Good Evening.
I wanted to do a short post this evening while doing this journey on my book. I said yesterday that I was getting the cover sorted out and it's taking a little bit of work to get it done, so thats when I learned about assertiveness.
Assertiveness is not something that is taught more that you learn it literally overnight.
I never had much luck with assertiveness when I wanted something done and it does not go my way I end up backing down and just letting things go. But today no I did the crack of the hypothetical whip and boy I cracked it firmly.
I took a chance on a designer on fiverr who seems new to the scene and I thought being a new author I want to give someone my business who might need it, he showed some stunning images and I was captivated so I decided to go ahead with hiring him for the book cover. So I have a low budget anyway I knew that the cover that I would get would be mediocre, and not as nice as some of the covers out there, but this is my first book; so I have to do what I have to do.
He sent back the first two revisions, now the book is based on a journalist from the uk who is sent on a story to Bulgaria. So the first image he sends me is a Bulgarian woman in a field in traditional Bulgarian clothing wtf????
I sent back no thats not what I want and tried to explain more in depth, so this morning he sends me another photo of a woman standing by a tree wearing a scarf, I mean I could have designed that on canva.
So I sent back no, I wanted something darker set in an oldie worldy village, and the woman I wanted wearing a nice vintage summer dress with a hat. Then this guy comes back to me asking for examples, and like an idiot I am trying to make something up on canva to show him.
##Then I slapped myself on the head and stopped myself, what was I doing??
Somehow I got really annoyed yes I spent a small amount on the cover, but after all it was MY money and MY book, I was not going to let someone walk all over me on this one. After all I invested much time in writing it, it might not be important to him but it is to me, this is my future livelihood.
I tell you now readers I went down his throat and showed him who was boss, twice he had spelled my name wrong on the book, he got blasted for that. Twice I called his work amature and not professional and he was taking me for a ride. I told him to get real and do the job, and if I didn't get regular updates I would be leaving a shocking review, which would do his new career no good.
I showed him who was boss and he got the picture, since then in an hour I have had three revisions off him and a hell of a lot more communication.
So here is a lesson to any freelancers out there, if you want paying for work being done; don't think if you don't have much work us hard working customers have our entire lives to wait, because we don't!!
I feel I was justified in doing what I did, I would not usually do something but in all honesty I have never felt so passionate about something ever.
