Rena Rocford On The Cover Of Acne, Asthma & Other Signs You Might Be Half Dragon

I love talking to debut authors. Our experiences are so similar, yet so very different, that every one of us has a new story to share. Everyone says that the moment you get your cover it really hits you - you're an author. The cover is your story - and you - packaged for the world. So the process of the cover reveal can be slightly panic inducing. Does it fit your story? Is it what you hoped? Will it sell? With this in mind I put together the CRAP (Cover Reveal Anxiety Phase) Interview.

Today's guest for the CRAP is Rena Rocford’s who has found that living as a muggle brought some level of success such as completing her master’s degree, but always stories returned, calling her to the keyboard in the dark of night. Now, having built armies from words, Rena has set her sights on world domination, one book at a time.You can find Rena at her blog, follow her on Twitter, GoodReads, or find her on Facebook. Her debut novel, Acne, Asthma, and Other Signs You Might Be Half Dragon comes out November 23rd, 2015.

Did you have any pre-conceived notions about what you wanted your cover to look like?

Yes and no. The book was always really amorphous as far as what it would look like, but I think that was because all I could picture was a cover where you have the protagonist looking back over their shoulder, looking somewhat forlorn. I did know that I wanted a person on the cover of my book, and I really wanted it to be pretty. With a title like mine, there’s definitely a lot of room for a cutsy or joke cover, and I really didn’t want that. 

How far in advance from your pub date did you start talking covers with your house?

With my publisher, they give you an opportunity to put forward your ideas about the cover from the moment you sign the book. So, August of 2014 I sent Curiosity Quills my thoughts on a cover. After that, silence until late August of this year when they sent a request for a description of my MC.

Did you have any input on your cover?

While they gave me all kinds of opportunities to give input, they―rightfully!—took practically none of it. Right at the very end, the artist wanted to add just one more element to busy up the cover a touch, and they asked me about my thoughts for that element. To my great surprise, they took my suggestion.

How was your cover revealed to you?

I knew it would be showing up sooner or later, but, like all other good and bad news, it slipped into my inbox without any fanfare. I knew what it was the second I saw who had sent it, and I went to make myself a cup of tea before opening the email.

Was there an official "cover reveal" date for your art?

There was a date, but it wasn’t that official. Because my art came so close to my release, they needed to get the promotion part going, so they quietly sent it as part of the promo work and a couple days later I clogged up Facebook with it.

How far in advance of the reveal date were you aware of what your cover would look like?

About a week.

Was it hard to keep it to yourself before the official release?

Yes, very much! I LOVE my cover, and I wanted to splash it up everywhere once I had seen it. I maybe even did like a little happy dance about it. 

What surprised you most about the process?

The biggest surprise for me was how much I was in denial until I saw my art. There were long swaths of silence, and in those periods of quiet I felt like someone was going to pull the plug on my book and make the whole thing go away. I was haunted by this feeling that at any minute someone would show up and say “Whoops, sorry, we didn’t mean to get your hopes up, but we’ve come to our senses and remembered that your work is terrible!” And then one day, there was a cover. What had previously been very cerebral and hypothetical was suddenly very, very real.

Any advice to other debut authors about how to handle cover art anxiety?

It’s pretty cliché at this point, but keep writing. There is only one thing that helps, and it is getting lost in a new project. 

Writing, Publishing & Marketing Advice From Beth Revis

Today I am very happy to welcome to the blog bestselling author Beth Revis. Beth is the author of the NY Times Bestselling Across the Universe series, published by Razorbill/Penguin in the US and available in 17 countries. A former teacher, Beth lives in rural North Carolina with her husband and dog.

Beth has published a three-part series to help aspiring authors find their way through the maze of writing an publishing. Learn to avoid the common pitfalls and find your own path with Beth's PAPER HEARTS series.

Your PAPER HEARTS series is a three-pronged look at writing, publishing and marketing. How important do you think it is for a writer to be good at all three?

For a writer, the only thing you need is to know how to tell a good story. For a career author who wants to make a living at writing, I think it's necessary to know the business side of it, too--which includes not just writing a query, but deciding the best publishing path for your specific career, and then exploring the tools to help you position yourself for continued success. 

My books are definitely not going to be a cure-all, but I want to get people to ask themselves the questions necessary to sustain a career. What is more important to you, specifically: one book published or a career in writing? Are you more willing to sacrifice time or money when it comes to marketing? Are you more comfortable being social or innovative? How can you best help your career? Publishing, like writing, is not a one-size-fits all.

The idea came about after your collected Wattpad project had reached critical mass. Can you tell us more about your motivation to help aspiring writers?

I think part of my motivation just comes from the way my brain ticks. I used to be a teacher, and I loved that job. Not the grading papers or dealing with parents, not that, but the actual teaching part. I loved helping students, I loved discussing new ideas and just...just teaching. I really loved that job. This book comes about in part because of that. 

When someone asks a question, I want to be able to help them find an answer. So I started hanging around writing boards, like Reddit, Miss Snark's First Victim, and Facebook forums. I found that I was answering a lot of the same questions over and over, so I started to compile it all in Wattpad. A few months ago, after I hit my first 100,000 reads, I realized that I was looking at not one book, but three, and I might be able to help more people if I published them.

Volume three focuses on marketing... something that many writers are uncomfortable with, claiming that they're artists, not salespeople. Are there effective marketing strategies for even the shyest of scribes?

Oh, absolutely! That's the beauty of the internet! :)

But beyond that, there are ways where you can let your books do the talking. I am not a fan of the "hard sell"--where you stand up and actively approach people and engage with strangers. It works for some people, but not for me. So I try mostly to focus on ways you can engage no matter what your level. 

But a big key to marketing is just being plugged into the community. If you're most comfortable with Twitter, use Twitter. Not as an advertiser, as a user. See what makes you click links, which contests you are tempted to sign up for, which books you notice, and you'll be well on your way to finding the method of marketing that works best for you.

Only the first in the three volume series focuses on the actual writing process. How do you think an author's position in the publishing industry has changed over time?

When it comes to publishing, good writing will out. The first book is on writing processes, and it's the longest of the three books, but at the end of the day, the entire book is summed up with: "make art the best way you can." 

Publishing is more cut-and-dry. There are specific methods of publishing that work and some that don't. And sure, there are exceptions to the rule, but learning how to write a good pitch paragraph is important whether you are traditionally published (and need to add it to a query or a website) or you're self publishing and have to put it on the back of your book. Authors have a ton more options now to publish, and it is possible to stand out as a self publisher, and the best thing you can do for yourself is just learn and then be as professional as possible.

The title, PAPER HEARTS, is intriguing. What does it mean to you, personally?

I've latched on to that phrase for years. A paper heart is fragile, easily torn. But writers build their lives around paper, and even if one piece is easy to tear into shreds, a stack of papers--like the kind that make a book--is strong.

Thursday Thoughts

Thoughts lately...

1) We always use football fields as size references. But if you tell me something's as big as Tunguska I'd be like OH MAN HOLY SHIT.

2) When I have a sore throat and people hoarse-talk back at me, I want to punch then in the trachea so that they don't have to fake it.

3) My nephew refers to Star Wars: A New Hope as the fourth movie and reads the CS Lewis books in chronological order. Our inner geeks are in constant conflict.