Cover Tag Lines: Yes or No?
After completing the cover in Photoshop, I started doing a lot of thinking and research on tag lines for novel covers, and have come to the conclusion that I need one.
17 lessons from Stephen King
I guess I’m a “little” biased (“Little? HA!”) since I’m a self-confessed uberfan, but Stephen King’s advice continues to be both wise and inspirational.
Showing and telling
As I wrote my first novel, I would often struggle and pause, thinking about the distinction between showing and telling. Too much telling, and there’s no life. To much showing, and the reader can get lost, or overwhelmed.
Tied ISBN registered
Canada has a great system for creating and maintaining ISBN numbers for publications.
Tied mockup heads to Photoshop
I was pleased with the mockup, so I bought the images I needed, and digitally combined them in Adobe Photoshop.
Tied cover mockup
Going from the sketch from yesterday, I went on a quest to find stock imagery. The proper, and only, way to do this is to pay for it. My sources of choice are iStockPhoto and Shutterstock.
Tied cover takes shape
As I wrote the first draft of Tied, in the back of mind, a picture of the cover formed. By the time I was done the first draft, I had been “living” in my story for 8 months and the image of the cover was always there.
Researching cover ideas
When the manuscript was off with my editor, I used that time to begin researching cover ideas.
Write every day
Write every day, or that’s the goal. For my first novel, with daily work and family duties, the only time I was able to carve out for myself was weekend mornings. Here’s a chart of my progress.
James Patterson’s Masterclass
Back in July, I enrolled in James Patterson’s Masterclass course. The price was reasonable and the course was complimented by a workbook and membership to a closed Facebook group, where other writers could share their insights.