#3. Get Those High-End Endorsements You’ve Been Fantasizing About!
By Susan Kendrick
Having your back cover copy in hand--at least a solid, working version of it--is a great way to get endorsements for your book while you're still working on it. You can then add the endorsements you get to your back (or front) cover before you finalize it and the book goes to press. Starting this endorsement process while you’re still working on your manuscript is important because getting endorsements can take time—time to decide who to approach, time to build enough of a relationship to get in the door, time for the endorser to respond, time to accommodate his or her travel and work schedule, etc.
Why Timing Makes the Difference for a Successful Book Cover
Starting the endorsement process while you're still working on your manuscript lets you to complete this task in time to use those endorsements on your book cover. Many authors start the endorsement-getting process too late and miss the opportunity to include pending endorsements on their cover. This usually happens when there is another deadline in place, like needing to finalize and print your book for a big speaking engagement or marketing event. This time-crunch also happens when the author is trying to meet an arbitrary, self-imposed publication deadline he or she feels compelled to meet, even when extending that date to include some really great endorsements would be worth the wait. This timing is a balancing act between getting the elements you need in place for your cover and getting your book to press and to market. Starting the endorsement process early helps you achieve the best of both worlds.
Worth the Wait?
Yes, remember that endorsements--from experts in your field, bestselling authors, satisfied clients or customers, celebrities, or other “household names” recognizable to your target audience--are critical for establishing your credibility and are perhaps the most powerful selling feature on your book cover. Endorsements are one of the first things both readers and buyers look for on your book cover—who is saying what about you and your book. For “The 3 P’s” of getting and choosing endorsements for your cover, check out this Book Cover Coaching article.
But wait, how can you ask for endorsements when your manuscript isn’t even finished? Don’t you need your manuscript to show those people you want to endorse your book? Yes, but you can provide them with either a completed manuscript, or in many cases, just your Introduction and several key chapters to give them a feel for your message and your level of expertise. Send these chapters along with your front cover and your working back cover copy.
Your back cover copy does three things to help you get the endorsements you want:
-- It tells potential endorsers what the book is about and the importance of that message to people they care about as well
-- Like your front cover, it shows that this book is “real,” with a well-developed intent and marketing message
-- It allows each potential endorser to see the rest of the back cover on which his or her comments and name will appear
This last point is especially important for gaining the trust of potential endorsers in you, your message, and how you will professionally showcase them on your book cover. If you have already secured other endorsements, all the better, because new endorsers will be able to see who they will be appearing with on the back cover of your book and therefore on your website and other marketing outlets. Done right, your back cover copy goes a long way toward showing potential endorsers the benefit to them of appearing on your book. It’s a good way to start what should be a mutually beneficial relationship.
For more information on the benefits of starting your book cover as early as possible, and for step-by-step how-to's for using the book cover secrets of today's bestsellers, please visit http://www.BestsellingBookCover.com
Happy Publishing!
Susan
© Copyright 2008, Susan Kendrick, Write to Your Market, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.writetoyourmarket.com/ 715-634-4120.
No comments:
Post a Comment