The Elusive Right Cover

Years ago I wrote an historical novel called Cashbox. It was about the rise and fall of a Montana silver mining town, and it featured a woman, rather like Baby Doe Tabor, who lives on in the town long after it has fallen to ruins, alone with her memories.

It sold fairly well, got pleasant reviews, and eventually the rights came back to me and I put it into e-book form. And it didn't sell. I was a book editor for years, and well know how mysterious and humbling cover design is. What looks to be a fine cover may somehow not work. I had a fine designer who does wonders for my titles, such as Masterson and The Fields of Eden, but the Cashbox cover simply didn't sell books. I tried revamping the book description, but that didn't help.

Recently I discovered that Amazon offers authors the chance to design their own covers for Kindle books, so I set to work. My first effort failed. It sold one copy over time. But the wonder of electronic publishing is that I can keep on fiddling. Recently I completed my second effort, and I hope it does better. If you're interested, you can look up the Kindle edition of Cashbox and let me know.