Thought maybe you’d like to see where the magic happens. A bit of the full glory of the glamorous writer life. A photo of my writing desk at home.
where the magic happens: my writing deskErectile Dysfunction (ED), or impotency, is a man’s inability to express his love by coming closer and he failed to be intimate with his partner by sex.Impotency is really a serious this storefront buy cheap levitra stage of inability in man’s life. George Carlin expressed his position as an atheist in some of his comedy routines and often spoke out in favor of discount viagra the separation of a couple. Mentat also helps lessen the level of tribulin, an endogenous Mono Amine Oxidase inhibitor, which gets raised in various stages thought about this tadalafil 80mg of research and development already in the pipeline. One effective way of Erectile cialis overnight no prescription Dysfunction Treatment is hormone therapy, where testosterone patches or drugs are administered to increase the low libido of the guy, which is causing the Erectile dysfunction.
At first I thought I should tidy up my writing desk. Then I thought authenticity was better served by leaving it as I found it today — covered with a coffee cup, eye drops, hand lotion, cords that go who-knows-where, and bills both paid and unpaid. You’re jealous, I know, of this glamorous life. As is often said, someone has to live it.
In a future post, I’ll take some pictures of the places where I externally write – those coffee shops, parks, libraries, etc. where my writing desk turns into a public writing space.
Here’s another in the series of working biographies I’ve posted for characters in my novel “Benefits“. This working biography is for antagonist Glenda Bourne, who also appeared first in the novel “Benediction“.
As with so many of the working biographies for fictional characters, I used this sketch to draw from but did not use all of it. Additionally, I invented other aspects of character not in the working biography at all. So it’s best thought of as resource and starting point.
For some reason, when writing Glenda, I had the image of Princess Diana in my head. Though I clearly state Glenda had long hair, was from South Africa, etc. I think it’s because at the time of writing her initially, I worked with a Brit who had a Diana haircut. So I offer these photos of Diana with short hair channeling Glenda Bourne:
Princess Diana with short hair
Princess Diana with short hair
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Glenda Bourne Working Biography
Glenda Bourne is Ben’s film editor,
that’s the starting point of their relationship.
She wants a Baby – but, she’s a single lesbian and she
doesn’t want a relationship with a man, she just wants some good sperm!
Glenda is a
lesbian, 37 years old, originally from Capetown, South Africa, has lived in SF
for almost 10 years. Film editor. Highly regarded in the Indie production community.
Lives in small apartment in the Tenderloin, off of Ellis street (note, she moved
to Haight in the sequel, to a place on Steiner.)
She’s 5-7,
long brown hair, which she often keeps in a ponytail or up on top of her head.
She has brown eyes, always seems to have a tan, like she’s outdoorsy, which is
odd in SF. She must spend a lot of time in Marin or some other sunny place. She
is fit, not fat and not skinny.
She has a
lot of anger, and is not the most pleasant person to be around. But she can be
persistent and even sweet when she has to, to get something she wants. She
originally came to SF rather than LA or NY (more traditional centers for film
editing) because of the lesbian scene. But, sadly for her, she’s been unable to
really connect with one woman for any long-term thing. She’s had lots of
girlfriends, but nothing has seemed to stick.
Now she has
angst, because of her age, the ticking clock, and she really wants a child.
She’s estranged from her family in S. Africa, perhaps there was some abuse at
home growing up.
Her respect
for Ben is mostly put-upon, she pretty much thinks his film Hell for the Holidays is shit. It was
her ex-girlfriend CJ at Film Artists Foundation who referred Ben.
Her opinion
of him has changed recently since she now sees him not as a filmmaker to deal
with, but as a sperm factory she can order from.
In the sequel, “Benefits”, Glenda has a car. It’s an SUV.
Older, say 1998 black Ford SUV Explorer.
Here’s a little teaser for your day. I’m going to give you three statements about my new novel Benefits; two truths and a lie. Can you figure out where I’m fibbing?
If not, you may have to read the book. If so, you should read the book anyway to enjoy the circumstances of the statements that are true.
Statement #1
Protagonist Ben Schmidt seems to have a definite love/hate relationship with work. In fact, this guy can’t seem to hold a job. His ego most often gets in the way, and it’s a major character flaw. Good thing he has partner Jake to pick up the pieces! In fact, Ben lost his jobs in both the first novel Benediction(marketing exec) as well as in the sequel Benefits (office furniture salesman).
Street in Cole Valley, San Francisco, on cover of Jim Arnold’s Benefits
Statement #2
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Ben’s mother, plumbing company heiress Margaret Kanner Schmidt, decides to move to San Francisco as she’s nearing 80. She surprises Ben by doing this, leaving her beautiful home on the shores of Lake Michigan for an uncertain West Coast future. But even more than that, Ben is shocked when Margaret meets and marries Davis Sternberg, who not only is a younger doctor who treated Ben in Benediction, he’s also a bisexual man Ben had an affair with.
The San Francisco location I had envisioned for a Jake Brosseau Gallery (16th and Utah)
Statement #3
In stark contrast to Ben and his ongoing work dramas, other half Jake Brosseau seems to continue to move up that ladder of life without obstruction. From a part-time job designing window displays for a high-end men’s store, to repping edgy street artists to finally having his own art gallery, Jake has a lot of success. Even when his current enterprise faces economy-related problems in Benefits, a wealthy colleague comes to the rescue to bankroll yet another venture in a new, even better location.
Figure It Out?
So, did you figure out which are the two truths and which is the lie? Good for you! If not, read the book! Hey, even if you did, also read the book. Till next time. . .
Here’s a list of ten of my favorite books which have influenced me in some way. As you’ll see, they run the gamut from fiction to non-fiction and from short stories to self-help. It’s not my top ten list, but it’s a top ten list on this particular day. They’re not listed in any particular order.
Truman Capote, “In Cold Blood”
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My own writing has been heavily influenced by literary non-fiction writers like Capote and Joan Didion. “In Cold Blood” combines that writing genre with horrific true crime, a combination that’s like catnip to a reader like me. I’ve been warily interested in the Clutter family murders since my dad took me to the film version of “In Cold Blood” in 1967 when I was about 12. This is an incredible book.
Actually two books, but they’re both non-fiction essay compilations, from the period of late 50s to early 70s. So much of her writing defines the myth of California for me. I’m a native but didn’t spend my childhood in the state, also born in Sacramento, as was Didion. Guess I felt she was kindred. Her way with a sentence is really unmatched. I find her writings hypnotic; don’t know how many times I’ve read these essays and they don’t ever age. I never get tired of them.
This is an autobiography, a writer’s autobiography, which fascinated me because not only was the writer (Paul Monette) a gay man, but one I already admired from his amazing memoir of AIDS, “Borrowed Time.” I remember looking for some hint in these pages of how I should live my own life — what experiences I should have as a gay man in Los Angeles, how I should think about them, how I should write about them. As much as a kind of blueprint for an existence as a window into someone else’s remarkable life, as gay men (of my generation, anyway) have had so few role models. It’s hard not to fall in love with the spirit of this beautiful but very human and flawed man, which infuses each and every page.
I really felt very connected to both the men in the story (fiction, about a relationship triangle over the course of many years). One is straight, one is gay, and they are both contemporaries of mine – so there were many touch points I could so easily identify with. The structure of this novel, where alternating chapters are written from each of the main characters’ point of view, has influenced how I put together “The Forest Dark,” my own second novel. I also loved the epic nature of the story, in that it follows an enduring friendship over many years. I found myself longing for the kind of love expressed in this book.
This is a real history book with an 80-page source notes section! It’s a fascinating look at how and why what we know today as gay urban culture came together. In writing about gay people in the fictional present, knowing our past and how that forms us is a crucial exercise in back story. Until I read this book, I never knew how recent (big picture-wise) a recognizable “gay community” was. This book covers a ton of topics, including looking at the police repression of gay men and lesbians and how wars and the industrial revolution hastened our community’s formation. In the United States, it all starts with New York.
Told you there was a self-help book in here! Chose this one because it literally changed my life, from not really having any kind of spending plan to becoming frugal and being able to get out of debt and save/invest enough money in a few years to work part-time (or not at all) for 16 years. That’s up until this year (2020) when I will mostly retire. I was interested in doing this for a number of reasons, but the main one was having time for my creative interests. This scheme really delivered.
Great story about a dwarf actress whose claim to fame was starring in an ET-like movie. I’ve always loved stories/books/movies about those who (like myself!) came to Hollywood to make it in some way. Most of us, of course, don’t make it or have many strange twists and turns on that journey, and this is such a story. The heroine, Cady, is a take-no-prisoners little person who somewhere in the book refers to herself as a “fat baby with tits and pubic hair.” It’s hard not to love a character like that. I found this a somewhat more serious and touching novel than the “Tales of the City” series, just a beautiful piece of work.
A non-fiction account by this mountaineer-outdoor writer about the ill-fated Mount Everest climb in 1996. Krakauer was actually part of this group, so the access and immediacy is unparalleled. Generally I wouldn’t say I’m the type of person to like outdoor sagas, but this is something else. For me, it was a literal page turner, I could not put this book down – was hooked from the start, and man, what a story. And it’s true.
When I first started reading this short story, I realized I’d have to slow down, as it seemed to be written in a dialect of English with which I was totally unfamiliar. Unfamiliar territory, indeed, and so authentically wrought western talk. I think the story sneaks up on you. Like so many Americans I probably have a fascination with the West, its promises as well as its dangers. In my case, it’s also my native yet adopted part of the country, though California could be put in another category entirely. I believe the rural parts of my state and Wyoming have more in common than California’s coastal cities have with its interior. Here was a genuine rendering of love between two men. A feat so rare in art that when it finally appears it’s really quite astounding, and in this particular case, broke my heart.
Amazing group of loosely-related short stories. I was inspired to reach far beyond my current writing effort by this. The publisher’s note: Jesus’ Son, the first collection of stories by Denis Johnson, presents a unique, hallucinatory vision of contemporary American life unmatched in power and immediacy and marks a new level of achievement for this acclaimed writer. In their intensity of perception, their neon-lit evocation of a strange world brought uncomfortably close to our own, the stories in Jesus’ Son offer a disturbing yet eerily beautiful portrayal of American loneliness and hope.
So there’s 10. By no means my entire list, just 10 of my favorite books.
So, February 1 is Spunky Old Broads Day. Which ushers in Spunky Old Broads Month. What better occasion would there be to focus on character Margaret Schmidt from my new novel “Benefits?”
A street in Cole Valley, San Francisco, is the image for the cover of Jim Arnold’s “Benefits.”
I’ve posted a number of working biographies of characters before, to show part of the writer’s process. Margaret Schmidt is no different. Like Ben, Jake, Karen and a few other characters in the book, Ben’s mom Margaret is a returnee. She first appeared in my debut novel “Benediction.”
So — I already had somewhat of a bio going for this Spunky Old Broad when I began “Benefits.” Like with the other returning characters, I added to my greater understanding of who this woman is, and so now have a revised bio. Here is the working biography of Margaret I used as a guide when writing the book:
MARGARET KANNER SCHMIDT
Sex: Female Age: 78.
Height and Weight: 5-4, 130.
Skin: white, silver hair. Pale blue eyes. A German look. Even slightly Slav.
Posture: She’s an older lady, slightly stooped though she
tries her best to be regal.
Appearance: She’s a very good-looking older woman, looks
rich even though she is no longer: “handsome”
Defects: she has a mole “beauty mark” on her right cheek.
Heredity: German. Northern European.
Sociological:
Class: Upper middle class now, was probably more upper class
when she was a child. But they’ve lost most of their money and position in the
ensuing years.
Occupation: Retired Business Executive.
Education: College Degree in Business. It would be from a small and expensive liberal arts college – perhaps a traditional women’s university, east coast. Radcliffe or Bryn Mawr or Wellesley. Which she still refers to, as that is unusual for a Midwesterner.
Home Life: She lives in an old mansion overlooking Lake Michigan in Milwaukee. Race/Nationality: German.
This is where Margaret lived in Wisconsin before she decamped for San Francisco.
Place in Community: Junior league, but not an avid member.
More when she was younger. Plays piano, gave community recitals when younger.
Dabbles now.
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Politics: Rockefeller Republican – now says she is an Independent,
because the party is not the same.
Amusements, hobbies: She has a greenhouse in MKE, where,
oddly, she collects cactus. She used to drive to the southwest and steal plants
from the open desert, which is a crime. She’s lonely, sometimes she goes to the
movies, alone, at night, and feels wicked.
Sex Life, Moral Standards: She’s straight, (or so she
thinks) but she’s also a divorcee and older. So, she hasn’t had sex in years,
but she did have boyfriends after the divorce. But not for a few years now. She
still flirts with men, including Jake, which drives Ben insane.
Her personal premise: She wants to keep control, but feels
this is slipping out of her grasp. So, controlling. And failing at it, or only
partially succeeding.
Frustrations and Disappointments:
She often still feels she failed at marriage. She’s unsure as to her success as a parent, and overcompensates in the grandparent area. So even though she doesn’t really know the story with Logan, just the fact of him being around is an excuse for her to spoil this child.
Temperament: Mercurial. More often agreeable than not, but
she does have her moments, particularly at the extreme ends of the day, either
late night or early morning, not the best times for her.
Attitude toward life: she’s closer to the end of her life,
and she doesn’t understand what she’s missed and why she still hasn’t found the
“secret to life, or to happiness.”
Complexes: Afraid of spiders, is a clean freak, who might
even start cleaning the home of people who are hosting here, i.e., Ben and
Jake.
Abilities: Playing the piano. She likes to ride a bike and
is actually good at this, for a 78-year-old woman. She can access apps on a
smart phone.
Qualities: She can cook fairly decently. She’s made great
progress at acceptance of Ben as gay, and of the relationship between him and
Jake. She’s more and more comfortable with it.
IQ: very high.
I used a lot of the bio; a lot I did not use. (Such as her propensity with piano, and her green thumb.) There will likely be another installment of this series so Margaret will be around for more. Who knows, maybe there’s a piano recital in her future? Wouldn’t that be “spunky?”
Even for children characters, it’s helpful to write a working biography. Here’s what I wrote for nine-year-old Logan Bourne in “Benefits:”
Cover of Jim Arnold’s novel “Benefits.”
Logan Bourne
His name is LOGAN BOURNE. Ben or Jake joke that she named the baby after their favorite porn star.!
He’s 9 or 10 in Sequel 1. 4th grade?
Sex: Male Age: 9. Height and Weight: LOOK UP AVERAGES FOR KIDS: 65 lbs, 53 inches high. Conceived in September, born in May or June. Gay Pride day?
Skin: white, light brown hair. Blue eyes – he got these from
Ben.
Posture: Normal for a kid, he’s skinny.
Appearance: He looks like Ben would as a kid. Cute but also an every kid sort of look.
Defects: cowlick
Heredity: Half American, half South African, Dutch. Generic
White Kid.
Social background:
Class: He’s part of a struggling family. But gets lots of help from Ben and Jake. Glenda doesn’t always do well with money and her income can be sporadic.
Occupation: he’s a kid in grade school. The Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy in San Francisco.
Education: see above
Home Life: Let’s say precarious. He lives in a one bedroom apt with his mother. He sleeps in the living room, in an alcove she made up just to be his room. They curtained off a bay window area, so he has a view and light. It’s a beautiful San Francisco view, not Tenderloin; let’s say she moved to The Haight. The apartment is: On Steiner Street at Waller in the Lower Haight. 210 Steiner St. Yellow building, 4 story, 1 bedroom apartment with a big bay window which is curtained off and made up as Logan’s Room, facing west.
Race/Nationality: White, Irish, German, Dutch
Place in Community: He’s a kid in school, he’s medium
popular, ok at sports but not spectacular, a good student, plays video games.
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Politics: none
Amusements, hobbies: video games, is a fan of the SF teams, the Giants, the 49ers. Has some swag from those teams (a backpack).
Sex Life, Moral Standards: he’s a good kid. Likely straight. Ben is agonized that the kid shows no signs of impending queerness.
Personality Aspects:
His personal premise: he wants to “write code.” He only says that because he hears that constantly in the midst of SF’s tech boom. This horrifies Glenda, horrifies Jake. Maybe Ben thinks maybe the kid will strike it rich and support them all in their old age. It’s all undecided.
Frustration, disappointments: He’s better at math than at English.
Temperament: Like all kids these days, he has trouble
focusing and on attention to things. A bit scattered, ADHD.
Attitude toward life: Happy kid. Wished he had a live-in Dad. Knows many gay women for a kid.
Complexes: Not an extrovert or an introvert. He can speak
up, speak his mind.
Abilities: Won spelling bee two years in a row. Ben is very
proud of this, being in marketing and all.
Qualities: he’s affectionate and he smiles a lot. Likes cats. – his one lesbian trait. Still hasn’t gotten one of his own.
IQ: very high.
How Working Biography Was Used
Some of this working biography I used; much I did not. It’s best thought of as a go-to resource when a question comes up, such as: What does he like to eat? What does he play with? What (if anything) does he like in school?
I’ve always thought of myself as knowledgable about children and what they’re like. That’s mostly from my own upbringing as second oldest in a family of eight kids. However, my childhood and teen years were a long, long time ago now. I’ve never had children of my own. So a lot of this is vicarious observation of nieces and nephews and friends’ kids, along with random behaviors I might observe out in the world. In a word, imperfect. Hopefully, it was good enough to seem real.
One of the major backstory elements in my novel “Benefits” is the fact that the main character, Ben Schmidt, is a prostate cancer survivor.
“Benefits” is a sequel to my first novel “Benediction.” (Although I don’t think it’s required reading to understand “Benefits,” I’m sure it helps.) That first novel was written as a way for me to process what was going on with my body. Indeed, I am a prostate cancer survivor myself.
Why “Benediction”
I’d written creatively prior to the novels — but the fiction was limited to movie and TV scripts. I didn’t think my cancer story lent itself to those forms. Hence, “Benediction.” The action in that novel is primarily the story of Ben Schmidt working his way through prostate cancer treatment. Of course, there’s a few side plots involving sex, work intrigue, family relationships, and what not. Did I mention there was sex?
“Benediction” on display before a reading at the (now gone) Different Light Bookstore on Castro Street in San Francisco.
Why “Benefits”
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Sex and lots of it. Because I like it and also because that’s one of the things that changes a lot for men post-prostate cancer. Thus, while “Benediction” took Ben through diagnosis and treatment of his cancer, “Benefits” follows Ben in the aftermath. As in: what is it like to live with the long-term effects of incontinence and ED (erectile dysfunction)?
So in “Benefits,” these side effects are just ongoing parts of Ben’s persona. They’re the things he deals with every day. Should he drop an erectile dysfunction pill in his pocket just in case the opportunity for sex presents itself? Will he be doing something sufficiently physical (working out, walking a lot or standing for a long time, etc.)? Stuffing a thin incontinence pad in his underwear might be a really good idea.
Those are just two of the realities former prostate cancer patients endure. In presenting a character that has this history, I hoped to enlighten those who are unaware as well as acknowledge those of us who live as prostate cancer survivors.
The hero of “Benefits” is a prostate cancer survivor. But heck, it’s mostly a comedy!
January 10 is, apparently, National Peculiar People Day. My novel “Benefits” is full of interesting characters, but one in particular stands out as peculiar. (At least in my humble opinion.)
This peculiar person who deserves her very own day is Breezeann Jasczek. She works as housekeeper/cleaning lady for Ben and Jake at their Noe Valley house in San Francisco.
San Francisco: A city full of Peculiar People?
Breezeann is an aging hippie who never got the memo that the ’60s ended, and that’s a good thing. At least to her it is. She can’t resist offering her often-wry opinion on just about anything. Or, she might bake some THC infusion into your muffins — without mentioning it. The rumor is she’s a former rock groupie. No one really knows and she ain’t telling.
Peculiar Person Breezeann Jasczek Working Bio for “Benefits”
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This is what I wrote for the character description in “Benefits,” short and sweet: BEN AND JAKE’s housekeeper, BREEZEANN. Jasczek. She is mid-60s, natural long gray hair in braid, often. She’s white, pale, blue eyes, 5-6, thin. She alternates jeans with long dresses. She is a contrarian.
A lady from the Internets, but kind of the idea I had when envisioning Breezeann.
That’s much shorter than my usual bios for main or secondary characters. Breezeann is a relief character, on the sidelines, but I think it’s fun whenever she shows up. Of course, there’s the umbrella fight she has with Ben’s mom Margaret. Wait what? You’ll have to read the book.
I found this definition of Peculiar People Day on the web: Peculiar People Day is celebrated on January 10 of every year. Peculiar People Day is a day to celebrate the leaders of the unusual and strange, the peoples (sic) who refuse to succumb the world idea’s which is sane and reasonable. They challenge the status quo and rebuke the concept utterly which is out of the ordinary is wrong (sic). It may be in their style, they simply dress or having ideas of which is right and reasonable (sic). So Peculiar People is a day for Peculiar peoples to shine.
Dallas Burdette was a character who originally appeared in my novel “Benediction,” the precursor to “Benefits.”
No soul, No civility: No Service. The type of establishment where Ben met Dallas in “Benediction.”
Working Biography of Dallas
The working biography of Dallas was not an extensive bio. In fact, it’s just a couple of paragraphs:
Dirty Pink Panty Girl – (Carrie) high class sex worker at the Slog – Carrie’s short, like 5-5, long brown hair, almond-shaped brown eyes – she’s pretty, but she’s nothing to write home about. She has some freckles on her arms and her upper chest that are usually visible. She uses make-up most of the time to hide any that are on her face. Carrie has nice breasts. How old? Carrie’s late twenties. But worldly. Thinking Mary Louise Parker when I write her.
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Margaret’s work – Cole Valley. A vitamin and supplement store where they also make juices. Her job is as a salesgirl and a juice maker. The owner of the store is DALLAS. It’s bankrolled by her rich Pacific Heights boyfriend. Dallas needs a last name – even though she only goes by Dallas, everyone knows her that way. BURDETTE. Dallas Burdette is her name. Store needs a name: Clean Up
When looking up the original working biography for this character, I discovered that I’d named her “Carrie.”
A Character Evolves
Obviously, I changed the name to Dallas. I don’t really remember why, but I suspect it was because there’s a main character named “Karen” in “Benediction” (as well as “Benefits”). The soundalike confusion would have been too much.
“Dallas” was a case of an afterthought becoming more important the more I wrote about her. Originally, she was a girl who tempted sober Ben with drinks and drugs (and succeeded). Then, she became a sort-of confidante. Later, she became an actress in one of his movies. In “Benefits,” with her rich boyfriend’s assistance, she became an entrepreneur. She hired Ben’s mom. At some point will obviously tempt Mom with something yet to be imagined. Hence, she needed more of a working biography, which continues in process.
Street image in Cole Valley, San Francisco, where Dallas Burdette’s fictional store Clean Up is located.
As a self-published author, it’s not only the story inside the book that comes from me. It’s literally everything about the product. Thus, a number of variables had to be considered when choosing a book cover for “Benefits.”
One consideration is color. Not only the color itself, but choice between color or a black & white image. While red remains the best color to catch the eye (hello, stop signs) this cover’s closest approximation would be variations on that, heading into orange territory.
Content of Cover Image
The actual content of the image also plays a significant factor in choosing a book cover. This image is a sidewalk scene on Cole Street in San Francisco. The fictional story in the book takes place in San Francisco, and there are a few scenes in this particular neighborhood, Cole Valley. I felt it was accurate in that sense. Also, it shows some iconic San Francisco-style architecture (bay windows and early 20th century detail), so that it’s fairly obvious what city we’re in. That’s intentional.
Sales Venue for “Benefits”
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Another consideration in choosing a book cover in this digital era is the sales venue. For most self-published books, the online market is really where it’s happening, not in brick and mortar bookstores (unfortunate, but that’s the way it is). So, whatever image you choose must draw the eye on a computer or phone screen, sometimes in a field of many other similar-sized book covers. That’s where a striking image or a color that pops (again, red!) really helps you.
I think the cover I chose for “Benefits” is mid-range in that regard. The image is interesting, but it’s not a hot naked body (it’s true, sex really sells). The awning color attracts the eye, yet it’s not a fire engine.
Cost of “Benefits” Book Cover
For self-publishers, cost is a huge factor. The cost of everything, from having your manuscript professionally edited (typically my highest cost over the course of the four books I’ve published so far) to buying photography or rights to an image for the cover must be considered. So, I took the picture myself and cropped it so that there’s no identifiable faces in the image.
So, basically, the cost of the cover for “Benefits” were my travel costs for a couple of days in San Francisco (I live in Los Angeles). One way was award jet travel, and I had a free place to stay (thank you, cousin Mary). Plus, I not only shot the cover image. I shot video for the “Benefits” book trailer and probably 100 other images to use for publicity purposes.
When you self publish, every day and every dollar counts. I’ve learned this the hard way!
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