Fighting Over Covers

So I published my novel The Rhyme's Library, but I didn't love the cover. When I was in New York I took some great pictures in the New York City Library and I made two new covers for my book. Which one do you like best?

Procrastination and Promptness

My inauguration to the Tate way flying went like this: I, recently engaged to my husband, was flying from LA to Seattle close to the time that my husband, recently graduated from BYU, was flying with his family to Europe. The night before our so conveniently scheduled flights, we decided to leave for the airport at 7 am. The next morning, I was the only one standing near my suitcase and ready to walk out the door. After confusion, some shouting and, if I remember correctly, some sibling dirty name calling, I arrived at the airport, ran to my gate and sat down just moments before my plane took flight. I later learned that my father-in-law, a rocket scientist and master of efficiency, held the firm belief that being early was a waste of time. Most of his children live by the same waste not a moment code.

My dad has never had a speeding ticket. I’ve never known him to be late or in a hurry for anything. One of my favorite dad stories is once he was driving down a hill and a lone trailer rolled past him. He thought, that’s a nice trailer someone has lost, only to realize that it was his own. Somehow his trailer had come unhitched and he had to chase it down the hill. Maybe he hurried then, but I don’t know because I wasn’t with him. I’ve most certainly never seen him stressed.

I really don’t consider myself a perfectionist. As a mother of a large family, I’ve gone to a business dinner dressed to the nines only to discover baby spit-up on my fabulous new shoes, I’ve attended church with a half eaten tootsie-pop attached to the back of my dress, and I’ve gone to a parent’s night at the school with the remains of a candy bar smeared on the back of my pants’ leg. Wardrobe and other disasters frequently happen to busy moms. Unlike my dad, I’m often late and sometimes stressed, although never by choice.

I’m not saying that my dad’s calm methodical life is superior to my father-in-law’s not waste a precious moment approach…or wait, maybe I am.

My Cheeseburger

Conspiracy Theories

Have you ever felt that heaven or hell is conspiring against you? As I struggled to upload my newly released novel, The Rhyme’s Library, I knew that I had either demons sitting on my shoulder giggling gleefully at my frustration, or editor angels trying to protect me from embarrassing myself by publishing a not ready for the world novel. I still do not know if I had angels or demons possessing my computer that day…the day I did not upload my novel.

Because I try to live by the Mom Rule of work first, play (write) later, I completed all my packing, cleaning, errands that needed to be done before our family vacation. Finally, at the end of my very long day I sat down to upload my novel.

I went to Smashwords, typed in the short description, the long description, set the price, uploaded the cover, and signed all the agreements.

And it didn’t work. At the bottom of the page it read “error.” When I went to bed there were still errors.

No worries—I was bringing a laptop and could complete the uploading at the hotel. We arrived in Philadelphia safely but the computer did not. Sigh. Four jammed packed fun filled days and three states later, I sat down at the New York City Public Library. (Never been there? You have to go—it’s one of my very favorite places in the world. Pictures to follow.) Visitors are allowed 45 minutes on the computers after a rather lengthy and tedious log-in process.

I sat down to upload my novel to Smashwords. I typed in the short description, the long description, set the price, uploaded the cover, and signed all the agreements.

And the computer froze. Mouse, curser, swearing, pleading…nothing worked. I closed down the computer and waited for it to reload. I now had 20 minutes remaining, so I completed the lengthy sign in process and…

I typed in the short description, the long description, set the price, uploaded the cover, and signed all the agreements.

And with only minutes to spare, The Rhyme’s Library successfully uploaded to the Smashwords site.

At the moment I’m sitting in the basement of the hotel next to a noisy ice machine. Another day of the sights and excitement of New York City is about to begin (after my daughters get out of the shower.) While I’m doing the things that lucky people do in NYC, my novel is floating in the cyber world, waiting to show up on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple.

Are editor angels moaning in despair at my stupidity or cheering for my success? Are demons giggling at my fool-hardiness or cursing my Smashwords know-how. I might not ever know. All I can be sure of is—the deed is done. And I can always press a re-do button.

Poetry

Who is your favorite poets? Wordsworth? ee cummings? Elliot? Donne? Dickinson? It’s hard to choose. Mostly, it depends on my mood and if I need a Snowy Evening or Daffodils. In college I wrote a term paper on the poems of Emily Bronte and I think it’s fascinating that someone cloistered in such a small world could have such a tremendous depth of emotion. Today anyone with internet access lives in an enormous world. From my bedroom I can talk to someone in India. From my kitchen I can try a recipe from Africa. And I can “virtually meet” multitudes.

Recently I met a poet, Gavriel Navarro, and I’m so enchanted his words that I wanted to share them here. Enjoy.

A starry silence


In the tranquility of this fresh night
a starry silence in the evening sky
saturated the palate with crystalline honey
from my savage spirit within this vastness...

So was cutting the night, an angry star
fugitive as her woven hair to the horizon
falling from the sky into my heart, vibrant still
caressing the earth with the bless of her dust

When you burst the perfection of calmness
as a chrysalis of the night without disturbing it, serene
from your place of stars fallen on a full moon

We melted into one, eternal in my memory
permanent in this starry silence, solitary
and witness of your sagacity for not turning back...


Gavriel Navarro© 2012

  

Ocean of My Solitude

of this accelerated heart.

I think only in the silence of bringing her near and to live

In the vast immensity of this diaphanous night with

Anxieties of waking, will she still be there? And with the

Desire of knowing her nestled within my own immensity.

I try to climb to the site she gave me, and I sigh when

The solitude is pulled

This dark street is so lonely without her. I am entangled

In the throbbing sorrow out of shape at my withdrawal;

The night sounds are different from the quietude of other nights;

Tonight I want her near, and I shiver for no good reason;

I try to reach her, but she pulls away, unsure,

I try to decipher this unconquerable torment; I rush

Out into the dark street of indecision to keep from screaming;

My steps resound with the slow echo of my torment;

I don’t want to forget her even for a moment, I want

To reach her, but she pulls even further into the distance;

The only thing in the way of my knowing her is emptiness;

I embrace the air for one evaporating breath of her;

My thoughts keep spinning in a whirlwind of passion,

And I carry on here, in the ocean of my solitude...

Gavriel Navarro© 2010

Amazon Author page(all book links are there):
http://www.amazon.com/Gavriel-Navarro/e/B008MEQIH0/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Website: 

http://www.gavrielnavarro.com

Facebook fan page: 

https://www.facebook.com/GavrielNavarro

Twitter: 

https://twitter.com/GavrielNavarro

Book Covers

Here’s the cover of my soon to be released book and the cover to the novel I published in March. And here's my question--do you think my books would sell better if they had people on the covers? Stealing Mercy has sold many more copies than A Ghost of a Second Chance and I'm wondering if it’s because its genre is more obvious. Although A Ghost of a Second Chance isn't genre specific--I knew that before I published it. I knew it would be a hard sell, but since I love it I hoped others would as well.

I do love my covers, but I'm wondering if I need a damsel in distress on the cover, although that would be false advertising since I write really strong and proactive female characters. Mary Stewart, Alice Hoffman and Elizabeth George typically don’t have women draped in gossamer on the covers of their books. Should I?

Even More So

I’ve had a lot of visitors on my blog today. I’m not sure why since my marketing campaign is over and frankly after a month of having something to say (or having to say something) I’m tapped out. Yet the visitors have come and I’ve nothing to give, so I tried to post the cover of my soon to be released novel.

But Blogger wasn’t cooperating which is just as well. I don’t love the cover. I made it myself (well, I made most of it, but my son, Adam, did the tricky part.) He isn’t happy with it—he thinks it looks like I put a sticker on a photograph. I sent it to my daughter, the creator of my other covers. I’m sure that when she’s done doctoring it, Adam and I will both be happy…or happier.

Last week I got my edits back from my editor, Martha. Yesterday I finished the edits on The Rhyme’s Library and today I sent it to the formatting guy. I had my son, Nathan, format my first novel, Stealing Mercy. I paid him by the hour. Lee at Iron Horse Formatting offered to do my second book, A Ghost of a Second Chance, for free and right now he’s formatting my third book for a tiny fraction of what I paid Nathan for my first.

Here’s what I’m trying to say—there’s more to the book business than sitting in my room and writing down a story. There’s a whole lot of fingers wiggling in the pie of my book production. And yes, I do spend many hours—3 to 4 a day—writing, but I also take the photos for my book covers, I make my children dress up in funky clothes and pose in fields and on the porches of old houses, I design the graphics for the book covers and then have my children help me improve them, I hire an editor and a formatting guy, I try to be brave and promote my books.

Twice a month I go to my writers’ group and listen to my colleagues read. Everyone once in a while they listen to me. Once a week I meet with my critique partners and I listen to and comment on ten pages of their manuscripts and they listen to and offer feedback on mine. This isn’t always enjoyable. Sometimes it’s really, really painful.

In a few days my new novel will face the world and I want the world to know there’s a story behind every story. There’s a team of cheerleaders, cohorts and friends. Are they as invaluable as a team from a traditional publishing house?

For me—even more so.