How to Create a Great Title and Eye-Catching Cover
A few decades ago, most book covers were a solid color with a standard font and a title that almost always told you nothing about what was inside if you didn’t already know. Those days are long gone. Today, we judge books by their covers in a nanosecond, so your cover not only has to stand-out as a thumbnail image, it has to hold a potential reader’s attention for five seconds or more, and have a title that is alluring and able to be listed on page one in Amazon’s search engine.
That’s a lot to cram into one image and three to ten words
So, how do you do it?
Below are
What to Do When Your Best Book Isn’t Your Bestelling
As Jonathan Swift’s life drew to a close and dementia set in, he would crawl into bed, read his favorite book and say, “My God, I was brilliant once.”
Which book was that?
If you said Gulliver’s Travels, that’s understandable.
If you said A Modest Proposal, I wouldn’t blame you.
But nope, it was his first book…
Does Your Book Need a Sequel?
Should your book be part of a series or a stand-alone? Creating sequels to books is big business these days. It’s the popular thing and profitable thing to do, spurred … Continue reading
The Importance of the Book Pre-Order to Authors
Why early success means continued success in publishing. Does it really matter if you order a book online before its official release date? Before its “book birthday” as they say … Continue reading
One Way to Land an Interview
My interview on The Historians Every once in awhile something falls into your lap, but if you don’t act on it, it will slip through your legs like a bad-hop … Continue reading
Creating Your Book’s Title
Have you ever read The Last Man in Europe? How about Fiesta or Trimalchio? Or First Impressions? How about Something That Happened? I bet you have. Those are the original … Continue reading
What to Do with That One-Star Review
I’ve seen one-star reviews on Amazon and elsewhere that make no sense. One reviewer complained that she didn’t know it was a children’s book when she bought it, even though … Continue reading
What Five Years as a Children’s Writer Means
I realized upon logging in to my Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators account the other day that I have been with SCBWI for five years. That raises the … Continue reading
Connecting With Readers
Author David Black recently published I, Bipolar: A Southern Man’s Memoir. It’s a solid read about what it’s like to struggle with this condition, and I recommend it for the … Continue reading
The Overt and the Covert in Book Marketing
Both are effective, but one is annoying. There are dozens of ways to promote your book—including plenty that didn’t exist ten years ago. Heck, two years ago. You can tweet, … Continue reading
John Briggs Books 