On Writing, Editing and Cover Art

I wanted to discuss a few things about working as an independent author in modern times. I know authors have independently written and published books for years, but recently, due to modern technology and the onset of Amazon, it's never been easier. This may help those who have never published better understand the process.

Now, traditional publishing involves not only the writer but also an agent that sells the writer's work to a publishing house, and once sold, the publishing house helps with marketing, editing, and overall supporting the author's work. You do all that yourself if you're an indie (independently published author). That includes your marketing, editing, cover artist work, and getting the manuscript set up to publish, usually by Amazon, a small independent book company like 48-hour Books in Akron, Ohio, or Ingram Spark and Apple Books.

 (Please note that I use the terms "Indie" and "Self-Publishing" together. There is a third option, known as a vanity press, which are smaller publishing houses that take on some of the costs of publishing while the author takes on other costs. This is not what I am talking about here.)

This process, self-publishing/indie publishing, can be daunting and expensive.

I had help putting together my first fantasy book, Bastards of Liberty. I was lucky to have met some great folks along the way, mainly through social media, but I was also able to speak to a few already-published traditional and self-published authors. I was also lucky to communicate with a few traditional authors through social media who provided some tips, either via comments or DMs, which is super helpful. For example, an author I look up to, Christian (Miles) Cameron, told me how he maintained and kept track of his characters for his massive Traitors Son Cycle (5+ Books and Novellas) via a Twitter conversation. I also picked the ear of my close friend Ty Tracey, who had already gone down the path of indie publishing when I lost faith in getting a traditional deal, and he helped me get Bastards of Liberty published. For that book, I had an editor I met through Ty and found a great cover artist. This process did not go smoothly then; my work was picked apart by an early ARC reader who called my book unfit to be published.

I had to rip the work apart and get it into a better place before even getting it to the editor. By the way, no matter how much you edit your work yourself and pay an editor, there will always be issues. For example, I read Stephen King's Fairy Tale, which has some grammatical and pacing issues (I still loved it!). These things happen. Bastard of Liberty and Maiden of Storms will always have some quality issues, and I do my best to correct as many as I can. Nobody is perfect.

Hades, I'm sure this little article has dozens of grammar errors. The indie journey would not be complete without the great people I have met along the way, two of whom I want to spotlight.

One of my book cover artists. Dawid from Best Selling Covers. Dawid Gardias, who goes by David, puts out excellent work for all genres of books. I met him via a social media site (Instagram). This happened after I worked with a previous artist, and they sent me their ideas for Bastards of Liberty, and I was less than happy with the outcome. Initially, it was sketched with a warrior in a grass field. The mock-up was not bad and would have worked for author fantasy books, but it also had this Samurai feel that did not represent the direction I wanted. I politely declined the cover and the artist and advised I would look at other avenues and that is how I found David!

David was open to communicating via email, Instagram, FaceTime, and different messaging services and was willing to make slight adjustments as the work went along. He always got back to me, as he was an amendment professional, knew exactly what the genre of my book called for, and stretched the ideas I provided, focusing on marketability and uniqueness. I wanted my cover to lean away from a traditional fantasy cover, and David was great about getting into the idea.

When working with a cover artist, please be mindful, stay away from AI, verify they have previous work, and reach out to the authors who have worked with the cover artist before signing a contract or paying money. Half up front and half at the end regarding money, but this may depend on the artist and your conversations with them.  Do some homework. I worked with David and talked through the cover process, giving him ideas of what I liked, notes on what my book was about, and for myself, coming from a journalist background, what I wanted the book cover to represent, including two artists whose works I enjoyed, and thought would work as inspiration for the cover.

Please note that I give all credit David Gardias for his work with Bastards of Liberty and Maiden of Storms covers. They are exceptional in so many ways from the lines, and tone the present and the emotion they bring. Both covers are original.

I can't wait to see what he does for my 3rd book in the Conspiracy of Crows trilogy and any other books I put out.

David takes on new work and makes premade covers, all varying in price. Art takes time and effort, so if you are interested, reach out now, as he gets pretty "booked up." Ty Tracey hooked up with him and created the cover for The Corroding, which fully represents the harrowing horrors of that book. David can do a lot and enjoys a challenge. He's easy to work with, loves what he does, and I cannot recommend him enough.

For Maiden of Storms, I edited my book five to seven times before sending it to my editor, Kavin, from Space Mage Press. Kavin, I had met previously through book blogging with him and members of Willow Wraith Press as we did book reviews for Kavin’s book store and blog. I could never keep up with the output that Tim, Quinn, Michael, and Bill who were able to put out for book reviews often, and now they are reviewing for FanFIAddict.com! They are all tremendous writers, readers, and reviewers, and I recommend checking out their reviews and books when time allows.

As I focused on finishing my trilogy, and Kavin decided to try his hand at Line Editing Services.

Kavin’s editing includes Prose, Character, and World Building continuity, dialog tags, spelling, and minor grammar updates.

When it comes to a fantasy setting up, creating a world and keeping track of that world can be harrowing, and Kavin was able to polish the world in Maiden of Storms.

My writing style is based on the journalism skills I created at Kent State University and finished at Akron University. Moving from that process to the fiction world can be difficult, and I have my own writing style, which is a fusion of both. I was taught to just put the facts into my work, and overall, my characters get put through a lot, but my prose needed some polish; that is what editing does.

Editing adds salt and pepper to a meal after it is complete.

My primary issue was ensuring my characters' emotions were felt in the words they spoke and the description tags associated with those words (example, he screamed in pain instead of he said). Kavin assisted me in getting those tags in the right positions and associating them with the correct emotions. Editing is about compromise and growth, and his thoughts improved Maiden of Storms in several ways. He also ensured I didn't repeat the same historical facts I had already put into Maiden of Storms earlier, a complaint found in Bastards of Liberty. Kavin also suggested shorting up some lore that I was adamant about putting into the story.

Editing is not easy, and getting edited is even harder, but Kavin was professional and relaxed during the process. A writer's ego, mine included, can go from utter confidence to shattered in a minute, and Kavin made sure that his edits were not criticisms, but expansions on what needed to be clarified or added to, and all were with merit.

Kavin recently said he's excited to see the final cut of Maiden of Storms and see what I kept of his edits. I kept 99% of his suggestions.

Kavin's now working on performing a light revision of Bastard of Liberty to eliminate some of the pesky world-building paragraphs I repeated previously. This isn't a rewrite or a second edition; it is more about polishing a marble statue after it is displayed at a museum. Kavin's editing services are incredibly affordable, and his communication during the process was helpful as I adjusted and had questions.

So, in the end, work with people in this business you can call partners and peers; both David and Kavin are those people for me. I do my best to promote each of these guys because I trust them, appreciate their work for me, and know they can help other indie authors. I will be using both of their services for my final book in The Conspiracy of Crows and future books to come, and I recommend them to anyone out there. Independently publishing is a challenge, but the rewards of seeing your work in public are worth it. Working with friends and peers like Ty Tracey, Willow Wraith, Kavin, and David keep my spirits up and provide support when needed. So find yourself a group of folks that have your back. It makes this entire process more manageable as you go.

I hope this helps.

 Cheers,
Matt~