Mark Whiteway on Affordable Cover Deisgners

When fellow author Mark Whiteway showed me his new book covers, and mentioned what it cost him to have them commissioned, I asked him if he would write up a guest post about it. I'll let him take it from here.

Affordable Cover Designers 

by Mark Whiteway

Imagine a world where people with all manner of skills would work for highly affordable rates, whilst falling over themselves to please you. A world where you call the shots, you set the deadlines and you pay for work only when you are totally satisfied.

When Victorine assessed my books and it became clear that I needed new covers, my heart sank. I have the design skills of a four year old finger painter, and I don’t have the time, money or patience to get involved with photoshop or the equivalent. What to do? I queried several designers who wanted anything from 80 to 200 bucks per cover including some who would only let you use the finished product under license. It was then that I stumbled across oDesk. https://www.odesk.com/

oDesk is best described as an online virtual supermarket for employers. There are literally hundreds of people offering skills, many of which are highly relevant to independent authors. Need an editor? No problem. Graphic design? Got you covered. Formatting? Sure. Web design? Can do.

Many contractors are from the third world and will work for rates that we in the West would consider derisory. A custom designed ebook cover for example, will typically set you back no more than 15 or 20 bucks. Usually you will work with them using skype which is a highly effective way of collaborating and swapping design ideas in real time.  

Navigating the site is easy. You sign up as a new employer, which is free, and within minutes you can be posting your first job.

Spend a little time perusing the highly informative blogs and tutorial videos. You can search for contractors and offer them work directly, but unless you are looking for something highly specialised, it’s better to put out a general post. Take a look at job posts from those who want similar work done and you will quickly get the idea.

You can offer fixed price or hourly rate. For an ebook cover, choose fixed price and indicate that payment in full is to be made only on satisfactory completion of the project. You can specify the minimum skills you expect the person to have. As I am a techno dunce, I specified that the contractor had to produce upload ready files of the final design for Kindle, Nook and Smashwords. I offered 30 bucks because frankly I was not comfortable offering less than that!

Within 48 hours I had already accumulated 12 applicants. How do you tell if they are any good? Simple. Each contractor has a work history where they have been rated by past employers. Look particularly for those who have experience in the skill(s) you want and who have been re-engaged by the same people for further work. Graphic designers will have portfolios where you can view their past work.

Next, transfer your possible candidates to a short list and then interview them. There is an excellent blog on suggested interview questions. You can interview them in real time on skype, but I suggest sending them proforma interview first, so that you can evaluate their written responses.  

The contractor I selected, who was from the Philippines, was Jharwin Barrozo. His English is excellent, and he completely lived up to expectations, producing the finished design and upload ready files for each cover in about 48 hours on average. My covers are displayed here, so you can see Jharwin’s work.

The risk is minimal, since the contractor has to complete the job to your satisfaction in order to get paid. I did try another contractor, but she was not able to fulfil the task, and so I had no obligation to pay her. 

Publishing a book entails mastering a bewildering variety of skills. For those without the technical know-how, who are on a limited budget, and who do not have the will or the time to develop all of these ancillary skills, or for those of us who would frankly rather just get on with the business of writing, oDesk can provide a highly cost effective solution.

Mark's books can be found on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords.

Another Sneak Peek: Witness Protection

Here's more of my work in progress: Witness Protection

If you missed the first part, you can read it here.

Enjoy!

***

Joni wiped her hands on her jeans. The small room was a bit too cold, but that didn’t keep her from sweating. She placed her arms on the table in front of her. They said someone would be coming in. They’d better hurry, she didn’t see a trash can, and her cookies were about to be tossed.

She ran her hand through her short dark hair. She must look terrible. Her mascara had probably run down her face as she was telling the police officers what had happened.

A thin man wearing a dark suit entered the room. He clutched a file to his chest. “My name is Detective Morris. You must be Ms. Appleton.”

Joni stood, and shook his warm hand. “Yes, I’m Joni.”

“Please, have a seat. Would you like a soda?”

Her stomach lurched. “No, thank you.”

Detective Morris slapped his file down on the table, his chair scraping on the floor as he sat. “I’m going to show you some photographs. I want you to take your time. Tell me if you recognize any of these people.”

He pulled out several pages, each with a dozen thumbnail photographs on them. Joni leaned over the pictures. Unfamiliar faces peered back at her. She scanned the images, looking for anything familiar. When she got to the third page, she saw him. It was Anthony, she was sure of it. He stared back at her, the same hard, cold face from earlier that night.

She pointed. “There. That’s the man I saw. I watched him shoot two people.”

The detective gave a slight nod. “Are you sure?”

Joni peered down at the photograph once more. A cold feeling crept over her. “Yes. That’s him.”

With no reaction to what she said, he gathered up the file and stood. “Thank you.”

“Now what? Can I go home?”

A sad smile flitted across his face. “I’ll be sending someone in to talk to you.”

“Wait,” she said, trying not to shout. “Tell me. Are you going to hold me all night? Because I really need to go home and get some sleep. I’ve got an early shift at the Deli in the morning.”

“I’m sorry, you won’t be able to go home.”

Joni stepped back. “What do you mean?”

“Anthony Valdeo is a very dangerous man. If he doesn’t know who you are, he will soon find out. We need to put you in protective custody.”

***

The mountainous terrain sped by outside her window as Joni sat in the back seat of the US Marshal’s car. Colorado. She had never been to Colorado. Now she would have to live there… indefinitely.

Her insides twisted up. She hadn’t even been allowed to go home and pack. All she had were the clothes on her back which weren’t even her own, some jeans and a t-shirt, and the watch she had saved up to buy at Macy’s. One brief phone call to her mother, and they put her on a plane. They even took away her name. Kathy Stone, that’s what she’s supposed to go by now. She hated it.

Two agents sat in the front seat, talking like nothing in the world could be wrong. The taller one, he said his name was Donavan, drove, while the short guy, Carlson, prattled on about some baseball team.

She closed her eyes. This was not how her life was supposed to go. Sure, marrying Jeffrey right out of high school had been a bad idea. But after he left, she was able to pick up the pieces and move on. With her summer night classes at the community college, and her job at the Deli, she was starting to get her life on track. Now what was she supposed to do?

The car slowed and Joni glanced around. They were pulling into a small mom and pop gas station. Carlson peered out the window. “What are you doing? We don’t need gas.”

“Bathroom break,” Donavan said in a flat tone. “I’ve got to use the can.”

“We’re not supposed to stop until we get there.”

Donavan looked annoyed, his eyes squinting at his partner. “I won’t be too long.”

Carlson waved his hand at him. “Whatever.”

The car came to a stop in front of the store and Donavan put it in park before getting out. There were only a few cars in the parking lot. Joni caught herself chewing on her fingernail as they waited. She stuffed her hands under her legs.

“Kathy?” Carlson said turning to look at her and sending pangs of irritation through Joni. No one could hear them. Why couldn’t he call her by her name? “Do you need to use the bathroom?”

“No.”

The side window shattered and Carlson slumped over, a trickle of blood coming from a hole in his temple. Joni ducked down in the back seat, her heart hammering. Not again. This can’t be happening. How did they find her?

Another bullet went through the back seat window. There was no gun shot sound. They must be using a silencer, or whatever they use on television. Were those even real?

She saw the gun in Carlson’s holster and grabbed it. The gun was heavier than it looked. Her hands shook. She’d never held a gun before, but it gave her comfort to know she had it.

Joni crawled to the opposite door. She had to get out of here. She pulled on the handle and eased herself onto the pavement, her legs shaking.

“Go that way!” a man’s voice called out.

There were two of them. At least. Joni swallowed the bile that came up in her throat. She circled around someone’s car, her head down, the gun pointed at the ground. Through the glass on the storefront she could see the shop owner behind the counter. He wasn’t looking her way.

She willed Donavan to come out of the shop. Please. The seconds ticked by. He wasn’t in sight.

Then she noticed the reflection on the glass. A man walked toward the Marshall’s car, a gun in his right hand. He had a jagged scar across his face. It wasn’t Anthony.

She saw another man she didn’t recognize coming from the other direction. If she stayed, the second man would catch her. Her eyes darted about the scene, calculating. She couldn’t shoot both of them. In fact, chances were good she couldn’t even shoot one of them. From the looks of it, her only chance of survival would be to get to the woods behind the store.

She didn’t wait another second. Gripping the gun, she sprinted toward the side of the shop.

“There she is!”

A piece of brick exploded beside her head as she rounded the corner. She ran to the back and kept going toward the trees, up a hill. Something whizzed beside her ear. Her legs pumped harder.

Her muscles screamed at her but she didn’t care. The trees were only a few yards away. With high school track she had learned how to keep pushing. She stepped on a branch and twisted her ankle. Pain shot up her leg as she staggered into the trees.

A quick glance behind told her the men were coming after her. She paused to lift the gun and squeeze the trigger. The kickback was a little more than she had anticipated. A clod of dirt exploded on the ground. She fired again, and then again. Apparently this gun didn’t need reloading. Unfortunately her aim was so bad it didn’t stop the men.

Scar face raised his gun. She abandoned the idea of trying to shoot them and took off into the woods. 

***

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Have a great day.

Vicki