Get 10,000 Readers

This is the question I've been asking myself a lot lately. When I ran the cover contest for V V back in the summer of '09 I had no idea if a publisher would accept the image or not. It was simply a fun way to generate interest in my book, my work, and get to know the people on Facebook supporting me.

Enthusiasm was high and responses from new supporters was great. Fast forward to over a year later and I try to run a contest again for book two. Response is luke warm and I only receive one entry. But that's okay. It's a nice entry and I like it. I think it doesn't pop like I'd hoped, but I still like it.

This week I decided to experiment with some fun new covers. Something fresh and light-hearted. Here's the rub -- I think these covers will only appeal to women readers. Women buy most of the books in my genre... so I don't think appealing to a woman buyer is wrong.

A few readers have told me the new covers don't reflect the dark aspects of the book, and I agree. This whole cover idea is an experiment. I've read some really well done books that had fluff covers and I understand why the covers were used, it's marketing science. It's all about catching a buyer's eye.

Here we have my original cover, also done in print:

I fell in live with this the moment I saw it. It really captures the feel of the book. But in a small thumbnail, the details can disappear quite easily. The eye will skim right past it. In print it pops and it's breathtaking (okay, that's just my opinion).

The book is based in Alaska, above the Arctic Circle, in the heart of winter. A light bright cover doesn't seem to fit the setting. The subject matter is not truly dark, but it's not chick-lit either.

I spent hours pouring over best selling covers and product descriptions. I found that while the bright cover caught my eye, it was ultimately what was on the back of the book that sold me.

In that vein, I developed this new ebook cover. Sassy, glamorous redhead who looks frivolous -- just like the front Vivian portrays to the world. Cold looking background with appropriate animals - Viola! Now we just have to sit back and wait to see how it does.

I designed a cover for the freebie short I'm giving away (wrote it for a contest this past fall) from the original vector image the redhead was in. The whole point of the giveaway was to tack on 16 chapters of V V at the end, in the hopes it would reach new readership.

Will it work? I have no idea. But I plan to giveaway as much of my work as I can in order to reach readers.

What is it about these fun covers that appeal to readers? Is it the bright colors? Is it the simplicity? I'm not sure but they seem to be working remarkably well for some small time authors out there (and big ones too!)

I was so happy with the responses to the new covers I spent a few hours searching and designing one for The Hunt. Will it be the one that makes it onto the print version? I'm not sure. I've sold well over 1,000 books so far of V V, with about 15% in print (and most of those I hand sold face to face!).

Will the cover make the difference? Will it attract the eye and will the product description reel them in? I'm not sure. But one thing you can count on -- I'll never stop trying!

Yes, these covers take me hours to do. Yes, they are harder than the ones I do for friends (and I probably wouldn't want to volunteer my time on one this elaborate for them). Yes, it's fun to use my art background finally -- too bad it never covered graphic design on a computer or I bet I'd be a lot faster!

I'll keep you all posted on whether or not the covers make a difference in sales. Should be interesting to find out!