Cover Reveal: Stealing Freedom Ebook (and Audiobook)

Greetings all,

About a year ago, Heidi Angell, T.W. Iain, Richard Drake, and I released The Power of Words, an anthology dedicated to the First Amendment. My story for that collection was Stealing Freedom, and fun heist story about a mother who’s planning to shut down the servers that ruthlessly enforce the prohibition of speech and communication on her planet.

As per the agreement we had on that anthology, we’re allowed to release our individual stories (the anthology will remain available) after a year.  In preparation for that, I’ve commissioned my artist, Carlos Villas, to do the cover.  So, without further delay, I proudly present to you the cover to Stealing Freedom, scheduled for release Oct. 1, 2019.

 

It always amazed me to see what Carlos does with my concepts.  For those who are interested, take a look at my request and little thumbnail:
I told him, “The frame is from the bridge of a girl-child’s nose to just below the collar bone. Around her neck is a metal (techno-looking) collar about an inch thick. Blue electricity is arcing around the collar which is visually undone.”

Carlos patiently went through 13 drafts of the image until we got to the image you see above. The bulk of the revisions were in getting the collar to where we wanted it and then getting that arcing light to look perfect.

He did all that work in perhaps a week? If you’re an author looking for a dedicated artist who will eagerly take direction and produce that level of work quickly, I couldn’t recommend Carlos highly enough.

Once I got the final image, I located a font I liked and designed the overall cover with the author and title text. One may argue my author text is a bit dark, but on a monitor it works out fine. I’d be more worried if it were for a print cover (as printing brings up color and density issues), but if my color-challenged eyes can make it out, I’m confident others can see it. I downloaded the font (for free) and placed everything.

The Audible cover (yes, the audio version of this novella will also be available (I hope) Oct. 1.) was more challenging.  In order to keep everything I wanted, I had to place the text over the face. My options were to put text over the face or crop the face out. I opted for the first choice.

Once more, you can expect Steal Freedom to be available on Kindle and Audible Oct. 1 (give or take a day or two).

Thanks for reading,

Matt

The November Book Cover of the Month Update!

Greetings all,

With just seven days left in this month’s bracket, it’s time to update you all on how things have been progressing.

As I type this, we have 517 votes so far. That’s not a typo. That’s unfortunately the actual number of votes. To put this into perspective, last month’s winning book had more than that number of votes all by itself. We really need some help here.  Please put the word out. Please vote. I know this is the last month, but we’re still going to do the Book Cover of the Year, and I truly would like it to support these authors. I’m praying you’ll help me get these designers the credit they deserve.

The Clock Strikes by Sean Cunningham is in first place.

Most Voted on so far: Cunningham has 54 total votes. But it’s honestly anyone’s game at this point. One book getting a solid burst of support gets it all the way to the Book Cover of the Year bracket.

Least Voted for:  Deprecated by Michael Karr has 3 votes. My hope is someone will spread the word and let all of these authors know to put out the call for support.

There’s still a week left, and this month’s winner is in. Also, the runner up will get into the Wild Card round of the Book Cover of the Year bracket.

 

This is the current runner up. If it stays there, it’ll have a shot at the Book Cover of the Year Trophy (The Weech!)

A quick reminder of how the tournament works. The easiest way to win is to have the most people vote for you in every round. The trick is you have to have the most people vote you through in each round, all the way to the final.  As an example, 100 people could vote someone through to the finals, but that doesn’t do a cover any good if he doesn’t win the first round. It’s not total votes. It’s not simple championship votes. The winning cover has to have the most votes in each round of the competition.

This will be the only update for this type of bracket. I hope the record does get broken and that I see voters lining up to support their authors by voting, liking, and sharing the bracket with as many people as possible.  You can vote at this address!

I’ll announce the winner is just seven days!

Thanks for reading,

Matt

Announcing the August Book Cover of the Month!

Hello everyone,

We’ve just wrapped up another month. It was great to see a new cover bracket happen!

We had 2,433 votes this month. It’s below average, but at least it’s not the new record holder for fewest votes ever.

In this slow of a month, it’s common for one cover to sort of surge and then defend the leader spot, and that’s what happened this month.

The August Book Cover of the Month is…

 

Pipe of Wings by Sarah K. L. Wilson! If you’re curious about how I felt about the book, check out the Facebook post that I posted when this book first landed on the bracket, here.

Let’s look at the stats!

Wilson received 160 total votes.

September only has 30 days, so that means Born to the Blade by Michael Underwood, Marie Brennan, and Cassandra Khaw, and White Mind by Emma Stallings (this month’s runners up) get a second chance to claim the title in September’s bracket.

But for now, let’s look at this month’s winner!

Amazon:

(START BLURB)

A new story from USA TODAY bestselling author, Sarah K. L. Wilson.
Tricked and forced to do the will of the new Prince of Baojang, Amel returns to the Dominion. But things have changed in her homeland. Will she be able to turn old friends into new allies as she continues to fight against the Dusk Covenant and the Ifrit scourge?

Fans of Anne McCaffrey’s DRAGON RIDERS OF PERN and Christopher Paolini’s ERAGON will love DRAGON SCHOOL.

Pipe of Wings is episode fifteen of Dragon School – expect a new episode every eighteen days!

(END BLURB)

I’ve added Pipe of Wings to my TBR. (For those who are new to the deal, I buy the Book Cover of the Month to read and review in the future. I buy all the winning covers. I’ve already bought July, June, May, April, March, February, January, and December’s book.

Here’s Wilson’s Facebook page. Give it a like if you’re curious about her and her work.

The September Book Cover of the Month is coming along, and that contest will launch Oct. 1.

I will continue to identify and select covers for each day from Amazon’s New Release section for fantasy and science fiction. If you follow and like my Facebook page, you can see what covers will make the bracket.

Thanks for reading

Matt

A December Book Cover of the Month Update

Greetings all,

With just seven days left in this month’s bracket, it’s time to update you all on how things have been progressing.

As I type this, we have 2,890 votes so far. That’s a bit slow, but there’s still room to get to what’s normal.

Knock and You Will See Me, by Andrew Cull took an early lead and hasn’t let it go. I’ve seen this a few months in a row now. Most hold that lead, but some covers have managed to catch up. Besides, it’s not nearly as dramatic a lead as it might appear.

Most Voted on so far: Knock and You Will See Me has the most total votes so far with 200.

Least Voted for: A Glitch in the World by BAlex Drozd. This cover has 47 votes. I’d like to see it get a bit more support.

Cull has a commanding lead in the Finals, but his lead in other rounds isn’t so comfortable. He only has a 10-vote lead over Whichwood by Tahereh Mafi. His lead over Weave a Circle Round by Kari Maaren is a bit more comfortable, 13.  If either of those books overtake Cull in the earlier rounds, Cull loses his place as the champion. If Either book overtakes Cull, Maaren would actually become the leader.

A quick reminder of how the tournament works. The easiest way to win is to have the most people vote for you in every round. The trick is you have to have the most people vote you through in each round, all the way to the final.  As an example, 100 people could vote someone through to the finals, but that doesn’t do a cover any good if he doesn’t win the first round. It’s not total votes. It’s not simple championship votes. The winning cover has to have the most votes in each round of the competition.

This will be the only update for this type of bracket. It’s been an amazing tournament to watch thus far, and I hope readers continue to support their authors by voting, liking, and sharing the bracket with as many people as possible.  You can vote at this address!

I’ll announce the winner is just seven days!

Thanks for reading,

Matt

The December Book Cover of the Month Begins

I’m typing this in advance because it’s the holidays, and I want to stay on top of things as we have a bunch going on. I want to thank you all (assuming the Book Cover of the Year went even half as well as I think it will) for your participation in that bracket, and I hop you have a bit more left. I promise, once we get through the January bracket, things will slow down to their normal pace.

December’s bracket has 32 new books. I started fresh and picked all 32 covers, but this month’s runner up will get the final slot in the January bracket.

You can vote all the way through the tournament, supporting the covers you like best through each round. I like to make sure people get the credit they deserve, so please show your support. Please vote and share as much as possible to get people a chance to pick their favorite.

As always, I’d appreciate it if you tag the authors and artists if you know them. I try to tag or friend every author I can, but sometimes it’s hard to track someone down. Max participation is a huge deal to me. The more people who vote, the more recognition these authors and artists receive, and I want this to be as legitimate as possible.

Image taken from Pixabay.

If you are the author, let’s remember to be good sports! 1) Please feel free to message or contact me at any time. 2) Please feel free to like, share, text, ask for support, and call everyone you know. I absolutely want max participation. However, if you’re going to offer giveaways or prizes, please offer them for voting, not just voting for you.

Also, while your summoning your army of voting soldiers, please make sure you ask them to vote in every match. Part of the idea of this is to get exposure to as many artists and authors as possible. By all means, if you can get 1,000 people to vote for your book, do it. Just please also send some eyeballs to the other matches.

A final note to authors and artists: I currently have links to the books’ Amazon pages. If you’d prefer I switch that link to sign up for your newsletter or like your social media page or whatever, just send me the link and let me know. I want this to help you. I want this to be as helpful as possible, so whatever you need me to do to facilitate that, just let me know.

I hope you keep having fun. Please, vote, share, and discuss as much as possible.

All you have to do now is head over here to vote!

Thanks for reading,

Matt

The 2017 M.L.S. Weech Book Cover of the Year Bracket Starts Now!

Hello all and Happy New Year!

I’ve been building to this for quite some time, and I’m so excited to kick things off. This is it! Twelve Book Covers of the Month join four Wild Card Book Covers to comprise a sixteen-book tournament to determine which one will rule them all!

If you like, you can take a look at each book cover’s winning announcement: December, January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and The Wild Cards.

346 book covers. 43,724 votes. All leading to this tournament! The covers were ranked 1-16 by the number of total votes each received. That means the cover that received the most votes (Loveless) is going up against the Wild Card that received the fewest votes. (The Girl Who Could See), and so on and so forth.

You can vote all the way through the tournament, supporting the covers you like best through each round. I like to make sure people get the credit they deserve, so please show your support. Please vote and share as much as possible to get people a chance to pick their favorite.

As always, I’d appreciate it if you tag the authors and artists if you know them. I try to tag or friend every author I can, but sometimes it’s hard to track someone down. Max participation is a huge deal to me. The more people who vote, the more recognition these authors and artists receive, and I want this to be as legitimate as possible.

Image taken from Pixabay.

If you are the author, let’s remember to be good sports! 1) Please feel free to message or contact me at any time. 2) Please feel free to like, share, text, ask for support, and call everyone you know. I absolutely want max participation. However, if you’re going to offer giveaways or prizes, please offer them for voting, not just voting for you.

Also, while your summoning your army of voting soldiers, please make sure you ask them to vote in every match. Part of the idea of this is to get exposure to as many artists and authors as possible. By all means, if you can get 1,000 people to vote for your book, do it. Just please also send some eyeballs to the other matches.

A final note to authors and artists: I currently have links to the books’ Amazon pages. If you’d prefer I switch that link to sign up for your newsletter or like your social media page or whatever, just send me the link and let me know. I want this to help you. I want this to be as helpful as possible, so whatever you need me to do to facilitate that, just let me know.

It’s been fun, but, as I mentioned when I announced the Wild Card Winners, I’d like to end this tournament on a high note. I’m trying to get 10,000 total votes. Please, tell everyone. Get people to vote. I want this trophy to mean something, and it’ll frankly mean more as more people vote.

Also, if you’re wondering where the 2018 December’s Book Cover of the Month bracket is, worry not. That bracket will kick off RIGHT after the BCOTY ends. So this month will be pretty full and by the time we get to Feb. 1, people might be pretty tired of it. I’m not sure what else to do about it, so I’m open to ideas, but this is what I got right now.

I hope you keep having fun. Please, vote, share, and discuss as much as possible.

All you have to do now is head over here to vote!

Thanks for reading,

Matt

August Book Cover of the Month Midway Update

Greetings all,

With just about seven days left in this month’s bracket, I thought this would be a good chance to update you all on how things have been progressing. Things started off fast, but we’ve slowed down a bit.

2,433 votes the support has been nice to see, but some of these covers need your help.

Colony Lost by Chris Philbrook has taken the lead an run with it.

Most Voted on so far: Philbrook has the most round wins and the most votes overall with 288 total votes.

Least Voted for: Kaiju Wars by Eric S. Brown currently has the fewest votes (31). Fans of Brown should rally to help this cover get at least a bit more credit than that.

The Sweet 16 is the closest round so far. Half of those matches are within 10, but Philbrook is the story here as he’s got a commanding lead in every round, so anyone who wants to beat him needs to summon the followers by the dozens.

A quick reminder of how the tournament works. The easiest way to win is to have the most people vote for you in every round (like Philbrook). The trick is you have to have the most people vote you through in each round, all the way to the final.  As an example, 10 people (the second most) have voted Blood-Stained Heir all the way to the championship, but that’s not enough because Norman can’t get past Black Ruins Forest (though he’s only four votes away). Just remember. It’s not total votes. It’s not simple championship votes. The winning cover has to have the most votes in each round of the competition.

So let’s take a look at the three covers that have the BEST shot at upsetting Philbrook.

Blood-Stained Heir can grab victory if he gets 23 people to vote him all the way through to the championship. (That’s assuming those 23 voters aren’t answered by voters of Colony Lost or Black Ruins Forest.)

Black Ruins Forest actually needs more championship votes than Heir. While Forest has what it needs to get to the last round, the cover is actually further behind than Heir. That said, if Forest can get 26 people to vote it all the way through, it’ll take the lead.

Lucky or Not, Here I Come is actually the third-closest contender if one looks at the bracket as a whole. It’s behind Black Ruins Forest, but not by much. That said, he’d need a massive show of overall support because he only has one championship vote so far. He’d need 33 people to vote him all the way to the championship in order to take the lead.

Getting 33 people to vote anyone all the way through would be a great start, but believe it or not, the 23-vote lead Colony Lost has in the finals is actually the smallest margin of victory he has. Anyone cover not mentioned above would need more than 40 unanswered voters to push the cover all the way to the championship, and that’s not nearly enough to upset Colony Lost in that initial round (Colony has more than 100 votes in that first round.)   

This will be the only update for this type of bracket. It’s been an amazing tournament to watch thus far, and I hope readers continue to support their authors by voting, liking, and sharing the bracket with as many people as possible.  You can vote at this address!

I’ll announce the winner is just seven days!

Thanks for reading,

Matt

Text: The Element that Makes or Breaks Your Cover Design

As July’s Book Cover of the Month comes to a close, I started thinking about what to do for this week’s blog, and decided to share a few insights regarding what to think about when anyone commissions a cover. I’ll probably sprinkle a few of these posts in as the more I think about it, the more I realize there is to talk about. So for this installment, I want to talk about the things that can devastate a cover or make a cover try special.

Text: This is simply critical. I’ve seen so many well drawn illustrations completely ruined by poor typeface, font, and color choices. Most just lump this all into the term font.

What is font? Font is a specific style of characters. This is the complete set of characters for one typeface at one particular type size.  Usually, people mix this up or toss it in with typeface and family, which are different things. Arial 12 is a font. Arial is a typeface. Whatever you want to call it, when designers just slap text onto a design, it can destroy a cover. However, when someone puts a bit of thought into how text can become a visual element, the results can be stunning.

What to think about: Your designer should either be sure to leave negative space to use or consider how to integrate text into the design. As long as they do one of these things, the design should come together.

 

This designer was brilliant. The title of the book wasn’t just something the designer threw on the cover, but it became the central design element of the cover. By doing this, you create a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.

 

 

 

The negative space (the space left after the raven) left the designer a location to place text that seemed logical.  The designer took it a step further by placing the letter “A” in the gap between the tail feathers and feet. This term (called grouping) makes  several elements (like letters in a word) feel like a single visual uint.

 

 

Color/Legibility: These two go together in a lot of ways. When it comes to text the typeface you choose and the color you use are the difference between a visual element that stands out and words people can’t see, let alone read. I won’t call out bad covers. I’m not here to belittle anyone.  What I will do is say a few things:
I want to say, “red font never works,” but that absolute (while I tend to lean that way) isn’t denotatively true. What is true is, “dark colors on dark backgrounds are impossible to see.” The characters in the text needs contrast to be seen. Mose designers address this by selecting a color that contrasts with the background in some way. For the love of Gestalt, please don’t:

Ever use drop shadows. Ever use stroke that’s nearly as thick as the width of your text.

Designers (professional designers) see that and immediately recognize the technique as lazy. It looks like the designer choose to just take a ham-handed shortcut rather than simply plan his/her design effectively.

 

This text isn’t particularly flashy. Placed in the lower negative space, the letters are distinct. The black text is well chosen against a bright background.

 

 

 

This typeface is a bit more eye-catching, but notice how it’s embossed and brighter than the dark background. Notice how  neither have drop shadows or glowing edges? There’s a reason for that.

 

 

 

 

I really could go on forever. This post (as I was writing it) has gone from one post, to a few posts, to a series that I’ll play with, probably during BCOTM tournaments. But I think this is enough information for one post. When you higher a cover designer, make text the first thing you talk about. Most illustrators are worth more than you pay them. Placing text poorly or making it distracting feels like an insult to the artists who work so hard to create interesting imagery.

Thanks for reading,

Matt

Building Skills: Writing doesn’t have to be just about Writing

I just like this pick of me to be honest. 

I’ve mentioned this a few times, and I share this story with my students quite often. I joined the Navy in 2005.

I took a friend to the recruiting office. She did NOT join the Navy. I did.

I was complaining to her that I was angry I couldn’t get published. Back then, self-publishing wasn’t what it is today. A Navy recruiter stuck his head out of the door and told me he’d publish me. That’s the short version.  Eleven wonderful years later, (nearly 12 actually), I’m a proud veteran.

I joined because I wanted to be a writer. I went through boot camp, meeting a dear friend of mine who was also going to be a Journalist, and talking about which of us would finish at the top of our class (it was absolutely going to be one of us).

I arrived at the Defense Information School, where I currently teach as a civilian. I sat in class and felt my sky fall when I was informed that after I complete the writing course, I’d have to then take a broadcasting course.

What many of you don’t know is I was born with what’s called an internal cleft pallet. I have a speech impediment. I had to learn how to speak when I was a child because the surgery required to fix the issue. I’m still blessed. Mine was internal, and didn’t affect me on a cosmetic scale. This isn’t about my speech issue; it’s about opportunity.

Credit non-copyrighted image Pixabay. 

I’ve been a writer my whole life. I’ve already shared that story. Imagine my horror when I found out if I didn’t pass this broadcasting course, I’d still go to the Navy undesignated. I promise you all, I overreacted. But, being the dedicated young man I was (and am), I took the challenge.

I graduated the broadcasting course (with honor I might add). Then, I went to my first command to be the writer I always wanted to be. I met my first LPO (which was a story in and of itself). He asked what I do. I frankly must have lost my mind because I looked him in the eye and said, “Well, as long as you don’t hand me a camera, we’ll be fine.”

This is the first image I ever took and put in my portfolio.

You see…he was a photographer’s mate who loved his occupation very much. So my first assignment in the Navy? You got it, I was handed a camera (and a rather obvious hint that I have no business telling my LPO what I am going to be doing for him).  (NOTE: If you’re going to join the military, and your first LPO/NCOIC asks, “What do you do?” make like Gump and reply with, “Whatever you tell me to.”  Your life will be far easier.)

Again, my work ethic comes to the rescue. I could have been even more childish than I was (and I assure you I was), but instead, I did the best I could. Until recently, anyone I worked with would have been shocked to hear 1) I am also red-green color blind and 2) I joined the Navy to be a writer.

I had a successful career as a mass communication specialist, where I learned to be proficient in pretty much every communication field they have a title for. I’ve laid out magazines, run a TV studio, documented combat, captured portraits, and I even got to write more stories and features than most everyone else I know. (That guy I went to boot camp with. He’s the best MC I’ve ever known…ever.)

Something clicked for me along the way. I realized that storytelling is storytelling regardless of the medium you use. I promise my students are very tired of hearing me say this, but it’s still true.

I’ve recently started re-designing The Journals of Bob Drifter. I needed to do another proofread, and it turns out, all those skills I learned can help me save money. I can use my design skills to lay out and re-release my book for free.

Imagine how I feel knowing I paid $2,000 for a process I could have done in half the time for free? That’s not including editing or the $16,000 I spent on marketing (which got me zero sales).  Now, please understand. I am actually a trained designer. I’m not self taught. I went to school for this and then went to Syracuse University for advanced training. If you want to save money on design, call a designer, or become one.

That brings me to my point.

Being an author these days simply requires more of you than writing a book. I was blessed to receive the training I have. I’m an award-winning photographer. I’m a competent designer. Now, I’m using these skills to save me money so I have more money to spend on professional editors and artists for my covers. I can spend money on marketing.

If you’re a writer, and all you’re doing is writing, you’re still amazing to me. I want you to know that, but this world demands more (he repeated). I want to encourage you to take classes. Train. Hone your skills. Find a mentor and grow. I’m reading books on marketing. I’m studying social media. Every trick I learn is one more thing I can use to be better.

What I want to encourage you all to do is think about what you’re already good at. Increase your skill set to ultimately increase your ability to be a successful author. Do you have to? That depends. If all you want to do is write books, then this post was a waste of your time (sorry).  BUT, if you want to sell those books and earn a profit, now you’re talking about a business.  I’m clueless in that arena except for one simple concept. You want to limit expenses and increase sales. As I study more on how to market and work to create more books, I’m starting to do other things to lower my up front costs.  This epiphany is something I’d like to share with you all before you do what I did and spend all kinds of money you don’t have to.

I didn’t design Caught. The design team at Create Space did a great job, and it was already far less expensive than Bob Drifter was. ($1,500 less).  By doing all the design work for Bob, I’m basically re-releasing it for free. Meaning every single sale I have is 100% profit. I don’t like the time I’m spending, but in a world where I count every penny (not being metaphorical here), it all matters. That money can go to things I can’t do. I need editors. We all do. I think I could (if I wanted) edit someone else’s work, but no one can see their own flaws, they’re too close to it. Marketing is a individual effort, but some of it requires money.

I hope this gives you all ideas. I have one friend who’s very gifted with art and videos. She makes book trailers. Some authors have become very successful podcasters. Youtube videos. Whatever skill you can use is one more skill you don’t have to pay someone else to. Yeah, it sucks not writing. Whenever I’m not writing, I’m thinking about how quickly I can do whatever it is I’m doing, so I can get to writing. But this is a long game we play in this business. If you want it to be a business, you’ll have to start doing more than just writing.

I’d like to leave you with skills I think an independent author should consider training for:

Layout and design

Broadcasting  (podcasts, audiobook narration, radio dramas, video blogs)

Marketing (Oh how I hate it and wish I could be better)

Art

Photography

Proofreading (I stand by what I said, but if you improve your skill, your editors (who you should hire) will thank you.)

Storyboarding

Videography

Public Speaking

Teaching

There’s a ton, but those are all skills that can make you a more successful business person.

I hope this has helped.

Thanks for reading,

Matt