tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401800529291605034.post3877448877521563432..comments2023-10-28T16:55:37.201+02:00Comments on Rarely Dusty Books: Guest post by Aleksandr Voinov: M/M in 2012 and beyondJannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08097232237827106033noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401800529291605034.post-30440587157184502452011-11-01T22:28:03.313+01:002011-11-01T22:28:03.313+01:00It was my pleasure, Aleksandr. Thank you for being...It was my pleasure, Aleksandr. Thank you for being my guest and for your view on the genre we all love! It was so nice of you to make time to come by even with your busy schedule. Thanks!Jannahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15169163606041934383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401800529291605034.post-88709147859670390262011-11-01T21:50:25.172+01:002011-11-01T21:50:25.172+01:00Thank you, Janna, for hosting me!Thank you, Janna, for hosting me!Aleksandr Voinovhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06583805228909693924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401800529291605034.post-4255204474520617162011-11-01T21:49:29.618+01:002011-11-01T21:49:29.618+01:00@Aija – Thank you! Jordan Taylor did a fantastic j...@Aija – Thank you! Jordan Taylor did a fantastic job. I could stare at my covers forever. :)<br /><br />@Maria – Thank you! We’re doing our best (and we’re perfectionists, too…). It’s really important to us that everybody can believe in the cover (just like in the story).<br /><br />@Joder – Thank you! Absolutely – and I think with the Kindle Fire and iPad, the old argument of “it doesn’t show on an e-reader” doesn’t hold water anymore. I do wonder what some publishers think – it looks a lot to me like they think “as long as it has a naked chest, people will buy it”. I think that’s simply not correct. <br /><br />Readers are more demanding than that.<br /><br />@Sharon – Yes, I’ve read on Amazon’s forums that people say “I hate self-published books, but I can tell them from the professional books because the covers are so bad.” <br /><br />The thing is, there are many talented cover artists that don’t charge the earth, so good covers aren’t even more expensive – they just require care and attention from the publisher, which I find often sorely lacking. And, yes, I do like both Lanyon and Urban/Roux a lot. I do like more stuff going on than just sex over hundreds of pages. I do want a solid plot and some real character development.<br /><br />@Pants Off Reviews – Yes, the recycled covers. We do our best to make sure the images we’re using haven’t been used by everybody five times already. It requires a little more care and attention, but it’s very worth it. With everybody using the same stock images, a little more care and attention goes a long way. <br /><br />@Bookwyrm – Thanks, I’m happy to share. :)Aleksandr Voinovhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06583805228909693924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401800529291605034.post-36968062846759337722011-11-01T21:41:05.373+01:002011-11-01T21:41:05.373+01:00@All: Sorry for joining so late – my work week was...@All: Sorry for joining so late – my work week was really crazy. <br /><br />@Jayjay – I completely agree. I know many authors are deeply unhappy with the shoddy jobs they get at various places. The problem is, that we can’t say in public “I hate this cover, but trust me, the story inside is really good!” So the publishers are getting away with it. <br /><br />There are good cover artists out there that don’t charge the earth.<br /><br />@Kassa – Absolutely. The problem is, I think the lack of editing is one of the causes for the boom in self-publishing (the others, I think, are that we as authors do our own marketing anyway, and it’s a good way to monetize the backlist). <br /><br />We know what a good developmental editor charges (anywhere between 700 and 2,000 USD, depending on length), and even the publishers aren’t paying that (it’s more like 200-2500 USD for a novel). <br /><br />Now, ideally a self-published author would hire a solid editor, but that’s very often not the case (I’m NOT talking about any specific writer in our genre, I’m talking about the few self-published authors in the mainstream I’ve read, and the lack of any type of editing is glaring). <br /><br />Is it a good thing? I think it’s an option, and some authors actually thrive, get solid covers, an editor, and thus keep complete control and don’t have to give most of the money away to a publisher that actually cares a lot LESS about their book.<br /><br />@Sarah – Thank you! The covers are really important to us. It took two weeks until we were happy with only the FONTING on First Watch. I think we might have driven LC a little insane with all the back-and-forth.<br /><br />@Tracey – I know that some of our authors have made posters out of them – that’s the biggest compliment you can get. :)Aleksandr Voinovhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06583805228909693924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401800529291605034.post-58152488197049409412011-11-01T21:31:00.733+01:002011-11-01T21:31:00.733+01:00Very interesting! Thanks for sharing from an insid...Very interesting! Thanks for sharing from an insider's viewpoint :-)<br /><br />smaccall AT comcast.netBookwyrm369https://www.blogger.com/profile/14099913801290454078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401800529291605034.post-63910540536678940392011-11-01T06:49:41.586+01:002011-11-01T06:49:41.586+01:00The covers, thank you for that. I did a post about...The covers, thank you for that. I did a post about recycled covers, because I always see the same dude on every cover for a different genre of story (like the dude in the cowboy hat goes with everything)<br /><br />Thats why I always appreciate the awesome book covers, they don't always come along.DarienMoyahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08781381342039392168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401800529291605034.post-12084305807605641492011-11-01T05:05:29.073+01:002011-11-01T05:05:29.073+01:00got to agree with everyone about covers. The self ...got to agree with everyone about covers. The self pub industry suffers because of this. There are so many choices out there of people who make covers for a living and do a damned good job. It is worth the extra money to get a great cover. When I see a long list of books, it is the awesome cover that I will look at first. I do read blurbs, but I will read the blurb of a great cover first.<br /><br />Josh Laynon's books are great mysteries and just happen to be m/m. Another wonderful series is the Cut and Run series by Urban and Roux. Another great story that happens to have a wonderful m/m story too.<br /><br />I can't wait to read some of the RipTide titles!Sharon Stognerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12732141088637958862noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401800529291605034.post-45131808775494535662011-11-01T02:03:13.484+01:002011-11-01T02:03:13.484+01:00Book covers are a very important aspect of a book....Book covers are a very important aspect of a book. When they're bad, it does turn me off. Riptide's covers seem really well-done thus far and has me excited to purchase them.<br /><br />joderjo402 AT gmail DOT comThe Scarf Princesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04909550720063326180noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401800529291605034.post-54323066688303749822011-11-01T01:57:45.511+01:002011-11-01T01:57:45.511+01:00I agree with you. I love your covers.I agree with you. I love your covers.-Maria-https://www.blogger.com/profile/18402015569465488329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401800529291605034.post-91344080818499343622011-11-01T01:56:50.120+01:002011-11-01T01:56:50.120+01:00This comment has been removed by the author.dfghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15181762713800711379noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401800529291605034.post-9431270300363423372011-10-31T23:17:10.394+01:002011-10-31T23:17:10.394+01:00The cover of Dark Soul is _so_ beautiful! Not only...The cover of Dark Soul is _so_ beautiful! Not only I wouldn't be embarrassed by it - I would show it off to others! <br /><br />Good luck to you all! :)Aijahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05760974840817872830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401800529291605034.post-11745555742567074562011-10-31T21:55:11.100+01:002011-10-31T21:55:11.100+01:00I agree, the covers are wonderful. I swear, I wan...I agree, the covers are wonderful. I swear, I want to make posters our of a couple of them!<br /><br />Thanks,<br />Tracey D<br />booklover0226 at gmail dot combooklover0226https://www.blogger.com/profile/17837337361837154604noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401800529291605034.post-10370918405361300972011-10-31T21:19:14.861+01:002011-10-31T21:19:14.861+01:00The covers at riptide so far a fab ... I know you ...The covers at riptide so far a fab ... I know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover but i know I do ... If it has a doggy cover I'll advoid unless it's recommended. Y someone I trust<br /><br />Sarahs7836(at)gmail(dot)comSarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07773664732915348201noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401800529291605034.post-24018443411960630882011-10-31T20:03:06.786+01:002011-10-31T20:03:06.786+01:00Self publishing is becoming the "big thing.&q...Self publishing is becoming the "big thing." Which unfortunately is not always a good thing. I've seen some big names self publishing their stuff and while I'm not against it, more money for them, it's not always a good thing. The problem is that not all of these stories are well edited because they're self published. <br /><br />Now I won't get into the fact that many publishers have crap editors so what's the quality you're getting for that cut, which I grant you is a problem, but that doesn't necessarily mean toss out stuff without proper editing to be self published. <br /><br />While I'm definitely not against self-pubs and do read those books, I still look to publishers first and foremost for the books I read. I think the competition is good and does create better quality so way to go.Kassahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11492731096086969911noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401800529291605034.post-3825450755970028932011-10-31T20:00:06.222+01:002011-10-31T20:00:06.222+01:00I hope you are right about the covers. Bad covers ...I hope you are right about the covers. Bad covers are a total pet peeve of mine (I complain about them on my blog all the time. I must say i have been continually impressed with Riptide's covers so far.jayhjayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13026030197058971726noreply@blogger.com