My new novel The Blood Oath is not ready for publication yet but it is in the process. My book cover is what is holding it back. I created this book cover using some free photographs and the Microsoft Word program. You can see what it’s going to look like in the picture above. That is the front cover which worked out fine. I liked the finished product so much that I just didn’t want to use a free cover from create space. That is what I did with my first novel A Woman of Courage, I like that cover but since it’s one of create space’s free covers, I’m sure my novel isn’t the only one with that cover. I have a strong need to be original. I don’t want my work to look like anyone else’s if I can help it.

I couldn’t really afford to buy a book cover and they are expensive. I know a website that’s charging sixty to eighty dollars for covers and that may not sound like a lot of money to you but for me it is. For those who want to be original and don’t want to have to buy book covers, there are videos on YouTube that show you step by step how to do this yourself and I swear it will look good when you’re done.

The reason why my book cover is taking so long to be accepted by create space is because I had a hard time making my wording on the back cover legible for printing. Create space wants the cover to be 300 DPI and 6.25 X 9.5 in size. Since I don’t have Photoshop it’s been very difficult to get it just right. I had a process of using three different programs to create my book cover. Microsoft Word, Microsoft Photo Manager, and Paint. Then I had to upload it to Create space’s cover editor. If you don’t have Photoshop and I highly recommend it, it can be a whole ordeal.

So I revised it again last night and I’m hoping create space likes it. The book description has to be legible enough to look good for printing. Which I can understand. I want you all to be able to read it without any problems. When they tell me it’s accepted and fits their standards then I will continue the process and let you know when the book is ready for publication. I will make an official announcement on my Twitter page.

You know, I love writing but stuff like this takes some of the fun out of it. But that’s ok. The next book will probably not be self-published. I don’t know if I want to go through all of this again. It’s not just the book cover issues. It’s the work it takes to market and promote my books, making my own book trailers, doing my own editing. It can be hard at times. And bookstores won’t even carry self -published books on their shelves which I hate. I don’t want my books to just be eBooks. I want them on bookstore and library shelves as well. Because not everybody uses Kindles or reads from the internet. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fun making your own book cover and it allows you to be creative in other ways that you weren’t before. It’s just hard when you are new to all of this and have no one to help you. Until next time…