I did like the cover version where the wolf dissolved as a foreshadowing of *SPOILER* the nanotech nature of it, but the "Boy and his Dog" image - in any version - is absolutely the right basic concept.
As I said on FB, I love that tag line. Again, perfection.
Some good and useful information in this article. Thanks!
Once we've moved to our final location I'll be adding this to my bookshelf.
I'm smiling, remembering the times when I've held physical copies of my own work. The utter surprise when my first story sold (a friend of mine submitted it to the magazine, so, literally the first I knew about it was when the magazine arrived in the mail with my check), the thrill of walking into a game shop a thousand miles from home and buying a different magazine with my work in it, the box I have full of all my articles for OC Weekly, buying my band's CD in a store - to this day that copy is shrink wrapped with the price sticker on it. Feels great!
NAA is a well done story. I hope the ebook/physical print finds an audience.
Yeah, the dissolving wolf concept was good, but the execution was poor on my part. Depicting it in a decent way was a bit beyond my capabilities, I think.
It's definitely going to be interesting to see how a print book (And ebook) is received versus a serialised online format.
I love the cover. Well done! The options you mention are the same ones I was considering for my self-publishing project (when I get there) and I appreciate you sharing your experiences. I also write in Scrivener and have been debating the Reedsy program vs InDesign (which I have, but I'm not sure how they compare...) Anyway, good luck with your actual book!
Yeah, I love InDesign for print projects, but I’ve never tried it for digital. Might have to experiment… I’m glad Reedsy worked out for your project :-)
Great cover! My journey has been the opposite. I started on the indie publishing route and have found my way to serials. Good luck with your journey. It can be overwhelming, but just taking one step at a time has helped me
Thanks. I love that there are so many options for authors these days. Lots of different approaches to try out.
Something I've (slowly) realised is that there are many different types of reader. It doesn't matter how well I do the weekly serial thing, there will always be some readers who don't want to read in that way. And that's fine! But that's why it's important to also have the books available in other forms, such as ebook and print.
It's an interesting and rapidly developing field. Episode 115 of the Play, Watch, Listen podcast had a great conversation about AI images featuring Mike Bithell (who is not a fan). Really intelligent discussion of the pros and cons.
For me, it's really helped to make my Substack more visually arresting. There's a lot of curation to do, which I think is where some sort of authorial intent comes into play, and I sometimes dive in and do some manual adjustments as well. As a tool for concept work it's great.
The current Triverse cover uses AI art, but I've blended it together into a new image that represents the three worlds of the story. AI images with human-driven intent on top I think is a pretty brilliant thing.
MidJourney, which I use, is also advancing at a remarkable rate. The detail and fidelity is much better now than even a month ago.
Such a great guide. Thanks for the motivation and info. Congrats on this next stage of your self publishing career! I’ll be eager to get a copy once it’s released.
I get how pros wouldn't rate it (and naturally it's no substitute for human design) but for plebs like me with miniscule budgets, it opens a huge door. It's another internet leveller - in fact it doesn't strictly speaking level the playing field, but at least gives us a chance to play.
That cover is spot on.
Thanks! One day I'll have budget for an actual designer, but this'll do for now!
*Points out that when you were hashing out this cover design I cheerfully offered to take a pass or three for free. My DMs are always open for you.*
I did like the cover version where the wolf dissolved as a foreshadowing of *SPOILER* the nanotech nature of it, but the "Boy and his Dog" image - in any version - is absolutely the right basic concept.
As I said on FB, I love that tag line. Again, perfection.
Some good and useful information in this article. Thanks!
Once we've moved to our final location I'll be adding this to my bookshelf.
I'm smiling, remembering the times when I've held physical copies of my own work. The utter surprise when my first story sold (a friend of mine submitted it to the magazine, so, literally the first I knew about it was when the magazine arrived in the mail with my check), the thrill of walking into a game shop a thousand miles from home and buying a different magazine with my work in it, the box I have full of all my articles for OC Weekly, buying my band's CD in a store - to this day that copy is shrink wrapped with the price sticker on it. Feels great!
NAA is a well done story. I hope the ebook/physical print finds an audience.
Yeah, the dissolving wolf concept was good, but the execution was poor on my part. Depicting it in a decent way was a bit beyond my capabilities, I think.
It's definitely going to be interesting to see how a print book (And ebook) is received versus a serialised online format.
I love the cover. Well done! The options you mention are the same ones I was considering for my self-publishing project (when I get there) and I appreciate you sharing your experiences. I also write in Scrivener and have been debating the Reedsy program vs InDesign (which I have, but I'm not sure how they compare...) Anyway, good luck with your actual book!
InDesign will absolutely be more powerful, especially if you know what you're doing, but Reedsy was perfect for my needs.
Yeah, I love InDesign for print projects, but I’ve never tried it for digital. Might have to experiment… I’m glad Reedsy worked out for your project :-)
Great cover! My journey has been the opposite. I started on the indie publishing route and have found my way to serials. Good luck with your journey. It can be overwhelming, but just taking one step at a time has helped me
Thanks. I love that there are so many options for authors these days. Lots of different approaches to try out.
Something I've (slowly) realised is that there are many different types of reader. It doesn't matter how well I do the weekly serial thing, there will always be some readers who don't want to read in that way. And that's fine! But that's why it's important to also have the books available in other forms, such as ebook and print.
Exactly! I think it's awesome what the internet and technology brings to the reading world. So many options and so many possibilities
I'm giving AI art a crack...
It's an interesting and rapidly developing field. Episode 115 of the Play, Watch, Listen podcast had a great conversation about AI images featuring Mike Bithell (who is not a fan). Really intelligent discussion of the pros and cons.
For me, it's really helped to make my Substack more visually arresting. There's a lot of curation to do, which I think is where some sort of authorial intent comes into play, and I sometimes dive in and do some manual adjustments as well. As a tool for concept work it's great.
The current Triverse cover uses AI art, but I've blended it together into a new image that represents the three worlds of the story. AI images with human-driven intent on top I think is a pretty brilliant thing.
MidJourney, which I use, is also advancing at a remarkable rate. The detail and fidelity is much better now than even a month ago.
Such a great guide. Thanks for the motivation and info. Congrats on this next stage of your self publishing career! I’ll be eager to get a copy once it’s released.
Thanks, Winston! I'll keep you posted. Very much figuring this out as I go, so I'll be sure to flag up any pitfalls along the way...
Well done! Does it have that “new book” scent?
It did! Nothing better.
I get how pros wouldn't rate it (and naturally it's no substitute for human design) but for plebs like me with miniscule budgets, it opens a huge door. It's another internet leveller - in fact it doesn't strictly speaking level the playing field, but at least gives us a chance to play.