Aigaion Again

I know it's a while off - I still have a lot of editing to do - but I realized that I'm approaching the wire that I'll soon be getting down to, and I have no idea what to do for things like cover art, etc.

(Please excuse yet another self-plug.)

Self-publishing gives me some options that conventionally published authors don't have, not the least of which being that I can publish a book that's available online for free, and not get in trouble over it. Also, I have choices like: cream or white paper, standard paperback size, or something completely different. And I can design my cover all by my lonesome, which suits me down to the ground.

I'm thinking white paper, white cover with something simple in the middle of the front cover... but, what? Should I do this art myself, try to have it comissioned, use something that's in the public domain... just have text... I honestly have no idea. I have a picture in my head of what I want the cover to look like, but I'm not sure if it'll work. I like the tree I've been using. This was the original title page I came up with. Obviously, it woul dhave to have cleaner edges, and look more like one big picture, but... I don't know. I actually don't mind it, in principle. I think I'd like it better if it was just the tree, coloured as is, very slightly bigger, then my name in the middle at the bottom... the problem is, out of all the pictures I made this out of back in November, the tree is the only one that I'm not 100% sure is a public domain image... I guess I'd have to find that out.

Again, sorry for the random rant about my novel... I was just thinking about it today and freaking out because I have about a month and a half to finish it if I want it ready for September, which I really, really do. I'm hoping to give copies of it as Christmas presents to some of my more open-minded family members, and I'm kind of hoping other people will want to give it to some of theirs as well.

Also, I'll be putting a link to Createspace.com in the links list. They're a subsidiary of Amazon, so anything self-published on there is automatically available for purchase on Amazon. Also, unlike Lulu.com, they d0n't charge you for your ISPNs (barcodes) but provide them for free. They charge a set fee plus a percentage of the selling price (40% if it's sold from Amazon, 20% if it's sold from their own site)... kind of high, but I worked out what I would make from each sale, if I spent the $40 to upgrade to their 'pro plan' ($5 annually to renew), and I would make nearly $5 on every book sold for $10, which is pretty effing good.

Which brings me back to my final question: is $10 a reasonable price for a novel by a first time author? Assuming you knew nothing about me, say some random friend recomended me, would you be willing to spend $10 on a book by an unknown?

That's all I have for now. I'll likely be keeping you all painfully updated on how my self-publishing adventures pan out.