that I have missed some things. If you can think of something I have missed, let me know in the comments or you can contact me on Twitter or Facebook or Google+ or Pintrest or email ... Not on Tumbler though, I do NOT understand Tumbler!

Hugs
AMC xxx