Mammas, don’t let your authors grow up to be art directors

We handed the cover art to the publisher, so they could add the book title, “ghost tentacles” and other graphics. After working with their own graphic designer, we came up with the picture you see below. This is one version of what the book cover could look like:

…and after we got to this point, the cover idea was rejected by the publisher. As of this writing, they’re trying out new artwork with a different artist.

What I learned: if you’re going to take an extra responsibility that’s not specified in the book contract, either put it in the contract or don’t do it.