To stupid to live...

So, I was looking for an image to put on a book cover. Yes, I’m still self-publishing. Yes, it is worthwhile to do otherwise I wouldn’t be doing it. Anyway, I was looking on Fotalia, which had a spak out the other day which had me having a spak out at it but that’s another story, when I came across these images after I put in the search terms of female and assassin. 

 Of course I got all these images of big boobed assassin-like women pouting and stroking guns. Freudian much? But I also got what I call the too stupid to live group. Seriously? Who would use these? Holding a gun to their heads? The blonde 1970’s throwback chick with the bucket on her head looking like she’s constipated? Or the one doing the splits and holding onto a gun? How do you run away fast from the splits? Credibility factor? None.  

Maybe they’re artistic. Maybe I can’t see some deep existential meaning in them. I dunno…  

Book cover nongheads...

Now, I do the self publishing thing. I make my own book covers. Some people love them. Some hate them. Some couldn’t give a crap either way and my world turns regardless of opinion. I’ve had some shitty covers made by supposed professional cover artists – you know the patch and paste jobs that they charge the publisher a solid $100 for - and others I have made myself and I like a lot.  The thing with cover art is you can spend as much or as little on it as you like. If you go to somewhere like Fotalia.com – my personal preference - you can buy a heap of credits and the covers cost usually no more than $1.00 and they can be claimed on tax. It’s not rocket science. You then stuff around with it on Gimp or paintbox or whatever program you’re working with until you bang out a cover. 

Recent controversy about various authors using watermarked images they have not legally paid the rights to makes me wonder how smart these authors are. First up a watermark on the hero’s body isn’t sexy.  It’s tacky and it smacks of being an unprofessional nonghead. Added to that it’s not smart or fair or right to use another person’s artwork without legally obtaining the right to it. Authors who do that should, to my mind, accept people who pirate their ebooks for their own gain because it’s essentially the same thing. Taking without permission? Tacky. Classless. Wrong. Thinking you won't get caught? Dumber than dumb.  

So, thinking about doing your own covers? Have a crack at it. Some will fly, some won’t but for god sake have enough brains to buy the rights to use the artwork because ebook land will retaliate and rightly so and crying about people being mean to you isn’t going to save your arse or give you any credibility.  Wise up. No one likes a nonghead.