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N.S.
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Nov 16, 2018 12:20PM
Before I step on it, I thought I'd ask the moderators: Can I post the book cover/synopsis for a published work to get ideas on why it might not be selling? I totally understand that I can't solicit reviews. This novel is my most recent, and to my mind, the best of the three I've published. The other two are selling. I enrolled the novel in KDP for a time and could tell by pages read, people were reading through to the end. The number of reviews to reads/purchases is good, as are the reviews that I do get. Something isn't clicking with potential readers and I'd like some help to understand. Thanks for your consideration.
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I'm not a moderator and don't know the rules in this group, but there's a "cover workshop" folder in the "support for indie authors" group that might be a good place to ask your question.https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
Rhonda wrote: "I'm not a moderator and don't know the rules in this group, but there's a "cover workshop" folder in the "support for indie authors" group that might be a good place to ask your question.https://..."
Thanks! I'll post there too.
Have you had anyone read it that you've asked to read it and get feedback from them?
Yes. Several betas, three edits--it's been published since May. As I mentioned, people are reading it through and I'm getting good reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. The problem is that there aren't many people choosing to buy and read it, even with advertising. I think it might be subject matter, cover, or the synopsis. Maybe a combination. I was hoping to post cover/synopsis and see what people think. I will post in the cover folder.
I assume by KDP you mean you enrolled the book in Kindle Select and it's available to Kindle Unlimited readers.Were the other two books in Kindle Select? It sounds like readers might be choosing to read your book through their KU subscription versus buying the book outright. That would account for the good number of read throughs and a nice number of reviews, but not many actual sales.
Also, Kindle Select requires exclusivity for your eBook for the 90-day period its enrolled in Kindle Select. If you went wide with the other two books, and you have a number of readers who don't shop through the 'Zon, you'd have lost out on those buyers while your book was exclusive to Kindle Select.
Yes, I did mean Kindle select. The novel in question was enrolled but only for the minimum time--it hasn't been enrolled for the last four months. My other novels are not enrolled. I think it has something to do with the cover/synopsis or subject matter--maybe all. My question to the community is if you would be interested in this novel, and more importantly, if not, why not. I would be most interested in hearing any and all thoughts. I think it's a good solid book that is languishing.
My thoughts as I looked at the covers and read the blurbs of your three books."Critically Endangered" and "Beyond the Great Dying" are post apocalyptic. The first focuses on animals while the second is scifi. I'd say that "Soldier Hero Thief" is targeting a _completely_ different market than the first two. If you used the same approach as the first two for the most recent that could be one of the reasons.
Sorry to say, but the cover on your most recent tells me nothing at all, feels very bland and uninspired. The title doesn't grab me either, neither did the blurb. The other two blurbs were much more compelling (as were the covers), the latest falls flat. Wordy without conveying much information, I learn little about the MC. "With no one to trust, Marnie turns to the kindness of strangers" feels contradictory to me.
It may be that people who think about purchases are not being drawn in by the cover and blurb, while those that can read for free start doing so and are hooked.
Not sure if any of this helps...
Appreciate the honesty. I think you're right about different genres--it means less crossover purchases. Still, I wanted to write it.,, Not sure it's feasible to change the title, but certainly the cover and blurb are fixable. Many thanks for checking out my novels and providing feedback. I'll work on it.
May I ask where you have been promoting it?
Amazon advertising and some Facebook ads at release. Beginning to build an email list from my website giveaway too, but I didn't revamp my website until recently.
Do you have an author page and/or group on Facebook?
Your first two books are also a series, so readers who like your first book will be drawn to buy the second. A standalone doesn't get that benefit, although some readers who like your style will give your standalone a chance.I think just in general, a book on PTSD is going to be a harder sell. That said, Barbara Nickless has done well with her Sydney Rose Parnell series. She writes crime/thrillers about a strong female hero with a loyal dog and who suffers from PTSD. You might want to take a look at her books for ideas in terms of blurb, cover style, ad copy, if you think your stories are similar.
Good thought. I read the first Nickless book. Mine is similar (strong woman/therapy dog/PTSD), but it isn't a crime/police/solve a murder story. Hard to describe without giving away too much. Thanks for the tip, I'll look at her stuff again.
How does this hit you for a different blurb?Marnie Wilson did her duty in Iraq. She did her duty so well, she returned with a medal for valor. If not for the secret she carried home with her, in that same green bag as a medal she never wanted, maybe she could get on with her life.
Somehow, she’s been discovered. All the hiding, keeping a low profile, and obsessing over past mistakes has been for nothing.
If she could just uncover what really happened in Iraq, when she was too stupid and confused to look—maybe, just maybe, all her issues would disappear.
Marnie’s circle of friends is nonexistent. All she has are fragile PTSD groupmates, an elementary school principal who desires her, a local cop who thinks she crazy, and an affable service dog named, Buck.
Her barely friends and a dog will have to be enough, because someone is after her. If she doesn’t gather that same warrior courage she found in Iraq real soon and solve the mystery that engulfs her, this time, she might not make it home.
It came much easier when I wrote the blurb in the character's view and not my own. Duh! I'll watch the impact of this and then decide if I need to plunk down more on a new cover. Probably, but who knows, right? Thanks again, Keith.
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