There's something to be said about a good compromise as long as you don't shame yourself or God. If coming to a mutual agreement will help make things better, smooth over feelings, and get the ball rolling, there's nothing wrong with having that discussion. It's not about "being the bigger person" it's about making things happen. I could have stood my ground, stomped my feet, cried "I PAID FOR THAT" and been the bitchy client, but instead, it just made sense to offer a solution I can live with, that will make the publishing efforts move forward. So I did.
My book "Of Kilted Pleasure" is being published by Xlibris. This is probably the last book I'll ever publish with Xlibris, it's been a roller coaster, and no one should have to put up with that. I say it's my last, but to be honest, I'm not sure I won't use them again; since we worked out the kinks. It just depends on what I think I want in a publisher. I want someone who will send my books to places where they will be seen. I think Outskirts may be a better choice. We'll see.
What I decided to do was to offer Xlibris an out so they could both save face and my time. I paid a reduced fee for the Level 3 illustration, but the illustrator was not happy about that. I was given the reduced fee by the project manager. He hadn't run it past the illustrator, and when she sent me a cartoon coloring book rendition of what I wanted my cover to look like, I about hit the roof!! The first design graphics person said we would use a photo and superimpose my name and the title over the photo; that was OK, but that's not what I wanted. I wanted the whole man holding the woman, and they're being all sexy-like, but that's not going to happen without models and I can't afford that. The thing is, I paid for the Level 3 service, with or without a discount, and that's what I should expect; but it wasn't going to happen without a long and drawn-out fight.
I went online and looked up several books and decided that my book will be just fine with a photo on the front cover and my name and the title of the book being overly large and obnoxious. Why not? When in Rome, right? So, I did what all authors in my situation do, I compromised and I made it perfectly clear that I will be 100% satisfied with the cover and I expect them to get it right so I don't have to fight over the details. They agreed to make their best efforts. They've been really nice to me, letting me write, rewrite, submit, and repeat the manuscript, without charging me, so this will be a good thing. I think it will work out.
I went back to Getty Images and I found the cover shot. I have asked them to digitally remove the tower part of the ruins, as my ruins in the book don't have a tower, and we'll see if they can do that without fudging up the photo. I think they can. It's romantic, mysterious, and all that. We'll see if it will be a good cover. I think it will be. I chose electric metallic blue for the color of the letters and different fonts for the author's name and the title. My name will be on top, the title on the bottom, and the title will be scriptish and lacy, where my name will be subtle and stated. My first name over my last. It will happen soon, and I'll post it. For now, I'll just say we're in the middle of the compromise and I think they're going for it. It wouldn't make sense not to.
Viva la communication!!
Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES
No comments:
Post a Comment