Shannon Doleski: Cover Advice for Debut Authors

Today’s guest for the CRAP is Shannon Doleski who was born and raised in Cazenovia, New York. After graduating from Niagara University with an English Education degree, Shannon was an English teacher and swim coach in New York and Maryland. She and her family live in West Texas. Mary Underwater is her debut novel.

Did you have any pre-conceived notions about what you wanted your cover to look like?

I kind of had in my head that I wanted a very plain cover that was navy blue with a small submarine online in white. And that was it.

How far in advance from your pub date did you start talking covers with your house?

In June 2019 (so a year from when I sold) my editor sent me the sketches for my cover. She said that because my cover artist would be doing paperwork (cutting out paper and taping them to a background to be photographed) they wanted my input earlier than usual. I loved the sketch and paper colors the artist and designer sent. I asked for some additional sea creatures mentioned in the book – a crab and jellyfish. The artist added them. I really enjoyed how my designer and artist used aspects of my novel (one of my characters creates stop motion animations, and they wanted to make the cover feel like that).

Did you have any input on your cover?

I was really lucky to be able to make additions/suggestions to my cover once I saw the sketch. I know that some authors put together examples of covers they like before the cover design, and that was not my case, which I was grateful for. I would have picked too many covers and designs from all over with different styles. It would have been a disaster. I trusted the design and marketing teams to know more than I did about upper MG covers.

Was there an official "cover reveal" date for your art?

In July, I received the email with the cover art. My pub told me I could collaborate with a blog for the reveal or do it myself once preorders went live. But then marketing decided that the title font didn’t fit with the seriousness of the story, so it was postponed. In September, they presented a new font that they thought fit the tone of the book, and I was allowed to do the reveal right after that. I chose to reveal the cover with preorder links myself, instead of working with a blog. I think it’s a personal choice. I liked having control over the reveal. I think it depends on how comfortable you are, as an author, with social media and all its aspects, like creating graphics for different sites. I also got to do a lot of fun countdown stuff to the reveal. 

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How far in advance of the reveal date were you aware of what your cover would look like?

I saw the sketch in June and the final in July, but then with the font changes, it was revealed in September. 

Was it hard to keep it to yourself before the official release?

Hahahahaha, yes! Those two months where they changed the title font were difficult. In person, I did share with my close family and friends unofficially beforehand. 

What surprised you most about the process?

How different the process can be from house to house!  Other friends and members of my debut year had totally different experiences. 

Any advice to other debut authors about how to handle cover art anxiety?

I think we build up the cover so much because it makes our book feel so real. And it can be really hard to give up creative control of our babies. My advice would be to know that that kind of self-inflicted pressure is normal, but we need to trust our cover artists and designers. But if there’s something nagging you about it all, speak up. Use your agent to facilitate if necessary. Your team wants the author to love the cover as much as readers!

 

5 Brilliant Tips to Hone Self-Accountability Skills as a Writer

by Peter Clarke

It takes fire in the belly and constant hunger to make a difference with words and creativity to become a writer. The task of writing or the idea to pursue writing as a full-time career requires you to be self-disciplined on various grounds. No matter what you choose to become, an academic essay writer, blogger or ad copywriter, you have to be self-accountable. Gauging one’s progress and growth as a writer, identifying the setbacks and working on them constantly are some of the most crucial aspects.

Unless you know how to hone self-accountability skills and implement them in your work, becoming a successful writer will be a tough nut to crack. So, make sure you abide by the following five essential self-accountability tips to fuel your writing endeavours.

Happy reading!

1.     Maintain an Excel Sheet to record the daily word count

If writing is a serious business for you, then I feel safe to assume that you might be having bulk client projects to work daily. It's a known fact there will be a specific word limit and targets to meet each day or at the end of the month. This is where the significance of self-accountability comes in. You can always put an effort to maintain a spreadsheet and record your daily word count as well as the deficit you need to compensate.

Here’s how:

®   Sign up with platforms like Google Sheets and list the number of days in the month in one column and include your daily word count in a separate column.

®   Keep updating the sheet every day and make changes in your calculations accordingly.

®   This will help you monitor and evaluate the number of words you have written on a day and the deficit you need to chase for the rest of the month.

Keeping track of your daily word count will also help you intimate your client regarding the targets achieved and other essentials constructively. You will also be able to showcase professionalism on your boss.

2.     Utilise the potential of habit tracking apps

With technology creating wonders worldwide, habit track applications can help people in several ways. Especially when it comes to ensuring self-accountability in writing, habit tracking apps have a major role to play.

Here’s everything you need to know.

®   Using applications such as Loop Habit Tracker and Habitica will help you monitor self-progress with automated alerts and notifications reminding.

®   If you want to maintain a healthy flow while writing, habit tracking apps will help you stay productive.

®   Moreover, clients want to deal with writers who are self-motivated and dedicated to meeting deadlines by all means.

®   The alert notifications sent by these apps will act as a wake-up call if you end up missing out on reworks, including an additional chunk of paragraphs and the likes.

So, isn’t it a productive decision to embrace this strategy and improve your self-accountability in writing?

3.     Set your own writing goals

Even though the concepts of writing habit and writing goals go hand in hand, they are a tad different. When you set writing goals, you plan how to approach a particular blog, ad copy or an article. You create your ways to conduct the needful research and the likes.

Here’s what you must know about establishing writing goals.

®   If you find any particular project too complicated, make a list of all the potential research platforms you would like to explore for the task.

®   You may refer to digital forums such as ResearchGate, Google Scholar, Semantic Scholar and the likes.

®   Once you are done establishing your research goals, move on to the segment of outlining the final draft of your write-up.

®   Now, set your deadline. For example, if you are associated with an architecture dissertation writing  firm and your client wants you to deliver the case study within 48 hours, stay ahead of it.

®   Make it a point to wrap up the case study within 36 hours. Approach the paper accordingly, accumulate all key findings beforehand and stun your client with delivery before the actual deadline.

That’s how you establish and meet writing goals. When it comes to self-accountability, you got to walk that extra mile and make your presence felt among thousands of others.

4.     Work on one writing project at a time

The term ‘multitasking’ may sound cool, but it isn't everyone's cup of tea. To be very honest, there’s no credibility being a multitasker, only to ruin too many jobs at the same time. Especially when you are writing, and there's creativity associated with the task, you must always attempt one project at a time.

Here are some recommended suggestions that will help you through the process.

®   Dedicate separate writing hours for various projects.

®   For example, if you have the same deadline for two different writing projects, then refrain from working on them simultaneously.

®   Instead, chalk out a plan and dedicate a couple of hours in the morning to working on Project A, and commence Project B in the afternoon.

®   That way, you will be able to maintain a fine balance while attending bulk projects with the same deadline.

After all, working on one task at a time is easier than trying to hop around multiple projects. If you attend one particular task with complete focus and diligence, the overall quality of your write-up will automatically level up. Think it over!

5.     Reward yourself often

You don’t need to wait for your clients or managers to appreciate your writing endeavours. Instead, you can reward yourself and appreciate your effort towards the achievement you're a part of. For example, if you have successfully finished the writing project much ahead of the deadline, writer can try rate my paper for writing error fix. &  it is an achievement. So, why would you wait for others to appreciate it while you can do a lot many things to cheer yourself?

Take note of these ideas and game up self-accountability like a pro.

®   Set deadlines in terms of submission before the actual deadline, or set goals to reach the mark of typing 10,000 words in a day.

®   Once you achieve something huge, reward your effort by buying yourself your favourite pair shoes, go on a movie date or take a casual break from work.

®   These are nothing but ways that will help you identify yourself as a promising writer who can climb up the ladder amid all obstacles.

All that matters is a pat on the back to get us going. At times, you need to be your cheerleader. If it can make you a better writer, more accountable human being and a go-getter, then what’s the harm in rewarding yourself?

Summing up,

It won't matter if you are a writer offering should use spell checker  or someone from the ad copywriting agency; we all are selling words at the end of the day. Let’s make it worthwhile. Refer to the strategies mentioned above, focus on the key pointers and make your move towards becoming a better writer with each passing day.

Keep hustling. Keep growing!

Author Bio: Peter Clarke is an experienced writer, associated with the Law assignment help forum MyAssignmenthelp.com. Apart from that, he is a motivational speaker,  Psychology dissertation writer, NGO activist and digital education program coordinator, coming from Glasgow, the United Kingdom.