The Cover Process

Mission

This post will explain my thought process and manufacture behind the title and cover of my upcoming book Blue Shift.

Introduction

I have a number of speculative and science fiction stories that I could bundle with my 20K word novella, Second Life (which is available for free when signing up for my monthly newsletter, by the way). I decided earlier at the beginning of 2014 that the stories I featured monthly on my website would also go towards a collection at the end of the year.

For many years I’ve heard that short story collections traditionally don’t sell as well as novels. That’s okay with me as my goal is to build up a library of my own books. Since I’m writing these stories for my website visitors anyway, it makes sense to include them as a collection. Thanks to print-on-demand companies like Createspace and digital publishing, it costs very little to have a book available to the public, if you can do all the work yourself.

The Title

Since most of the stories intended for this collection are science fiction or speculative in nature, I wanted a ‘science-y’ title, something that was a phrase in scientific terms: think ‘Event Horizon’ or ‘Absolute Zero’ or ‘Dark Matter’. I didn’t want anything overly used, however. ‘Blue Shift’ is a term that describes any decrease in the wavelength of light, it’s also known as the ‘Doppler Effect’. (Apparently ‘Red Shift’ also means the same thing, so no surprises for what I’ll be calling my next collection). I made this choice because I had a personal preference for it and I thought it was a phrase that would attract interest. It was also meaningful to the main story inside, Second Life, where light plays a big part.

The Cover

Now that I had my title, I needed a cover to match. With a name like ‘Blue Shift’, I thought it best to be predictable and look for pictures that were prominently blue in colour. I’d already purchased a deal of 100 pictures from 123rf.com a few months ago and pre-selected pictures that I either found inspiring or would feature in future projects. When searching through pictures that I already had rights to use, I found this image. (I’ve included the brand markings here for ethical reasons).

I initially chose it because I liked the colours, I liked the premise and it amused me. I only got it because I thought one day I might write a story about alien contact and this picture would be my inspiration. When it came to ‘Blue Shift’, I found the bottom half of the picture with the fellow standing there was interesting enough without the spaceship being there.

After cropping it, I found my instincts were correct but it looked a little flat. I headed over to picmonkey.com and dropped in my picture, then played around with various special effects. I added clouds for texture and was pleased to find it also gave a fog effect. I boosted the greens, darkened the overall picture and added another light source coming from the trees. Voila, I had a new picture that was different enough from the original that if somebody else used that stock photo for a book cover, it wouldn’t be devastating.

Because I purchased 100 pictures in bulk at 123rf.com for $159 (which allowed me access to high definition), this picture cost me $1.59. For that price to be applicable, I am gambling that I’ll be able to use all 100 of my chosen pictures. Some were chosen for specific projects while others were chosen on instinct, like this one. I’m not worried, because even if I only end up using half of them, the cost of the image would double to $3.18 which is still a good price.

The choice of font and placement of the title was relatively easy. I have a few favourite fonts that I tend to go to. “Blue Shift” sits neatly in the downcast light and I was lucky the words fit together atop each other neatly. I deliberated on the flash at the bottom of the cover though–I struggled with how to phrase it. Should I call it “A Collection of Speculative and Science Fiction” or “A Speculative & Science Fiction Collection”? I still waver between the two. I used the same turquoise on the flash that appears in the image for symmetry, and broke the rules by mixing fonts. It was a calculated decision: the “Blue Shift” font is too narrow at that size and I don’t want a script font at the bottom. If the icon is any smaller than 200 x 300, it is difficult (read: near impossible) to read the flash line, but it isn’t necessary.

The presentation of my name is debatable too. I used it to underline the title rather than to draw attention. I used an overlay specifically for it to blend in and not stand out. (For those who don’t know, an overlay can create a ‘transparent’ effect depending on the filter used. I used white, which gave me a light blue effect because of the background). My name is ‘hidden’, I do know that, and I don’t know if that’s a good idea or not. I do know at this point in time, my name’s not as important as the title so I’m going to run with it. I looked at a black version but I feel it makes the cover look messy and that it takes away from the image. There’s a technique used–I don’t know what it’s called–that advertisers use, kind of like a reversal. When you have to listen to TV ads that shout at you and then one comes on with the volume way down or is really quiet… it stands out because it’s different, because it’s harder to hear so people look twice. In magazines, they do that trick too, with images and colour. I have no idea if it works or not or even how to measure it. How the fonts look are certainly personal preference.

Final Costs

Image rights to print 100,000 copies: $1.59
Annual Subscription to picmonkey.com: $3.67*
*(Subscription of $33 split between 9 income producing books, Femme, Blue Shift & seven Wanderer of Worlds covers)

TOTAL COST: $5.26

PLUS a dedicated couple of hours fiddling with the finished format.

 

Day 89: Hitting The Editing Wall

A manuscript can be over-edited to the point where it loses its voice and vitality.  If you remove every adverb, every word that might not work for readers, every peculiar idiosyncrasy that makes a story yours, then you’ve lost your way as a writer.  Writers are supposed to have their quirks and even though a lot of these quirks can be edited out, the essence of the tone could be lost and the story loses its soul.  Nobody wants a grey accounting of a fiction, they want a richly woven tapestry that plays with language and helps them imagine in colour. Don’t keep the spelling and grammar mistakes, don’t keep in the redundant words (especially tautology, most of which are cliched), but do keep the funny little things you do that belong to you.  Think of it in terms of music; a great band is one that is instantly recognisable by their distinctive sound and a great writer is recognisable by their distinctive voice.  Don’t edit that out trying to please the ‘rules’ of fiction.  Any rule can be broken as long as it works.

This is not the ‘editing wall’ I mean but it is something that can happen in the editing process.  I’m up to version ten of my manuscript, but I’m not really up to version ten in editing.  I change the version when I start making bigger changes, so one heavy pass through in editing might yield three versions of the manuscript.  I did, however, reach the stage of my manuscript where I couldn’t see the value of it.  Many questions arose:

Why would anyone want to read this story, it’s boring/ridiculous/pathetic/stupid?  Do I really want this book as my first publication (because I know I can do better)? Who on earth is going to pay money for this?

The good thing is, I’ve intellectualised the editing process so much I can distance myself from my own doubts.  Since I had an epiphany a couple of months ago about the editing process, I no longer feel overwhelmed by these feelings.  I can reason through them.  I still feel them… I can’t stop that, but I can certainly apply logic and counter them with positive thoughts and feedback from others.  Sharing my manuscript has helped me immensely; that others I trust have told me they liked it.  It’s enough that they like it, I don’t have to cause ripples of impact through their very soul with my story.  This is only my first book, after all.

I believe the editing wall is hit when you’re sick of looking at the same words over and again.  It’s very hard to motivate yourself when you just want it to be over.  The best thing about having a deadline (and my release date is 30 May, so it’s coming up soon), is that it’s a great motivator.  I can see an end and it’s helping me battle through this manuscript so that the experience for the reader will be as smooth as possible.

And hopefully enjoyable, because my goal is to entertain.

That Monster Called Doubt

There are a lot of things I do, think and feel, that I believe is reflected in all new writers.  I doubt.  I over-analyse.  I think about how difficult a task it will be to get my creative work out there.  It helps that I am realistic about the publishing market, but it doesn’t help my confidence.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m confident about my talent (but not in a ‘this is a masterpiece’ kind of way, but more-so a ‘this meets publishable standards’ manner).

I feel like getting published is literally half the battle.  Yes, literally, not figuratively.  The battle for unknown writers comes in two parts.  It’s not enough to be published but it is enough to be published and read.  I’m not expecting millions of copies worldwide (even though I fantasise about it).  I’m not expecting translation into any languages other than the one I’m writing in.  I’m not anticipating huge success, but my goal is to be moderately successful.

The idea of success is flexible.  People are satisfied with different levels of it, so I’ll clarify what moderate success means to me.  It means that I’ll be recognised in writing circles.  It means that I will be able to release not only the first book of the series I’ve written, but all five – that sales will be high enough for the publisher to keep investing in me.  It means that I want a little bit of impact.  I don’t even mind if the impact is a slow burn, or a light ripple in the waves of readership and recognition.

I understand that even this modest desire is quite a difficult achievement.  I understand that it is possible, that with the right tools, I could do it.  But the monster lies in wait, and it’s always got teeth.

I’ve been to author talks where they talk about the highs and lows of the creative process.  Where you feel like your work is fantastic, and on other days you believe all of it is rubbish.  I always assumed that they were talking about the work that they’ve done that day, but my perspective has shifted.  I think they’re talking about their work in entirety.  I think they’re plagued by similar monsters.  The difference between them and myself is that they’ve won the first battle, and now have a support team behind them, championing their work.  They have knights in shining armour, wrapped in publishing houses brand name cloaks.

This is where family and friends help people like me.  A writer can’t always trust their advice on how good the work is, but it’s nice to hear that they’re on your side.  They are the knights in plain clothes, the ones that defeat your monsters with kind words and sometimes a kick up the backside.  When I dream, I have big dreams.  When I doubt, I have big doubts.  I have to remember this, and wait for the next surge of enthusiasm and self-belief that it’ll work out.

Related articles

• Tips and Anecdotes on becoming an Author (papermashed.com)
• Insecurity Monster Feeds on Writing Self-Doubts (angelasuzanne.wordpress.com)