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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