Thank you this was so helpful. I’ve just finished my 3rd draft / edit and sent it to my beta readers. I’m so nervous about sharing my work but I know it will strengthen the story in the long run. This was full of really helpful information as I’m planning on self publishing. Thanks again.
I’m so glad it was helpful! I share a lot of this info with my book coaching clients, and I decided I’d prefer to write it out and share with everyone. Also, congrats on finishing up that third draft and giving it to readers. It is tough when you start sharing it with the larger world, but honest and thoughtful feedback will help you figure out what needs a bit more polish in that next revision. Best of luck with your publishing journey.
Congrats, Ivy! I'm on the poorer end, unfortunately, so I relied on Fiverr, haha. I checked their portfolios beforehand, but you never know until you actually work with them. At least Fiverr won't give them the money until you are satisfied. I worked with a book formatter on Fiverr and he was awesome! He used Vellum.
Though I say I'm on the poorer end, I'm already lucky. Some people can't even afford to pay $50 for a book cover designer, omg, as a couple of friends have told me. I think it's hard to imagine what someone on a very different socioeconomic level can afford. Some things I take for granted, I suddenly realize are unaffordable to someone else. (Then I feel guilty for suggesting it.)
I remember a friend suggesting book contests as a cheaper way to get feedback. Since judges give you feedback even if you don't win. (At least for the contests she recommended.). It was $25 back then. Then I saw an author say that $25 is hard to scrape up for her. 😱 I remember being shocked that even $25 is considered too much.
Heck, I told a friend who was working as a caretaker, that he could hire a designer on Fiverr for $10. But apparently even $10 is too much for him... (This was about a decade ago, so $10 meant more back then but still, wow.)
Thank you Sieran! Glad you had a better experience on Fiverr than I did. I needed help with my book blurb and I think I reached out to 10 writers. Crickets. Maybe they didn't think I was worth their time? Thanks for letting anyone down here in the comments know at least you don't pay until you are happy with the work that was produced.
As for the money issue, yep. I was super broke in college. There was no way I would have money for things like a cover, though I suppose the only writing I was doing then were term papers. It's really unfortuate that the old adage, "you have to have money to make money" is true. Or that being an artist/writer means you're probably not going to be rich unless you are Stephen King or Sarah J. Maas. Hopefully some of those creators can find scholarships or a means to get a reduced rate. I'd like to offer edits at a discount in the future for those folks, but as long as I'm supporting my two kids, its probably not going to happen.
Oh I had a lot of bad experiences on Fiverr, actually. My previous designer was so bad, that Fiverr suspended their account, LOL. Though that's when I learned that they don't get paid until I'm satisfied. Otherwise, Fiverr refunds me and encourages me to find someone else.
Well my number one gripe with the designers I worked with, on both Fiverr and 99Designs, is that most of them don't communicate much. They just guess at what I want rather than asking clarifying questions. So we go back and forth a gazillion times, often on trivial things like text placement.
But there are the rare designers who are great at communication. Like my Fiverr book formatter! He was amazing and I would recommend him to anyone. I gave him a harder task to do too, since I had a long glossary and a map inside. But he was a great sport and was communicative throughout!
There were a few designers who were not that communicative, but they were quick to grasp what I wanted, and gave me exactly what I wanted fast! So I was happy with those folks too.
Thank you this was so helpful. I’ve just finished my 3rd draft / edit and sent it to my beta readers. I’m so nervous about sharing my work but I know it will strengthen the story in the long run. This was full of really helpful information as I’m planning on self publishing. Thanks again.
I’m so glad it was helpful! I share a lot of this info with my book coaching clients, and I decided I’d prefer to write it out and share with everyone. Also, congrats on finishing up that third draft and giving it to readers. It is tough when you start sharing it with the larger world, but honest and thoughtful feedback will help you figure out what needs a bit more polish in that next revision. Best of luck with your publishing journey.
Congrats, Ivy! I'm on the poorer end, unfortunately, so I relied on Fiverr, haha. I checked their portfolios beforehand, but you never know until you actually work with them. At least Fiverr won't give them the money until you are satisfied. I worked with a book formatter on Fiverr and he was awesome! He used Vellum.
Though I say I'm on the poorer end, I'm already lucky. Some people can't even afford to pay $50 for a book cover designer, omg, as a couple of friends have told me. I think it's hard to imagine what someone on a very different socioeconomic level can afford. Some things I take for granted, I suddenly realize are unaffordable to someone else. (Then I feel guilty for suggesting it.)
I remember a friend suggesting book contests as a cheaper way to get feedback. Since judges give you feedback even if you don't win. (At least for the contests she recommended.). It was $25 back then. Then I saw an author say that $25 is hard to scrape up for her. 😱 I remember being shocked that even $25 is considered too much.
Heck, I told a friend who was working as a caretaker, that he could hire a designer on Fiverr for $10. But apparently even $10 is too much for him... (This was about a decade ago, so $10 meant more back then but still, wow.)
Thank you Sieran! Glad you had a better experience on Fiverr than I did. I needed help with my book blurb and I think I reached out to 10 writers. Crickets. Maybe they didn't think I was worth their time? Thanks for letting anyone down here in the comments know at least you don't pay until you are happy with the work that was produced.
As for the money issue, yep. I was super broke in college. There was no way I would have money for things like a cover, though I suppose the only writing I was doing then were term papers. It's really unfortuate that the old adage, "you have to have money to make money" is true. Or that being an artist/writer means you're probably not going to be rich unless you are Stephen King or Sarah J. Maas. Hopefully some of those creators can find scholarships or a means to get a reduced rate. I'd like to offer edits at a discount in the future for those folks, but as long as I'm supporting my two kids, its probably not going to happen.
Oh I had a lot of bad experiences on Fiverr, actually. My previous designer was so bad, that Fiverr suspended their account, LOL. Though that's when I learned that they don't get paid until I'm satisfied. Otherwise, Fiverr refunds me and encourages me to find someone else.
Well my number one gripe with the designers I worked with, on both Fiverr and 99Designs, is that most of them don't communicate much. They just guess at what I want rather than asking clarifying questions. So we go back and forth a gazillion times, often on trivial things like text placement.
But there are the rare designers who are great at communication. Like my Fiverr book formatter! He was amazing and I would recommend him to anyone. I gave him a harder task to do too, since I had a long glossary and a map inside. But he was a great sport and was communicative throughout!
There were a few designers who were not that communicative, but they were quick to grasp what I wanted, and gave me exactly what I wanted fast! So I was happy with those folks too.