I am truly sorry that I have made you angry. If it was your intention to crush my feelings, you have succeeded and proven yourself quite effective. I will take your criticism to heart, but with a budget that barely keeps food on the table, and a tank or two of gas in the car per month, little, if anything, can be earmarked for anything else. I sincerely thought my illustrator did a fine job of interpreting my wishes to get across the book’s true intent. I know others can do better, but it remains for me to see to believe that someone would do it better for free. Again, I profusely apologize for making you angry. I thought my pen name was clever. I am stunned to find out it had the opposite anticipated effect.
By my (albeit very rough) calculations. I would expect the woman to the far left to stand at least 12 feet tall.
It would be ironichronicle if she couldn’t get into the bookstore.
Jackie Needham
9 years ago
Please read my reply already written above. I am sure my illustrator will try to do better in the future. I appreciated that she provided her best for free. I could not afford much else, in spite of how much I am urged to spend money I simply do not have. It is called, doing the best one can with what one has; in this case, nothing. I stand by my Ironichronicles, however. They are ALL mine, and I take full responsibility for them. Aww…the idea for the cover was mine, too. I just didn’t do the rendering. I’m sorry to have caused such reaction. I am sufficiently embarrassed.
Take a look at a bookstore. Now take a look at your book cover. See the difference?
You cannot stand next to your book in Amazon and explain to potential readers that you didn’t have much money, that the illustrator worked for free, etc. Your book, and its cover, have to be ready to compete in the marketplace of ideas against EVERY OTHER BOOK. If you cannot honestly say that it is, then you’re not ready to publish. Period.
Jackie Needham
9 years ago
…I already apologized for releasing my book, as is, as a representation of my imagination (IMAGEN – INGS). Many of the stories contained are re-edited versions of tales I posted on the web for a week or two at a time. The friends I inured doing so have all urged me to publish them, instead of only being supportive of others…so I did. I can take your criticism, and bear it well. I DO, however wonder why you would be concerned by what I do when there are thousands of other authors out there less,equal, or more appealing than I. I noticed your profile avatar, yet said nothing about it at all. You are a better looking guy than it depicts.
His profile picture is of a robot. I suspect he looks less like a robot in person, but we can never be too sure. (I am just as delicious as my avatar is in person, for reference.)
Take from this experience and learn from it Jackie. Be stronger from now on.
Your book has been published and people has said they dislike the cover, but that isn’t the end of it. Not by a long shot. Ebooks are great like that, you can change out the cover whenever you wish. It takes like three button clicks for goodness sake.
I know expenses can mount when self publishing, but that doesn’t mean that everything costs too much money to even consider. I mean, look, you already got someone to draw this cover for you – for free no less!
The amount a professional designer could do with this art is pretty significant. With some simple cropping and some typography work this cover could be really nice, and it would only take a professional a few minutes. I would only probably charge someone who was so ‘strapped’ $30 for that.
If you can’t afford that, there are still other options to consider. Like getting someone else to draw you a free cover.
Remember, you are putting this out in the world. To sell. If it isn’t up to snuff… then make it up to snuff!
Now get out there and fix this! (Then come back and show us how great it is!)
Jackie: if you can possibly manage, take our Waffs (Waffles) up on his extraordinarily kind offer. That’s a sweet thing for him to do, and he has talent. You could still use your original artwork (good for you, for giving it a go) and get a much better final cover.
I, too, appreciate what it’s like to be bloody broke. It isn’t any fun. (FYI: I thought that the pen name was cute, given the direction of the book. Remember that. Even Jane Austen wouldn’t get 100% 5-star reviews, because different strokes for different folks.)
Keep going. This is the reality of an author’s life; you take a punch (bad review), you get up off the mat (get your head out of the freezer, and put that tub of ice cream right back in there!), and keep swinging (keep writing). You have a funny blog? Where is it?
We’re not terrible people. We’re all people in the writing/publishing biz, in one capacity or another, and we are just blowing off steam. And as Nathan said, there are thousands of others here. Take comfort in knowing that many of the other covers are far, far worse than yours. FAR worse.
After I published I sort of had a change of heart. Publishing is hard! 🙂
That is why I started the PosRes movement here and stopped being… As snarky…
![cover[1]](https://lousybookcovers.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/cover159.jpg)
That pen name is actually making me angry. I can’t even believe that noise.
I am truly sorry that I have made you angry. If it was your intention to crush my feelings, you have succeeded and proven yourself quite effective. I will take your criticism to heart, but with a budget that barely keeps food on the table, and a tank or two of gas in the car per month, little, if anything, can be earmarked for anything else. I sincerely thought my illustrator did a fine job of interpreting my wishes to get across the book’s true intent. I know others can do better, but it remains for me to see to believe that someone would do it better for free. Again, I profusely apologize for making you angry. I thought my pen name was clever. I am stunned to find out it had the opposite anticipated effect.
By my (albeit very rough) calculations. I would expect the woman to the far left to stand at least 12 feet tall.
It would be ironichronicle if she couldn’t get into the bookstore.
Please read my reply already written above. I am sure my illustrator will try to do better in the future. I appreciated that she provided her best for free. I could not afford much else, in spite of how much I am urged to spend money I simply do not have. It is called, doing the best one can with what one has; in this case, nothing. I stand by my Ironichronicles, however. They are ALL mine, and I take full responsibility for them. Aww…the idea for the cover was mine, too. I just didn’t do the rendering. I’m sorry to have caused such reaction. I am sufficiently embarrassed.
Jackie,
Take a look at a bookstore. Now take a look at your book cover. See the difference?
You cannot stand next to your book in Amazon and explain to potential readers that you didn’t have much money, that the illustrator worked for free, etc. Your book, and its cover, have to be ready to compete in the marketplace of ideas against EVERY OTHER BOOK. If you cannot honestly say that it is, then you’re not ready to publish. Period.
…I already apologized for releasing my book, as is, as a representation of my imagination (IMAGEN – INGS). Many of the stories contained are re-edited versions of tales I posted on the web for a week or two at a time. The friends I inured doing so have all urged me to publish them, instead of only being supportive of others…so I did. I can take your criticism, and bear it well. I DO, however wonder why you would be concerned by what I do when there are thousands of other authors out there less,equal, or more appealing than I. I noticed your profile avatar, yet said nothing about it at all. You are a better looking guy than it depicts.
You’ll notice that this site currently features almost 4,000 book covers, with more coming every day. Trust me, we’re not singling you out.
His profile picture is of a robot. I suspect he looks less like a robot in person, but we can never be too sure. (I am just as delicious as my avatar is in person, for reference.)
Take from this experience and learn from it Jackie. Be stronger from now on.
Your book has been published and people has said they dislike the cover, but that isn’t the end of it. Not by a long shot. Ebooks are great like that, you can change out the cover whenever you wish. It takes like three button clicks for goodness sake.
I know expenses can mount when self publishing, but that doesn’t mean that everything costs too much money to even consider. I mean, look, you already got someone to draw this cover for you – for free no less!
The amount a professional designer could do with this art is pretty significant. With some simple cropping and some typography work this cover could be really nice, and it would only take a professional a few minutes. I would only probably charge someone who was so ‘strapped’ $30 for that.
If you can’t afford that, there are still other options to consider. Like getting someone else to draw you a free cover.
Remember, you are putting this out in the world. To sell. If it isn’t up to snuff… then make it up to snuff!
Now get out there and fix this! (Then come back and show us how great it is!)
Jackie: if you can possibly manage, take our Waffs (Waffles) up on his extraordinarily kind offer. That’s a sweet thing for him to do, and he has talent. You could still use your original artwork (good for you, for giving it a go) and get a much better final cover.
I, too, appreciate what it’s like to be bloody broke. It isn’t any fun. (FYI: I thought that the pen name was cute, given the direction of the book. Remember that. Even Jane Austen wouldn’t get 100% 5-star reviews, because different strokes for different folks.)
Keep going. This is the reality of an author’s life; you take a punch (bad review), you get up off the mat (get your head out of the freezer, and put that tub of ice cream right back in there!), and keep swinging (keep writing). You have a funny blog? Where is it?
We’re not terrible people. We’re all people in the writing/publishing biz, in one capacity or another, and we are just blowing off steam. And as Nathan said, there are thousands of others here. Take comfort in knowing that many of the other covers are far, far worse than yours. FAR worse.
Waffs, you big sweetie you.
After I published I sort of had a change of heart. Publishing is hard! 🙂
That is why I started the PosRes movement here and stopped being… As snarky…