Tag Archives: s.a. klopfenstein

My Fantasy Cover Reveal

It has been a crazy journey for The Shadow Watch, but now all this work is paying off. My cover is complete and the book is now available for pre-order on Amazon: goo.gl/fqTdYy

TSW eBook non-publish

 

The cover was far more work than I anticipated, and I didn’t do any of the real work. There were so many things to think through. I had no idea how involved the illustration process was, and that was an amazing thing to learn. I have so much appreciation for cover designers.

This illustration went through about 9 phases of development, which was amazing because I was able to offer input and think through what I wanted throughout the process. The result was more than I could have hoped for. I am in love with this cover!

The illustration was done by the amazing Gwenn Danae. And the typography was done by Stefanie Saw. Check out their work. I highly recommend them both.

It was incredible to see this character I’ve written so much about come to life, and I am so glad I opted for the custom illustration route for this cover.

The book releases on MAY 15.

So excited to send my book out into the world!

And especially excited to have it going out in such style!

My Fantasy World Map Reveal

Thanks for joining me as I chronicle My Self-Publishing Journey for my epic fantasy, THE SHADOW WATCH. In Part One, I outlined my reasons for pursuing this avenue of publishing over the traditional publishing model.

Many things are quickly falling into place, as I lay the groundwork for the self-publication process. My editor and cover artist have been booked, and most recently, I commissioned a beautiful world map for THE SHADOW WATCH.

The New World Complete

All this fell together much more quickly than I expected. I had originally planned to work with another artist, who ran over $500, whom I discovered on a thread on Kboards. I did not like the idea of spending quite that much, but I had a hard time finding an artist I liked for much cheaper. I also want this book to be as professional as possible, and let’s be honest, for epic fantasy, a detailed world map is an expectation.

Then, I stumbled upon an online thread that mentioned that there are several quality Map Artists on DeviantArt for very reasonable prices. I checked it out and stumbled upon the very impressive work of Sebastian Breit (check out his work here). And he was able to begin immediately.

[A Self-Pub Lesson Learned: You can find high quality work for a good price, if you are willing to look. Spend a little more time researching before booking a commissioned artist. Find a price that fits your budget and quality standards. Had I not been browsing some threads on Kboards, I would have ended up spending several hundred dollars more than I wanted to. This goes for cover artists, as well. I highly recommend Deviant Art, by the way.]

I am incredibly pleased with this map, and the turn-around time was only about a week. I was blown away as this world I’ve written about and poorly sketched on printer paper quickly turned into a detailed world.

Considering I will be writing at least 3 books in this world, the upfront cost of one map is totally worth every penny, in my opinion.

Let me know what you think of the map!

And stay tuned for more about my Self-Publishing Journey.

 

 

Best,

S.A. Klopfenstein