Patricia Lynne, Independent Author
  • Home
  • Books
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact
  • Media Kit
  • Trick-or-Treat Reads

My secret? I had no idea I could do this

3/16/2015

20 Comments

 
The month of March is going to be filled with Angels, but I'm going to take the spotlight away from Michael for a day to show you something I did recently that I'm kind of proud of. I made a book cover for my YA LGBT Paranormal (is there any other kinds of story worth writing?) story, Out of Secrets.

If you know me, then it might not be a surprise. I was an art major for a little while and had plans on being an artist. But I SUUUUUUUCK at Photoshop (or Gimp.) It's not for the lack of trying. I just can't wrap my brain around the damn program.

So when I say I made a book cover, it's a big deal. I mean, look at it. LOOK!
Picture
That's not a horrible cover, right? It's not bad for someone who sucks at Photoshop. Although, honestly, I didn't use Gimp or Photoshop. I used Canva. No, I'm not kidding. Freaking Canva. All in all, it cost me less than $10 to make.

And if you look in the upper right corner, you should notice something.... er someone. The vampire dude is nearly invisible for a reason. One, Cage really doesn't look like that guy at all, and two, because I thought it was a spiffy effect. JJ is hiding secrets. Cage is hiding secrets. They're both hiding so it makes sense.
Picture
20 Comments
Alex J. Cavanaugh link
3/16/2015 01:55:44 am

No, that's actually a real professional cover. Well done!

Reply
Patricia Lynne link
3/16/2015 03:21:19 am

Awwwww, thanks, Alex. =D

Reply
Sarah Foster link
3/16/2015 02:09:55 am

That's awesome! I wouldn't even know how to begin to make a cover. Great job!

And I definitely want to go read this story now!

Reply
Patricia Lynne link
3/16/2015 03:22:05 am

Having a image or stock photo really helped me figure out where to start.

Reply
C. Lee McKenzie
3/16/2015 04:03:44 am

It is a BIG DEAL! I can't make Gimp do a bloody thing. Congrats!

Reply
Patricia Lynne link
3/16/2015 09:01:39 am

I found Gimp much harder to use than Photoshop too! Thanks.

Reply
Christine Rains link
3/16/2015 09:03:03 am

The cover looks fantastic. Have no worries! I use Photoshop when I do stuff and I know I'm a big amateur. I just try not to get too fancy.

Reply
Patricia Lynne link
3/16/2015 09:47:48 am

Thanks. I think as long as I don't try messing with layers I'm good. That bit just confuses the heck out of me.

Reply
Melissa Barker-Simpson link
3/16/2015 09:42:43 pm

I didn't see the vampire hiding in the shadows! Now that I know he's there, it adds a whole new element to the cover :-) I like what you've done with it - very creative.

Reply
Patricia Lynne link
3/17/2015 10:28:58 am

I think that's the bit I'm really proud of. Or maybe it's the effect I added to Secrets. I dunno. I'm proud of the whole damn thing. =)

Reply
Tyrean Martinson link
3/18/2015 04:02:00 am

I agree with Alex - it looks professional! Awesome job!

Reply
Patricia Lynne link
3/18/2015 08:05:11 am

Thank you. =)

Reply
Cherie Reich link
3/18/2015 06:06:20 am

Very cool cover! I love the hint of the vampire in the background! I've tried Gimp, and it's rather hard to use. I often use paint.net for graphics, although we might be getting Photoshop at work soon.

Reply
Patricia Lynne link
3/18/2015 08:06:12 am

I think Gimp is harder than Photoshop.

Reply
Mary Pax link
3/18/2015 06:25:55 am

That's a damn fine cover. I might come knocking on your email in the future :D

Reply
Patricia Lynne link
3/18/2015 08:07:04 am

Thanks, but I'm not sure it's something I'm going to be doing more of. I did make the covers for the two Influence shorts, but those were super easy. All I was doing was adding font.

Reply
Tui Snider link
3/19/2015 11:11:14 am

Hey, looks great! I love the vampire in the shadows.

I use Canva and Paint.net to create my covers. I was pretty scared to make the first one, but when the proof came in the mail, it looked fine. Phew!

Reply
Patricia Lynne link
3/19/2015 12:15:59 pm

Thanks, Tui. I might see about getting a print of Out Of Secrets eventually. We'll see.

Reply
Colin Ashby link
3/22/2015 07:20:01 pm

Good job on the cover. I didn't even see the guy in the back until you mentioned it! Haha. I'm planning on a DIY cover for my book as well.

Reply
Patricia Lynne link
3/28/2015 11:32:11 am

He's very subtle and I played around with him a lot before deciding on how faint he is.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Follow Me

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Newsletter Sign up
    Follow

    Enter your email:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    Blogspot Archive

    ►  2012 (77)
    ►  2011 (180)
    ►  2010 (20)

    Tags

    All
    Abducted Life
    A To Z Challenge
    Being Human
    Blog Hop
    Book
    Book Review
    Celebrate Small Things
    Friday Quick Fic
    Giveaway
    Green Day
    Guest Post
    IndieBooksBeSeen
    Influence Series
    IWSG
    Leaves Of Fall
    LGBT
    MIParaCon
    Mistakes Of The Past
    NaNoWriMo
    New Adult
    Newsletter
    Non Writing
    Path Of Angels
    Patreon
    Snapshots
    Speculative Fiction
    Story Dam
    Tempting Friendship
    Trick Or Treat Reads
    Vampires
    WriteMotivation
    Writing
    Writing Prompt
    Young Adult

    Blogroll

    * Marie Landry
    * Rainy Kaye
    * Story Dam
    * IWSG
    * A to Z Challenge
    * Alex J. Cavanaugh
    * Larry Kollar
    * C. Lee McKenzie
    * A Book Lover's Playlist
    * Cherie Reich
    * M. Pax
    * MJ FiField
    * Melissa Barker-Simpson
    ​* Christine Rains
    * Heather M. Gardner
    * George McNeese
    * Lexa Cain
    ​​* L.G Keltner
    * Sarah Foster
    * Chrys Fey
    * Liana K
    (Youtube)
    Picture
    Picture

    ​​© Patricia Lynne 2010- 2018 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

    Newsletter Sign Up

Subscribe to Newsletter
​​
© Patricia Lynne 2010- 2018 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.
Privacy Policy
Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • Books
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact
  • Media Kit
  • Trick-or-Treat Reads