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Do I really need to explain?
How about I just say thank you Alex; remind people they can find more awesome posts HERE; and offer up a round of applause for this month's minions: CD Coffelt, Tina Downey, Isis Downey, and Michelle Wallace.
Last month was peak season for insecurity. That happens to me periodically. I've actually matured a bit from the teenage me who would reinvent herself with the changing seasons. No more cutting my own hair (that's partly because I fear my hair dresser, but still...no chop chop of the locks when I'm down!) or deciding that everything about me will be different.
Cue Bruce Springsteen, I wanna change my clothes, my hair, my face...Man I ain't gettin' nowhere. Sick of sittin' round here tryin' to write this book
That's my pity party anthem, name that song and you get a kudos ;)
You may hum that merry tune whilst I carry on with my post...
Ninety-nine percent of the time I'm perfectly content to be me.
But every one percent of the time...
That insecure, bitchy little beast decides everything needs a make over.
Everything.
Normally I just have my self to tinker with, but when the inner twit started snarling this time, she had manuscripts and covers and a blog to pick on. She wanted to change one hundred percent of everything. Scrap it all, start fresh.
The result? A complete slow down on edits (for all who have volunteered to host me...I'm slowly getting in touch...my release date is now in limbo.) Edits that should have taken me a few days, took me a month. Even my editor was like, "Seriously, there wasn't much wrong, what's up?"
Then in the midst of those edits...I decided I no longer liked Healing Summer's cover. So, I went to World Castle's cover designer and begged a new one. She agreed and we got to work. I was a complete and total pain in the arse while I rejected cover after cover. Loathed over stock photos and finally came up with a cover I thought was pretty....and then I fell out of love when I saw it on Amazon.
Bless her heart, Lindsay offered to start again, but I had a moment of enlightenment and admitted that in my mood, I wouldn't like anything. Besides, I had a book to finish and launch and I'm obsessing over old books.
Now that the moment is behind me, I realize that feeling overwhelmed feeds my insecurity. I'm the kind of chick who likes her ducks to at least stay in the freaking pond area. When they all start walking along highways and base jumping from roof tops, I get a little stressed out. Then I want to grab them all, tie them up, and buy myself a new wardrobe.
It's just my nature.
And it's the nature of the duck to sometimes fly free.
That's just life. We accept and move on. Maybe laugh about it years from now.
After I decide...
Do I like this cover?
Or the new one?
**A special thanks goes to Lindsay Ann Kendall- cover maker, therapist, and saint.
She's doing some awesome work. If you need a cover, check out her website Here!
That 1% can be a real b...jerk.
ReplyDeleteThe important thing is that you're able to take a step back when you get overwhelmed. It's hard to see the big picture when too much happens at once.
See? I learned stuff this semester :D
Isn't she though? Throw some pretty pink duct tape over her mouth and we'd all be happier!
DeleteAnd that IS good advice...you most certainly did learn this semester!!
Wouldn't it be nice if our ducks stayed in their pond? I wish! lol
ReplyDeleteIf I get the sudden urge that everything needs to be renovated I do something small. Maybe move around the things on my blog in a different order or swap out a few pictures. Normally that helps to make it feel fresh. If that doesn't work, I break out the big gun . . . I organize a messy closet from top to bottom!
I like the colors and brightness of the second cover, but I think the first cover reveals a little more about the story. I don't know if that helps you at all with your decision so I'll just wish you good luck. Lindsay did a great job with both of them. :)
Gutting a closet is an excellent idea. It totally feels good to see something finished. And this place needs a good purging. The clutter is taking over!
DeleteThe cover advice does help. I think somehow I need a blend of the two. A little on the sweet side, but not so sweet it looks like an inspirational.
Yay for the 99%! I definitely get the urge to throw everything out to start again sometimes - but then I get lazy and don't bother :-)
ReplyDeleteI think the second cover suits the style of story more than the other one, actually. I like them both though.
And you've read the story, so that means a lot. I kept getting feedback from people that they thought the book was a sizzling read, and it's not. But like my publisher says, it's not overly "sweet" either. It's definitely turning out to be the middle child of the series.
DeleteI like both covers. Maybe the one with the people a little more.
ReplyDeleteBorn to Run?
I'm not much for change, so getting me to do so is a greater problem.
Hopefully you have a release date soon.
I'm not one for change either...99% of the time. I'm like Annalisa...too lazy for it most days.
DeleteMy publisher is a fan of people too.
Oh, and it's Dancing in the Dark. But I made it tough by pulling snippets from verses that aren't even together in the song
DeleteElizabeth, I know exactly what you mean. I have periods like that, too, where I just question everything! Even though most of the time everything is great. Blech. Why do we do this? Lol.
ReplyDeleteGood luck picking a cover! I think you can't go wrong with either one. :)
Aren't you sweet and diplomatic in your choice ;)
DeleteI truly think it's stress induced...that's the culprit.
I love that reinventing the self thing. It is part of why I always envisioned myself in academia... fresh start each year, but it hasn't worked out that way. I am ALSO a creature of routine, though... I stick with things. The fiction is a good way to get the fresh starts in there, but I REALLY REALLY REALLY prefer a shiny new project to say... third round of editing... I wish I wrote clean enough that I could just turn it over to a copyeditor, but I don't.
ReplyDeleteI prefer the 2nd cover, but the 2nd cover looks a lot sweeter, where the first looks steamy, so I might choose based on that impression you want to get across.
Oh a new school year was always such a thrill...nothing like a blank slate. I too am a creature of habit and limit my changes to the realm of make believe. And my first drafts are rough, rough, rough. I hate to admit how many it takes until it's even coherent.
DeleteI don't think the book is steamy at all. It's an old school Danielle Steele. There is sex, but I like to think plot trumps position.
True story:
ReplyDeleteAs a 16 year old, my father got to talking to a friend of his who just happened to own a VW Bug. My father bought it from him and gave it to me for my birthday. We waxed the old car and made it look awesome again. To this day, I have a great fondness for pink bugs.
Even if pink and I only get along as a hair color...
My niece, Stacey (she takes note when NOT mentioned by name), found this picture in the stock photos and I fell in love. The MC, Mollie is all sorts of sweet and this would so be her ride. But then she meets Craig who is an alpha ass, so sweet meets salty...now to get a cover that says that...
DeleteThat's Dancing in the Dark and now I am singing it and will be all day. A Boss fanatic, here. :D
ReplyDeleteI agree, I always seem to get more insecure when I feel overwhelmed. For what it's worth I love both covers but I think I am partial to the new one.
Don't you just love his butt on the Born in the USA cover? Sigh. Talk about cover love ;)
DeleteThanks for picking a favorite!
Oh I think choosing a cover that speaks, visually, of what your heart knows about your story would be almost impossible! I took like the little quackers in their orderly rows, but HA! life seldom dishes it out that way.
ReplyDeleteThat is the hardest thing Julie...I have a vision in my head, but no way to make it happen. That happens when I decorate a room too.
DeleteYour ducks fly off roofs?? Dang they are just as adventurous as you!!! I adore you my sweet pea. We have bounced that cover all over the place haven't we?? It should feel bruised but still looks pretty. Thanks for letting me be a part if your decisions or more like indecisiveness. Truly means you love me. Your really love me!!! Hahaha
ReplyDeleteOf course I love you. Or do I just say that because in reality I am just picking your brain for good ideas and advice?
DeleteI like your covers...don't know which one is best, they're both nice in their own ways.
ReplyDeleteYeah...don't go pulling a Britney Spears and shaving your head when you're down. It's COLD.
Take care, and stay positive. You are worthy. :)
M.L. Swift, Writer
Thanks Michael. I would never shave my head, I have a lumpy forehead that I have to keep covered with bangs. I'm glad you feel I'm worthy. That means a lot. :)
DeleteThey are great covers. If I had to choose, I'd personally go with the first one :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Lynda! I'm beginning to think I need to somehow blend the two. Maybe call in a photography friend who might be able to give me something better than a stock photo.
DeletePersonally ---the one with the couple is calling me.
ReplyDeleteOh well, in that case...double votes for it!
DeleteI like both covers! And how I relate to this post- I have changed my mind about my story and it's contents and it's overall theme so many times. I feel like all of my friends and family think I am a total joke. I have had my book sitting in limbo for so long I wonder if I am just some stupid hack that should never have tried in the first place. Then, the next day I read something I wrote and think, "that's not so bad". Ugh. That inner critic needs to be b-slapped from time to time.
ReplyDeleteOh jaybird...I think we are sharing the same inner critic. I can't even read the books that are in print. It gives me anxiety because I start thinking that I let them out into the world too soon. I don't know if I will ever be the bold sort who says, yeah I rocked that.
DeleteBut I will say...your blog is excellent, so you evidently have talent and I bet your stories are just as good.
Accept, move on and laugh about it - sounds like a great formula to me.
ReplyDeleteIt's really all we can do, right?
Delete