Cover Art

One of the joys of going Indie published is the cover art is yours to choose. You can design it yourself if you have any graphic arts talent. Or, if you are like me and have none, you can hire someone to do it.

I checked a lot of cover artists before going with Elaina Lee, For the Muse Design Her covers had a dreamy effect to them that I really liked. Almost dream-like.

I sent her a blurb of my story, a description of the couple in the story, and things I knew I wanted on the cover; the couple, a divorce decree, and a cabin in a storm in the woods.

She got back to me right away with a cover. I was sure the divorce decree would be the hard thing to find for the cover but she let me know it was the cabin. All the ones she found were happy and sunny, not storm-drenched like my story. But, she did find one and sent me this cover.

While it was gorgeous the font of the title was just wrong. I didn't like that the two words of the title were in different fonts, way different fonts and I really like the author name below the title.

So I shot her an email and requested some changes. (Yeah, the awesome part of being Indie) We emailed back and forth a few times just to check we were on the same page. Was I happy with the couple she found? Yes! Although they are younger than my 40 year old couple in the book, I liked their look. What font was I looking for? Slightly fancy, but not as fancy as the Interrupted on this cover.

She was so nice to let me know she was in the process of moving and packing but still my cover was ready in a couple of days. And here is the final cover for Divorce, Interrupted.

I totally love it and feel it fits the story perfectly. So, this week I will be an Indie Author and thrilled so far with every step of the process. Hopefully, I will still feel that way after a weekend of formatting for Amazon, Pubit, and Smashwords. LOL

Jill James

There's always another side to the story

I've been having a lot of physical problems for the last year or so. Early in 2010 I started to have severe leg cramps and hip pain. I tried all the usual remedies: bananas, tonic water, shoe inserts, potassium pills ... you name it, I tried it. I visited a series of 'ists' -- podiatrist, gastroenterologist, orthopedic surgeon, dermatologist (I was also inexplicably battling a skin infection that would *not* go away). I saw a gynecologist, spine specialist, neurologist, herbalist, chiropractic. I tried different physical therapies, accupuncture (which was so amazingly painful I almost passed out), I did hydro-therapy, deep tissue massage...

You name it. I saw the doctor, I tried the therapy. I finally ended up with another neurological specialist who ordered a new round of blood tests. They took 8 vials of blood and did every possible test imaginable: Lyme disease, Epstein-Barr, etc. I had a spinal test for MS. I had electroshock tests. I had MRIs. They found that yes, my spine is deteriorating (no news there) and that I have a bit of a malformation of the left hip (again: no news there). But the overall result? It's now about 18 months later and the conclusion is that I have a 'non-specific neurological disease that affects the hip and back muscles."

So what does this mean? It means there's at LEAST two sides to every story: The good news is, I don't have ALS, Parkinson's, MS or another chronic wasting disease which can be diagnosed through blood tests or tissue tests. The bad news: I don't have ALS, Parkinson's, MS or another disease that can be diagnosed. I have one of those "it's not this, so maybe it's that" disease. No one can tell me how it might progress, what the prognosis is, what to do to mitigate it.

I'm not complaining, mind you -- this is not life threatening, it's just painful. I've been able to adapt somewhat. I only get a few hours of sleep because of the pain, but I can nap in the afternoon and get by. I can't exercise the way I used to: no more 2 hour walks for me! But I can take two 45-minute walks, as long as I rest in between. I can use deep heat for the cramping, I can take ibuprofen when the pain gets bad, and I can do anything I normally do -- I just have to be careful and pay attention to my body and if pain starts, I've got to stop lest the cramping begin.

This entire medical journey has made me appreciate people who deal with chronic disease. Medicine is really an art, not a science and it's so important to be proactive in your own care. It's a team effort ...

Sort of like editing and writing (you *knew* I'd bring this back to writing, didn't you?) I've heard authors express ... chagrin (for lack of a better word) ... about the editing process. They struggle with the edits they get back from their editor and they worry if they're making the story better or not. I've been lucky: I only had struggles with one or two editors in all of my 20+ books. Did the struggle make the story better? I don't think so, but I learned a lot about the publishing house during the process (long story best told over drinks in a bar).

It's so important to have a good team on your side during the publishing process, especially if you're going the Indie (self-publishing) route. You want a good cover artist, a good editor/reviewer, a good product at the end which means good formatting, a nice package, a great story. It's all about a team. I think some authors can do it all but I can't. I've been hiring people to help me with my Indie books and I'm so glad I did because the finished product is something I'm very proud of. Check out my Amazon store and compare my two Indie books (Penance and Vengeance) with my other books there. I'm happy with what's transpired.

So here's to teamwork and taking charge of your life and your writing -- enjoy it all, have fun with it, take the lumps with the lauds, and keep looking forward. There's always something new coming up!

NOTE: I may not be posting next month at my scheduled time. It's smack in the middle of my move, so if I miss, I apologize. But my computer may be in a box somewhere on the Interstate and I don't know if I'll have time to blog. Figure I'll be back in August in my new location -- whoo!