The Hard Lessons in Book Cover Design

Do you love your book cover? Or does it hate you?

Sometimes we think our cover's da chit, but we never really know what a potential reader is thinking. I usually create anywhere from  8 to 10 cover samples and throw them in front of my friends here at The Writing Bomb whenever I'm preparing to launch a new book, and I always get plenty of feedback. In fact, I usually get between 45 and 75 comments whenever I ask about my new cover designs.

The input is great and the "show and tell" is a lesson in marketing. There is no better way for a newer author to drum up interest for a new book than to ask his followers what they think about his cover. And these events have taught me plenty. I've learned more of what works and what doesn't work from your input than anything. Seriously. You guys are great.

I've also learned a few things about cover design by watching books that aren't selling. And this goes for one of my "apprentices", Robbi Bryant. She was getting great reviews and her writing is crisp and well edited. But she wasn't selling. She had a pretty catchy cover. It popped. Robbi loved it. Unfortunately, the first thing I look at when a book isn't selling is the cover.

Why the cover?

The cover is the first thing a customer sees. If they aren't getting past the cover, they aren't evaluating the price, or reading the description, or reviews, or the sample chapters. It all starts with the cover.

Do I check the other elements? Yes, I do. Before I go and rip an author's dream cover to shreds, I take a detailed look at their price point. Are they asking too much? Does their price match the size of their audience? And what about the product description? Are there any typos? Is the book getting decent reviews? These details matter, too. But when everything is investigated, I often come back to the cover.

In Robbie's case, her cover looked nice enough, except she was inadvertently marketing to the wrong genre. Her cover, in my opinion, said, "fantasy", when her book is actually a suspense about a very sad woman. Changing her cover was a big pill to swallow, but Robbie couldn't be happier. After tweaking a few things on her book page, creating a new cover, and joining Amazon Select, Robbie went from the 410,000 ranking to #250'sh and is still in the 1,000's, selling at a $2.99 price!








                               <~~~From this…. to this ~~~>    




The lesson I learned with her design is how critical it is to create a cover that truly speaks for the story, matching the cover image with the product description. If the two don't match, you may be losing sales and never know why. Of course pinpointing the root cause of slow book sales is like trying to spear a minnow. It can be done, you just need a really small spear!

The good thing about indie publishing is, you can fix what is broken, like a cover, price, etc. If you apply what you learn, if you study your book sales, you can actually receive dividends for paying attention.

So that's just what I did… I payed attention.

With all the fanfare I stirred up when presenting the book cover for Twisted Vengeance, I still changed the cover 3 times… after you all voted. Why? Because the cover was not communicating my message. In all my initial cover designs, I failed to feature Rick Burns, my protagonist. Instead, I featured the scary looking kid, probably scaring away most of my readers. Eh, I could be wrong, but I'm opting for a change. Twisted Vengeance is very much about Rick Burns and his search for freedom from his past and the demons that surround him. Here's what I've done.

                        <~~~I've gone from this... to this ~~~>






My new cover speaks more for Twisted Vengeance by keeping the boy and the horror in the background, and placing Detective Burns in the foreground, watched by the creepy kid. The truth of the story is, there are scary moments, horrific moments, but those do not define the book. The old cover literally screamed horror and Twisted Vengeance is a supernatural thriller in its truest definition. The new cover, even the blue, addresses the supernatural without being obnoxious.

So many lessons to learn… so little time. If you want to shave some months off of your "Author Learning Curve", get a copy of The Indie Author's Guide to the Universe. I teach how to create an effective ebook cover among many other critical issues like effective marketing and pricing strategies.

Jeff Bennington is the author of Twisted Vengeance, Reunion, and Creepy
The Indie Author's Guide to the Universe is only $3.99 on Amazon for a limited time for my readers!

 

Are You Ready for the NEW Black Friday?

It's coming! Can you hear it? It's a happy sound. It's the sound of wrapping paper crumpling, tape tearing and the oohs and aahs of readers around the world opening their much anticipated Kindle, Kindle Touch or Kindle Fire?

It's a sweet sound; the sound of Kindle love. And is there any better gift?

If you're an author, I hope you're listening to the joy, because the next week, in my humble opinion, is going to be the equivalent of Black Friday. Excited Kindle readers will tinker with their new toys and spend their Amazon gift cards on our books. Did you hear that? On our books...yours and mine.

These are very exciting times. Indie authors have so much to be thankful for. We're experiencing a time when technology has caught up with big business, an unbelievable opportunity to show the world that there are writers with exceptional talent, and worthy of notoriety with or without a publisher.

There are so many reasons why this is good news for writers and especially good for readers, but I don't want to beat a dead horse; Joe Konrath has covered the pros and cons of indie publishing.

My question is, are you ready for the NEW Black Friday?
Is your bookstore looking as good as it should? Is your hook catchy? Is your cover attractive? Are your editorial shelves in order? Have you put your best deals out front, in a nice display for all to see?

What's that? At least one of your books are on sale, right? You know, your "leader", your introductory book set at a bargain price, enticing readers to try more of your work?

Okay. Maybe you only have one book. Fair enough. But while we're on the subject, lets talk pricing.

Did you set the price at 99¢, $1.99, $2.99, $4 or more? This is an interesting question that many people are talking about. However, in my opinion, we shouldn't be debating whether a 99¢ book is devaluing books in general, but rather, discussing the size of an authors audience.

I think authors should set their pricing based on demand for their work (i.e., the significance of your platform). If you're struggling to sell anything, your audience/customer base is obviously low. You should set your prices accordingly. If you're selling by the thousands, there's probably enough demand to raise your prices a bit. But whatever you do... remember to think like a business person.

But I'll warn you, if you see Stephen King's $15.99 ebook prices and then scoff at authors who have set their prices below the $2.99 mark, remember that name recognition goes a long way, and some of us don't have it. Think about it...

Do book buyers around the world know who you are?


Do you have an ever growing email list of hungry readers?

Or are you like me, fighting tooth and bloody claw to get folks to notice your kick a•• thrillers? I mean seriously, if readers knew how hard I've had to work to get my name out there, they might buy my books out of pity, or because they love rooting for the underdog, of which I am the head of the pack.

Or maybe they wouldn't.

Either way, don't take slow sales personally. Simply press on, working diligently toward your goals.

Think... Get 'em in here, dazzle 'em with my best work, my best price, and then win their business with a quality product ~ as in a well written, well-edited book, with professional ebook formatting.

Whatever your audience looks like, let this post serve as a reminder that indies are humble book-store owners, fortunate to have a relationship with the largest ebook seller in the world.

I recommend varying your prices, offering deals, and generating demand for your best work. That's how successful businesses operate. That's what I'm doing. And honestly, I couldn't do it as well without Amazon's Select program.

In fact, I can't wait to share the juicy details about what the Select program has done for me already. However, I've been invited to write a guest post at The Creative Penn after the New Year regarding KDP Select, so you'll have to wait. Sorry.

For now, polish the brass, wax the floor, and get your books in order, because Christmas is here. Millions of Kindle owners will be knocking on your door. Are you ready for them?

Below are a few tips to get your books in tip-top shape.

BONUS TIPS for Amazon success: 

• Is your Product Description page Selling your Book? If not, I can fix that. I've bedazzled my book pages, linking all my titles and posting my accolades. I re-work your html for only $23. Look here ~> Glam! Bam! Thank you, ma'am!

• Is your Cover really cool? If not, there's a million other books that will draw the attention of readers away from YOUR book. I can fix that for only $79. Look here ~> Get a face lift.

• Are you lacking reviews? Reviews sell. Of course you need a GOOD book to get good REVIEWS. But if your book was professionally edited, I can fix that. ~> Send your book to The Kindle Book Review. 

• Discover all the services I offer. Look here. ~> Author Services.

Merry Christmas and thanks for reading. Follow my blog by email so you don't miss any posts.

~Jeff Bennington is the author of Twisted Vengeance, Reunion and Creepy.

5 Stars

4.4 Stars

5 Stars

Creepy Book-Cover Contest Winner!

WOW! What a response.

Thank you for coming to The Writing Bomb. I love taking reader, fellow author and publisher advice. You guys have been very helpful and I hope you see that in the updates I made to covers #1 and #2.

If you watch the video, you'll discover that I randomly picked Lauren, Twitter handle: @Iniysa. Laura's the winner of the $10 Amazon gift card. I'll contact her asap. Congratulations Laura! Thanks for voting. She picked #2, which incidentally, had the highest number of votes. 






And The Final Results Are....


Cover #1 ~~> 13 votes
Cover #2 ~~> 15 votes..The WINNER!
Cover #5 ~~> 12 votes 

I was surprised by the results. I actually thought #2 would win hands down, but it was a close race. Thanks to your input, I think I'll have the best cover of the five options. 

Here are the covers after tweaking....

Cover #2 is the WINNER! 

Cover #2, A Close Second Place.

What do you think? I love them both.

Thank you all so much for voting and stopping by. Be sure to follow my blog by email to get my weekly posts about writing, publishing, and my inspirational words that'll motivate your muse. Then, go buy one of my books and help me feed my 4 kids!

Vote for My Book Cover and You Could Win a $10 Amazon Gift Card

#1

I love making book covers. I like looking at them. And I love creating just the right mood for the content.

In the winter of 2011, I held a contest here at The Writing Bomb, asking my friends and family to help me pick a cover for Reunion. You did, and I've heard nothing but great things about the cover YOU chose. Thank you.

#2

Well it's that time again. I'm getting ready to publish a collection of creepy short stories, some true and some not. If you've read The Rumblin', Murdoch's Eyes and my true ghost stories, this collection won't have anything new for you, but it will put those creepy tales in one convenient place, and by publishing them together, my friends who don't have an ereader can get these in print.

#3

Note: These were all made with a picnik.com pro account. AND the content of the book is paranormal suspense and true ghosts stories. Thought that would help you make a decision.

I've numbered the books to make it easy to identify, so be sure to name the book by the number below the book.

I also wanted to mention that a week doesn't go by that I'm not tinkering around on picnik. They have a gazillion tools for tweaking your picture or .jpg file, especially for the Fall season. I couldn't make covers like this without picnik.

#4

Here are a few FUN Facts: Cover #2 is a picture from Arlington Cemetery. I took that this last spring when my family and I went on our D.C. & NYC trip. Cover #4 started out as a blue square. Cover #3 & #5 started out as a picture of green leather. So you can see how much you can do with your pictures. Add a little color, effects, pazazz and POW, you've got a book cover. These aren't perfect, but they're free, and they're fun.  

#5

              

I'd love to hear your thoughts.  If you comment, I'll pick a winner in a drawing Sunday evening and send you a $10 Amazon Gift Card. 


How fun is that? You get to look at cool cover art, voice your opinion and win! And I'll tell you what...I'll even throw in a FREE ARC of my forth coming release, TWISTED VENGEANCE and the short-story collection. All you have to do is leave your Twitter handle or email addy.   


What do I think? I favor #2. I like the blood-red colors, cemetery, ghostly girls, the font and the moon. I think this cover has it all. Looking forward to your comments, input, suggestions, whatever you can come up with. I'll let you know who wins sometime Sunday evening! BOOM!  




•••Be sure to "Follow" or better yet, sign up to get my blog posts by email in the upper right corner.

Book Cover Selection

Cover #1

I am so excited to announce that I have a few book cover ideas for my soon to be released paranormal thriller, The Reunion. But I need your help in deciding which cover to go with. I took two covers that made it into my family's personal favorites, and then jazzed them up a bit. So if you would be so kind, please make your vote in the comment section below. To assist you, I have written a short blurb about The Reunion, and explain why I wrote it. With your input, I'm hoping to have the best possible cover.


Here's what you get...
If you vote, I will send you a free preview of The Reunion to help you get excited about the book and to start spreading the word about it via, twitter, facebook, and your blog. And perhaps, if you are willing, the cover and preview will excite you enough to write a blog review or even have me as a guest blogger at the time of its release!?!

Cover #2

The Reunion (Synopsis):
David Ray killed eight students and then turned the gun on himself. After years of abuse and peer ridicule, his inner demons had provoked him to fix his world. He thought the shooting and suicide would heal his pain – he was wrong. In a flash, he changed Tanner Khan and the other survivors forever.


Twenty years later, Tanner and his fellow classmates agree to hold a class reunion at the old school, and discover that their alma mater has a new ghost in its closet. Although they suffer from emotional numbness, panic attacks and flashbacks, the survivors all reluctantly agree to the reunion, and to revisiting their past. They are unaware, however, that the police are investigating a rash of paranormal activity surrounding the school.

Cover #3

After a welcome home reception hosted by the locals, Tanner and his classmates enter the haunted school to courageously face their fears. Within minutes, the doors lock and they find that David’s spirit is caught in a horrifying limbo between life and death. A strange turn of events ends David’s hell on earth when his demons take matters into their own hands. Hell has come to collect a debt… will Tanner and his friends survive? 

Why would I write such a bone chilling novel?
Have you ever wondered what will become of the students who have been traumatized by a school shooter? Have you ever wondered what the long-term effects of that trauma will have on the victims? How will their lives change? What are the consequences? Who will make the most of their journey? Who will not? Who will lose faith? Who will find it? 

Cover #4

Will they ever be willing to face their demons and return to the place where they watched their friends and classmates suffer and die at the hand of a crazed and troubled teen? And finally, will the dead still be there, watching, waiting to finish what was started? These are the questions that swirled through my mind every time I’d hear of another school shooting. To the innocent lives that have been tragically snuffed out, long before their time, I offer this work of fiction in their honor. May you find peace in this broken world.

Thanks for visiting and voting. Please follow and comment rigorously. If you have any additional input or criticism, I am open to your ideas! BOOM!