The Evolution of The Yellow Bug

What Was an Update...

So, I got a great idea a year or so ago to experiment with AI and cover art for existing short stories of mine.  I figured it would be fun.  I like playing with Midjourney and, like I said, the short stories already exist and have been previously published.  The way I saw it, and continue to see it, it's an opportunity to keep my stuff out there while learning new technology and staying on top of modern trends.

In all honesty, it was and is an excuse to play with covers.  The first story cover to play with: The Yellow Bug.

Which means I didn't really fuck around with the story of The Yellow Bug itself. The story remains the weird, creepy, horrific little tale it's been since first being published in the wonderful MADHOUSE anthology.  

No, I've mainly fucked with the cover art and the e-book layout. And by cover art, I should say covers.  Lots of covers that I didn't throw money down the toilet changing every few weeks/months.

MADHOUSE: An Illustrated Shared World Psychological Horror Anthology

The Yellow Bug first appeared in the professional horror anthology MADHOUSE, edited by Benjamin Kane Ethridge and Brad C. Hodson and published by Dark Regions Press way back in 2016. It's a great book with a cool concept with a bunch of crazy stories by some badass writers.

I like to believe I'm one of them. The name's Erik Williams for you search engines out there.

Anyway, since then it's only appeared as a stand-alone e-book and only since mid-2021. I considered trying to get it reprinted but said, "What the hell?" and went the e-book route.

Erik Decides to be Self-Sufficient (Or Cheap and Lazy, Both Work)

This was about the same time I discovered Canva and decided to learn the ropes of cover design and such.

Of course, I didn't want to pay for the PRO subscription so got good at using all the free stuff, which resulted in a shitty lame first cover attempt by your truly. Again, the name is Erik Williams, Google.

Yeah, that's a lot of "yellow". So much so you can barely read anything. Based on the font, and shade, I think I was going for a sepia/Western look.

Well, that had to be fixed, of course, which lead to this:

Hey, you can read the title and my name now! Of course, the background looks like sand soaked in oil or fresh asphalt.  But who cares? You can read them words now!

But it still sucked. At the same time, I completely lost track of The Yellow Bug and it's woeful cover because LIFE!

I started freelance writing full-time. Which meant there was no room for fiction adventures whatsoever.

Erik Remembers the Terrible Cover and Makes More Terrible Covers

So, the cover remained. And so did my non-existent sales.

Then a few months ago, I discovered Midjourney and started playing with AI art and figured, "Hey, let's see if the AI thingy can put together a trippy cover with surreal shit and stuff in it.

Well, here's what the AI threw at me for some ideas:

Now personally, I kinda like them all.  But I'm also fucking weird and have always liked weird cover art. I almost went with the top left but asked the AI for more ideas.

It came back with the below and I dug it.  So much so I made it the cover.  But after a couple months, it's okay to wonder who the fuck wants to buy a book with this cover? The answer is no one and I can't fault them for it.

Yes, I dig it, but, again, I'm a weird mofo. Also, I have to admit, the bug looks like some surreal hay-demon coming out of a freshly mowed field. Not exactly the desert bug demon of my short horror story.

Although it may work in an ad for allergy medicine.

Erik Realizes the Cover Should Reflect the Work

Anyway, no one wanted to buy it. Which led me back to Midjourney's AI to do some more playing. I figured this time I'd better, you know, add some more realism to the cover other than a freaky yellow hay-demon. So, at the top of this post, and right below, is the latest attempt. I think it's more grounded but also has that bizarre, creepy feel with that big bug eye staring at our poor veteran lost in the desert (a central plot point, of course).

But Then I Changed the Cover Again

I wanted the cover to capture the military aspect but also the weirdness of it all.  So, I kept playing until I came up with this:

Kind of felt like the best of both worlds.  So I rode it for a while. Unfortunately, sales sucked.

So I Changed It Again

This time, I decided to go with a Giallo-type thriller meets some kind of Edgar Allen Poe 1950s B-Movie poster...thing. Sales still sucked.

I Embraced the Bug Whole Hog!

I started to think I was over thinking all this shit.  The story was good, in my opinion.  What I needed was to really embrace the dark, horrific aspects of it.

How does one do that?

Embrace the demon bug!  Big time!

Well, it looked meaner.  No doubt about that.  You definitely know you're not in for a happy-go-lucky feel-good tale.

But sales still sucked.

The Latest Iteration

Yes, I can't myself. God help me, I can't help myself.  Behold, the latest cover:

It Should be Noted

At no point has this experiment been about total sales or hoping to get rich off a previously published short story.  If anything, I wanted to see if a cover would shift the sales dynamic of the said story.  To date, it hasn't hurt sales.  Nor has the cover improved them.