Hi J! So sorry not to respond earlier... I just discovered this feature on AllAuthors. It really depends on what genre I'm writing in. It took me about a year to write each of the first three books of The Drinnglennin Chronicles, but the final book took over two. It's longer, and I had a LOT of plot lines to tie up.
Contrary to the old adage, we DO judge books by their covers. I am delighted with mine, as they are the original art work of the talented Gwen Shackleton, a British artist who also happens to be a dear friend. The cover of Portents of Chaos recently was a finalist in the January 2020 AllAuthor Cover Contest, and I've entered A Realm at Stake's cover for the contest starting in March. I took care selecting the titles for The Drinnglennin Chronicles series, as I wanted them to be both appropriate for their genre, but also unique. You want your titles to be at the top of the list when they are googled.
Way back in 2002, my YA fantasy, Beyond the Green Door, was published by Lothian in Australia. There was no marketing done, and I made a pittance on sales. In this day and age, independent publishing allows writers to retain creative, marketing, financial and rights control. If we're going to the work, we should reap the benefits.
