Created and hosted by the Ninja himself, Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writers Support Group posts the 1st Wednesday of every month. Click here to learn more or sign up.
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Optional Monthly 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?
I’ve designed all my book covers since going exclusively indie, outside of anthology covers I’ve contributed to. I like the control and the creative challenge. I also like polling readers throughout the process to see what does and doesn’t work, but sometimes I just do what I want anyway. That’s the beauty of self-publishing. Still, if I plan to actually make money with a publication, I do put effort into finding out what’s going to work for the genre and get reader feedback before letting my ego take over.
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#iwsgbookclub
Member Spotlight
Summer of L.U.C.K.- Goodreads, Amazon, Bookshop
Craft Book
Nail Your Novel- Goodreads, Amazon, Bookshop
We have some changes coming to the book club. More details will be provided in March, but here’s a sneak peek.
In January 2023, I completed 2 books, but my goal was three. I have a short book I plan to read to hopefully fit in with my February reads.
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Below you’ll find my star ratings and review tags for each title I completed in the indicated month. You can also click the images to see the thorough reviews. |
Now, on to the personal updates.
I created a BuzzFeed quiz and would love for you to check it out.
I’ve been busy in a lot of ways, but the most challenging at the moment has been as a developmental editor to an aspiring writer. The great thing about this is that the writer has some natural talent. I’m just there to guide and hone. I’ve found that I’m better at helping people develop their stories than I am at writing my own, but I still love to write, and I’ve been able to do a little of that lately.
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Do book covers really matter to you?
Are you excited about some changes with the book club?
It may take some time, but I promise, I will eventually stop by your blog.
My response time has gotten slower but I’m still making my rounds.
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After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts:
Jacqui Murray,
Ronel Janse van Vuuren,
Pat Garcia, and
Gwen Gardner!
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Click here to visit other IWSG blogs and sites to receive and share more inspiration and support. (This month, I’m #28).
Thank you for making it this far down the virtual page. Kudos to you! I’d love to know what you thought of this post in the comments below. Stay safe and be blessed.
25 replies on “#IWSG Feb. 2023- Cover Design Control”
I like the cover of “Book of Shadows” — I’m checking it out based on that. LOL.
Ronel visiting for IWSG day Strategies to Be a Successful Author
A lot of you design your own covers and that’s cool.
It’s all part of the process for me.
It’s the sequel to a spin-off series. I think one could enjoy it by itself, but there will be many questions without having read the first one. Plus, for those who read the original series, everything has even greater meaning.
I’ve designed some of my book covers and hired out. It depends on finding the right image and my skill level in Gimp.
Yes, sometimes cover design is easy but sometimes it’s very hard. If I want to do something beyond my skill level that means I have to learn something new.
I really want to design my own covers, and I have done a few for short-story collections, but it’s tough when you’re in a genre that calls for more of a “cartoon” (drawing rather than photo) look, since my skills end at the photos. I may take a look at GIMP—I have done mine in Photoshop, but it’s not user-friendly.
I’ve used Photoshop too. I need to look into GIMP as well.
A cover needs to sell the book, but you have to be happy with it first, so why not do what you want?
Yes, I agree. I’ve also found that people have different tastes. What works for one genre may not work for another no matter how much you like it. That’s a risk you can take or go with the market.
I’ve never trusted myself with making covers for my fiction. I do make them for my non-fic which sell less than my fiction.
Hmm… What if there’s a causal reason there?
I haven’t written a lot of nonfiction but what I have does sell way less than my fiction.
I admire anyone who designs their own covers. What a time saver that would be. No waiting for the artist to get to your book. If the artist is really good, the wait is so much longer. Keep doing what you love.
Thank you. Maybe one day, I will work with an artist just to take some of the pressure off.
When the time comes, I will hire someone to do the cover. Kudos to you for designing your own. All the best in February!
Thank you. All the best to you too.
I only care slightly what a cover looks like when deciding to buy. I care more when I’m reading, as I’ll sometimes look back to the cover if it feels like it’s referenced in the book. I care even more when I get through a book and have no idea why the author used that cover. (Like a book I read with a story set in America, especially Tenn, but the cover showed Sol. What’s up with that?)
Buzzfeed question:
Why only burial?
Not sure. I remember a lot of the questions I originally came up with were not suitable for the final quiz, so some I came up with some on the spot or modified them to fit the platform.
Yes, I agree. The cover can sometimes add to or take away from the reading experience. I don’t like misleading covers, but I do like clever one, which can sometimes be misleading but only if you don’t “get it”.
I have purchased book covers in the past, but more recently I’ve created book covers using Canva. They’re aren’t very fancy, but they are definitely within my limited budget and the site is easy to use.
Oddly enough, I’ve only recently started using Canva.
Covers are so hard, but it’s important to get it right.
Yes, a lot of changes at WEP. Would love to see you back! Miss you! (I’m never going to stop saying that!)
Thanks for your kind words. I don’t think WEP is a good fit for writers like me, but I’m happy to see you guys are being a support to other writers. The changes are very exciting.
How great that you did your own covers. Now that’s truly Indie!