The book world in itself is a large industry. It can be very intimidating for everyone involved. The world is separated into so many different spectrums. You have your published authors, your independent authors such as myself, your publishers, editors, proof readers, formatters, photographers, cover models and then we have you, the readers.

I like to consider the book world a family. We all work together to deliver the finished product. And that’s what it is at the end of the day,  a product. Some work alone, but most of us work together to assure that what we envision is portrayed in our words and on the cover.

Some of us spend a pretty penny in the development of a novel. Some of us have the capability of doing most of our own work and can cut out a lot of the costs. At the end of the day, however, it’s about what we deliver.

In the independent world, the author is the one who decides who gets to be a part of their creations. Including the model. What some people need to remember that sometimes the author doesn’t really “know” the model. They may have seen an image from a stock photo and fell in love with it, or they have paid to have a photo shoot done and chose an image from there. Either way, the author envisions what he or she sees in their mind and tries to deliver that image that portrays his or her words and sometimes collaborates with a photographer to deliver that image on the cover. 

What the reader needs to remember is the author is NOT responsible for the actions and beliefs of the model. Let me repeat that, THE AUTHOR IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ACTIONS AND BELIEFS OF THE MODEL. We do what we can to choose the perfect image that represents the words we have written. Thats all. We are choosing an image. We don’t always write a story surrounding that model. Again, this is just my observation from what I’ve seen and what I’ve experienced.

When a model decides to show his or her true colors, which happens more often than not, sometimes the author is the one who suffers the consequences. Think about it. If you purchased a signed paperback at a book signing and absolutely loved that story the  author delivered to you and found out that the cover model on that book decided to be a royal douche and decide to fat shame or bully someone simply because he or she doesn’t always think before they act, would you throw that book out knowing you have spent good money getting into that signing, possibly airfare and hotel stay? Or would you keep it?

Why would you punish the author? The same author who went out of their way and sacrificed so much to deliver a piece of their heart and soul and put it on paper for you? Why should the author spend more money changing a cover when at the time, it was acceptable? Needless to say, the model doesn’t care what you do with the cover. They have their money from the shoot already. They can sit back and do whatever they want. What some people don’t realize is its not just the cover that needs changing.

• A new cover needs to be reformatted  $$
• New paperbacks needs to be ordered $$
• Swag, if any needs to be changed $$
• Possible banners need to be changed $$
• Let alone the time to make all these changes.

So before people begin to blame the author, sit back and think about the entire picture. Blame the model for their actions… NOT THE AUTHOR! Support your authors. Show them your love and encourage them to keep doing what they do best, deliver a story. One that lets you get away from reality for a bit. One that you can sit back after reading it and say, “Damn, that book was amazing.” And stop blaming the author for the mistakes of a model.