I wrote the most wonderful and helpful book on stress relief in 2008—it was published. This was possibly my best work ever; I was really proud of it and hoped it would help people to live a stress-free life. I had my own issues with stress and life was not fun. I also had developed a life-threatening illness directly related to stress. It was important to me to get the word out and help others conquer this problem before they too became ill from stress.
The book was accepted, and I celebrated. “Trust us,” I heard, “we are professionals at this”—so I did. I literally cried when I saw the cover image chosen for my book. I wrote e-mails and called begging for a change. Again I heard, “Trust us, we are professionals.” What choice did I have?—none. This is the cover the publisher designed for my book.
Not only is it repulsive even at a glance, but the title is not legible, the colors represent stress (green), and the text is silly looking. The publisher also eliminated all of my sub-chapters; making it difficult to easily locate the information a reader needs “stat” in a stressful situation. I am truly embarrassed by this book and have not helped in promoting it; I don’t even like seeing my name on the cover. FYI, it has sold 13 copies since 2008. So what now?
I am proud to announce I have re-published the book under a new title, complete text, and cover. This is a fabulous book I can now be proud of. Here is the new cover.
Although I would have liked the title to be larger, I am happy with the results and am thankful I kept the rights to my book! FYI, the image of the kids, is of my three girls! That makes it extra special to me!
Would love your honest opinion on the cover.
To see all my books, visit Author's Box
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7 comments:
Love the new cover. The beach is the best place to relieve stress!
I really enjoy your blog.
I love the new cover. It is calming and serene and melds perfectly with the title. Great job.
You weren't kidding about the butchering. More like slaughter. I am so glad that you were able to get a new cover that balances out the book and gets the right kind of head turning effect. Stress is a huge issue and I am glad that the cover is beautiful to look at and calming at the same time.
Oh, thank you sooo much for your comments. I like the new cover, but then again, it was mine so I really needed outside views ond opinions. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
OMG, what an improvement. Please announce the name of the publisher who did the first book so all authors can avoid them! Doesn't this prove that if you want something done right, do it yourself.
Carol, this had/has to be painful. Can't help but wonder if this wasn't done as a joke. But I have been hearing a lot lately about authors wanting more input with cover designs. Some pubs (I hear) use the same cover on multiple books... across authors. Usually though, self pubs allow more freedom. They let the author dilly dab with the generic templates they provide.
Well, I see I don't have to wish you luck on your next titles/covers... they look great!
Boy am I glad you revamped. The first one is not appealing at all. Good luck with the new one, it is lovely.
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