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Feature
JUDGING A BOOK BY ITS COVER
As a publisher there comes a time when you must reject the lesson drummed into your head by your mother and your high school guidance counselor and face the fact that books are indeed judged by their covers. There’s no point in debating that fact in the ten-second window your book has to make its first impression. Your first hurdle is convincing the retail and wholesale buyers that your book is worthy of placing in their stock. The second hurdle is grabbing consumer attention, and very often that cover is the only reason a person will pick the book up or walk past. A few simple tips:
1. Ask for a variety of opinions on your cover before you go to print. Get as many opinions and as much feedback as possible. Seek advice from book industry professionals if possible. Also, considering doing a test market to your audience. For example, if your book is geared toward older adults and retirees, you could visit a local senior center.
2. Go to your local bookstore and compare your cover art to similar titles. These are the books that were deemed worthy of shelf space, so they should provide the best model for what buyers are looking for.
3. If you can’t afford the services of a professional designer, but don’t feel you can produce a cover on your own, contact a local university or art school and see if they can recommend a student willing to take the commission.
4. Create a few different covers so you can get a feel for what works and what doesn’t.
5. Read the back cover copy aloud. Read it aloud to other people. You have 45 seconds or so to grab your reader. Writing 50,000 words is often easier than the three sentence summation of your book.
A couple of cover design resources:
Great Book Jacket and Cover Design by Alan Powers/ ISBN: 1840006935
Call for Submissions:
Allbooks Review is now offering an Author’s Page, for $75 per year. You prepare your page to tell readers anything you like. Bio, book titles, where to purchase, etc. Include a photo of yourself, and a covershot for your books. Each additional year is only $25. Get a full page ad that you can send your readers to. Just like having a website without the fuss. Contact me at: allbookreviews@aol.com for details.
RealTime Publishing Promo From now until June 1st, authors can save $100 on the setup of a new title... when combined with an order of 50 books for that title! Basically, referring to RealTime's Authors Area, the $300 price tag attached to the POD and eBook Publishing pack is slashed to $200.
So, don't delay, act now and make your masterpiece available for everyone to enjoy. Simply, send your manuscript to richie@theebooksale.com or info@realtimepublishings.com and when approved, you will be just a few short days from flicking through the pages of your newly published book.
Please note that the review period can take up to 30 days, so don't delay.
To your success, Richie.
RealTimePublishings.com
TheEbookSale.com
Remember to post your book signing, guest speaker events on our Bookstore page. Simply send us an email with details of your events and we will be happy to post them. Just part of the Allbooks service to our authors.
Success Stories
We love to hear of your success stories, submit them to us at: allbookreviews@aol.com
ALLBOOKS INTERVIEW
Please state your name and location.
Debra Shiveley Welch – Westerville, Ohio USA
Tell us the title and publisher of your book: Son of My Soul – The Adoption of Christopher, Saga Books
Tell us about yourself:
I was born in Columbus, Ohio and have lived in the Greater Columbus area all of my life. I now reside in Westerville, Ohio with my husband, Mark, and our son, Christopher, who is also a published author. I am an Amazon Best Selling Author and the recipient of the FaithWriter’s Gold Seal of Approval and Books and Authors Award of Excellence recipient, and winner of Books and Authors Best Non Fiction Book – 2007.
A third generation poet, I have been writing since age nine. In my early twenties, I had my own column in the Baltimore Eagle Gazette. Later, I worked as editor for several newsletters, including as development editor for The Parent Connection for The League Against Child Abuse.
The defining moment in my life was the day that I became a mother, and our attorney placed my son in my arms. I drew him to me, breathed him in, memorizing his unique scent, imprinting his essence into my very being. It brought me full circle. I knew that this was a very special calling in my life, to be with this soul, and to share my life with this child. To this day, I revel in his unique perfume.
My other works include A Very Special Child, a children’s book that explains adoption in a spiritual way, and Jesus Gandhi Oma Mae Adams, a murder mystery co-authored with Linda Lee Green.
When was the book released?
During National Adoption Month, November of 2007.
Give us an overview of your book.
Son of My Soul – The Adoption of Christopher is the story of my journey through loneliness, poverty and neglect, my triumph over a turbulent past, and the joy of mothering my adopted child.
My autobiography begins with my uncle’s prophecy of my birth, and soon turns to a story of sorrow and abuse. A vow made at fourteen-years-of-age to save a child through adoption gives me new purpose, as I strive to survive a life of neglect and abandonment.
Breaking free from my past, I think of my childhood as “boot camp,” and apply the lessons I learned as an example of how not to mother my future child.
My joy is finally manifested in the form of an infant boy born with cleft lip and palate. I realize that my vow has indeed come to fruition, and that I have finally found “The Son of Her Soul.”
What inspired you to write this book?
My publisher wore me down. Inspired by the relationship between me and my son, she repeatedly requested that I write my autobiography chronicling my life and the story of how Chris came to be my son.
It was an emotional write, but I am glad I did it. My son now has a book written to him and for him by his mother.
How is your book different from other books in this genre?
My book is an autobiography, but it is also a love story. It is also the chronicle of a child who decides at a very early age to break the circle of abuse, way before it became a popular ideology.
Where can people buy your book?
Pretty much anywhere:
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Buy.com. You can order it from your local bookstore and from my publisher at www.sagabooks.net.
Are you working on another book? If so when do you expect it to be published? I am now working on Cedar Woman, my first romance about a woman of the Lakota Sioux tribe who opens the first Native American Restaurant in Westerville, Ohio.
I’m hoping to finish it by this summer for a late Fall release.
If you self published, what advice can you give to fellow writers?
I am not self-published, but I can offer what I think is the most important advise of all: edit. Edit, edit and then edit and then hire a professional editor. Put out the best work you can.
If published traditionally, tell us how you benefited:
Besides working with a great publishing house, I have enjoyed seeing my works published with no outlay of cost. Saga has worked hard to create an attractive look for my works and has even supplied illustrations when required.
I am also in libraries throughout the world.
Can you share one of your marketing successes with us?
Network tirelessly. Put in the hours. Go to bookstores and offer to do book signings. Promote yourself to the best of your ability.
How did you find Allbook Reviews and what are you hoping for in your relationship with us?
Allbooks contacted me. I am hoping to increase my exposure.
Was the low cost a surprise? What other things would you like Allbook Reviews to offer writers?
The low cost was a great surprise. There is always a need for good editors.
Thank you for this interview and best of luck with your book.
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