Merriam-Webster defines an introvert as “a reserved or shy person who enjoys spending time alone.” Conversely, an extrovert is “gregarious and unreserved.” Let’s face it. The vast majority of authors are serious introverts. And quite frankly, we like it that way!
Despite having spent most of my life working with and leading large groups of people, like most introverts, I prefer quiet time, smaller, intimate gatherings, and introspection. Extroverts, tend to derive energy from crowds, and thrive from lots of interaction. As an introvert, I’d rather read a book than go to a concert or a football game. Better yet, I’d rather write a book.
Writing has always been a solitary endeavor
An endeavor that most of us pursue out of passion. Sometimes, with enough effort, encouragement from our loved ones, and the occasional kick in the behind, a book is born.
After a few pats on the back and a bit of self-congratulation for the effort, we quickly realize there’s more to this author business than we realized. We need a cover. One that will attract people to read and hopefully buy the treasure we’ve labored over for months, years, or decades.
Some authors will be “multi-creatives” and have the graphic arts skills to create their own spectacular book cover from scratch. However, those of us who have a tough time drawing straight lines with rulers will have to go in search of a graphic artist.
If writing your book wasn’t stressful enough, finding and communicating with a graphic artist will almost certainly poke at your inner introvert. While graphic artists and novelists may both be artists in their own rights, they speak vastly different languages. Enter Book Brush!
Book Brush’s Cover Creator Tool will allow you, as an author, to produce a professional quality cover for your book without ever leaving the comfort of your office, kitchen, or upholstered cave (the way I refer to my personal writing space).
With over a thousand templates to start from, sorted by genre, you can create a correctly formatted cover to upload to publishing sites or, as in my case, use as inspiration for a professional cover artist to create a unique design. News Flash – the number of professional cover creators who use Book Brush as the tool to format their artistic endeavors will surprise you.
Thought you were done?
Not so fast. Now you need to dive into the dreaded world of marketing, a veritable nightmare for the introverted at heart.
This means advertisements, blog posts, brochure images, bookmarks, social media, and more, all with eye-catching graphic images. Marketing is typically a sport best left to extroverts, but you want people to read your book, so you need to become a marketer too. And you thought being an author was the hard part!
For me, Book Brush has been a blessing I wish I’d discovered with my first novel. By simply uploading my cover images, I can use the Instant Mockups Tool to create hundreds of professional graphics designs featuring my novels! Even better, I can turn to my beta readers to vote on the ones they like best before I link them to my social media feeds.
All this without ever leaving my upholstered, Internet equipped writing cave. What more could an introverted author ask for?
Well… sales, but that’s another story.
Do the Book Brush professional graphics help? Absolutely! How much? Really hard to tell.
Does Book Brush make my life as an introverted author easier? Immensely! It takes a tremendous about of the stress out of the publishing and marketing process and allows me to focus on the parts of being an author that I enjoy most, researching, imagining, and writing.
Article by RL Blaisdell
A retired Air Force officer and the author of Cyber Seventy-Seven, Cyber Dead or Alive, and Cyber Retribution. The KindleKat Series incorporates Blaisdell’s intimate knowledge of cyber security, international affairs, and counter-terrorism developed over a twenty-six-year career, seamlessly blending reality and fiction into compelling tales. The cover art for his novel Cyber Seventy-Seven, by Mila at milagraphicartist.com, was featured in “20 Top Book Covers That Grabbed Our Attention in 2020,” by L.A. Sartor
Find out more about RL Blaisdell here .