In celebration of Mother's Day, WI&DP is having a "Mother Needs a Cover" sale.

Any author, editor, agent or publisher who needs a cover design done either for themselves or their client who contacts me by 9pm eastern on Monday the 12th, will get locked in at $125 US and be put on the "Mother Needs a Cover" list - with an additional $25 taken off if the author is a Mother herself!

Cover design, as always, includes front & back cover plus full interior block layout (illustrations extra - also half rate though). Regular rates range from $250-$500 (illustrations $50-$150 each) but from now until tomorrow night, everybody can save.

Contact me by 9pm on the 12th if you need a cover via IM or email at willowraven.illustration@yahoo.com or via my website contact page at www.WillowRavenIllustration.com

Don't miss out on this sale!

Aidana WillowRaven

I have learned a lot about the publishing industry in a relatively short time (6 months).

I came in an an illustrator/designer looking for a book cover to design or a kiddie book to draw, not understanding the needs of an author/publisher are majorly different than that of any other business industry that relies on the services of an illustrator/designer.

There is a great deal of pressure in all business' to look the part, show off the product, and get that customer to spend their hard earned money for it (especially in this recession), so I took some additional courses in business management with a focus in marketing - since that is the one thing they don't teach when seeking a fine art degree - how to make money at being an artist.

With books, the "appearances count" pressure is huge! Why? Because 70% of all book sales can be credited to the cover, 70%! To add to that pressure authors, illustrators, cover artists, layout artists, etc. all need to market and sell the books bearing their work (or at least show off the skills within to ensure further projects).

It is the only industry I can think of that requires us to be master crafters at not only our chosen craft (whether it be writing, drawing, design, etc.) but marketing moguls as well.

That's a tall order.

So, I have channeled my illustration design services to meet the needs of my clients, the writers.

First came the literary agent services, where clients were drawn to me through my drawings & needed help finding homes for their manuscripts.. so after a bit of research, madam agent I am (as one of my clients coyingly calls me).

Second came the management services, where I help clients who are not familiar with business or marketing, to fuddle their way through a whole new way of thinking. Coaching them on what they'll need to do to get those royalty checks comin' (good thing I took those business courses huh?), because without marketing there are no sales & without sales there are no royalty checks, without royalty checks, I don't always get paid.

Third comes website development geared around an author's book or an author's collective work. The sites need the ability to carry multiple blogs, feature slide show presentations, and showcase not only their work but the characters within their works as well.

So, website developer I become...lol. Always trying to fill the need of my clients - the writers who desire to be authors. And yes, there is a difference.

As a result of all these services being added over the last few months, a website overhaul for myself became necessary.

Be sure to check out not only the sites I've designed recently (under "website development") but the other services I offer as well. Being a new site, there may be some errors missed during edit, so if you would please let me know kindly if any links are missing or any words are misspelled, after all, I am only an illustrator, not a writer.

My revised site is at www.WillowRavenIllustration.com.

Thanks, Aidana WillowRaven