Horse Woman, Mystery Author, and Part-time Ditz
Wait -- what day is this? Saturday? The 11th?
Dang, I got a blog post due!
My husband retired this past November. No, he's not old enough to be thought of as a retiree (only 57), but he put in his years, we've got enough (cross your fingers) savings, so there you are. The problem with his retirement is that I'm losing track of what day it is. I don't have anyone rousing in the morning to trudge to the office, so I wake each morning in a panic, thinking, "Is this Monday? Do I have to be somewhere?"
The biggest news I have to report is that I finally have a cover design for my latest mystery, Murder on the Hoof.
For anyone out there who thinks that self-publishing is a shortcut for people who don't want to spend the quality time seeking out representation, hoping to get a publisher, then sitting back and waiting two years to see their book on the shelves, let me tell you something:
If it is, I'm doing it wrong.
In September, I completed my manuscript. So far, I've edited it myself 5 times, sent it to beta readers and incorporated their comments, sent it to my freelance editor for additional, professional editing, and worked with my cover designer.
Believe it or not, the cover's been the hardest part of this particular book. For some reason, Joe (Felipe, my cover designer whom I adore) and I could not come up with a design that worked. We started the work in November, for Pete's sake, and just kept swapping this for that for the other thing. It was much like getting dressed to go someplace a little more upscale than you usually visit - you put on an outfit, then change the top, then the bottom, then the top again, and so on until you find that combination that works.
When I opened Joe's email this week, I nearly wept. It was soooo good.
Ladies and Gents, I give to you...
Isn't lovely? I still have to write the jacket blurb, but first I have to get my editor's comments folded in. Basically, Willie Adams goes to a horse show to buy her first horse, and finds romance - and danger - instead.
My author's heart is getting really excited. My publisher's heart is saying, "Calm down. We're a long way from a release party."
In the meantime, I hope you all have a great weekend!
That is a really fun cover, Gayle. Definitely makes the book look intriguing. I can see why you're excited. And by the way, I have gone through the agonizing-over-the-cover gig twelve times now, and one thing I will say--at least as a self-published author, it's your choice. Believe me, had I had anything to say about it, my first mystery novel, Cutter, would not have had a cover (on the paperback) that shows an English saddle on the western cutting horse. Made me look like an idiot to all the readers who thought I chose/designed the cover.
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ReplyDeleteThanks, Laura. I tend to see two camps in the self-publishing arena: one is the kind that throws any old thing up there because, well, I don't know why except they think self-pubbing is a gold mine and no one will mind the typos, bad grammar, and horrid design, especially at 99 cents. The other kind is my tribe - give the public your very best EACH time, because you are building a readership and a business, and you want loyalty.
ReplyDeleteSo, yeah, the right cover meant a lot to me.
I happen to love the cover; can hardly wait for the book. It has all my favorite things: color, animal and intrigue.
ReplyDeleteBionic Cowgirl