So if you’re in Jamaica, a couple of ‘D’ words have been added to the vernacular in the last couple of weeks. The words ‘duplicitous’ and ‘disingenuous’ have been popping up all over the place — most notably in social media memes and comments, after being used by a popular media personality on a live television show. I’d like to add a third ‘D’ word to the mix… it’s the word ‘discombobulated,’ and it has been my favorite word for the last few years.
Discombobulated.
I like the way it rolls off my tongue.
I must admit, when I use the word, there’s often a confused look that crosses the face of the person who hears it. I can just hear the gears in many a mind creaking, and I’m sure they’re saying to themselves, “Discom-wha‘?”
So here you go, courtesy of Merriam Webster (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/discombobulated)
discombobulate
Definition of discombobulate
discombobulated discombobulating
transitive verb
: upset, confuse <inventing cool new ways to discombobulate the old order — Kurt Andersen>
All right, all right. The teacher in me is going to sit down now 😀
So even before the insertion of these new/old ‘D’ words into everyday use here in Jamaica, I had been throwing the word ‘discombobulated’ around on social media. Why? It’s simple, really: it’s the name of my next publication!
As you probably know by now (all four of you who read this blog), I’m a Christian author and I self-published my debut novel, His Last Hope: A Contemporary Christian Romance last year under the name M. A. Malcolm. Since then, I’ve been bombarded with requests for more fiction. I’ve actually been ‘working, working, working’ on three full-length books, but the other day , it occurred to me that my mailing list subscribers have been waiting for something from me for almost a year now, and it’s probably going to be a while before I’m ready to publish another book. So I decided to give them a gift: a short story based in Alistair Bay, Florida, the fictitious setting of my novel. And thus, “Discombobulated” was born a few weeks ago.
Yes, I said “give” — as in gratis… free… no charge.
I really do want to thank the people who have believed in my writing since the beginning, those who know me and those who have never met me, who have taken the time to read His Last Hope and who at one time pushed it to the top ten of its category on Amazon. Those who voted for it when it was vying for the CSPA 2016 Book Award in the Fiction – Romance category and who will vote for it during the week of May 23 – 26 when it is up against other short-listed inspirational books for InD’Tale Magazine’s 2016 RONE Award. The verdict is still out on the CSPA Awards, but the willingness of people to vote for my book and ask their friends to do the same… well, it was overwhelming. How could I say thanks?
By giving them something that is entertaining and uplifting despite its brevity. By reminding them that I’m working on more books. By sending them a newsletter every month. By recommending other books they can read while they wait.
Now, I know this blog is not about my writing; this blog is about making money from my living room in Jamaica. This blog is about working on my own terms, setting my own schedule. This blog is about what I do to have my afternoons free to spend with my demanding four-year-old. And perhaps most of all, this blog is about earning money without the need for either shoes or a bra. Yeah, I said it. Freedom is important to me.
So why bring up “Discombobulated” on this blog instead of over on my author website? Well, it’s to show you the ‘cover’ of my books. Be patient, I do have an important point that could end up making you money. I know it certainly saved me some!
On the left is the front cover of my first book, His Last Hope, which is available in print and ebook format. On the right is the cover of my short story, “Discombobulated,” which will be available only electronically.
I don’t have the exact figure at hand, but I would guess that between the cost of two graphic designers (one to combine two pictures to create one character, the other to put the entire cover together) and licensed royalty-free images (I bought three, the graphic designer provided one), I spent somewhere between US$150 and US$200 for the cover on the left. Money well spent, I believe, because the cover is exactly what I wanted. But it took money and it took time.
The cover on the right cost me nothing but a couple of hours.
That’s right.
Now, if you ask me, the image on the left is superior. I know that a ton of work went into it, and it shows (trust me! I know where it’s coming from). But let’s face it… the one on the right was free, which is perfectly fine for a short story I’m giving away. And did I mention I did it myself?
How? I did it using the skills I learned from Kristen Joy, a.k.a. the Book Ninja, in her “Author’s Quick Course: Book Cover Design.” I will admit that I didn’t start this course completely unfamiliar with graphic design. I’d never been trained before, but I’ve always been pretty good at using MS Publisher to put images together and I’ve come up with some pretty cool stuff. I’ve done invitations, programs and favors for weddings; party invites; posters, and more, but I feel that if you have even an idea of what you want a cover to look like, after spending a few hours doing this course, you should be able to create your own covers.
How can this benefit you if you’re not an author? Well… suppose I wanted to sell the book cover on the right (sans the wording, of course)… I think I might get away with charging someone US$50 for it, couldn’t I? I might even be able to get $100 for it… and that would more than cover the cost of the Book Ninja’s course.
So… do you have a creative spark in you? Do you think you might be able to create covers for yourself or other people? Consider taking the Book Ninja’s course and turning your spare time into an actual business by offering a cover design service. I think if I were going to do that (which I just might!), I’d offer covers for ebooks only, though. Print covers are more complex and I haven’t tried to do any designs just yet.
Course content includes:
- The essentials of graphic design and how book design is different
- How to properly use color to draw in readers
- Where to get high quality images and how to properly use them
- How to treat titles and subtitles to stand out
- Genre-specific industry secrets (fiction, non-fiction, romance, business and more)
- LIVE DEMOS of five software programs
- And much more!
For more information, click here.
Yes, I’ve joined their affiliate program, and yes, I’ll make a commission if you decide to buy this course using this link, but I’m recommending it because I have used it and using the skills just one time has saved me more than I spent on the course. I never even knew about the affiliate program till after I started recommending the course.
Even if all I ever use it to do after today is to put a draft cover together so I can tell my cover designer exactly what I need… it will save me so much time and money that it will still be worth more than the cost of the course for just one book cover. Anyway, this course is definitely something for you to think about.
As for me… I’m off! I just got an awesome idea (while typing this post) that I need to start working on today! In other news, watch this space for information on two new services I will be launching soon.
If you’d like to get a copy of my short story, “Discombobulated,” and see how I managed to include all three ‘D’ words mentioned here, head over to my website and join my mailing list as soon as possible. The story will go out during the week of April 18, 2016.
Walk good!
Work from Home Jamaica 