 The awesome co-hosts for the February 1 posting of the IWSG are Jacqui Murray, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Pat Garcia, and Gwen Gardner!
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? I paid a graphic artist to design the covers for my self-published books. He is a friend whose work I've always admired, and I love the comic book vibe of his art. I sent him SO many reference photos for how I wanted Blue Nova, Dr. Vile, and the Citadel to look. Somehow, he amalgamated all my ideas into a gorgeous image that represents the book perfectly. Looking at the covers of the first two books inspires me whenever I hit writer's block. I know people say "Don't judge a book by its cover," but respectfully, that's nonsense. The cover is part of the experience. As a reader, I pause to glance at the cover repeatedly. It helps set the mood. Maybe that's why I'm not crazy about the clip-art-looking people on the covers of contemporary romance novels. Yes, the covers are discreet. And yes, Fabio was overused as a cover model. But dang it, I want something beautiful to look at, even if it's just the heroine's face and a bouquet of peonies! Anyway, I digress. With regard to my own covers, I'm hoping my designer friend will create one for the third book in my trilogy too. After my Blue Nova books, I think I'll try a different genre, possibly under another pen name. I'm considering self-made covers for future books, but it will depend on how good I can make them look. The only time I've made my own covers was when writing for Wattpad. I created them on Canva for free. It was fun and easy, but the result was far from professional. Canva also had licensing rules to consider. I believe it was fine to use those covers for up to 10,000 units (a number I'll never get close to, and even if I do, that's a GOOD problem). If Canva's rules are still the same, I might use it in future. We'll see how much of my graphic design class I remember from university! What about you? What skill level do you have for designing covers? What kinds of covers do you prefer on books you read?
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The awesome co-hosts for the January 4 posting of the IWSG are Jemima Pett, Debs Carey, Kim Lajevardi, Sarah Foster, Natalie Aguirre, and T. Powell Coltrin!
January 4 question - Do you have a word of the year? Is there one word that sums up what you need to work on or change in the coming year? Just one word? That is a difficult thing to ask of a writer! ;) For me, 2022 was about completing and publishing book 2 of my trilogy, so 2023 will be about completing and publishing book 3. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to finishing this series. I keep getting so many brilliant ideas for other things to write, and it's hard to focus! I suppose that's my word for 2023. FOCUS. I must focus on finishing my Blue Nova trilogy...and finishing it WELL. After all the care I've put in, Blue Nova's story needs to have an exciting and satisfying ending. To that end, I have a few methods for maintaining focus: First, I keep a list of other ideas as they come to me. I'm allowed to jot down notes about those other stories, but I'm not allowed to write the stories themselves. Keeping that list lets me feel like those ideas aren't lost. I'll get to them eventually. Second, I keep myself excited about my current story and characters. I visualize how new characters will interact with the old. I think about what story lines will be most challenging to my main characters. I consider ways to force them to develop. The most helpful and stimulating activity is building my imaginary cast list. I love coming up with the people I'd want to play the characters. It's something a lot of authors (and readers) do. Maybe I'll post the list on my blog in the new year. It will be fun to see if anyone else agrees with my casting choices! What about you? What is your word for 2023? |
Falling ForeverNothing fancy, just my thoughts on the writing journey, creativity, and life in general. CategoriesFalling for the VillainLike superheroes? Love romance? This novel is for you!
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