Welcome to the first Insecure Writer’s Group post of the year for me. Somehow January scarpered, and here we are in the first post for February. If you’re thinking of joining the group yourself, let me reassure you that once a month posts really aren’t as difficult as I’m making it look. Come join us!

This month the kind co-hosts keeping us all on track are Jacqui Murray, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Pat Garcia, and Gwen Gardner!

Our optional question for this month is a fun one. If you are an Indie author, do you make your own covers or purchase them?

And oh, my beloved bookworm friends, I could spin you such a tale of mechanical woe. I could tell you stories, both funny and true, of a geriatric millennial who came of age while adding music to a PowerPoint was a big fad in yearbook class, everyone knew the same five memes because memes were in their infant larvae form, and the Oregon Trail and Burger Time were still new (not yet nostalgic). A millennial, in fact, who grew up right before the internet became this multi-tentacled, all-knowing, ever-present thing wired directly to billions of brains.

The result of growing up in a time when everyone had begun to use computers, but no one really knew how they worked means . . . neither do I. What is Wifi? How does it fly through the air to deliver gifs to my screen? Why do some computers still need a wire connected to the wall, what the fuck is an HDMI, and WHY can I never find it when I need it? Is the whole thing magic? Magic is inherently complicated, demands high payment, can be nasty, is often run by invisible, contrary, destructive beings, and usually ends with someone losing blood, and THIS SOUNDS VERY MUCH LIKE THE INTERNET TO ME. Oh my gods, the internet is black magic and we are already caught in its spell.

Things of my generation have started to show up on TikTok as “VINTAGE” and “NOSTALGIC” and, mom, I apologize with my entire soul for ever calling your 60s stuff vintage. I am so damn sorry.

The upshot of this rather lengthy aside was to assure you that I know nothing about creating and editing media on a computer. Still less about making media that is both well done, and pleasing to the eye. To me, it was more than worth it to pay for the services of someone who has those gifts in abundance. There are many wonderful choices out there, but I went with Jaycee DeLorenzo of Sweet ‘N Spicy designs. And look at how good she is!

Isn’t she amazing? I told Jaycee ‘a cover with tentacles, they’re kinda important to the plot, and can it have purple as a theme?’ and she didn’t even bat an eyelash. Just made all of my dreams come true. Her prices are extremely reasonable, and she offers many different media services besides just book covers. I wholeheartedly recommend working with her if you’re an Indie author in the market for graphic media.

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