Book Rights - Keep Em!

Why is it important to keep your book rights if possible? Because all publishers are not perfect and Publishers change editors, cover designers, and marketing staff as often as we change our underwear! This means they don’t always have quality control in check and things such as bad book design, poor editing (butchering), or slack on the marketing efforts can occur. When these problems and others arise, you are not in control and the final product may not be all you dreamed it would be; now you’re stuck with it. Let me share an example of this.

I wrote the most wonderful and helpful book on stress relief in 2008—it was published. This was possibly my best work ever; I was really proud of it and hoped it would help people to live a stress-free life. I had my own issues with stress and life was not fun. I also had developed a life-threatening illness directly related to stress. It was important to me to get the word out and help others conquer this problem before they too became ill from stress.

The book was accepted, and I celebrated. “Trust us,” I heard, “we are professionals at this”—so I did. I literally cried when I saw the cover image chosen for my book. I wrote e-mails and called begging for a change. Again I heard, “Trust us, we are professionals.” What choice did I have?—none. This is the cover the publisher designed for my book.

Not only is it repulsive even at a glance, but the title is not legible, the colors represent stress (green), and the text is silly looking. The publisher also eliminated all of my sub-chapters; making it difficult to easily locate the information a reader needs “stat” in a stressful situation. I am truly embarrassed by this book and have not helped in promoting it; I don’t even like seeing my name on the cover. FYI, it has sold 13 copies since 2008. So what now?

I am proud to announce I have re-published the book under a new title, complete text, and cover. This is a fabulous book I can now be proud of. Here is the new cover.

Although I would have liked the title to be larger, I am happy with the results and am thankful I kept the rights to my book! FYI, the image of the kids, is of my three girls! That makes it extra special to me!
Would love your honest opinion on the cover.

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