Drum roll, please…

Going to bed last night, I was really, really worried. I had no book blurb, I had no front cover, I wasn’t even happy with the title I’d decided on for my completed manuscript. In short, I had a completely blank slate for a brain after 10 o’clock.

My wife was already fast asleep by the time I slid under the covers and drifted off, thoughts of failure etched on my mind. Then 2.30am rolled along. I snapped awake. My mind was on fire; I knew exactly how the cover was going to look, I had a better title – I even had a tagline. Whipping back the cover, I leapt out of bed, dashed into my study, turned on the computer, and…and…

It didn’t f***ing work! My computer had died during the night like my pet hamster from childhood. Painful flashbacks ensued.

So I got out my old Chromebook that has a broken ‘up arrow’ on the keyboard, and the ‘a’ and ‘s’ letters worn off their keys. And with it, I produced this…

For someone who failed Art & Design at school, I’m a little bit proud of it, and I feel it fits the mood of the book really well. Now that this project has an actual cover, it also feels a lot more real, and my biggest fear has gone from being; “will I be able to complete this?” to “will anyone like this book enough to actually pay money for it?”

Any and all royalties will be going to a charity close to my heart, and to ensure every penny gets to where it needs to be, I’m not recouping any incurred costs. Having begun this whole thing as a bit of a fun joke, I really want this book to stand as a good story in its own right. To that end, my philosophy in writing has always been the same; keep trying, don’t give up, and if you produce something that is entertaining, people will buy it.

And for any chance of that to happen, I have to get back to the soul-crushing work of editing.

Happy designing / writing / everybody!