As an author who’s written a number of books (over 40), I have a tendency to think I know what looks best on my covers. I see an image in my head of the main character, and I often want that person showing on the front of the book.
I guess it’s worked for me most times… probably because I have a fabulous cover artist who knows how to make a cover look good.
But that’s not the case for every book.
And it particularly seems to be the problem for the first book in my last series called The Mob Tracker.
I know the story, Sweet Retaliation, is good. Or at least that’s what the bulk of the reviewers are saying. There are 52 reviews with a 4.7 rating. I’m proud of that. I’m also proud of the compliments heading their comments.
Truthfully, I believe Cassi Santino is a fascinating character with so much promise and personality that living with her in my head for almost a year – while I wrote all five books – was thrilling.
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“A gripping series about a sister’s quest for justice.” ~ Reviewed by Tammy
“Well worth reading and highly recommended.” ~ Reviewed by NolaNZ
“Fantastic new series!” ~ Reviewed by author Patrice Wilton
“One of the coolest heroines I’ve ever read!” ~ Reviewed by author Melinda De Ross
“Fast moving, edge of the seat story!” ~ Reviewed by Kindle Customer
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Sweet Retaliation is the first in the series of five books, and usually, that’s a huge plus. Therefore, I question why the sales for this book are so low. And the only reason I can see is the cover.
It’s not doing the job – catching the eye of the readers or resonating with people looking for a new story to read.
So as much as I personally love it, I’ve decided it needed to be changed.
This is the new cover.
Tell me the truth; does it do a better job in making you want to read the book?
Go ahead, give it to me straight. I can take it….
….I haven’t sat in the corner and sucked my thumb for some time. 🙂
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As nice as the image of the shirtless guy is, it’s the woman’s image on the back that spoils the cover. For me, it’s not right to put the woman in the background, feels like she’s second best in the story. Does that make sense? The original cover is wonderful, gives the impression of a ballsy, savvy heroine. I am sure the shirtless images are good for promo, but if you need a change of cover, I advise to use a couple with the man shirtless, or just the guy. Not the girl in the background, in this case. Also, are you sure it’s the cover that’s the culprit for low sales? Have you tried pricing the book at 99c for a while? Or change the tagline and the blurb? What about changing keywords and Amazon categories? Hope it helps and good luck, my friend! I am just an email away if you want to bounce any ideas off me.
p.s. Another idea for the cover: Perhaps you could leep the original cover but replace the police officers with the shirtless guy in the background. Now, that would be intriguing for me on a cover and I’d want to know who he is 🙂