I must apologise for not being here of
late, but a lot has been going on. As well as running I have been writing
again! Yes, I’ve got over the very low I went through and got myself back in the saddle
and I hope to be able to tell you more very soon. In the meantime I have my
lovely author friend, Jan Ruth sitting round my pool talking about her fabulous
books, their new covers and the
importance of branding. So please settle down on one of the sun recliners, help
yourself to a glass of bubby and meet Jan.
All your Jan, take it away…
I’m
on my fourth set of book covers!
When
I first began self-publishing some five years ago, I uploaded three titles onto
Kindle sporting the obligatory homemade covers. Actually, looking back – they
weren’t too bad! But over time, it occurred to me that Kindle was not only a
mostly American market but I was going to have to try much harder for
visibility as the number of available titles seemed to increase on a daily
basis. I set about finding a good designer to produce a bold, professional-looking
brand. And as most authors are aware, unless you have a famous pen name, then
your covers are going to have to do the majority of the marketing for you. I
knew this, even then, but I wasn’t looking objectively at my potential reader base.
I was too close to the material, and too inexperienced with market trends.
At
this stage, I still had just three titles and no plans of writing sequels to
any of them, but despite the simplicity of this, I struggled to reflect my
material. Romance is one of the biggest selling genres in fiction –
according to Amazon. And yet if you admit to writing about relationships, it
attracts an element of disdain. As with most styles, the extremes are always
easy to identify. If it’s a Fifty Shades book, then it will be a ripped torso
and some handcuffs. Chick lit? Easy… shoes, handbags, cakes and cartoons. Happy
smiling couples? That’s Christian Romance, or Mills and Boon. But what about
the rest of it? There are literally thousands of romance titles out there which
these successful, albeit cliched images, don’t reflect.
More
on this current trend here: http://www.thebookseller.com/news/choc-lit-335396
What
I did get right, in principle, was the human element as I think the reader
needs to identify with the protagonist in character-driven fiction as opposed
to plot-driven fiction such as crime. The problems began when I started to
write more books, some of them sequels, some of them with a slightly different
feel. The essential genre of the books became fuzzy, as did the concept of the
original designs, and it became increasingly difficult to work with as a form
of branding.
Then
along came the traditional publishing deal and I fell into the trap of thinking
that they’d have more experience in this department then me. I’d had
communications with agents and publishers in the dark and distant past as
followers of this blog know all too well, and one of the major stumbling blocks
had always been the in-between genre problem – which probably represents a huge
majority of independent authors. I think it still has the traditional
publishing industry throwing up their hands in despair. “We’ll never sell
this, it’s time-slip-historical-paranormal. What would we put on the cover?” I
used to scoff that they lacked imagination. They probably do… but that’s not
the whole picture, they lack time, money and inclination more.
Of
all the marketing I’d tried, the move to a small publisher had to be the worst
decision ever, for me. And I’m partly to blame when I stated initially that
maybe I didn’t want characters on the cover anymore. The result was something
so bland and plain that any indication of content and what to expect – was
non-existent. I was rather hoping they’d know exactly what they were doing but
I guess if it isn’t chick lit or erotica, we’re back to the same puzzle. What do
they put on the cover of these books? There are romantic elements but the
characters are way, way too old for chick lit and there’s not always a neat,
happy ending. These novels are peppered with manslaughter, arson, domestic
abuse, judicial use of a swear word or two, and here’s the quirky bit which
throws everyone: a lot of British humour. They’re not ‘easy’ reads but they’re
not especially literary or demanding either. I’ve always sought to entertain
and engage rather than try and dazzle readers with the use of long words.
Because
I feared the chick lit syndrome, I opted for Family Saga and Women’s Fiction as
a means of general description. Neither of these woolly titles did me any
favours. The worst element – according to my Welsh publisher was that they’re
set in Wales! Books set in Wales don’t sell, they said… you need to set them in
Cornwall, or have the men in kilts. I did spit feathers over this,
but wait… this isn’t as nonsensical as you might think. The reason their
mainstream genre books sell well is that they are clearly signposted by their cover
design, and most importantly, the reader understands exactly what they’re
getting. They don’t have to wade through the entire sample or spend
precious time trying to decide if it’s for them. Simple, standard genre
motivated cover art means a lot less work for the publisher too…
Leaving
the traditional publishers behind due to a chronic lack of sales also meant I
had to forfeit my US rights on three titles, but this went to reinforce what I
should have done from the outset with regard to my images. I needed to make a
definite shift into a specific genre. Maybe I had to grit my teeth and start
calling them Contemporary Romance and embrace the fact that they’re so British. Whilst
ruminating the errors of my ways I spotted a book on Amazon with a new cover –a
book I knew well – a book which I’d read and loved some years ago, and I knew
it was pretty close to my own material in terms of genre, age, location, and
content. My decision to re-brand was formed there and then. I set about sharing
my ideas with J.D. Smith Design and the process began in earnest.
We
concentrated on two vital elements. My Welsh landscapes are a fundamental part
of the stories and almost a character in their own right, so this needed to be
a clear statement on the cover: stone walls, wild ponies, mountains, heather,
tumbledown farms… all of these elements underpin the books, and the romance
genre after all, is about escapism. This background creates a romantic aspect
in the blink of an eye – and sometimes, this is the exact amount of time we get
to impress a reader. In the next second, the reader needs to identify with the
story and the protagonist; so the characters needed to be modern against those
sometimes historical looking backgrounds – and finally, they needed to appeal
to readers generally above the age of 35.
Working
with J.D. Smith Design again I was able to give my work the bespoke
service it deserved. Everything was carefully considered and time taken to make
sure all the elements were correct, true to the material, inviting and engaging.
The clever use of different fonts meant that my series sat together as they
should. An interesting upward trend has developed with my equine series
Midnight Sky, and Palomino Sky. Clear branding on these two books (horses,
realistic characters and yes let’s be honest, a rugged outdoor guy is
eye-catching. He doesn’t have to be cheesy or bare-chested!) have significantly
increased sales in the US and Australia, where before they didn’t get a look
in. This is interesting because back in the old days I had an agent who told me
to ‘back-off with the horse stuff, it puts people off.’
If
this exercise has taught me anything it’s to be true to the material. Not
only have I given my books the very best in cover design with clear
definitions, the overall re-branding has increased sales by at least 60%.
The
importance of book cover design and careful branding cannot be underestimated!
More
on design and branding here: https://goo.gl/VVx3du
Until next time.
Love
Pauline
Pauline
xxx
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