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Indie Publishing Part 1: Expectations versus Reality-Book Covers

This will kick off my new Indie Publishing series where I discuss being an Indie author and what I wish I knew before I got started. This will be the first of a little multi part blog post where I discuss a few aspects of my publishing journey so far.

I went into the publishing industry green-I mean fresh sweet pea green-so of course my views were, to say at a minimum, unrealistic. Naive. Wishful thinking. You get the picture.

I was under the impression the hardest part of the process was, well, writing the book. In my opinion, although it’s not without difficulty, that is the easiest part and one I could do on repeat.

I thought all I had to do was write the book and then everything would easily fall into place and voila! I would be a famous author with royalties pouring in, a pick for Oprah’s book club, and then I could quit my job and tell the man where to stick it! While getting settled into a small cottage with a maze nestled on a lake! LOL!

None of this has come true-at least not yet-and it wasn’t until after Taming Armand was written I realized…wait, that’s not it? There’s still more to do?

Book Covers

Although one of the things I find most enjoying about the publishing process is playing such a huge part in the cover design. Thing about being an indie author is that I have the first and last say on the design-and font. This has also been the part of the process that has caused my anxiety to rear its ugly head on a few occasions.

Let’s start with you can choose anything. A blessing and a curse. Especially for someone that came into the indie publishing game with no idea of what she was doing.

After an hour or two at YouTube University, I learned a little thing about genre specific covers and genre expectations. Going into the process, I never thought about being genre-specific and whether it aligns with what’s hot in that genre at the time of publication. Naively, I thought the only goal of book cover design was to create a pretty, eye-catching cover. But the main goal as an author is to move product! You don’t want your book to get overlooked simply because the cover doesn’t fit genre expectations.

Let’s not start on the font.

Before I outsourced outsource cover design to someone that does it for a living, I gave it three attempts. It was fun, but stressful. Tedious. At times I wasn’t sure on which direction to go, and as for the urban fantasy genre in which Taming Armand and Bloody Endings both fit into with a tinge of paranormal romance, and black magic (just an FYI if you’re into that sort of thing), I thought many of the covers where cheesy.

From first glance at the covers, the books would not be my first choice. Nor did I want my cover to blend in, but I’ve learned in order to standout you have to first fit in.

Now let’s get to the nitty gritty and talk fonts! I didn’t know there were certain fonts that cannot be used because they’re trademarked or registered or whatever. But yeah, it blew my mind!

Also, there are genre specific fonts and these can make or break your cover. Just because a font is pretty doesn’t mean it’s legible. Too much flair then we have entered into romance or high fantasy territory. That’s not a bad thing, but if you write street, gritty crime- then you may find yourself in a bit of a pickle.

So my expectations for book cover design was that it would be fun. As for font design and selection, I had no expectations because it didn’t even register that thought had to be put into something, that prior to venture into publishing, I thought was insignificant, mundane.

Indie publishing has given me a new respect for publishing houses and small presses. It takes a lot of oil to get the machine that is a book ready. There are a lot of little pieces and players (if you are fortunate to have a team) working together to create the finished product waiting to be chosen on a shelf near you.

My Rocky Road to NaNoWriMo

My attempts at participating in NaNoWriMo…haven’t always gone as planned.

With this not so new year and ,most importantly, a new me I think I can conquer NaNoWriMo 2024. Okay, maybe not conquer necessarily but I can definitely inflict some serious word count wounds and finish up Bloody Endings: Book 2 of the Coven Origins Series. The highly anticipated sequel to Taming Armand: Book 1 of the Coven Origins Series (yes, a shameless plug is not beneath me, lol).

In order to take you down this path to finally and actively participating in NaNoWriMo I must set the scene. So, I will need to take you back to October 2022 as the treasured and much anticipated writing month of November was looming large. It’s a time of the year where writers seasoned and new make something akin to a resolution, a challenge, if you will to write 50K of a novel. Or to start or finish that manuscript that has been sitting idly in the word processor of your choice or stuffed away in a notebook collecting dust.

That year I had finally narrowed down a focus to one manuscript and only days before November 1st I had broken the 10K word count. Talk about elation. I was finally doing it. I was finally writing a book. I was ready and enthusiastic, this would be my first NaNoWriMo, and I was ready and more than willing to give it all I had. My beady black eyes were set on exceeding my personal goal of 40k by the end of November.

But fate or rather my body had other disruptive plans.

Illness happened and not just a bout of the flu but something that not only set me back but had me lying at Death’s door, or rather I like to think I was in his driveway. I like to believe I wasn’t that close, but the encyclopedia of medical notes and list of diagnoses say I was closer than I will ever be without actually have died.

So, while I awaited on an official diagnosis and subsequently my fate curled in a hospital bed my manuscript sat on my laptop at home far out of my grasp. Long story short, I couldn’t participate.

I was heartbroken that my first real attempt at gaining major ground on my manuscript was derailed by my unruly body. My treasonous immune system had the final say and NaNoWriMo 2022 was a no go.

The year 2023 hits and I made progress. I was well enough to start trying to bring some normalcy to my life. I was back in my room with my cat, my books and iced coffee. The year and my health seemed to be going well.

Although I did not hit the 40k I had promised myself, I am grateful to have walked away with my life and a renewed sense of self and a rededication to my writing.

Then Life once again lifed.

My mother suddenly became ill, my grandmother’s cognitive abilities continued and rapidly declined. My own health was stagnant. I wasn’t getting better but I hadn’t gotten worse and took that small victory, and gasping for breath, ran for the hills.

Ultimately, Mother lost her battle with cancer leaving behind a heartbroken author that didn’t want to write. Prior to my mother’s death, Babe my beloved four legged feline confidant lost her own battle. Completing the old saying ‘Death comes in threes’ was Granny. After months of forgetting, she too threw in the towel seeking a place where she could finally remember.

I grieved.

I am still grieving.

Eeven as a year will be marked for each of their deaths. But the will and the spirit to write has returned. The passion that was lost has returned and I plan to take full advantage of it.

NaNoWriMo 2024 here I am.

Books

Debut Novel, Taming Armand Book 1 of the Coven Origins Series available now!

Click the link icon below!

“Because if we keep going, I won’t be able to stop. I’m at the point I’m in need of you. I can’t stop.”

Her face relaxed and the excitement returned. “What if I don’t want you to stop?”

She asked watching him searching for any micro signs.

“This isn’t a game for me Amelia. I want you more than anything I’ve wanted in my life. I want you to be my mate. If you say yes, I will have no other. Do you consent to be my mate?”

Her jaw slackened causing her mouth fall slightly agape. The breath she drew in was shaky. Mates were something she had read about and knew of no one that experienced such a connection.

Not even her parents.