Edits and Covers
Terry Odell
I’ve been focused on getting my new book, Deadly Ambitions, ready to meet the public. Given scheduling conflicts between my editor and my own travel, plus not wanting to compete with the barrage of holiday books, I’ve decided to put of the release until early next year.
Does that mean I can relax until then?
(Sputter, Snort, Guffaw.)
The first complete draft came in at about 85,000 words, which was longer than I wanted, so when I did my first read-through, I looked for excess. I talked a little about my process in my last post. Plot threads, scenes, and just plain wordiness. SmartEdit makes it easy to find these culprits, although it’s a tedious process. I’ve managed to cut about 4,000 words. One “thing” I’m doing this time around is opening the manuscript to a random page and looking at random paragraphs and sentences. Taken out of context, I’m finding places where my penchant for rambling shows through, so I’ve done some microsurgery using that technique.
But Wait. There’s More.
As an indie author, I wear many hats. My least favorite is the marketing chapeau, but it’s a necessary evil. I’m no marketing guru, but I know enough to know people want visuals. That meant a cover.
What did I want on the cover? I had plot threads running through the book that I considered. . One revolved around a construction project. A half-finished remodel wasn’t likely to entice readers. Or it would make them think it was a DIY book.
Another thread began with a traffic accident. A little more compelling, but I was having trouble finding images, not to mention Deadly Puzzles already had a similarly-themed cover.
I regrouped (after a few nudges from one of my critique partners).
Since my Mapleton Mystery series is set in Colorado (although I’ve never pinpointed where), I decided on a Colorado image for the background, something many of the other books included. But what? The book is set in December, so snow-capped mountains? Been there, done that.
Wait. We’d been up to a couple of old mining towns recently, and I’d decided to go along with the Hubster when he pulled onto a side road, saying “he just wanted to check something out.” Of course, that meant a hike along one of the old mine trails. I finished the hike with a bunch of pictures of old mining equipment.
What a coincidence. There’s a plot thread relating to an abandoned mine in the book. I browsed through some stock images on the site my cover designer, Kim Killion of the Killion Group, prefers and found one or two that might be acceptable. However, after going through my own images, I found one I thought had promise for the background.
Turned out, that’s the one she preferred. Yay me!
But the book is a mystery, and it’s not actually set in a mine, or even a mining town. How to let potential readers know it’s a mystery? I followed that plot thread (don’t want too many spoilers here), and sent Kim some more ideas.
This is what she came up with. I hope you like it.
What’s your favorite and/or least favorite “non-writing” part of getting a book published? Do you like having creative control, or would you rather turn everything over to others?
New! Find me at Substack with Writings and Wanderings
When breaking family ties is the only option.
Madison Westfield has information that could short-circuit her politician father’s campaign for governor. But he’s family. Although he was a father more in word than deed, she changes her identity and leaves the country rather than blow the whistle.
Blackthorne, Inc. taps Security and Investigations staffer, Logan Bolt, to track down Madison Westfield. When he finds her in the Faroe Islands, her story doesn’t match the one her father told Blackthorne. The investigation assignment quickly switches to personal protection for Madison.
Soon, they’re involved with a drug ring and a kidnapping attempt. Will working together put them in more danger? Can a budding relationship survive the dangers they encounter?
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Terry Odell is an award-winning author of Mystery and Romantic Suspense, although she prefers to think of them all as “Mysteries with Relationships.”