alfreda89: 3 foot concrete Medieval style gargoyle with author's hand resting on its head. (Mascot)
alfreda89 ([personal profile] alfreda89) wrote2013-03-20 10:14 am
Entry tags:

POD Covers and POD....

Everyone, I am about to plunge into the world of custom artwork for my Alfreda novels. (Yes, I have pretty much decided not to submit them to NYC. The agent will get other things from me, but I do not expect a house to offer me a contract I could sign.)

This is not going to be cheap, and apparently I need to decide up front which group I'm going to work with for the POD version. The templates vary. The artist can make a print cover and then create the ebook cover from it, but the reverse doesn't happen easily, if at all. So -- this is your chance to express yourself.

Have you tried any of the POD suppliers? Create Space? Lightning Source? Lulu? I'm going to search for quality vs.cost vs. distribution options. I want acid-free paper. We're talking three books that I hope convention vendors will be interested in trying out, that I hope might make their way into bookstores. But I also realize that sales online, even of print, may be all that will happen, since trade paperback books are so much higher in price (last I checked) than mass market books.

I'm interested in your experiences and opinions, if you would like to share them. You can contact me by message, if you want to comment privately.

I want to hear your war stories. I can only afford to do this once -- screwing up will set me back years and money I don't have to spare. So, anyone who has time to share their story? This is the moment.

And yes, I will share conclusions. An Excel spreadsheet will be born!

Thank you.

POD covers

[identity profile] elizabeth k. burton (from livejournal.com) 2013-03-20 07:29 pm (UTC)(link)
There is another option, you know, to doing it yourself. :-)

Re: POD covers

[identity profile] alfreda89.livejournal.com 2013-03-20 08:06 pm (UTC)(link)
I refuse to tie up these books for lifetime of copyright, not knowing if they will scrw it up, and I refuse to allow an open-ended ebook clause that basically says they can pay me anything they feel like it at any time. Contracts stink right now -- and if I deal with a small press, my agent will break with me if there's no advance. (At least he refused to do so the last time I brought him a small press.)

These aren't just books to me -- this series is my baby.

If I could get a decent contract from NYC, I'd work with Ace, because Anne Sowards loved the Allie books. But she didn't want to buy the backlist until I finished the third -- and the third isn't finished because of financial pressures. I understand her position, but she's lost her advantage. I need income, and that means getting the books out as fast as I can.

Don't I need a manuscript from you? ;^)