I started writing when I was nine years old. About a year ago, I decided to try and get published. I thought writing a good book was the most important thing.
I was wrong.
Writing the book is just the beginning. First was the writing, then the editing, which is a beast in and of itself. After the editing came the blurb and the query letters, then sample chapters, and the waiting.
Let me tell you this in absolute terms: writing a 3-4 paragraph blurb and a one page query letter are both exponentially harder than writing a 100,000 word book. Unequivocally.
After all of that, which takes just as long as writing the thing, by the way, comes the contract, which I've written about before. Unfortunately, that's just the beginning.
Right now, I am at the cover part. Choosing a cover, designing a cover, approving a cover. Whatever part of it is yours, it is HARD. I have spent hours upon hours looking at stock photos. Going through them, looking at them with a magnifying glass, keeping a log of what I would change about each and what I like. I've been sharing them with the publisher, asking questions and just basically harassing them.
Yesterday, I gave up. See, I came to this conclusion: I am not an artist, nor am I a publisher. I write. I craft and sculpt words, not images. I have not one clue what I'm doing when we're dealing with graphics. So, instead of continuing to spend hours upon hours combing through images, I sent my publisher an email telling them that I give up and they can figure it out.
It's not that I don't want to be involved. I do. I can't wait to look at it and suggest tweaks and help make it what I see in my head. I just don't have the skills to do it myself. I also don't have the skills to edit my own work, which is why I have beta readers and is why my publisher's editing staff is going over my work. I learned a long time ago that my inability to catch my own typos is not something I should feel guilty about. Now it's my turn to figure out how to accept the fact that along with decidedly NOT being an editor, I am also most decidedly NOT a graphic artist.
And y'know what? Oh well. I wear enough hats.
No author/writer is good at editing their own work. We see what we know it should be, not what is there. It's part of being a story teller. Having beta testers is fantastic! This is why a few of us starte Aspiring and Published Authors group a year and a half ago. We wanted to create a friendly group to help each other through the process of writing, the ups and downs, helping to find beta testers, and encouraging each other along the way. Thanks for sharing this. We do have a few members who are editors and artists so if you're looking there is always someone willing to point you in the right direction.
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