Don’t worry about it, you poor little author
From author Lazette Gifford:
I recently had an encounter with an Indie group on Facebook that truly took me by surprise. They were so set in their ways that I had the feeling I was dealing with a traditional publishing group in disguise. The problem wasn’t that they were even wrong for most writers, but that the moderator of the group (and her leap up and down followers) would not admit that someone might be capable of actually doing a good cover themselves or, worse, have spent time as an editor and was capable of editing their own work.
Now don’t get me wrong. I think most of us do need help with editing especially. I have had such help and I’m very grateful for those who did the work.
. . . .
So I’m not arguing that this is helpful for most writers.
My problem?
It is the attitude of the group which verges on the traditional publishing pat on the head and ‘Don’t you worry about anything but the words, little writer. You aren’t smart enough to handle art (or editing), too.’
I found this attitude to be more than annoying. I found it counterproductive and the antithesis of the entire Indie ideal. Being told that any author who dares edit their own work or create their own cover ruins the Indie market — without EVER looking at the individual work done — is so elitist that it actually took me a few days to believe they were serious. They are sprouting the same things we’ve heard from everyone who won’t take the time to actually examine work before making a pronouncement. It’s far easier to make a ad hominem statement and dismiss everything with a single wave of the hand, isn’t it? After all, that’s what others outside the Indie world do.
Link to the rest at Joyously Prolific and thanks to Deb for the tip.
I’ve had pros ask me who my cover artist is. Many are surprised when I say I did it.
There’s an author who I admire who often goes on indie panels loudly claiming that no self published author could do their own covers. Thing is, his (purchased) self published covers are terrible! I’ve seen a number of small press covers that were pretty bad, too. Some of those small presses aren’t unknown, either.
Just because you paid for someone to do something doesn’t make it better.
Eeps! and this is why I’m so glad I’m part of a group that regularly does public workshops on how-to… whatever. Covers, formatting… Because things are changing so fast, unless we pass on what we’re learned recently, how are we to stay on top of the wave rather than under it?
Agree with this completely. Networking with other indie authors helps us both individually and collectively.
This was a good post and I agreed with her. We all have our own way of doing things and our own chosen paths. It’s a new world out there and it’s the greatest time to be a writer.
I hate this attitude, too. It’s ridiculous.
You have to know where you DO need help, and sometimes it’s difficult to know until you’ve really practiced self-critique. It takes some effort to get good at criticizing your own work effectively. (And I’m not talking about editing. I’m talking about realistically evaluating your own abilities.)
There is nothing wrong with understanding where you need help — we all need a hand with something.
But there’s also nothing wrong with doing the things your yourself that you can do well.
I’ve most often seen the argument that “These people [editors, formatters, cover designers] have gone to school to study how to do this. They’re the best people to know how it’s done.” Yet nobody ever expects indie authors to have an MFA in creative writing. Why can only one portion of this job — arguably the most important — be done by a non-professional? Why can a person have the skills to write a book but certainly not the skills to make a good cover?
Silly.
Agreed!
Very well said!
The truth is some Indies can do “everything” and do it very well–or well enough. I envy the heck out of them. While most of us need/love/want a second set of pro eyes on our work, many do not. That’s perfectly okay. The good thing is, I’m guessing those writers who can do it all don’t care one bit what everyone else thinks.
The only rule is that there are no rules, no one right way…
Although…it is pretty exhausting to do it all. Or even most of it. I’m so sick of formatting Tidewater right now, I could scream. If I could find a FAST formatter who’s reasonably priced, and who’ll give me the HTML files along with the MOBIs and EPUBs, so I can update my back matter whenever I want to, I’d hire that work out in a second! I can do it really well, but I’d rather be writing!
I’ll be self-publishing my first novel around November 1st, and plan to do the cover myself. I’ll be getting assistance with editing/proofreading, but everything else will be handled by yours truly. Some people just like to assume that because they are incapable of doing more than one task, that everyone else is equally incapable, too.
The one thing I will admit is that if I hired someone else to do all of that work, I could get to writing the next novel more quickly, but I love painting and photography too, so it isn’t like I’m unhappy about making my own cover. To each their own.
This, right here. I’m excellent at ebook formatting and website design, so I tend to take care of that part of the project myself. I could do my own edits, but I value that second (or more) set of eyes. Covers though… we’ll just leave that to the professionals.
It’s all about being able to recognize your strengths and weaknesses.
I’m the opposite. I’ll hire a cover designer and I’ll do the editing and proofreading myself. To each their own!
You might be losing writing time by doing your own cover but you also gain writing time by not having to create design documents for your cover artist. Negotiating and communicating with a contractor takes time.
Excellent point. I’m also frequently disappointed with other people’s efforts towards my projects, and dislike the idea of having to squabble over the quality of something I’ve paid for. I’d rather spend the time doing it myself than worry about dealing with another artist’s fragile ego. (Not that all are fragile, some are tremendous pros, but it’s pretty prevalent.)
I’ve seen authors go to Kindleboards, show off their cover, and ask for comments. The two threads I’ve read contained really good advice. Some even mocked up their own covers to explain what they thought.
Personally, I’ve done all my own covers. The first one I’m not happy with, but it’s serviceable. I think the others are much better, but I use either my own photographs, really obscure public domain photos, or art from the books modified in photoshop.
(Note: I’m not trained in graphic design, but I have an amateur’s interest in it that led me to pick up books on design. I’ve also worked with fonts since I was 15, and I pay attention to how the pros do their covers.)
To repost what I commented over there…
Hear, hear.
Editing is one of the things I do as a freelancer. I’ve long had clients who pull me in to fix what others messed up.
I’ve actually seen some self-edited books that have fewer objective errors than bestselling books that have been released from major publishers. I’ve seen author-made covers as good or better than some of the “pro” ones.
I make a lot of my own covers, in part to force myself to learn what goes into a good cover. Some of them have sucked. (One series in particular needs a complete overhaul in the cover design.) Some of my covers are mediocre at best.
But some? Are good enough that I’ve had professional graphic designers go, “Ooo. Good composition.” (Case in point.)
Making covers has helped me get better identify what I like and dislike in a cover, as well as get an idea of how much work goes into different types of covers—which gives me a better idea of what a fair price is, too. I also find the process relaxing.
As far as self-editing goes, the successful self-editors I’ve met tend to be programmers, used to parsing their own code. And then freelance writers (of articles, etc.) are downright expected to be able to adequately edit their own work. (Hint: Editors at magazines and such tend to be acquiring editors, not line editors.)
So you want to tell me, as a writer of fiction and as an editor of others’ work, I’m supposed to call it downright impossible to self-edit adequately? Even though several jobs require adequate self-editing? I call BS.
I say that as someone with a severe math disability that nobody noticed until college calculus, when I stopped using the coping mechanisms (because everyone insisted I couldn’t have a disability, so why was I using them?). I promptly flunked out of calculus and had the teacher ask me outright, “Do you have some kind of math disability? Because I know of no other way to explain what you’re doing here.”
And yet, before I even knew I had a disability, I was often top (or near to the top) of my math classes. I could comprehend (and explain) the concepts just fine. I taught math to others. And I have severe dyscalulia.
If I’d been officially diagnosed, if anyone had noticed sooner… I would’ve been told outright that it was “impossible” for me to do any of those things that I actually accomplished.
And then freelance writers (of articles, etc.) are downright expected to be able to adequately edit their own work.
What I find intriguing about the “writers can’t edit notion” is that for the past 10 years submission guidelines for editors and agents indicated that writers need to submit stories that are “ready to go” with little or no editing. Ergo, the writer needs to have done the editing already. So clearly even the traditional publishing industry believes writers can edit; this belief just seems to vanish where indies are concerned.
PS — can you re-post your link?
Not only indies, though—it also is applied to novels.
Oh! Sorry that link didn’t work. Here you go.
Oh yes, I was thinking of novels, but I realize I didn’t make that clear.
As for your cover–very eye-catching and intriguing
I’ve heard of Wattpad, but I’ve never experimented with them. Do you use it for beta readers?
Thank you for the compliment!
Beta readers are one of the several reasons I use Wattpad. I actually run “First Draft Fridays”, where a particular story gets a post (about) every Friday until it’s done. I’m on book 4 in a series, right now, and books 1–3 are on Wattpad. (Technically, book 3 is still in first draft form—but I’ve promised to post the final version, too.) When I’m updating the once per week, book 1 gets >1k “reads” per day.
I work very well with public discussion of WiPs. I essentially started writing in the fanfic world, where it’s common to discuss WiPs or even write some to order, if the writer wants to. Reader input doesn’t bother me a whit, even if they want something that doesn’t fit what I have planned—and readers love that I’ll sometimes offer to let them vote about the outcome on some side note that doesn’t affect the main story.
The readers help me keep focused and make sure I actually finish the titles. They also help me find plot holes and missing transitions a lot faster than I can on my own. (Short version: If they’re confused, I’m missing some transitions. And I’m quite practiced at interpreting other reader complaints into the actual story problem.)
Another reason I post there is to broaden my readership. I sell very poorly—with some reason, due to several details, including that I only have 2 books actually released so far. But before posting on Wattpad, most of my readers were adults, and the ones who contacted me tended to be adult men. I don’t mind that a whit, but I wanted more teenage readers, which makes Wattpad a good environment to post in.
In fact, I have had my first book in that series, A Fistful of Fire, available for free from the start. My work tends to be the type that people want to read in its entirety before they decide if it’s worth spending money on, due to some of the themes. (Readers’ purchasing behavior now still upholds my belief—it’s not unusual for me to have someone buy 1 of each title that’s on Wattpad in the selfsame day.)
And then teenagers usually don’t have credit cards. But if I grab their attention now and get them to remember me and love me as a writer, then that’ll pay off in the next 5–10 years, when those readers have jobs and money to spend.
I also spent much of my childhood extremely poor. My mother often did not have two pennies to rub together—and that isn’t an exaggeration. I plan to always have some of my work free for the people who can’t afford to read, otherwise.
Beg pardon if that essay is more than you were asking for, but again, it’s just a few of the reasons.
Not at all — I like Amazon’s ebook pricing strategy because I remember using my babysitting money to buy books. My family didn’t have money either, and the supermarket was the only “bookstore” around until I was a teenager. First I could buy two [mass market paperback] books. Then it was one book and maybe a snack. Then it was just one book and nothing else. I keep that in mind when thinking about what price I will set.
And I think you’re right to catch the readers while they’re young. If my own experience is anything to go by, they *will* remember you.
When I worked for our local weekly newspaper, I was expected to edit my own work, and to be correct, as were the other reporters, so there’s another job where self-editing is required.
We often get threads/posts over on the Writer’s Cafe by people who insist you can’t edit, proofread or do your own covers, and you should save your pennies (maybe do without that non-existent double mocha thing we supposedly have several times a day) until you can afford to pay someone. I call them elitists.
Of course, some folks simply can’t do this work themselves. And that’s fine, too. One of the great things about being indie is getting to work the way that’s best for each of us.
Bingo, Sheila. If you can self-edit—and/or make your own covers, and/or do your own file formatting—and want to, what does it matter to anyone else?
I’ve been using computers since I was 6. I’ve been coding my own website by hand for more than 8 years. I could run my site on WordPress and plug-ins, but why on earth would I want to? I have my own CMS that works exactly how I want it to. (A code editor + FTP client + a little PHP on the site for universal parts like headers.) I write my pages in HTML.
Where are the people saying that I, as an author, can’t possibly design my own website or format my own files?
I could easily make my own EPUBs by hand, if I wanted. Instead I use Scrivener, for the convenience—but I know exactly what I find more convenient about Scrivener and how to set things up to do without it. In fact, one of these years, I probably will buy BBEdit and set up the macros to replace Scrivener for formatting, because there’s one detail in particular that annoys me that I could fix with those two tools.
It’s easier to edit someone else’s writing than your own, but that doesn’t make it necessarily impossible to edit your own writing. That just makes it harder than editing someone else’s writing.
I do my own covers (and have done them for author friends for free) and am solicited so often about it that I’ve seriously considered doing it as a sideline business. I also shoot and edit video and compose music (using these skills at Dutton’s request when they released a book of mine), play multiple instruments, have won a couple regional music awards and was once hired to do the soundtrack for a reality show pilot.
I don’t say this to brag about myself (although it certainly sounds that way, doesn’t it?), but to point out that MANY creative people aren’t proficient in only one field of creativity. So the idea that authors can’t design their own covers or handle their own story editing—or do all the other things I mentioned on a professional level—is pure nonsense.
Like anything else, it all comes down to the end product. Doesn’t matter who executed all those components. Is the end product professionally presented or a complete mess?
Designing a cover is a thrill for me! It allows me to look at the story from a different perspective, to take a few hours away from the words and yet still be working on the book. I am surprised that a group of writers has adopted such a strict mindset about limiting the author to the story, not the whole package.
I love designing covers in the evenings, after a morning of writing and then the day job. This is when my ability to put together complete sentences fails but I can think in images. I like what I’ve done so far and appreciate the fact that when I want a change, I can make a change. My most recent cover is my least favorite of the three but I was limited in funds so I had to buy a lesser image. However, I will tweak it soon. A fellow writer saw my second cover and asked me to design his. It’s already up on smashwords.
I get a huge kick out of designing the covers! I may splurge in the future and hire an artist to render an original image (not a stock photo) of a character/scene but I will still most likely put together the final copy.
Totally agreed, Violet. I took up painting because of a long stint of writer’s block. I needed another creative outlet, and now I find that it supplements my writing in fresh ways. If the words stop flowing I can still be creative, and it keeps me from feeling frustrated. The reverse works as well. If I just can’t get a painting right, I can go back to writing. Win-win.
Btw, I totally dig your “Unfortunate Princess” cover. Great design and balance between the two images, and your use of the lettering along the left side is reminiscent of some Manga covers I’ve seen.
Thanks, Bardic. That’s my favorite one. They will all get tweaked in the future, as my skills increase. The other two are serviceable but I will take some classes in the future to kick things up a notch. My housemate is heavy into Manga and I may have been influenced by some of her stuff.
Also, I like to write my name really f*ck*ng big
Me too! I absolutely love it. That’s why I do it for other authors, too. I’ve always loved visual art, and I’ve been crazy about cool book covers since long before the days of ebooks.
I wouldn’t give up the artist who does my cover illustrations for anything, but I love putting it all together with the typeface and whatnot. So much fun.
How wonderful that you’ve got an artist you love! I am looking forward to meeting some that get my characters. I’ll be hiring one for a series (non-erotica) set in my hometown that I’m currently writing. I love your covers, by the way.
I think every indie author should at least try to make their own covers and do some editing so they understand the process. That way you have a better idea of what you’re hiring out for if you choose to go that route.
I think everyone should at least get one set of fresh eyes for proofreading, even if it’s only a picky friend. I don’t think having a small/no budget should be a barrier to self-publishing. Some people really can’t afford to pay for editing and cover art. They can still produce a quality book.
We should strive to do the best we can with what we have.
I think every indie author should at least try to make their own covers and do some editing so they understand the process. That way you have a better idea of what you’re hiring out for if you choose to go that route.
Absolutely. Make yourself smarter about the details so that you can speak intelligently with the folks you hire to do the work. The more you know, the better off you’ll be.
No. Learning how to make covers would literally take me a year. Not everyone can do everything. I’m sticking with my cover designers and I’m sticking with my copy editor. I need both. Other folks don’t. I can still speak intelligently with folks I hire to do the work.
I’m not suggesting people learn to do their own high quality covers. Make a few mock covers using the design program of your choice. You could get a few done over a long weekend, even if they’re ugly ones made in Power Point. Also, look through the best seller lists on Amazon for your genre and study the ones that catch your eye.
Get a taste of what it’s like, a very basic understanding. That’s all.
There are two factors at play here.
First is snobbery. There’s a perverse pleasure involved in being able to look down one’s nose at another. It’s a vice, and it can cause hurt feelings in those who are being looked down upon, but the real damage is inflicted on the snob. It causes lazy thinking and limits their world view and experiences.
The second factor is insecurity. When one is insecure about either their abilities or their status, it’s human nature to lash out and lay blame. Indie writers who are secure DO NOT believe readers tar all indies with the same brush. Secure writers DO NOT blame another writer’s bad cover or sloppy editing for their own slow sales.
I suggest Ms Gifford find an internet hangout where the writers aren’t feeding each others insecurities. Like here, at TPV. We might be raucous, irreverent and sometimes cynical, but we’re rarely downers.
I bow to your superior wisdom, Jaye.
Yes, Jaye. I was just about to say — stay away from groups and group-think. Groups tend to be insular and attract like-minded individuals. Such a pleasure to be, for the most part, a loner.
Jay, actually she does have such a hangout. It’s over at Forward Motion for Writers (http://fmwriters.com). Both the forums and live chat are very Indie-friendly (and trade-friendly, for those who want it!). But, as with most of us, we like to hang out in multiple places. I have a feeling this FB place was just taken off the list.
I agree with the original post – but I think it calls for the ability to objectively view your own work.
I keep thinking of the commenter I saw on a blog that was complaining about low sales – but then finished by saying “but don’t tell me to change my cover, I love it and made it myself.” And it was really bad.
YES. Objectivity is crucial if you’re going to attempt to do anything by yourself…even write a book, in my opinion. It doesn’t mean you by default are going to be terrible at covers or formatting or whatever just because your primary function is writer. But you have to be able to see your own weaknesses!
I might guess which of the Facebook author groups in which this occurred, and to their defense, they’re probably battle-scarred from defending the work of solid, professional indies against the judgments drawn from a sea of hideous covers and barely edited work from wannabes.
If you haven’t already, look at one of Joel Friedlander’s monthly cover reviews to see what many people proudly submit (and Joel’s frank reactions).
Yeah, they tell everyone, you shouldn’t be the only one to edit your own work. It might not apply to some, but it applies to most.
Agree with Jaye — although I suspect INSECURITIES is the biggest factor (and it drives the snobbery).
You see this attitude among young or newbie writers (and with a few it persists). Call it “sophomore” writers; those who know enough to be pedantic, but haven’t gained any real perspective. That kind of writer tends to be still very excited, so the pop up on most writers groups — and Indies are no exception.
TPV does better than most because our dear host starts with a higher class of subject matter (no ‘how to be billionaire in 6 easy steps; no hard data needed!’ discussions) and his own input always sets the bar a little higher.
Independent authors who can do their own covers and editing have a competitive advantage over those who can’t.
True, but only if it doesn’t interfere with your writing productivity….
A general comment about groups: I’ve been in many writer’s groups, forums, etc. over the years. The mantra, “I did it this way, and it worked for me, so you must do it this way, too,” is common and rather annoying, and one of the reasons why I’m now more of an online groups observer rather than participant. It’s great to see writers helping writers, wonderful to hear success stories, and always wise to seek input, but there is no one-size-fits-all author career path.
I designed the cover image for my trad-published academic book. (The publisher provided a template, so it wasn’t a cover design, though.) To the critical acclaim of my editors, I might add. (She said modestly.) It’s standard practice in my field in academic publishing.
Being a writer does not mean you cannot be a visual artist or designer or…
I think everyone can explore what they do well. In my experience, the people who are telling you that you can’t do covers tend to be the people who sell cover design.
I know that my skill at writing marketing copy is low, so I get a pro to do it.
I say try it out and pay for the things that are hard – and get in the way of writing, but do the things that you can.
This is one thing I wish hadn’t carried over to the indie side. I’ve fought this battle many times, mostly with editors (of which I am one. Got the old tax forms from some highly recognizable publishers to prove it.)
Everyone should learn to do these things. Even if you ultimately hire out the work, knowing how it’s done and the processes that go into it can have a ripple effect on the entire product. That and it’s much easier to pick quality people for tasks when you know the specifics of how the task is done and what, precisely, needs to be done. There’s no quicker way to get ripped off by a mechanic than to walk into their garage one day and say, “my car’s making a noise and I have no idea why.”
That’s something I encourage, too, Dan. Many of the writers I work for are perfectly capable of doing their own digital or POD formatting, but they hire me because they want to use their time elsewhere or because I’m faster. I love those writers because they know how it works and many have a really good vision about how they want their books to look and function.
In one area only do I encourage even the most hard-core do-it-yourselfers to get a second set of eyes on the work: proofreading. Even though I proofread professionally, when it comes to my own writing, the blind spots and games my brain play trips me up every time. It’s maddening. Fortunately, proofreading is inexpensive and indies can probably find someone willing to trade proofreading chores.
Second the proofreading; and I’ve even looked at my copy in different formats — on dead tree, on my kindle. You miss what you wrote in favor of what you meant to write, especially if you’re distracted.
Also, I want to say that your ebook formatting posts have been very educational. I learn by reverse engineering, but sadly, the average book is very plain Jane, especially the tradpub ebooks where you’d think there was a staff to handle this. Your posts provided an excellent jumping off point to learn from. Thanks for that
I read the novel backwards, one sentence at a time. Oh, and boost the magnification up to at least 100%.
(Actually I call that copy editing. When I’m checking proofs I don’t read anything because I’m looking for formatting issues, not grammar-spelling issues.)
All this fuss about superficialities. It’s still the content of the book that sells it. No matter how beautiful the cover or how error- and typo-free the text, a lousy book will always be a lousy book. You may fool people once, but they won’t come back for more.
That’s true, but not having a nice cover can doom a good novel to being undiscovered. (Same for a good title.) The cover/title is the first gateway towards marketing a novel.
True. And I’ve seen the opposite, as well– a typo-ridden, grammar- and homonym-nightmare, sucky-covered book that readers buy in droves and love.
Are you implying said book should have been named “50 Shades of Green” for all the money it made?
The cover and blurb can get people to look at the content. Then the content can take over the job.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this. I get so irritated with the “You simply MUST have an editor!” chorus. I’ve BEEN and editor and proofreader, and I’ve been writing for I-don’t-want-to-say how many years. I’d better have some kind of grasp on what I’m doing by now.
That said, I do listen to my second readers for their advice. I like to know if the story in my head is the one that’s coming across.
Creative people are rarely creative in only one thing. I’ve noticed that most are very talented in multiple creative arts (painting, drawing, music, crafts, sewing, graphic design, and so on). So, the attitude that writers can’t be proficient in other things just drives me nuts. Excuse me? I can’t be good in more than one thing?
I’ve had so many comments about my science fiction (and other) covers that I finally posted a page on my website dedicated to it, offering cover design for others. I’ve had a few bites already. I love writing, but I also love the visual arts. I’m a graphic designer, as well, and have designed advertising, logos, designed websites, and done other things in the past.
Just because I happen to be a writer suddenly means that I suddenly can’t know how to do my own covers? I don’t think so!
Meanwhile, I got such a squee to see Lazette Gifford linked to at The Passive Voice. For those that don’t know it, Lazette also runs the free emagazine “Vision: A Resource for Writers” (http://visionforwriters.com ) and runs the writing website “Forward Motion for Writers” (http://fmwriters.com).
I’ve noticed there are two camps of people in general, those who get set in their ways and throw lacquer on it, refusing to even entertain the idea of trying something new, and those who keep learning, evolving and growing. And that is, tbh, across the board in pubbing (and pretty much any area you look). Though it is a bit more obvious in the traditional publishing arena.
Yes, having an editor is nice, but sometimes you just can’t do it, one joy of indi pubbing is being able to make those corrections if you need to. If someone has a history in editing and proofing, more power to you! As for the covers, if you can do it, why the heck not? I can think of several really awesome covers done by the authors of the books, and quite a few really crappy ‘professional’ covers.
When my novels were published by Penguin I knew they would be professionally edited so I felt that I was in competition with those editors and strove to make my novels perfect – from my own POV.
The hard work paid off and all their editors managed to do was change around a few commas and one or two sentences to earn their meal ticket.
So I proved to myself I can create a book that reads as well as any BPH editor could turn out.
It is still a pernickety OCD task but I liken it to picking up dropped stitches in knitting.
I agree that many authors are talented in 100s of interesting areas of life and some of the most talented graphic designers I know are self-taught.
I am also an artist and I LOVE beautifully designed and laid out books. I have tried creating my own book covers but I simply don’t have the time to spend learning a few key photo manipulation and text placement skills that I don’t have to create the kind of work I can see in my mind’s eye.
I may choose to train and take the time soon though as creating what my mind sees as a book cover is very satisfying indeed.
Penguin farms out copy-editing — or at least they used to.
I can’t remember which two it books it was, but I read two different Penguin books, one after the other, and the house style wasn’t even the same between them. *shrug*
As for editing being farmed out…I’m sure it still is. That’s cheaper than paying the wages and benefits and taxes on an employee.