Dear O'Abby: Do I really need to pay THAT much for a cover designer?

 Dear O'Abby,

I'm about to self-publish my first novel and have been looking at hiring a designer to do my book cover.  I was shocked to discover how much this costs!  I've been tootling around on InDesign and Photoshop for years and years, and I'm pretty sure I can make something just as good as most of these designers can at a fraction of the cost.

Do I really need to hire a cover designer?

Sincerely,

Un-covered.

Dear Un-covered,

The short answer is no, you don't have to hire a designer.  If you know what you are doing and have access to the tools you need to design your own covers, go for it.  

But designing book covers for books that sell is not as easy as throwing together a couple of free stock images and some text.  Your book jacket is probably the most important piece of marketing collateral you are going to create, so it's important that is will do the work you need it to do.

I know everyone says don't judge a book by its cover, but in reality, everyone does judge a book by its cover - at least initially.  The cover is the first thing people see and especially nowadays, when books are being sold online more than ever before, the cover needs to be able to be scaled down to a thumbnail and still be eye-catching.  

Different genres have different styles for their covers in terms of both the imagery and the fonts used.  Before you start making anything, take a look at the covers of other books like yours and see what you like and don't like about each of them. Look at the kinds of images the designers have chosen and where the text is placed in relation to the images.  Look at the fonts and the size of the fonts.  Being able to read the title of a book and the author name is important, even when the cover has been scaled down in a carousel on a website or in a social media post.

With all that in mind, you might decide the cost of a cover designer is actually worthwhile.  Too many great books don't get picked up off shelves or clicked on in online stores because the covers aren't appealing or representative of what is inside the covers.  Even if you think you have the skill to make an eye-catching, appealing, commercial cover, I think it's a lot harder than you probably think.

If you do decide to go it alone, share your design ideas with readers before going ahead and publishing it.  Share it with people who have read your book and with those who have not,  Make sure the cover tells your ideal reader exactly why this the book they need to pick up above all other books.

Good luck!

X O'Abby

DL Hammons answers #13Questions in OA's Debut Author Spotlight #Giveaway

13 Questions shine Operation Awesome's Spotlight on this 2022 Debut Author

Knight Rise by DL Hammons

1- #WRiTECLUB2021 is coming along. What can you tell us about it, and what tips would you give to aspiring writers hoping to enter WRiTECLUB next time?

It’s really a simple concept. Contestants submit a 500-word sample of their writing under a pen name. Nobody knows who they really are (except my wife – who administrates everything). A group of volunteers I call Slushpile readers then help me pick the top 30 and that’s who get matched up against one another in bouts. Readers vote on their favorite and leave brief critiques, and the bout winners continue advancing until only two remain. The champion is then selected by a panel of celebrity judges. There are awesome prizes involved, but that’s not what most people take part for. It’s the feedback.
As far as advice goes — treat your submission as if you were sending it to an agent. PROOFREAD!

2- Would you please, in 160 characters or less, give a #WriteTip ?

For a first novel, think LEAN. Less is more when it comes to description and motivations driving your characters trump any sort of plot trick you might have.

3- What emotions do you hope your book will evoke for the reader?

When they turn that last page, I hope they have a smile on their face and a longing in their heart — a longing for my next book! ☺

4- "Lee turns to his blog as an outlet." Did your years of blogging and blog-hop experience inspire and help in writing part of your book?

It’s funny actually. I started blogging as research for the book, so the book inspired me to blog. I knew my main character would be heavily involved in blogging, so I started Cruising Altitude (my blogs title – the same as it is in the book) to explore the experience. I had no idea when I did that it would lead to such a rewarding experience being a part of the blogosphere.

5- Would you share a picture with us of your book with your dog?



6- How do you support your fellow debut authors and have any of them supported you?

I’ve been at this for a dozen years so I’ve seen a lot of my fellow writers become debut authors, and I do anything and everything I can to help spread “the love”. I used to utilize my blog for this, but my activity level for blogging has fallen off as I pushed towards publication, so I rely on other social media outlets.

7- Time to double-down on social media! What's your Twitter handle, and do you have two or three writer friends on there to shout-out to for #WriterWednesday ?

My Twitter handle is @DL_H and I’d like to give a shout out to @MarieKorman @Sierragodfrey @Sierraisleyy @Author_ErinRose

8- What is your favorite creative non-writing activity to do?

Playing with my dogs. Cool weather camping. Video Games. Movies. Music.

9- In what ways are the main characters in your book diverse? diversebooks.org #WeNeedDiverseBooks

One of my characters in KNIGHT RISE is gay and I use that persons sexual orientation to subtly illustrate the on- going societal bias.

10- What's the biggest writing goal you hope to accomplish in your lifetime? #WriteGoal #BucketList #WriterBucketList

A goal I have that I believe is achievable is to be able to publish at least 10 Knight books.

11- What was the query process like for you?

Again, after being at this for over a dozen of years, I’ve had A LOT of experience with the query process. Ultimately, I landed my agent (I’ve actually had two) and a publishing deal from attending a writers conference. Querying kills the dreams of a lot of aspiring writers and my only advice would be to BE STUBBORN. Don’t give up easily.

12- Would you please ask our audience an intriguing question to answer in the comments?

Hmmmm. What about this – how does everyone feel about an author killing off key characters in a series? The nobody is safe approach? Like it? Hate it? Indifferent to it?

13- Anything else you would care to share about your book and yourself?

KNIGHT RISE was the first book I wrote a dozen years ago, and I written five books since then, but I decided to dust off KR and make it my first published book because the story and the characters resonated with me so much. Hopefully it will do the same for your audience. Thank you for having me!
Twitter - @DL_H
Facebook - https://facebook.com/DLHammonsauthor
Instagram - dl_1956
Linkedin - https://linkedin.com/in/dl-hammons-abb33015/

Ready to try to win an autographed book?

Comment on this post (answer question 12) and enter the Rafflecopter!

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Knight Rise by DL Hammons

OA Recommends - Janet Reid, Literary Agent!

Every month [more or less] we introduce you to a different writer-oriented website. These are sites with which one or more of our team members has had positive experiences. We hope you'll check them out and let us know what you think!

This month on OA Recommends, let's learn more about Janet Reid, Literary Agent!

1- What is the origin story or history of your blog?  Why did you start?

There I was, down at the crossroads...
No, wait, that was how I met all of my husbands.

I'd seen the success of other agent blogs so I decided to try my hand. I think this was about 2008.
Then it was not just a great forum for promoting clients, and offering information that (I hoped) would be useful, it was the only forum. (Boy has that changed!)

It was also a great way to clear up some of the crazy misapprehensions writers had: there is no black list; agents don't reject queries for a misplaced semi-colon; agents aren't deities (some agents are actually idiots.)

2- What are some of the biggest changes your blog has experienced over the years and have your original blog goals changed?

The biggest thing is of course I started when blogging was new, rode the wave of blog popularity, and now, blogs are so passé I'm almost retro.

My goals haven't changed: rant, promote, contribute to transparency. Not always in that order.

3- How do you choose which topics or questions to write about?

I answer questions from writers that I think other writers will be interested in.
I try to avoid things that are too specific to a particular writer, but I've found that for the one person who writes in, there are many more who say "I had that problem too" in the comment column.

Mostly though, the blog posts are about things I'm interested in, or things I hope other people will find useful.

Or cat pictures. The world can't have enough pictures of cats. Or dogs. Or bears.

4- Is there a topic or question that you frequently receive and blog about?  Has your answer to that question changed over the years?

I try not to talk about any one thing too often.

Mostly I try to provide insight from the other side of the desk.
Now that blogs and YouTube videos by agents are common, the questions are more about things that have changed: query portals; pronouns; trigger warnings.

5- You are also the Query Shark.  What's the most common problem you see in the queries you receive?

People haven't read the archives of 300+ queries (and comments).
I'm always surprised by queries that make mistakes like putting my address (street address!) at the top of an email query, and the author's address at the top too!

That format is 20+ years out of date.
I really do NOT want to work with people who haven't kept up at least somewhat with new standards.

6- You have "rules for writers" on your blog.  In your experience, which is the most important rule?  Why?

Be polite.
Good manners go a long, long way.
I've fired clients who were rude to the staff. I can't abide people being rude to folks they perceive as lesser, or unimportant.  

I'm not keen on people trash talking publishing in query letters either. I'm not unaware of the shortfalls of this industry, and a lot of the decisions that get made, but that's not what I want to hear about in a query.

7- When a writer receives "the call" and is offered representation, in your opinion what is the most important question the writer should ask the agent?

Assuming a writer has done the research they should have ahead of time (what has the agent sold? being the number one thing to know), you want to ask what the agent's vision is.  Do they want to submit the book to one editor or many.  Do they think it should be a hardback or TPO. Do they think it's a big trade press or small trade press book.

There was an announcement recently (12/20/21) about long time Scribner author Abraham Verghese leaving his publisher cause they did not share an editorial vision for his new book.

Making sure a prospective agent is literally on the same page with you is important.

8- With all the websites for writers out there, why should someone take the time to read your blog ; what makes your blog unique?

The comments from the other people who read the blog: the Reiders.
Hands down they are what make this blog unique and valuable.
I can yammer all day about this and that (and I do) but the perspective provided by the Reiders is what makes it a worthwhile place to visit.

9- Would you please list the links and ways people can find you on the internet?  Blogs, websites, social media.

Blog: jetreidliterary.blogspot.com
QS Blog: queryshark.blogspot.com
website: jetreidliterary.com
Twitter: @Janet_Reid

Janet Reid is a literary agent in New York City.

Her clients include New York Times bestselling Patrick Lee (The Breach series); Jeff Somers (WRITING WITHOUT RULES); Hilary Holladay (the first full length biography of Adrienne Rich); Tom Lippman (CRUDE OIL, CRUDE MONEY); Dana Haynes; Phillip DePoy; and Alison K Williams (7 DRAFTS: Self Edit Like a Pro From Blank Page to Book.)

Her list is largely crime novels and thrillers, and narrative non-fiction in history and biography. 

She is a member of AAR, Sisters in Crime, the Association of American Historians,  the Womens' National Book Association (NYC chapter), Biographers International Organization, SCBWI, and the Dena Pawling Fan Club.

She keeps a blog at JetReidLiterary.blogspot com that answers questions from writers and allows her to rant on things that drive her crazy in publishing and reasons she loves her job and the city.

She also runs QueryShark.blogspot.com a blog that posts (with permission) and critiques queries and revisions from writers.  To submit a query click on the link "how to submit a query to the shark."  It's all volunteer.


 

Query Season and #MSWL

 

Happy Friday Query-ers!

 

We are hitting Mid-January; agents are getting back to work following a break (hopefully well rested and fresh), and we are entering what I unofficially have dubbed:

Many agents tried to clear inboxes and/or closed to queries during break, the rush from NaNoWriMo is over, and several agents are helpfully posting

                                                

#MSWL

My query tip: Make good use of this specific and targeted intel.

 In addition to the awesome site https://www.manuscriptwishlist.com, you can search twitter using #MSWL and know the latest and greatest in terms of what agents are looking for what.While I would never suggest writing a book based on what an agent asks for (by the time you finish they’ve most likely moved on), it can be great for targeting queries.You can use this in queries, like name dropping but more effective. The agent will know you have taken the time to send them something you think they might actually enjoy. This may make your query stand out from a crowded inbox. 

Win/Win.

Some times editors use this hashtag too, so it can be helpful to get a sense of what is wanted/moving in the market. 

Please let me know if you plan to search agents this way or use this in your query in the comments below!

Happy Querying!

B