[kea]

I've had many conversations with writers and friends about how opinions on books and films are subjective. I'm a firm believer that (barring poor formatting, grammar, non-existent craft) one person's book to die for is another person's idea of desiring death before having to read it again. The same goes for books covers. I've seen covers that other people love that do nothing for me and vice versa. So I should know not to get upset about a harsh opinion. I've talked others out of letting subjective opinions get to them. I've had my one-star review, and while it ticked me off, I did not crawl into a ball and die over it. But tonight ... while in the hell of final edits on book two, I took a break to do some mindless internet surfing. I was searching for something under my pen name when I came across a search result that included my name with the title of Book Two, Risktaker. It was an entry in a long list (one of many long lists) of book covers that the blogger runs in order to make fun of and rip apart people's work. She takes the cover and makes sarcastic and arrogant comments, as if she is the definitive opinion on what's good and what's not. I won't link to it here, since that's not allowed and really, why give it any promotion? But the caption beneath my cover and some comments from readers of the blog really got to me. And what they said about my cover wasn't nearly as bad as what they said about other covers. Wow. I seriously wish I had the time on my hands to locate that many covers and be that creatively nasty. I would certainly use that many hours to do something less toxic.

Fortunately, I've had great reactions to the 2nd cover by some readers of the first book. Still, it's really taken a toll on me tonight. What if it does suck? What if my readers have lousy opinions? That blogger really had to be spending a lot of time to hunt for covers....mine isn't all that well publicized yet. Before the release, I had planned to change the typeface because I was never completely satisfied with it. But, other than that, I love the art. The artist did exactly what I wanted and it follows the style of book one's cover.

So why can't I move on and get back to editing tonight? I'm not much of a drinker, but I might just chug back a glass of Bailey's and call it a night.

 

[kea]

Okay, so I had my Bailey's (over chocolate ice cream) and I'm feeling a bit better ... but the Baileys didn't have as much to do with that as all of you did. Thank you soooo much. Not only have you cheered me up, but you've validated my own jitters about the font/title placement. Thanks so much for the ideas on fixing that. I will be trying them all. Yes, the series is science fiction and this second book has a strong romance element to it.
Going to bed now to get some sleep before waking early to get back to editing. You know, people can nitpick at kindleboards/writer's cafe all they want, but there is NO better writing community for real helpful advice, empathy, and people who know the value of indulging in food and drink for celebration and/or commiseration! Thanks again for fixing my mood! My own husband was at a loss trying to "fix" me.