Do you judge a book by its cover?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Right?  We have had such a difficult time selecting the cover for our book.  Way more frustrating than writing it.

Of course you ask for opinions … and you get them.  All favouring a different one.

Before all this started I actually went on a fishing expedition and had gone to Chapters to look at and check out the current covers for books.   Most have bright coloured jackets and words. No photos.

And I can tell you why.  It is near impossible to find a photo that accurately depicts

a) what your book is about or

b) who you want to pick it up and buy it.

I know because we tried.  We really tried.  Too young. Too old. Not diverse enough. Too diverse.  Looks depressing and this is a book about improving your life.

We had one with a gorgeous child on the cover but that bubble was quickly burst when both my daughters said that it looked like a parenting book and they wouldn’t buy it.

We tried all sorts - flowers, swans, the sea, just an arm reaching out, a girl at the subway - you name it. Then when we gave up on that, we started to explore designs, backgrounds but that raised the question – what colour? 

We had one that was pinkish – too girly was the conclusion.  We tried turquoise  but actually it is a popular colour for book covers these days and we wanted our book to stand out. So that was nixed.

Eventually we settled on a cover, but next… what are the tag lines.  Another round of deliberation.  Each word carried a certain weight, a certain nuance.

So here is the latest favourite.  What do you think?  And if you don’t like it… I don’t want to know.  This was way too painful a process to start over and repeat.  Besides, the book is weaving its way to be printed as we speak.

When an ending is really just the beginning...

I’d started to write my blog this week when I realized I was falling into a trap that I’ve often warned my blogging students to avoid –

1.  Trying to do too much with one blog

2.  Not working out ahead of time what my 

     key messages are

3.  Not offering a tangible lesson to my readers

Bad. My bad, as they say these days.  I think much of it is that my mind is swirling. 

I have spent much of my time of late focusing on the One Red Lipstick book, and last week it was lovingly sent on its way to be published.

While that is super exciting, and there is a sense of accomplishment, part of me doesn’t quite know what to do next.  So many hours have been devoted to the book, so it is hard to pick up the pieces and continue with the rest of my work.

Plus sending the book to be published is just a milestone.  I know that.  It’s the first of many as we move along and start to work on getting the book out there.  As any writer/editor will tell you – producing the book is the easy part, selling the book is a whole other issue.

So what’s my message here?  Good question. 

1.              Remember to pat yourself on the back when you’ve completed a project that involved time in the making. 

2.              Pause, and before you leap into the next task, take stock on what you’ve done and what you’ve accomplished so far.

3.              Thank those who have helped you reach this stage, because rarely is it a solo effort, others have helped make it happen.  In our case, particularly the 24 women who have shared their inspiring stories.

Sometimes people act as a catalyst not fully knowing just what they are starting, and in this case, Spenser Chapple has spearheaded a whole new movement through which women get the opportunity to be real, authentic and vulnerable and are not judged for being so.  We all need role models and Spenser found them for us.

There.  Did I do it?  I hope so because there has been much to learn from this experience – both professionally and personally. 

I am not the same person who started out on this project eighteen months ago. Apart from anything else, I now wear red lipstick :)  

Seriously,  I’ve learned a lot about myself and what I love to do.   So I thank Spenser for this opportunity and for trusting me to deliver her baby – the One Red Lipstick book.  Watch for its delivery on International Women’s Day.  And stay tuned for the documentary which will be following in May.