Cover

If we could get Sharon on here, she worked for a printing press for ten years. She'd have inside knowledge. I've sent her two invites and a reminder as well as a lure. I told her I'd give her a board just for her project. So far, she has not responded. She's almost impossible to get hold of. If I call her personal cell phone I get a busy signal and more often than not I get the answering machine when I call her on her home phone. I know better than to try on a Sunday. I'll try to get hold of her tomorrow by phone.

what you need to look for is someone who can format the cover art so you can upload it. Createspace doesn't charge you to publish your book IF you have it in the right format. I figured out how to do it so I know you can. Amazon is also free to publish IF you have it in the correct format. You should not have to pay twice. Although, I do hire the cover art done and then I hire someone to format my ms. But the cover should be in the correct format. You really can create a cover on your own without it costing very much at all but you need to know exactly what you want that cover to do. Your cover, and your blurb, are your first two marketing tools to get the reader to click on your product.

Your free sample is probably what will sell your book. Which means you need a strong hook with the very first sentence. You need an opening paragraph that will draw the reader in from the very first word. These are not easy to do but will, with practice, become second nature.

No. You just don't realize how computer illiterate I am. I don't understand the different formats and I don't particularly want to learn. The terminology alone is Greek to me. My mind shuts down. I know that one site might want MOBI ( i have no idea what that is) another might want a PDF. I do know what that is. I think, if you are comfortable with terminology and working with programs you'll do just fine formatting it yourself. I just don't have time to learn it and it is something I prefer to budget for.

The reason I don't do the artwork for my covers is I'm not good at design. I expect to get better at it. But again, its a time issue and I'm not sure yet how to use photoshop to move layers around and fit picture with fonts. I'm not sure exactly what goes on the spine. I could probably learn it but I'd rather not take the time right now. I budget for it.

I am getting a crash course in photoshop and illustrator. I suspect covers are something I will get more confident about. I am finding myself interested in photography and setting up photo shoots. We have enough family that we could probably set up scenes. I'll do some googling to find some sites where you can get cover art. I'll see if I can find you some this evening.

For Kay's book, I think the cover should be the photo of her on Cricket. The pony is rearing. My problem with it is there are also two men standing by them. I want the men taken out so its just Kay and Cricket. I already have the cover for Knock Knock but it hasn't been finalized yet because I don't have the final word count. The word count affects the size of the spine. Those are things that I don't know how to do but there is probably a formula for it somewhere.

I like working with an artist because I can tell her what I envision and she sends me samples. WE go back and forth on what I like, what I don't like, and she adjusts with each email.

There is a way to insert photos here but I'm not sure how to do it. It involves using a file. I don't know if it can be pulled from the computer or if it has to be uploaded to a photo site. I know it can be done really easy over on the wordpress site.

I'll be back with some art sites so you can start looking for possible cover art.