Author Thursdays: The Art of Book Covers

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I have hemmed and hawed over book covers, specifically pre-made. It sounds so easy. Just a few dollars and wham bam I’ve got a cover! Or if you use Createspace’s cover creator it’s free. However, many people say that the cover creator pumps out boring covers that are easily attributed to the creator bot. What says you? I used their creator for my poetry book, as it doesn’t require anything super fancy:

The cover creator is customizable in certain regards, such as changing any of the text and some of the placement but not entirely changeable, so what you see will be what you get basically. You have to be happy with their offerings to go with the cover creator.

Back to pre-mades. There are tons of sites devoted to pre-made and custom-made covers. Even Amazon will devote their design team to making you a unique cover, for a hefty fee of course. If you go with a pre-made, all you get to do is add your name and title and barcode. The image is as is, no changing. What if you want more shadows? Nope. What if you want less blue? Nope. Perhaps some of the artists will work with you on their pre-mades but then there definitely will be a customizing fee added on.

There is also literature out there that warns about the cons of pre-made covers. Are they used more than once? Sometimes. I’ve seen elements used more than once in multiple pre-mades as well. Here’s an article that breaks down the everything that can go wrong will scenarios when considering a pre-made cover for your next novel:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1307192-beware-of-pre-made-covers

So what to do? Well, if you can and your budget is drop dead nothing, do it yourself! Here is a website with a list of other websites where you can find images to use in your cover creation.

Making a book cover –http://www.blueglass.co.uk/blog/30-free-image-websites-creative-commons-royalty-free/

You can also commission someone with photoshopping skills to help you out. Or find one of those random artists online to make you a custom cover, but beware the internet my friends!

Toiling Tuesdays: Amazon Cost Calculator

by in Author Thursdays, Toiling Tuesdays

Wonder what your book will cost before you’re even finished with it? Createspace (Amazon affiliate) has a handy Cost calculator so you can determine how much your book will cost to help you make decisions such as, should my page count be shorter? Should I use a smaller trim size? Or is it at all cost-effective to make it a hardcover?

https://www.createspace.com/Products/Book/

Foodie Fridays: Rachel Barnard Without Sugar Blog

by in Foodie Fridays, Local Eats and tagged

I started a new challenge and a new blog to document the challenge. Until my birthday I will eat nothing with processed sugars. You can read about it here:

http://rachelbarnardwithoutsugar.blogspot.com/

Find out what the parameters of the challenge are, how difficult I think it will be, the challenges I face along the way, and healthy alternative substitutes for foods rich with processed sugars. 

Author Thursdays: AUTHOR WORKSHOP Round table on Self-Publishing Ins and Outs of Self Publishing from Those Who have Been There Done That?

by in author platform, Author Thursdays, Local Authors, Local Eats and tagged , | 1 Comment




Tuesday January 28, 2014 1:10 PM – 9:30 PM 
101 W North Bend Way, North Bend, WA 98045

The Authors of FreeValley Publishing tell all from their Choice of Publishing Sites, Services and Formats to Negotiating the World of Sales and Promotions. Discuss options and Learn from the experience of those who have gone before you!

 

 
Don’t miss your chance to attend this Information-packed session.
 
>Choices of Publishing
sites and Marketers
> Selecting binding options
> Price points pros & cons
> Formatting Variations
> When to Employ Services
vs. Do It Yourself
> ISBNs and eBooks
> Marketing Options

Toiling Tuesdays: An Evening of Stories – Live at The Black Dog

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An Evening of Stories – Live at The Black Dog

FreeValley Publishing’s authors will be at The Black Dog in Snoqualmie, WA on January 23, 2014 6-7:30pm for a Meet the Author’s event. Our authors will read excerpts from their published works and give short commentary on different aspects of self-publishing. We will then be available to chat and sign books for you.
This is in league with local chap book makers who will also have works available that evening. Paul Green will play Jazz at 7:30 onward, so you can make it a complete entertainment outing. Come an see us!

http://freevalleypublishing.com/2013/12/16/an-evening-of-stories-live-at-the-black-dog/

Medical Mondays: Hospital Smartphone App with Personal Map

by in medical Mondays

Have you ever gotten lost in a hospital?

Some of them are so large and convoluted, they would make for an excellent relay race location. Seriously, you can go round and round in them.

I propose a new app for smartphones that has maps for hospitals, where you can input your destination (surgery center for example) and they will direct you. Even better would be a holographic/HUD type display that projected outward from the phone to lead you in the right direction. Or perhaps hospitals could employ color coded floor lines (a la Ender’s Game) for common destinations in their building.

Please make this happen!

Also, parking garages could use them. I’m tired of getting lost in those. Or if they could have directions to the nearest open spot, that would be great.