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Books and Beyond |  How To Find (Great) Indie Books

Bad Cover SMASH!! | How To Find (Great) Indie Books

I’m Always Angry

I know you are out there!


You beautiful stories I instantly connect with and waterslide my way through your page turning chapters with my hands up in your idea sunshine, your plot turns careening my body to and fro in a cool splashing character river (And I don’t even feel the seams on my butt, catching my reading bathing suit—oh, I think I lost the metaphor a little bit there) and shooting ever downward in speedier waterslide fashion toward that climactic end turn and splash down into the wave pool of validation.


Yay! Favorite book complete.


Watery sigh of contentment as I towel myself off and get ready for another favorite book plunge.


(Metaphor Inspiration 411: I was recently in Las Vegas, reading poolside in the sunshine—early morning because by 9 am it was breaking 100 degrees F and by 2 pm it was lava—and I want to go back. Ahh, the Oregon Coast dweller’s dream of being tan…)


But I am ticked, livid even—seeing green, people—(and already hitting my em dash limit for one blog) because I am missing the opportunity to have “Cake by the Ocean” where “Cake” means your freaking amazing book!


(I did start ranting at authors right there.)


(And I’m back.)


I recently had an acute moment of this with my own books.


"I usually do backflips when I see a book that is a comic bookie, superhero type story. So that I wasn’t doing arial gymnastics on my way to immediate transport of said book to my bedside table should have been VERY suspect to me. (Alert, alert – marketing error. Lack of Excitement Does Not Compute!!"

This Is MY House!

I currently work for a publishing company. (You may have heard of it, WMG Publishing. Hi!) And we have many (MANY) titles and series. Most published before I came to work for the company. And here I am looking at a set of titles for a year and, because of their covers, I thought yeah I would probably like those as I think they are kinda comic bookie, superhero story.


And I didn’t realize a couple of key things.


  • 1) I was confused by the cover – and that is a HUGE marketing sin. (See last week’s post because it’s about this and also The Terminator. Click here!)
  • 2) I usually do backflips when I see a book that is a comic bookie, superhero type story. So that I wasn’t doing arial gymnastics on my way to immediate transport of said book to my bedside table should have been VERY suspect to me. (Alert, alert – marketing error. Lack of Excitement Does Not Compute!!)
  • 3) When we decided to rebrand the series and I started to read the first book in the series, just to get an idea of what it should look like…and I kept reading. And reading. And found myself whining and justifying to myself internally, “Just five more minutes! I’m doing it for research,” when I knew exactly what the book was about and was loving it!

It was a freaking Ghost Romance, Romantasy, paranormal adventure fun fest!!


I was finally doing backflips!


And I STUCK The Landing

AND there was a superhero-ish thing to it as well. Which was spice. But not the core of the book.


The CORE of the book was the Romantasy, the Ghost Romance adventure.


And we needed to shout that to the world!


Hello! Here this is and if you like X, you will loooooove this.


Rebranding so someone can see the book and know exactly if they will likely love it or not.


And the message is clear!


Arnold in leather, sunglasses and a big gun – The Terminator! Not a G-rated sugar-coated morality story animated with googly eyes and impossible hair.


A glowy couple in a very real embrace with a dark background, a moon and sparkles (and the word GHOST in huge) says Romantasy! Not possible superhero, team, cop, detective-like something in a city that just leaves the curious reader to skim over the top as there is nothing there.


Nothing there to grab on to and hook attention.


Vague in marketing is NOT your friend. For sellers or buyers.


So what the heck do I do to SEE? Says the desperate reader.


Well, let me put on some good book tinted sunglasses on for you.

Sorting The Sheep From The…Other Things That Look Like Sheep

I lied.


I said I would tell you how to see the vague books this blog, but I just realized there are three steps to this.


Step 1: Identify the problem. (Last Blog)


Step 2: Understand the Problem. (This Blog)


Step 3: Solve the Problem (Next Blog)


So my dears, next week we shall Solve the Problem.


And it will be fun.


As I always hope it is.


I WILL BE BACK—next week.


Take care!


And if you didn’t see this last week, then check out this video. It is the process that the series took, three different rebrandings until we got it right. Wahoo!!

Stephanie Writt

Writer, instructor, graphic artist and all around lovely soul, with a generous sense of humor  (yes, I am totally writing this myself), takes delight in sharing her geeky knowledge and ridiculous joy in reading, writing and business. As the current Director of Operation at WMG Publishing Inc., she has the privilege and mischievous pleasure in writing this blog every week. 

When Covers Go WRONG!!

Here is the Original cover - Do you know what that story is about?

Here is the new NAILED IT cover! See a difference?

Ghost of a Chance

The Poker Chip


by Dean Wesley Smith


Attorney Gail Kelly dies suddenly on her way to dinner and within minutes meets Dan Carson, aka Sunset.


A Ghost Agent for over a hundred years, Sunset offers to help train Gail. But some­where in their lust for each other (yes, ghosts can be horny) they stumble onto a plan that could destroy the world.


Dan and Gail and other Ghost Agents must join up with Poker Boy and his team and a bunch of gods to try to save the world just one more time.


USA Today bestselling author Dean Wesley Smith brings you the fifth book in the crazy Ghost of a Chance series.

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