The Role of Luck in Selling Books

I was walking my puppy, Miss Jessie, last week when a neighbor, one whom I had never met, asked to pet her. It was a fun. During the conversation, we talked about our work, and I mentioned writing. Less than a week later, I got a phone call from her (I had given her a business card), and she raved about my book, Maker of Angels. Turns out, she went to Amazon and bought both my western romance stories the day we met. She liked the first one so much, it is her selection for her readers club when it's her turn to host the meeting. Even her best friend in Florida got a call recommending the book.

This morning, during my daily Jessie walk, I stopped by her house with a couple autographed copies she requested. It's amazing how a simple walk with my puppy resulted in multiple books sales, even across the country. I'm trying to figure out how far I need to walk Jessie to sell 100,000 more books!

What is "luck?" It's defined as...“That which happens when preparation meets opportunity.” Let’s face it, I was lucky. Meeting this woman/avid reader was purely happenstance. Having author cards in my pocket was preparation. Was I brilliant or actively marketing? No on both counts. Actually, my close friend and fellow author, Sass Cadeaux, encouraged me to always carry cards and hand them out at every chance. I was more than a little reluctant. It seemed arrogant and pushy. Nevertheless, I took her advice and, since then, have made numerous sales simply from casual meetings.

Thanks for the suggestion, Sass. This new reader received one of my cards, and it looks like a dozen or more sales will ultimately result. Great advice! Now, I’m going to go buy some new tennis shoes, so I can walk longer distances. Let’s see…Sacramento to New York is about 2800 miles. Hey Jessie, get your puppy shoes ready! LOL

Miss Jessie, Life-changing Great Dane

A lot has happened during my absence in the past few months. Let me first apologize for my blog going inactive. During that time, my marriage of forty-one years ended. My business went into a crisis caused by National Healthcare demands. I slipped into a deep depression, one compounded by poor health. My former business partner had died unexpectedly, and I had to scramble to assist some of his clients. For me, it was a time of stress, chaos, anxiety and diminishing energy. I became overwhelmed, and some things suffered. One sacrifice was the time demand of my blog.

How did I break out of the slump and depression?

Meet Miss Jessie.

Four-months-old, Miss Jessie

In addition to the other issues, I was lonely, desperately alone, and things looked hopeless. One of my friends has a wonderful Great Dane named Jet. She told me some puppies from the same sweet lineage were available, so I went to look at them. It was love at first sight. Jessie, a ten-week old pup, picked me. She approached me and pawed my leg. It was like she’d been waiting for me. The other pups didn’t even notice the hairy-faced, big guy watching them.

My decision was instantaneous as was the lifting of my depression. It’s amazing how a playful little fur-ball can fill a big hole in your heart. On the hour-long drive home, she whimpered for a few minutes, but finally rested her head on my forearm and fell sound asleep. She trusted me. It felt good. It felt right.

It’s been two months, since Jessie exploded into my life. Demands of a ten-week-old puppy disrupted everything. My work, my writing, my minimal social life…even taking a daily shower...required accommodations for this demanding puppy. She started as a chubby, twenty-pound ball of needle-sharp teeth and constantly chewed on everything from electrical cords to furniture to clothes and, yes, even my laptop. My forearm was covered in scratches and looked like I had escaped from a leper colony.

Monitoring Jessie cut my writing time to two-minute quickies tucked between potty trips, moving baby gates, and exchanging guitar cords for Kong chew toys. I admit, I wondered a few times if I had made a mistake introducing this time-consuming, fur-covered black hole into my life at the worst possible time.

Then, it happened. Jessie climbed up her puppy stairs onto her end of the couch. She crossed to me. Her left leg lifted over my shoulders behind my neck, and her right leg wrapped across my chest. Paws crossed and she pulled me against her to “kiss” my beard and ear. She fell asleep with head tucked against my shoulder. Love . . . in its purest form. Jessie appreciated me, needed me, and loved me. I knew then and there, we’d overcome any hardships. I would eventually get caught up with my work and my writing, but I needed her, and she needed me.

Super sweet!

Today, I can’t imagine life without Jessie. She tests my patience on occasion, but we are learning each other’s personalities and needs. There have been three emergency trips to the vet for 1) X-rays to see if the missing battery cover for the TV remote (she destroyed it) was in her gut, 2) she broke off a baby canine tooth, and 3) a local wasp gave her a bad sting on the muzzle that swelled into a large knot. She’s also a clown as she trips over her too-large feet while running, “eats” the stream of water from the hose, and crouches on the ground trying to make herself small to not intimidate little dogs.

I have kept family and friends up to date about Jessie’s antics on my personal Facebook page. There are lots of pictures and a few videos. Feel free to browse them if you are interested.

How does Jessie’s addition to my life relate to writing?

Emotion is the essence of fiction writing. Authors can convert intensity from their lives into conflict in a story. Lord knows, I have plenty of grist in my angst-account, but the new hope and vigor I got from Jessie’s arrival has freed me emotionally to get back to writing. My last six tumultuous months have come to a close. Yes, there are still loose ends to be tied down, but I’m on the cusp of something great . . . something that could put an exclamation mark on the beginning of the rest of my life. I’ll tell you about it in my next blog (titled Who’s Stacey?) in a few days.

Keep an eye out for Jessie updates...she's coming at us like a freight train!

"Look out! I can't stop!"

Thank you to all my friends for your patience while I went through those trying times.

Turned Down a Publishing Deal

About three weeks ago, I was offered a publishing contract from a traditional publisher for my thriller story, Faces of Hatred. The deal included a small advance, books in three formats (hard cover, eBook and audio book) and paperbacks after the story sold enough of the other formats to justify the trade paperback printing/distribution costs.

I was thrilled. My artistic achievement, Faces of Hatred, finally found a home.

I spent the last 35 years in the insurance business, often analyzing contracts, so naturally, I scrutinized the document. One question after another surfaced. I ran these issues by my agent, and she shared many of my concerns.

"No problem," I thought. "We'll negotiate the questionable issues, sign the deal and get started on the production process. I'm only a few days away from my dream coming true."

While the agent negotiated, I dug deeper into the company, beginning with a look at their existing offerings through Amazon. I saw a distressing pattern. High prices. Worse still, I didn't recognize the names of most of their authors. Sure, Dan Brown, Stephen King or Tom Clancy can command such prices, but what about an unknown, debut thriller author like me?

Consider the excellent, paranormal novel by Sass Cadeaux, The Secrets of Albion Falls. It's a great full-length story at $3.49 for 330 pages . . . consumers win. They get a wonderful novel, not some short story or novella being hyped as a "novel." How could I possibly compete against a quality novel offered at such a fair price when my eBook would cost three times as much?

In addition, the publisher's editor wants me to cut a number of chapters out of my book, chapters that graphically illustrate the trauma suffered by the people (faces) who are harmed by terrorism. Those chapters are central to the story. I'm not sure my artistic concept and theirs match.

Other questions arose. Each one threatening to reduce the chances for my book's success. Am I tempted to sign anyway? Of course. But, after much thought, I sent them a rejection that ended with the following note, "Ultimately, both publisher and author should be excited about collaborating on a new book for the public. I realized I do not have enthusiasm for this deal, hence my final decision."

Bottom line--the deal didn't feel right. I have just rejected an offer for my thriller for the second time in six months. Neither company appeared to be a healthy field in which to grow my dream. Yet, many aspiring authors would have snapped up the deal will little hesitation. Does that make me stupid? Perhaps.

What about eBook pricing, since this is one of the core issues in my decision?

I am a consumer advocate. Businesses have a moral/ethical responsibility to give readers "value received" in exchange for their hard earned money. Some "indie" books masquerade as novels. Lately, I have seen short stories and novellas promoted on Amazon as if they are full-sized books. That's just wrong.

Before I purchase a book on Amazon, I check the page number count to make sure I am getting a full-length story. If an eBook only has 100 pages, and Amazon asks $3.29, there's no way I will buy it. My own western-romance-paranormal novel, Ghost of Lost Eagle, is priced at $3.49 for 366 pages in keeping with my consumer belief that a penny a page is a reasonable price for an eBook. If the book ends up being a great story, then it becomes a great find, and I tell everyone I know about it.

 

My decision to reject the traditional book publishing offer might haunt me in the future, but I don't care. I have to be true to my values. I will only support a book that I love, and at a price I believe is fair for readers. To me, that's a win:win. Now, where am I going to find that special publisher who agrees with my values? <fingers tightly crossed>

 

Opinions and Advance Reader Copies

Issue #1:   I need your help. Ghost of Lost Eagle is being prepared for release. That's a good thing. However, my book cover received strong support from everyone except my marketing and PR company. They don't like it. I'm torn. I like the cover, but the pros feel it would be better to have just the cowboy or just the woman. Before I select another cover, I need opinions from potential readers about the issues of concern for my marketing team.

Title:  Ghost of Lost Eagle
Genre - western/romance/paranormal

1)  Do the black areas detract from the cover's appeal?
2)  Would you prefer just to see a lone cowboy?
3)  Is the cowboy's facial expression good or bad?
4)  Does this style look old-fashioned?
5)  If so, is old-fashioned a good or a bad thing?
You can answer in the comment section, or send me a private note at the email address listed in the next issue.

Issue # 2:   My promotion company wants me to release 75 ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies) for reviews. These free ebook copies only carry one request. ARC reviewers are asked to post an honest review of the book on Amazon. Let me repeat the important part..."honest review."  If the ARC reviewer doesn't like the story or something about it, those valid concerns are both appreciated and valuable for future buyers who are thinking about purchasing the book.

If you are interested in receiving an ARC and you will give me an honest opinion about the story, then please leave your name and contact information in the comments section, or you can send me a direct request for the ARC copy at:

DeanSault@outlook.com

Thank you so much for your feedback.

Indie Authors – Craft Your Book Cover

“Covers sell books.” Have you ever heard that expression?

Covers are supposed to catch visual attention and be interesting enough to get a potential buyer to read my title and blurb. Actual purchasing decisions follow if the reader likes my description.

 

Would you read the blurb?

Can a cover influence a reader's decision to buy? Of course. The old expression, “a picture says a thousand words,” suggests that if I am careful about cover design, it is possible to enhance the impact of the blurb. Cover art, though, can be a double-edged sword. It establishes expectations that must be matched by the story, or readers may feel let down.

 

The story on the left is a horror story. Does the cover art match the genre?

 

How do I approach cover design and layout? I consider six issues:

First, know my limits. I am NOT a graphic artist, so while I do know how to manipulate pictures, fonts and layout, I generally run my ideas through the pros. If I need a detail to be altered, I prefer to engage skills of the artist to achieve the change(s) even though I own Corel Draw, Corel Paint, Adobe InDesign, CoverPro and MarketingPro software...just in case I need to make changes myself.

Second, graphic artists are not writers. They will never “know” my story like I do. It is MY responsibility to communicate exactly what scene or images I want. What is the most important scene in the book? Is there a general theme to the story? Do I want character images on the cover? Remember, if I include detailed character images, then those had better match what my reader will discover inside the story.

Third, I call this element “mood.”  If I wrote a horror story, I want a dark “mood” established by the cover art. In my western-romance stories, conflict between a cowboy and cowgirl will always be represented in the cover along with suggestion of rough living in the old west. In my sci-fi book, The Last Human War, chapter five includes an epic space battle where two massive battle cruisers collide. My graphic artist developed the scene. His first concept was close but not exactly what I wanted. We worked together until it met my expectations.

What mood do you think this book cover on the right represents? This story will be about children who have been programmed to kill. It's a cross between a thriller and a mystery. Does this cover get the message across? What about the boy on the cover? If the boy in the story is a blue-eyed blond, then the cover needs to be changed to match the character descriptions.

Fourth, ownership. I do NOT use “free” or “leased” graphic art. Why? I do not want others to steal my images and use them in any way. I like to make posters, book marks, web pages and other promotional items from the images that I OWN. Also, if I own the artwork, I never have to worry about somebody demanding that I pay them for some part of an image that they own, but was included in a free image I imported.

I own this 100%

Fifth, credit. Most graphic artists get very little credit for their talent. I believe it is ethical and respectful to give credit for inspired artwork to the creator. If I help them to grow their business, they tend to bend over backwards to work with me on creating a fantastic cover.

Sixth, color. Did you know that the predominant color of a cover suggests a theme? Take a look at this interesting color chart provided to me by literary agent, Stacey Donaghy. I love this information. Thank you, Stacey!

http://www.selfpublishinghouse.com/book-cover-colors.html

All this talk about making a good cover doesn’t help much unless you know where you can find good graphic artists to do your bidding. Author Sass Cadeaux recently referred me to several cover art resources. I engaged the services of one of them. Thank you, Sass!

Let me introduce you to that company: SelfPubBookCovers.com.

http://selfpubbookcovers.com/

I’m quite impressed with the quality of their pre-made covers and the simple tools they offer to build cover fonts that achieve the writer’s story image. They purchase covers from a number of graphic artists and sell them at outrageously low prices. In addition, I needed major changes to one cover I bought, and the owner of the company, Rob, contacted the artists on my behalf and produced a fantastic custom cover that will be revealed in a few weeks. The best part? I OWN the final artwork 100%!

Building a quality cover in this day and age is simple. Indie authors can compete successfully with the best traditional cover art designers. Just follow the simple six guidelines above and your book will look fantastic.