Guest Post: Steven Novak on Why You Need a Good Book Cover

Posted on May 15, 2012 by

Steven Novak - Illustrator and Book Cover Designer Today we have a guest post by author and illustrator (and resident funny man), Steven Novak, whom you might remember from Tomara’s review of his humor book, Goats Eat Cans Volume I or his YA novel, Forts: Fathers & Sons. While he’s a great author, you might not know that he is also a fantastic illustrator and book cover designer.

So if you’re in the market for a kick ass book cover, read on. You can also view some of his amazing book cover designs in the slideshow at the end of the post:

 

WOULD YOU WEAR A POTATO SACK TO AN INTERVIEW?

Cover Advice from a Guy Who Makes Book Covers

A good book cover won’t automatically sell copies of your book. Nor will it instantly earn you a spot on the NY Times Bestsellers list. It probably won’t fatten your wallet so much that you sit lopsided or turn your handbag into a backpack. It won’t get you a truck, or an island, or a scantily clad island girl in a barely-there bikini to drive around in your truck on your island. A good-looking book cover won’t result in a bevy of positive reviews, and it certainly won’t convince anyone that you’ve written an American classic.

It won’t hurt though.

Like it or not, the cover of your book is the first thing a potential reader will see and it’s the first judgment they’ll make. While a terrible book cover doesn’t necessarily mean a terrible story, in the back of their mind the potential reader might just assume that it does.  While that certainly sucks, it’s the truth. In the extremely crowded marketplace of self-publishing, you need to put your best foot forward in every aspect of the game. It’s as simple as that.

Would wear a potato sack to a job interview? Of course you wouldn’t. That would be stupid. You’d look like an idiot. Continue reading →

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Five Lessons Writers Can Learn from Finding Nemo

Posted on May 14, 2012 by

Five Lessons Writers Can Learn from Finding NemoI’m a closet Pixar geek. And by closet I mean completely out-in-the-open obsessed. I cry every time I watch any one of the Toy Story movies and I’m already getting excited for Brave.

One of my favorite Pixar movies is Finding Nemo, and not just because it takes place in the ocean (I’m secretly a mermaid).

Finding Nemo is also great story, with great lessons–lessons for any area of life–even for writers.

I thought I’d share these lessons with you today.

 

Five Lessons Writers Can Learn from Finding Nemo

  1. Step out of your safe zone: Like Nemo, and even Marlin, you sometimes have to go beyond your safe zone to really find yourself and your story. If you play it safe, whether it’s by writing what you think sells or by never taking a chance to submit your writing or even by not writing at all, you miss out on your own adventure. It’s not always the destination…sometimes it’s the journey itself that is important.
  2. Be brave: This one goes along with stepping out of your safe zone. You must be brave in all things, especially in your writing. Take chances: in your process, in your story, and in your writing goals. Do not fear failure, because failure is how you learn. You can’t correct mistakes if you’re too afraid to make them.
  3. Even in the murkiest water, you are not alone: Writing is almost always a solitary practice, but even then, you are not alone. Every second of every day, someone is creating or struggling to create. Find like-minded beings to help support you and whom you can support. You can join writing or reading groups, get a writing buddy, or take a creative writing class. Finding support and others like you will help strengthen you as a writer. Continue reading →
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Book Review – Goats Eat Cans Volume 1

Posted on May 7, 2012 by

Book Review – Goats Eat Cans Volume 1

Book Title: Goats Eat Cans Volume 1

Author: Steven Novak

Genre: Humor/Entertainment

Word/Page Count: 344 pages

Formats Available: Paperback, eBook

Synopsis: Remember the weird kid with the greasy hair and the odd smell you went to school with? You know, the one who never talked to anyone? That creepy little jerk who sat alone at lunch? The oddball who never took a shower in gym class? The one you imagined might one day go on a shooting spree? Believe it or not, that kid grew up. He grew up, he got married, he never shot a single person, he wrote a book, and he even started taking showers after his workouts – most of the time. Goats Eat Cans is his story.

Follow along as Steven Novak recounts the sometimes hilarious, sometimes hilariously painful, and sometimes painfully hilarious moments that have made his life so wonderfully frustrating. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you might even vomit. No matter what, you won’t be able to stop reading.

Goats Eat Cans features 55 stories, 55 illustrations, 99 luftballons and enough nonsense to keep you chuckling and giggling for days on end – or hours – or at the very least a few minutes.

Book Review: Goats Eat Cans is an embarrassingly entertaining collection of bite-sized stories following the life of our author, Steven Novak. This book is intended for mature readers, but even adults may find it hard to read at times. Not hard to read in an overly floral Shakespearean sense, but in the “OMG, that didn’t just happen?” kind of way. I know, more than once, I looked away—red-faced, or I laughed out loud until I cried. This book is definitely not for the weak-stomached or light-hearted, but that shouldn’t stop you from reading it.  Continue reading →

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Spotlight: Interview with MJ Heiser – Author of Corona: Special Edition

Posted on May 4, 2012 by

Corona: Special Edition by MJ HeiserToday, we’re interviewing MJ Heiser, author of the Amazon best-selling fantasy novel, Corona: Special Edition, which is currently free for Kindle until May 5th. You can download it for your Kindle by clicking here. You can also check out my previous review posted here on Easily Mused of Corona: Special Edition by clicking here. And remember, you don’t have to have a Kindle to download a Kindle book. Just get the Kindle PC app.

 

Author Interview with MJ Heiser

Kemari: Corona is a fairy tale about a fairy tale, where the real and the fantastical mix in a vivid, lush world known as Jaenrye. Your main character, Rose, is a writer struggling to get the story out of her head and onto paper. How does her struggle and the obstacles she faces, both in her real world and Jaenrye, parallel those of a writer today?

MJ: I think that for most writers, it’s a major concern. I was asked just today how I find time to write and hold down a full time job. I think it isn’t as impressive as the single mom who is determined to write and hold her family together. In the end, the desire to write is the driving factor. If you not only WANT to write, but NEED to write, then it isn’t finding time to write that’s the problem. Finding time to do other things is the problem.

Kemari: How does it parallel your own struggles as a writer?

MJ: I’ve hit something of a rough patch lately. I’m an introvert, and coping with changes isn’t conducive to my creativity. I do plan on building my recent experiences into a book . . .so all is not lost.

Kemari: Corona is so intricate and complex, with a wide array of supporting characters, both good and evil. How much did you draw on “write what you know” when creating Corona?

MJ: I wrote Corona after joining WEbook, which, at the time, was such a fantastic place for writer interaction. I had been writing like a fiend at the time, and the floodgates opened. Much like Rose’s character, I began to dust off some old notes I’d written about the Travellers, the female warrior class in the Jaenrye series. I also had recently seen a documentary regarding a Catholic priest who, instead of being punished for his sexual abuses of minors, was repeatedly reassigned. I thought I would find a way to punish him. Those were the inspirations for some of the characters, and my WEbook friends filled in a lot of the spaces. Continue reading →

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