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Got You Covered #IWSG

Posted on February 1, 2023February 1, 2023 by Loni Townsend

Wow. January flew past me. It’s been busy at the Town’s End, but nothing this squirrel can’t handle.

I’ll hop straight to the question of the month, since it’s a topic I’ve been known to obsess over.

IWSG Question of the Month – If you are an Indie author, do you make your own covers or purchase them?

When I first started my publication journey, I heard the same advice over and over again. Don’t make your own cover. Honestly, I can see the reasoning behind this, as we’re often terrible judges of our own work, especially if we don’t know the waters we’re wading into.

But fame and fortune were never my goal with my writing, so I set out on my own journey to create the covers I wanted. I went through several iterations, moving from this to this, then seeking feedback with this, and eventually settling where I am now. And because I want to stay consistent, I created the covers for the whole series, even though I’m still working on book 2.

Are they exceptional covers? No. Will they drive click-bait traffic? Likely not. Will anyone but me understand them? Ha. Are they exactly what I want? Yep.

Symbolic covers aren’t huge sellers. Trends show people connect more when there’s a character to look at. But it wasn’t what called to me for this series. And since my goal wasn’t sales so much as fulfilling my life long dream of completing this series, I was okay with good looking covers, even if they weren’t purchase enticing.

Not to say I’m against character based covers. In fact, I’m fairly proud of my companion novel cover, which I also did myself:

Are there better artists? Sure. Is she missing fingernails? Definitely. But it’s not half-bad for an self-made.

I also went character based with my Cera Chronicles, doing a photoshoot of a friend to make a series of planned novellas.

But I’ve since encountered a problem–I can’t turn what have into what I want.

See, Cera is bronze, like her father.

And I’ve found I can’t edit skin tone worth a darn.

I’ll probably redo them as digital paintings, when I get back around to that series.

Speaking of digital painting, fellow blogger Olga Godim had asked if I had portraits of my characters after last month’s lineup. Beyond my four Book 2 POVs (plethora of those), I don’t. But I hope to remedy that this year. Of course, I kicked off the effort with my main guy Derek.

I went with semi-realism rather than the stylized cartoons this time. I’m trying to find a happy medium between the two. This is a redo of my 2019 version.

Well, this post has gotten unwieldy, though I’m not surprised. I better wrap it up and send you on your way to other blogs for Insecure Writer’s Support Group day.

What are your opinions on self-made covers? Do you have suggestions for improvements? Is there a subject you’re passionate about?

About Insecure Writer’s Support Group
Insecure Writers Support Group Badge
You can find the sign up for the IWSG here. We owe Alex J Cavanaugh a huge thank you for thinking this blog hop up.

26 thoughts on “Got You Covered #IWSG”

  1. Esther O;Neill says:
    February 1, 2023 at 7:23 AM

    In my dreams, one of tholse legendary deals, and the publishers would
    deliver a perfect cover
    In a different context, as you said, balancing what I have with what I want.
    Life will be so much easier with a tear round water supply.

    Reply
  2. Alex J. Cavanaugh says:
    February 1, 2023 at 7:38 AM

    I think you did a great job with the cover for the series. It’s very consistent.

    Reply
  3. Madeline Mora-Summonte says:
    February 1, 2023 at 7:39 AM

    I like your symbolic covers! And even more, I like your attitude and your goal. 🙂

    Reply
  4. H. R. Sinclair says:
    February 1, 2023 at 7:45 AM

    The series covers are lovely! I love when the look like they are a set but different enough to hold there own. You did that! And you know what? I have been seen a trend toward symbols on covers lately!

    Reply
  5. joylene says:
    February 1, 2023 at 8:03 AM

    You’re the exception to the rule, Loni. Your covers are fascinating and very eye-catching.

    Reply
  6. Beth Camp says:
    February 1, 2023 at 9:10 AM

    Those somewhat abstract covers really work for me . . . and as a ‘brand’ for that series. I think your readers will love them! I also admire your creativity in building character-based covers, something I also tried to follow with my historical fiction. Yes, I love making stuff. You just might inspire me to draw/paint a few portraits of my characters! Have a great month.

    Reply
  7. M.J. Fifield says:
    February 1, 2023 at 9:36 AM

    Hey, I think if someone has the skills to create a cover, then why shouldn’t they? Your covers are lovely. I’ve always loved the Thanmir War cover. That tree is gorgeous.

    Reply
  8. CD Gallant-King says:
    February 1, 2023 at 9:43 AM

    I love your covers! Always liked the one for “This World Bites,” too.

    You may have already answered this and I’ve just forgotten, but are you going to include your many wonderful illustrations and portraits in your finished books? It would be a nice addition (especially since, unlike me, you actually know what you’re doing!) 😉

    Reply
  9. Diane Burton says:
    February 1, 2023 at 10:30 AM

    Your covers are great. You do good work. Alas, I don’t have that talent. I have to leave that work with others.

    Reply
  10. Natalie Aguirre says:
    February 1, 2023 at 10:34 AM

    I think your covers are great. I’m not talented enough to try designing one.

    Reply
  11. Jacqui Murray says:
    February 1, 2023 at 10:42 AM

    Didn’t know people like covers with characters better than symbols. I was actually considering moving away from the central figure thing. Thanks for that!

    Reply
  12. Patricia says:
    February 1, 2023 at 11:05 AM

    You know, if you think about the advice “Don’t do your own covers because you can’t self judge well” is kina weird. You and I are both artistic, and I don’t know about you, but I am super critical of any art I make. I’ve been getting into doodling and sketching for fun and I keep telling myself to just have fun, but then I pick up a pencil and I’m like “THIS LINE ISN”T RIGHT AND I WILL NOT MOVE ON UNTIL UNTIL IT IS!”

    TL;DR artists are overly critical.

    Reply
  13. L. Diane Wolfe says:
    February 1, 2023 at 11:05 AM

    With the covers done, it is a prompt to finish the books. What programs do you use? (We use 3D Studio Max, PhotoShop, and a couple others I can’t remember the names of.)

    Reply
    1. Loni Townsend says:
      February 1, 2023 at 11:58 AM

      The big books and Cera Chronicles were done in Paint.NET, using different plugins and tutorials to make the stone, metal, and text effects. The digital painted stuff was done in Clip Studio Paint.

      Reply
  14. C. Lee McKenzie says:
    February 1, 2023 at 12:09 PM

    I like your covers, so I think you succeeded quite well. Congratulations.

    Reply
  15. Arlee Bird says:
    February 1, 2023 at 12:22 PM

    I like those cover examples you presented. They look about as good as any others I’ve seen. And they say you can’t judge a book by its cover (though I do sometimes).

    As always, you demonstrate great creativity.

    Lee

    Reply
  16. Liz A. says:
    February 1, 2023 at 12:37 PM

    I love those first covers. They’re gorgeous. I pick novels based on the synopsis anyway. Although, a cover might pull me in first. I think the advice against doing your own is for the non arty types. You actually can do art, so you might as well do your own. (I do know of authors who do their own and are quite successful at it. Do what works for you.)

    Reply
  17. Anna says:
    February 1, 2023 at 12:45 PM

    I’ve always been a fan. You may not see it, but I do. You’ve got skills and give great advice. I remember your feedback from way back when. 🙂

    Anna from elements of emaginette

    Reply
  18. Olga Godim says:
    February 1, 2023 at 5:52 PM

    I like your symbolic series covers. And I absolutely love your cover for Smelted.
    In general, I enjoy covers based on original drawing or painting much more than photographs.
    Thank you for posting Derek’s portrait. Such a charmer.

    Reply
  19. Louise (Fundy Blue) says:
    February 1, 2023 at 9:14 PM

    I really liked the covers you created, Loni! They catch my eye. Me, I’d have to hire help!

    Reply
  20. Sherry Ellis says:
    February 2, 2023 at 11:50 AM

    You definitely have the skills to create covers. All of yours turned out well. I like the symbol covers. Makes me wonder what the significance of each is in the story.

    Reply
  21. Juneta Key says:
    February 2, 2023 at 12:26 PM

    I think you series covers look great and if that is fantasy then right on target fo the market. All you covers look great enjoyed seeing them. I think you have talent.

    Reply
  22. Doreen McGettigan says:
    February 2, 2023 at 5:23 PM

    I love your covers! And I agree 1/12 of 2023 is already gone. It did go so fast. Happy February.

    Reply
  23. Elizabeth Seckman says:
    February 3, 2023 at 10:25 AM

    You should definitely make your own covers. Yours are better than a lot of pro covers!

    Reply
  24. Damyanti Biswas says:
    February 3, 2023 at 4:40 PM

    I don’t know if my opinion counts, but I love the covers for your series. Definitely will make me want to click!

    Reply
  25. Kim Elliott says:
    February 13, 2023 at 11:34 AM

    The covers for your series are well done and consistent!

    Your comment about the fingernails cracked me up.

    Reply

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Welcome to my blog. I post here on Wednesdays most of the time, but you can find me on social media any day of the week. My topics include my stories and writing, life at the Town's End, creating and tinkering with graphics, things I learn and think might be helpful to others, and the occasional amateur photo. Thanks for stopping by! I hope to see you around.

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