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The right way to approach revisions.

I’m working on a book about self-promotion for trumpet players, called “Tooting Your Own Horn – How to Promote Yourself as a Trumpet Player without Being an Obnoxious Blowhard.
I used Fiverr to get the cover made.
And when I saw the first version, I wanted to throw up in my mouth.

It was just… not what I had in mind.
My first instinct was to find someone else to do it. And maybe leave a bad review.
But I didn’t. Why?
One reason was that I didn’t have the budget to hire the person I really wanted to hire.
Another reason is that I hate it when I do something for someone and they stop communicating at the revision stage.
Whenever that happens to me, it hurts my business and stresses me out.
I’m the kind of person who follows the golden rule. I treat others the way that I want to be treated.
So I sat down with the book cover that I didn’t like and I tried to put into words why didn’t like it. The background was dark and murky, and you couldn’t see the trumpet player’s face. My book is all about making friends, connecting with others, and building a trusting audience.
The cover needs to have a fun and friendly appearance.
So I wrote an email to the designer, politely explaining what I didn’t like about the cover and what I was really looking for.

cover of Tooting Your Own Horn by Mandy Marksteiner

Because I hadn’t communicated that information properly in the first email. I had just given her the text with a “surprise me” attitude.
Now that we were in the revision stage I needed to give more specific directions so that we could get the job done without wasting her time or my money.
And a day later she sent me this version and it was EXACTLY what I wanted!
I loved it.
Two totally different book covers from the same designer. Rather than be rude, make her feel bad about herself, or fire her… I respected the time that she put into the project, had faith in her abilities, and used my communication skills to ask for what I wanted.