Use coupon code: BLOWOUT to get free shipping on as many An Audience with the King old cover copies as you wish. While supplies last.
When something’s not going right in the world of book selling, you need to make a change. Sometimes it’s the title, sometimes it’s the back cover copy (meaning what you write on the back cover to entice someone to want to read more) and then it could be the cover.
I found this picture of the lit-up castle at night while I was writing An Audience with the King. It seemed like such a perfect cover photo for the book. The castle was almost identical to what I imagined during the story and the image just drew me in.
But what draws an author in isn’t always what draws in a reader. I remember seeing the final copy of the cover and having mixed feelings. I loved the photo, but it didn’t seem to convey ‘fantasy’. It did convey ‘castle’ and ‘king’ but it being a real photograph I thought it looked like non-fiction.
But who listens to their inner voice telling them not to go along with something they just paid money for? You do? Well, aren’t you smart, because I didn’t.
I just paid money for this cover, I didn’t want to NOT use it. Right? And maybe it was just the ‘about to publish this book and send it out into the world of wolves’ jitters. I mean, everyone is a critic, right?
But the fact is, the cover is confusing. And the book isn’t selling. So last week I asked someone to make up a new cover and I think she did a fantastic job. It looks much more ‘fantasy’ like and much more appealing to read.
It’s worth noting that what you like as an author isn’t always what the reader will be drawn to. Perhaps the photo was just for me to help solidify what the castle looked like and to help tell Nelia’s story better. I think it’s also worth noting that sometimes we make costly mistakes, but refusing to change that first mistake can be the most costly in that the book won’t sell and make you money if you can admit that the cover isn’t liked.
The moment I showed the new cover to people, the reaction was pretty clear: new cover won out hands down.
What do you think? Do you like the new cover better? Does it say ‘fantasy book’ better than the old cover? Which one makes you want to pick it up and read the back copy?