Gray Resurrection
This is a two-part post to answer questions raised during the launch of Gray Resurrection. I will first of all explain how the launch went, and then tell you about the cover image.
It is now 4 days since I released the sequel to Gray Justice and it’s time to reflect on how successful (or not) the promotion actually was. I set the price of Gray Resurrection to just 99 cents while at the same time offering a coupon to get Gray Justice free from Smashwords. It turned out that the promotion wasn’t that popular. Only 2 people took advantage of the free copy, yet actual cash sales increased, with daily sales up by 800%! That might sound a lot, but I think the figures have peaked and I expect them to fall back over the rest of the month.
It was fun while it lasted, but it does show you the value of a second book. I’m hoping to get another leap in sales when I release the last in the series – Gray Redemption – towards the end of the year. I’ll be back with details nearer the time.
As for the cover image, I wanted something really eye-catching for my second book. I recently interviewed Russell Blake on this blog and one of the things I asked was where he got his book covers from. While Russell couldn’t give me his/her name, he did offer to pass their email address along. I contacted the person and was given a great price for what I consider an outstanding image. I gave them the basics of the story and pointed out which elements where most relevant: the bolo (knife used for cutting your way through the jungle - or someones neck!); the protagonist in his battle to escape; and the attack on a military base. I was given a suggestion which I liked and asked for an example, which I got a week later. Unfortunately, the image of Tom Gray was all wrong. He had a normal nose, whereas Tom's was flat against his face. I pointed this out and three hours later I had the revised image you see here. That is one service provider who has found a customer for life! If you want a similarly stunning cover for your next book, take a look at Russell’s interview for details.
Ok, time to do some more writing…
It is now 4 days since I released the sequel to Gray Justice and it’s time to reflect on how successful (or not) the promotion actually was. I set the price of Gray Resurrection to just 99 cents while at the same time offering a coupon to get Gray Justice free from Smashwords. It turned out that the promotion wasn’t that popular. Only 2 people took advantage of the free copy, yet actual cash sales increased, with daily sales up by 800%! That might sound a lot, but I think the figures have peaked and I expect them to fall back over the rest of the month.
It was fun while it lasted, but it does show you the value of a second book. I’m hoping to get another leap in sales when I release the last in the series – Gray Redemption – towards the end of the year. I’ll be back with details nearer the time.
As for the cover image, I wanted something really eye-catching for my second book. I recently interviewed Russell Blake on this blog and one of the things I asked was where he got his book covers from. While Russell couldn’t give me his/her name, he did offer to pass their email address along. I contacted the person and was given a great price for what I consider an outstanding image. I gave them the basics of the story and pointed out which elements where most relevant: the bolo (knife used for cutting your way through the jungle - or someones neck!); the protagonist in his battle to escape; and the attack on a military base. I was given a suggestion which I liked and asked for an example, which I got a week later. Unfortunately, the image of Tom Gray was all wrong. He had a normal nose, whereas Tom's was flat against his face. I pointed this out and three hours later I had the revised image you see here. That is one service provider who has found a customer for life! If you want a similarly stunning cover for your next book, take a look at Russell’s interview for details.
Ok, time to do some more writing…
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