My submission "The Brides of WiFi" shall be contained therein!
Information on publication date coming soon!
Showing posts with label book covers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book covers. Show all posts
Sunday, June 19, 2022
Thursday, April 11, 2019
Coming Soon: Strangely Funny VI
I am proud to announce a new humor-horror anthology is coming out this year, the next installment of Strangely Funny (this one is the seventh but it's numbered Sixth, we'll explain later)!
The editors forwarded the book cover, see below:
The story they accepted is "How a Vampire Gets A Tan," a sequel of sorts to the "Minette Dances With the Golem of Albany" published in Volume III. If anybody enjoyed reading that and the other Dhampyr story "I Must Be Your First," I hope you enjoy this follow-up as well.
I'll let you know when the book is available online for print and eReader!
The editors forwarded the book cover, see below:
I'll let you know when the book is available online for print and eReader!
Saturday, April 1, 2017
April 1st: New Book Cover Day
Here comes my next big bestseller!
It's a story about a man who meets a woman during The War beneath a silvery moon, which then explodes for seemingly no reason.
With thanks to John Scalzi for doing this as his April Fools gig.
It's a story about a man who meets a woman during The War beneath a silvery moon, which then explodes for seemingly no reason.
With thanks to John Scalzi for doing this as his April Fools gig.
Wednesday, September 21, 2016
Book Covers Are Always Important
As part of teaching self-publishing - more specifically e-Publishing - one of the things I urge is the need to get a book cover lined up before you're ready to publish.
Well, first thing is obviously the book itself needs to be done, edited, corrected, spell-checked, etc. The second thing is the cover.
The book cover is what catches the potential reader's eye. It has to relate to the book's genre or topic. It has to be legible, visible, with a contrast of shadows to light that would not force people to go all cross-eyed glaring at it.
If you're a good graphic designer with effective photo editing tools (Photoshop, cough) then you don't have to worry much. If you're not that good (guilty look here) you ought to go shopping for one.
Depending on the type of book, there are places online you can shop. I've looked at several, tried some pretty expensive artistic ones - had to, for my superhero-themed books - and now I'm looking at the cost-effective ones.
There's a pretty decent marketplace site called Fiverr.
It works like a marketplace where the graphic artist posts their willingness to work on projects for a certain fee. They start as low as $5 - which is a boon for poor struggling self-publishers - and then charge a fee for additional costs. Throw in a tip at the end and you can be getting a book cover costing you around $20. Not too shabby.
An excellent part of the program is the time limit option: you can find graphic artists willing to get this done within a day. Which - if you're pressed for time focusing on a looming release date - can help get at least one thing taken care of while waiting on the rest.
Just to note, I did hire someone on Fiverr name of leahdesign, and she did good work so if anyone else is looking, check with her.
Good luck with your writings, everybody. And don't forget, NaNo is almost one month away!
Well, first thing is obviously the book itself needs to be done, edited, corrected, spell-checked, etc. The second thing is the cover.
The book cover is what catches the potential reader's eye. It has to relate to the book's genre or topic. It has to be legible, visible, with a contrast of shadows to light that would not force people to go all cross-eyed glaring at it.
If you're a good graphic designer with effective photo editing tools (Photoshop, cough) then you don't have to worry much. If you're not that good (guilty look here) you ought to go shopping for one.
Depending on the type of book, there are places online you can shop. I've looked at several, tried some pretty expensive artistic ones - had to, for my superhero-themed books - and now I'm looking at the cost-effective ones.
There's a pretty decent marketplace site called Fiverr.
It works like a marketplace where the graphic artist posts their willingness to work on projects for a certain fee. They start as low as $5 - which is a boon for poor struggling self-publishers - and then charge a fee for additional costs. Throw in a tip at the end and you can be getting a book cover costing you around $20. Not too shabby.
An excellent part of the program is the time limit option: you can find graphic artists willing to get this done within a day. Which - if you're pressed for time focusing on a looming release date - can help get at least one thing taken care of while waiting on the rest.
Just to note, I did hire someone on Fiverr name of leahdesign, and she did good work so if anyone else is looking, check with her.
Good luck with your writings, everybody. And don't forget, NaNo is almost one month away!
Monday, April 18, 2016
If You EVER Have To Teach A Class on How To E-Publish Your Writings
Just remember to have the PROPER pixel size on your damn JPG file for your e-book cover BEFORE you teach the part of the class on how to actually upload everything to get published.
/headdesk
Next time, Bartow Library attendees, next time I'll have all my ducks in a row like I was trying to teach today. Sigh...
I'll finish uploading the e-story on my own and let you know what it is. Just a little disappointed with myself tonight for messing up that one little OBVIOUS thing I forget to check. DRY RUNS, damn you, do a test to make sure you got the steps right. /trout-slaps self
/headdesk
Next time, Bartow Library attendees, next time I'll have all my ducks in a row like I was trying to teach today. Sigh...
I'll finish uploading the e-story on my own and let you know what it is. Just a little disappointed with myself tonight for messing up that one little OBVIOUS thing I forget to check. DRY RUNS, damn you, do a test to make sure you got the steps right. /trout-slaps self
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
The Problems With Blue Book Covers
Are you kidding me? That's part of the reason I've got that as my blog title...
Anyway, I'm not theonly soul accused of hit and run uh the only librarian to notice the request for books by blue covers!
This is happening, people. IT'S BEEN HAPPENING FOR YEARS.
WITNESS IT, BELIEVE IT. This is everywhere:
THERE ARE BOOKS WITH BLUE COVERS EVERYWHERE.
Be afraid.
I will be adding one more.
Anyway, I'm not the
This is happening, people. IT'S BEEN HAPPENING FOR YEARS.
WITNESS IT, BELIEVE IT. This is everywhere:
 |
| This was actually from Blue Willow Bookshop in Houston. |
Be afraid.
I will be adding one more.
Monday, September 28, 2015
The Problem With Book Covers
When it gets down to it, books have to attract readers to get read. And you attract readers with what they see.
So the book covers need to catch the eye. The cover needs to stand out with a unique or enticing image. The cover has to rock.
Getting a good artist or photographer helps. But the other thing is that the labeling - the title, the author - has to be both legible and eye-catching too. Anything too bland - a basic Sans Serif like Arial, or a basic Roman like Cambria - and people won't notice. Anything too cutesy or gimmicky - Comic Sans, Papyrus, Papyrus Sans (ye gods) - and people will recoil.
So I'm working with the artist for my next work, and trying to come up with a feasible cover text for the title and author.
My personal preference for the author font is Flareserif (similar to Albertus). I suppose I *could* use the same font for the title, but most times you'll notice publishers don't go that route: the title has to stand out a little more. Have a little more flair to it.
So I'm juggling between these fonts for "Body Armor Blues":
Bulletproof Deco:
Glaser Stencil D:
Red Circle:
If anybody suggests Helvetica I will hurt you. That costs money, dammit.
So the book covers need to catch the eye. The cover needs to stand out with a unique or enticing image. The cover has to rock.
Getting a good artist or photographer helps. But the other thing is that the labeling - the title, the author - has to be both legible and eye-catching too. Anything too bland - a basic Sans Serif like Arial, or a basic Roman like Cambria - and people won't notice. Anything too cutesy or gimmicky - Comic Sans, Papyrus, Papyrus Sans (ye gods) - and people will recoil.
So I'm working with the artist for my next work, and trying to come up with a feasible cover text for the title and author.
My personal preference for the author font is Flareserif (similar to Albertus). I suppose I *could* use the same font for the title, but most times you'll notice publishers don't go that route: the title has to stand out a little more. Have a little more flair to it.
So I'm juggling between these fonts for "Body Armor Blues":
Bulletproof Deco:
Glaser Stencil D:
Red Circle:
If anybody suggests Helvetica I will hurt you. That costs money, dammit.
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