Tyson Vonn Beck | Updates

The Seven-Year Journey of a Book Cover

Tyson Vonn Beck — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

There are four ways that I'm aware of to get a book cover, each with a progressively higher risk of turning potential readers away.

1. Hire a professional artist or designer

This is the gold standard. You work with a legitimate artist who listens to your feedback, offers concepts, and ultimately creates a cover that feels intentional and exciting—something worthy of wrapping around your words.

2. Buy a pre-made cover

Pre-made covers are designed in advance and sold to authors as-is. You add your title and author name, and you’re ready for booksellers. This option is more affordable and convenient, but it can feel less personal or distinctive.

3. Design the cover yourself

This is where things start to get risky. A homemade cover is more likely to turn readers away than a bad review. Most writers aren’t trained designers, and even those who are often struggle because they’re too close to the material to create a cover that sells rather than simply represents the story.

4. Use AI-generated art

This is where things truly fall apart. Many artists consider AI-generated covers unethical, arguing that AI is trained on existing artwork without consent and cannot genuinely create from nothing. Instead, it synthesizes millions of references, raising serious concerns about originality, authorship, and trust.

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For lack of money and, arguably, good sense... our journey begins with Option #3: The Self-Designed Cover.

Circa 2019, armed with Canva and an expiring Photoshop subscription from a former job, I attempted to create what I thought was a simple but respectable book cover for my very first self-published, digital-only book: Xandon and the King’s Scepter.

The Covers

2019

I had a concept image: a scepter, the title, and a red-and-gold color palette... simple and, admittedly, a bit ugly. It’s worth noting that the scepter itself was a drawing I did, based directly on the description from within the pages of the book.

Keep in mind, this is the sad journey of a self-published writer making his own covers.

~ Without a doubt, a paid artist could have created something amazing far faster and with far fewer failures than I have here. ~

Still, I think we can normalize failure as part of the process of making something better, while also acknowledging the lack of resources I had at the time—limitations that, ironically, still came with more tools than most authors had even ten years ago.

I’m really looking forward to designing Book Two’s cover... and by looking forward to, I mean absolutely terrified. (ㆆ _ ㆆ)

Thanks for joining me on this misadventure.

* * *

Be on the lookout for Xandon and the King’s Scepter, returning this year in a wider release, including paperback.

And if you’re a fan of YA horror, keep an eye out for The Briqueville Manor Girl.

I hope you're enjoying my blog! :)

See you again soon!

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New Website!!! I moved from Wix to BookBub Author Websites.

Tyson Vonn Beck — Mon, 4 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This is the new home of tysonvonnbeck.com.

I'll be updating all new info here and adding previous updates (backdated) if possible.

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How I destroyed the streets of London!

Tyson Vonn Beck — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Now that we're a few episodes into the Outlaws story, I thought I'd share some insights and behind-the-scenes info in its making.

The Carriage Chase! (spoiler alert)

If you've read beyond episode 5 and 6, you'll have joined Alister on one crazy police carriage ride along Thames, through London, and over the London Tower Bridge.

This was his unrelenting chase toward catching Emerald Jack. As a story, it was fun to write but technically, it was one of the most difficult episodes to write.

To research, I researched and watched several car chase movies, made lists of possible events from imagination, studied any maps of London from the 1880's I could find, researched horse carriages, police constables, London landmarks, and even the types of roads used in the 1800's.

Then, with all that information, I made a rough draft on a few maps like the one below.

Not everything made the story, and I worry when action becomes stale or unexciting. The actions have to remain in character and not just be a series of events. Hopefully it's exciting and fun!

See you in the next episode soon!

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Music and Writing, Part II: Opening the Door to a New World

Tyson Vonn Beck — Mon, 27 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Consistency and depth in your storytelling

Not only can playlists enhance your emotional connection to a scene, but returning to these playlists when revisiting or editing your work can help instantly transport you back into the mood and ambiance of the story.

Now that you've "closed the door" and shut out the outside world, let your music be the key that unlocks a new realm. Hit play and "open the door" to your world inside.

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Music and Writing, Part I: Closing the Door to This World

Tyson Vonn Beck — Fri, 24 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Closing the Door
In his book "On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, " Stephen King emphasizes the significance of finding a quiet, private space where you can write without interruptions. For him, this is a symbolic act of commitment and concentration. He famously refers to this as "closing the door," both physically and mentally, to shut out distractions and fully immerse oneself in the writing process.

He encourages writers to treat writing as a serious endeavor, approaching it with dedication and discipline. This idea of "closing the door" is about creating a mindset and environment conducive to deep, undisturbed writing sessions.

Closing the Door with Headphones
"Closing the door" is not just about the physical act of closing a door but about mentally shutting out the world's distractions to focus entirely on the story at hand.

Living in a bustling city with a hectic schedule, over-ear noise-cancelling headphones have become my sanctuary. They possess the power to mute the chaos around me, allowing a seamless transition into a state of unwavering focus. In a sense, headphones have become my door.

My headphones have evolved into essential writing tools, as crucial as my keyboard. They serve as my entryway into a world of creativity and concentration, shaping the environment necessary for my writing process.

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My Interview with Kirkus for Xandon

Tyson Vonn Beck — Sat, 16 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

My interview for Xandon and the King's Scepter with book reviewer Kirkus Reviews has been published. While I don't expect it to change much, it was a fun experience.

If you'd like to check out my book review or my interview, please see the links below.

Thanks for visiting!

Kirkus Reviews

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Xandon ' s Missing Prologue

Tyson Vonn Beck — Sun, 22 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Originally, Xandon and the King's Scepter had a different prologue. One I had written early on, and removed, as
online writing advice was clear:

Don't use prologues.

They go further, saying:

Start with the first chapter and dive right into the action....

So, in draft #7, I removed the prologue and got to diving.

"But Xandon's first book has a prologue!" you might be saying...
(if you aren't first asking, 'Who is Xandon?' ' Why am I reading this?' and 'Where the hell am I?')

On Reedsy, I hired a story consultant who read my full story and offered me a few adjustments. When she finished, she called me. She said, "You know what your story needs? A prologue."

It quite surprised me to hear this after everything I'd read online.

She's an industry professional who works as a story consultant for both big publishing houses and TV scripts for Hollywood, so I trusted her and wrote a new prologue.

And that's the story of how my first novel got its current prologue, even though everything I read told me not to have one.

* * *

As I'm doing draft #9, the final draft before I turn Xandon and the King's Scepter over to a team of editors for proofreading before physical publishing, I was thinking about that old prologue...

I'm quite fond of it, as it wasn't just a glimpse of Xandon's beginnings, but it also worked as a hidden promise, to the reader, about the entire series they were about to engage in...

Please enjoy!

* * *

Prologue
A Bedtime Story

"You are about to be told a wonderful story, " a father read aloud to his son at his bedside.
Xandon, a young boy, listened, intrigued, from outside the open bedroom window, for he had never been read a story before.
As Xandon leaned in closer for a better listen, he accidentally rustled a nearby bush.
The boy laying in the bed shot a glance at the window, but Xandon was sure he 'd ducked away in time not to be seen.
"It started long ago,” continued the father, "but everything that has happened has led up to now."
"Father," interrupted the boy, "I'm cold."
Xandon could hear the father’s footsteps coming closer. He slid back into the shadows as the window slammed shut.
Looking back through the window, seeing the father's heavy backside walking back to the bed, Xandon saw the blonde-haired boy grinning at the window, at Xandon.
Xandon went to the barn, without a nighttime story, without a wish goodnight, where he slept on a pile of straw, nestled in with the animals.
It was his sixth birthday.

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Visualizing an Eposodic Adventure

Tyson Vonn Beck — Sun, 15 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0000

I originally conceived Outlaws ~ A Serial Adventure as a series of eight small books. Each book coming in at roughly 6-7k words per volume and ending on a major story cliffhanger...

Each beginning and middle chapter has 2 episodes.
Each end chapter concludes with a 2 part episode finale.

8 Books of 3 Chapters with 2 Episodes per chapter = 48 episodes Total
8 x 3 x 2 = 48 episodes

I hope reading Outlaws has been as fun of an adventure as writing it has been!

As always,
Thanks for reading!

Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars - "I’m absolutely riveted"

Outlaws ~ A Serial Adventure
The first episodes are available now, for free!

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Get Ready for Adventure!

Tyson Vonn Beck — Mon, 2 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0000

I'm thrilled to announce the launch of the Kindle Vella story:
Outlaws - A Serial Adventure!

When Alister feels responsible for the death of his fiance, he quits his criminal gang. His plans to live a responsible, crime-free life are upturned when his old mentor, Emerald Jack, reappears - with one last job he's forced to carry out.

Available now on Kindle Vella

What is Kindle Vella?
Kindle Vella is a way to share serialized stories with readers over an extended period – one episode at a time.

Why Kindle Vella?
I was already planning a serialized adventure as 8 shorter books when I heard Amazon was releasing a serial story format exclusive to Kindle.

Serial stories are fun as heck to read and just as exciting to write. The pressure from the time constraints to release can be as engaging as they are trying. I believe that energy translates into the writing! I am planning to release an episode-a-week until conclusion. Each episode will carry a range of 900-2000 words, depending.

Kindle Vela is a brand new format, and there's no actual way to know if this endeavor will pay off in any other way - other than just writing a really fun, serialized story and hoping you love to read it - and that's good enough for me!

Join me for the adventure of a lifetime!

The first three episodes are available now for free!

Use Favorite and Thumbs Up to engage with me!

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Worth a Thousand Words

Tyson Vonn Beck — Fri, 30 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0000

I believe illustrations are a fantastic way to enhance a story. I think they add a bit of timelessness to the work. I'm always impressed when I see the illustrations of Alice in Wonderland by John Tenniel, or the illustrations in Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates by Howard Pyle himself!

Sketch of the false wall from chapter 15

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When writers get lost in their own worlds

Tyson Vonn Beck — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Writing a novel in itself is hard enough. You're already mired in the long hours of writing practice and studying writing theory... but wait!
"Now," you say to yourself, "what my story really needs isn't a ninth draft or a third editor, or even a higher than nearly nonexistent budget for marketing.... what it really needs is a map!"
If you're smart and employed, what you can do is hire a talented illustrator to craft your magical world into a visual masterpiece!
Thankfully, I am neither of those things, so I decided, "I'll do it myself."

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