#WriteMotivation/The Truth About Self-published Covers and Titles
In the writer’s group I’m in on Google +, Write Motivation, my July goals were: get the cover done for my second short-story book, get the book formatted, and release the book. Well, I’m sad to say I failed at all three, but not for lack of trying. Here, in early August, I’ve gotten the first two out of three either done or underway, and thankfully, we’ve received another month in Write Motivation to conquer our July goals. Whew.
The thing is–and keep in mind that I suffered through this when getting the first short-story book together–self-publishing isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be as far as covers and titles. Twice, I’ve tried to get a book put out called Pieces of Meat, complete with a gory cover, and twice, I’ve failed. One would think a self-published author would have total control over the cover and name of his book, but one would be wrong.
The first person I worked with for Horrorbook: Twenty-two Tales of Terror (and I won’t be a dick and name names), was not only a formatter, but also a cover artist. Well, I came to find out–after I’d hired him and paid him half of the fee up front–that he didn’t create covers, he bought an image and put a name to it. Both times, I wanted a guy with his head, arms, and legs hacked off, lying on a butcher-block table, and twice, I’ve been denied. Hell, tell the truth and shame the devil: I was robbed, in a baseball-terminology sense. Not literally robbed.
This time, I thought I had an artist who created covers, but came to find out that she manipulated existing images, and she didn’t have a license to produce a gory cover. Then, when I searched for someone else to do the gory cover, none bit, or their prices were too high for an author on a fixed income. Now, are the images they can do for me disappointing? Not really; they’re pretty brutal. Is it the end of the world for me to have to rename the book? Nope. I’m pretty good at coming up with titles on the fly (at least I think I am; I could be wrong; and if I’m not, please chime in and let me know, but let it be an honest viewpoint and not a schizophrenic raging for no reason). I’ve heard that when published, an author has no control over the cover. I thought, aha! I’m self-published, and I can do what I want. Think again.
So, there you have it. The truth. It’s not that big of a deal, but I thought it interesting enough to blog about. Not to mention the times in the past where I’ve had to get on the case of the formatter over and over because he or she didn’t do the formatting correctly, and I will not put out a crappily-formatted book. Whoops, I guess I just mentioned it. Again, not that big of a deal, but to all about to self-publish, get ready for some minor disappointments and some unexpected problems.
Truth be told, I’m just happy to be putting out brutal books with brutal names and brutal covers. World without end, amen.
