PART VI - what not to do in the book cover club
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Here is a list of things never to do in the book cover club. Whether you're a requester or a maker, you should try never to do these.
1) Steal graphics
I can't believe I even have to talk about this, but it's a big issue. If you can't make a cover as good as someone else, why would you want to claim their work as yours? Instead, why don't you ask who made the cover for some suggestions? There really aren't that many makers in the book cover club. And with so many people thread-stalking, there is a good chance you will get caught.
2) Steal ideas
Ever wonder who came up with movie posters? Story ads? Character banners? I'm not completely sure who invented most of these, but I know they haven't been around forever. Just a couple years ago, Wattpad didn't even have covers. Someone came up with these ideas, and they spread around the cover club. Now these graphics are all quite common. But when I say not to steal ideas, I don't just mean types of graphics. Ideas for competitions and tutorials/classes have also been stolen.
4) Bug a maker about finishing your graphic
Unless it's been over a week or two, I would never bug a maker about finishing my graphic. It is very stressful, especially when you have a ton of requests to complete, to have ten different people asking you when their graphics will be finished.
5) Not credit
Most makers put a lot of time and effort into their covers. If you had made someone a graphic you thought was beautiful, wouldn't you be mad if they refused to give you any credit or payment for it? If you request from somebody, you should be willing to pay them. If not, find someone who makes free graphics.
6) Claiming to be professional
Don't say you're a professional unless you truly think you could be offered a job in graphic design. This really ticks some people off. Adding a bunch of crazy effects to an image until you can't tell what it is anymore and then slapping some neon text on it for the title and author isn't very professional. Neither is putting ten random fonts on a completely unedited, bad-quality photo.
7) Not read the rules
Lots and lots of threads have passwords, and even decoy passwords, to make sure that requesters have read their rules. I recommend just reading through all of them to make sure you're okay with the payment and other things that are required. Like I said before, if you don't like a maker's payment, look for someone who makes free graphics.
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COMING UP: Section Two - Making Graphics
