What’s your creative process? Do you allow yourself to create without any fears or self-talk? Do you ask for help? Do you trust yourself above all else?
The process of creating the cover design of my new novelette fiction story ebook was very interesting. On the one hand, I thought of the conventional wisdom that it’s best to hire a professional to design an ebook cover. On the other hand, as writing the story was a healing tool for me, and since I also love drawing and painting, I felt that expressing myself through the cover design was more important than having a professionally drawn cover. As a coach, I usually advise my clients who are about to self-publish their books, not to use stock photos on their cover, and to hire someone to at least create an image for it. I ended up compromising, I drew the image, and asked a friend to create the format and add the title and my name to the cover.
Here is how the creative process evolved. I had this idea to draw a heart with Band-Aids, and with words in them as healing tools. You can see the first drawing on the top left of this post’s image. I received feedback from a friend, who loved the concept, but encouraged me to draw the Band-Aids differently.
I then made an attempt to draw a human heart. The second drawing of this post’s image is my first attempt ever to draw a heart, so I would say it’s not that bad. When I shared with a friend who was helping me, she did not care for it at all.
I also started to think about the fact that Band-Aids sometimes come off before the wounds are healed. So I decided to draw stitches instead. Right! like I know how to draw them. I searched for images of it, and I’m pretty sure I Googled how to draw stitches. I almost asked my sister who is a surgeon to send a few photos, but decided not to, due to my low tolerance of seeing such images.
Then, I shared all those designs with more friends, and they provided invaluable advice. One friend even custom-ordered a ceramic heart that I will be sharing in another post. Another one took the time to draw something, and share her vision with me, thank you! She also told me that the tools I was using (water color pencils) were not ideal, and she recommended me to buy oil pastel. The drawing at the bottom left was drawn with the tools she suggested, but I left it without stitches, after a few unsuccessful attempts.
I started feeling frustrated, and also I knew I was being stubborn. After all, isn’t my own advice to hire someone to create one’s cover design? Yes, it is, but I had this deep desire for the cover to be my own artistic expression.
So I pressed on, and drew the final drawing on this post’s image using oil pastel and drawing it on a cardboard, after getting a suggestion to add depth to it. I shared this drawing with a friend who is a graphic designer, and he volunteered to design the book cover using that heart. And that’s how the ebook’s cover was created. A combination of my own, and perhaps risky stubbornness to honor all parts of myself and my creativity, with my willingness to open myself to feedback, and to apply the feedback received. I chose to give myself permission to fully honor and trust myself in this process.
I encourage you to ask for feedback when you feel comfortable to do so, and always remember to trust yourself, and to honor your own creative process.
I figured that if all else fails and the cover isn’t attractive, I could always humbly hire someone to create the whole cover without my input, and I could always upload a new one.
If you’d like to see the ebook cover, and/or order a copy, please visit: Mending a Broken Heart: Lili's Magic Journey
I’d love to read about your own creative process and how you handle the internal conflicts that may come up. Feel free to share it below.
Namaste,
Elisa Balabram
PS. The hearts with words say: self-love, forgiveness, friendship, feeling feelings, breathing, laughter, nature, adventure, etc.
Leave a Reply