WE'VE MOVED!

By Susan Kendrick
Write To Your Market, Inc.

Greetings! We hope you are working on writing a book to build your business and other branding or re-branding projects that get the word out about what you have to offer.

All is well on this end. We have simply moved to a new location.

Our Book Cover Coaching & Business Branding blog is now being posted on our newly designed website, www.WriteToYourMarket.com.

We've been around for a long time, but so had our website, so it was time for a new look and a better way to show some great examples of book covers, e-book covers, professional speaker kits, websites, and more that we've been developing for our clients. We wanted you to see examples of how you can build a brand, business, and more with the help of a book that showcases your expertise.

Please visit us at our new website and blog location. Take a look around. Below is a list of what you will find there so you can click to whatever you may be working on or interested in right now.

Branding

Name Your Business
Personal Branding

Books / Covers
Book Titles and Subtitles 
Book Back Cover Text
E-Book Covers
Manuscript Development
Book Cover Design
Samples By Topic


Marketing Solutions
Website Content
Media Kits 
Professional Speaker Materials

Blog +

Read Our Blog
Critique & Consultation

About
About Us
Testimonials

Store
"Cover That Book"

Contact
Contact
    
Please feel free to contact us with any questions. We look forward to hearing from you and hope you enjoy the new website and everything there. Email us at info@writetoyourmarket.com or call 715-634-4120.

Book Cover Coaching: Why to Build a Book Cover Team

Featured Client:
Dr. Brad Case
How to Use the Team
Approach to Create an
Award-Winning Book Cover

By Susan Kendrick

* Download our Free Book Cover Timeline--an easy, one-page checklist of
   what to do, when to do it, and how to work with your book cover team. 



Dr. Brad Case stays in touch ... a lot. That's because he's always announcing some new award he's received or project he's involved in as a result of his book Thugs, Drugs, and the War on Bugs. My partner, Graham Van Dixhorn, worked with Dr. Case to create the marketing concepts and language for his book cover copy. We also work with a select handful of book cover designers and book interior designers, like the ones listed below, as well as book editors. See how a team approach to your book cover can get your book seen and sold, and give you expert status.

We started by asking Dr. Case a simple question.

Q. "Given the success of your book to-date, what stands out for you about the role or contribution of your cover?"

A. "In my experience, by the time a book is written, the author is too close to the project to be able to see how others will see their book and to know how to sell it. You really need some objective eyes to help you formulate a great selling cover, which is the basis of all your marketing efforts. Though you should be involved, don’t try to do it all on your own. This entire dust jacket was really a group project. I turned to Graham and Susan’s expertise because they really know how to sell books." 

Awards, Exposure, and Business Leads

Here's just a sample of what's been happening.

• Thugs, Drugs and the War on Bugs won the Gold Medal in the Independent Publisher Book Awards contest for the Health/Medicine/Nutrition category. Over 3,000 books were entered in the overall contest. "I don’t know exactly how many books mine was up against," says Case, "but it apparently beat them all!"
• Thugs was also a Finalist in ForeWord Reviews’ Book of the Year contest, and it was awarded the Pinnacle Book Achievement Award last year.
• Dr. Case was also recently interviewed by Wisdom Magazine. Its May/June issue included a lengthy, four-page interview. They also posted the entire first chapter of Thugs on their website
• This interview led to Case being invited by an East Coast filmmaker to be in a documentary on the healing power of foods. 

Book Covers From Mars ...

"I’ve received so many complements on my book cover," says Case. "The only thing that’s gotten more comments is my title. In fact, when I spoke to John Gray, author of the Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus, and told him the title of my book, he literally laughed out loud, asked me to repeat it, then laughed again. I’m sure the title made an impression on him and eventually led to him endorsing the book. His endorsement led to others endorsing it." 

Who to Include on Your Book Cover Team:

Since any book should be marketed well before the actual release date, your cover is essential for that marketing to begin. Here are the three main functions you will need help with to produce a professional, "buy-me-now!" book cover. And, here is Dr. Case's take on how that team approach worked for him:


Book Cover Marketing Copy

"The back cover sales copy gets potential buyers’ attention with a hard-hitting headline and bullet points. The rest of the back cover copy expands on those benefits. The inside flap copy continues that conversation, with a more detailed synopsis, reasons to read the book, and what the reader will get out of it.

"I came up with the title. Graham came up with the much-needed subtitle. He did a great job capturing my dry humor in a subtle way. For the rest of the book cover copy, the credit goes to Graham. I basically gave him a bunch of my information and ideas. He got a feel for the overall tone and content of the book, then formulated all my disjointed ideas into a cohesive book cover that sells the book. Graham and I also played off of each other to build bullet points and the About the Author section.

"I use all the book cover language he developed as the branding and sales copy in my other marketing efforts for the book as well, such as my book website and my main website, as well as my page on Amazon. Graham also came up with the domain name for my website: HealthIsNatural.com.

"All of this came together to make a great cover, which led to my getting more endorsements and receiving awards—more selling points that have also found their way onto the cover." 
 

Book Cover Design

"George Foster was the cover designer. Not only is he a great designer, he’s a great guy with a great sense of humor. The front cover is a bit provocative, but so is the title and the rest of the book, so they all fit together. If my title and subject had been less in-your-face, the cover would have had to reflect that tone, but with a title like Thugs, Drugs and the War on Bugs, we needed a cover like this. It also makes a great poster that really draws the eye in. It catches your attention and raises curiosity in potential readers."

Book Interior Design

I also had my book internal designer, Shannon Bodie, create a great logo for me. My publishing company is called “New Renaissance Books.” Shannon created a professional looking logo that resembles a book morphing into an aloe plant or a lotus, which, depending on what you see, fit the themes of either natural healing or awakening, both of which I resonate with. It perfectly reflects the blending of reading a New Renaissance book and the Natural Healthcare Revolution—all in one logo. 

For an easy, one-page checklist of what to do, when to do it, and how to work with a book cover team, download our free Book Cover Timeline.

Get more "Book Cover Coaching ..."

Subscribe to this blog and get more tips about what goes into developing a great book cover. For our help developing your book cover, book website, personal or business brand, and more, email us about an initial consultation at info@WriteToYourMarket.com or give us a call at 1-888-634-4120.

© 2011, Susan Kendrick, Write To Your Market, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Creating Ebook Covers - How to Choose and Use Testimonials

Profile #3

What's Great About this Ebook Cover?

By Susan Kendrick

My partner, Graham Van Dixhorn, and I are judges for the Ebook Cover Award category in Dan Poynter's Global Ebook Awards program. To give these authors and experts more visibility for their ebooks, and to use these covers to share the strategies we teach and use in our own work creating book covers, we're featuring many cover entries right here on our Book Cover Coaching blog.

State of Mind

Sven Michael Davison

Visit Sven Michael Davison's website. The Kindle edition 

and print version are also available on Amazon.

There are two primary components of the State of Mind ebook we want to emphasize. One is obviously Sven's powerful front cover. The second is his use of back cover testimonials.

Ebook Title

We love Sven's title, in part because. It is a great use of a book title strategy we use and recommend often. Sven does a great job with it:  

Use a Twist on a Familiar Phrase*
This strategy works so well because it combines something already familiar to people--a well-known phrase--with a fresh twist that makes it unique, memorable, and best of all, something that people now associate with you and your ebook.

* Excerpted from our "10 Steps to Ebook Covers That Sell" - see below.

In this case, the familiar phrase is "state of mind," which in this novel can refer both the psychological state of an individual and what happens when you risk coming under control of the state or the powers that be. Both meanings work for this techno-thriller. This book title strategy adds a level of complexity that immediately sets the pace for the novel itself.

Ebook Cover Design

Sven nails it with his front cover design. This one image hits you in the gut ... or somewhere. It is arresting and even slightly off-putting. With a cover like this you may risk driving a few people away, but you will surely draw in your target audience. In Sven's case he makes a major shout-out to people looking for the best in bold techno-thriller fiction. And, that takes us to an important point about the back cover. 

Ebook "Back Cover" Sales Copy

Again, even if your ebook does not have a physical back cover, you still develop that marketing message for use on your website and anywhere else you market and sell your ebook.

Testimonials are an important part of that message and your credibility. 

Testimonials
Having the right people endorse your ebook adds valuable credibility to it. Aim high: What a testimonial says is less important that who says it. Potential buyers look at the endorser's name, title, company, affiliation, etc. 
* Excerpted from our "10 Steps to Ebook Covers That Sell" - see below.

Think a few steps ahead

What do you want your book or ebook to do for you? Whose attention do you want to get and who do you want to influence, besides your potential reader? Your testimonials influence potential readers, yes, but they also influence potential partners who will also judge you by who else has already aligned themselves with you and your work. This is true in any field.

In Sven's case, his high-tech thriller seems to have all the makings of a movie. Sven already has extensive experience in the movie industry and consults for entertainment technology companies. You can see that the sources for two of his quotes are well-known in the movie and digital movie business. His trailer, or "P-Chip infomercial," is also much more than a typical book or ebook trailer. It crosses over into more of a movie short. 

By getting his particular endorsers involved with his book, he continues to gain credibility with people who look to these experts for their take on this kind of story or content--in books, movies, digital movies on the web, and other media.
 

Think very strategically about what testimonials you want for your book and from whom. Too often we see authors and experts start this process too late to get the endorsements they want, or they simply are unaware of how much a well-chosen endorsement can do for them and their books.

  * * *

Get Your Free Copy

"10 Steps to Ebook Covers That Sell" includes three sets of 10-step checklists creating book title and subtitles, back cover sales copy, and book cover design. It also serves as the judging criteria for the Ebook Cover Award. Request a complimentary copy by emailing us at info@WriteToYourMarket.com.

* * *

Subscribe to this blog and learn more about what goes into developing a great book cover. See examples, including those we develop for our clients, and get tips you can use throughout all your book marketing. For help developing your book cover, book website, personal or business brand, and more, contact us at info@WriteToYourMarket.com.

© 2011, Susan Kendrick, Write To Your Market, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Creating Ebook Covers - The Power of Back Cover Sales Copy

Profile #2:
"What's Great About This Ebook Cover?"

By Susan Kendrick 

My partner, Graham Van Dixhorn, and I are judges for the Ebook Cover Award category in Dan Poynter's Global Ebook Awards program. To give these authors and experts more visibility for their ebooks, and to use these covers to share the strategies we teach and use in our own work creating book covers, we're featuring many cover entries right here on our blog.

The Pathway to Love
Julie Orlov

Visit Julie Orlov's website. Her, ebook, book, Kindle edition, workbook, and audio guide are available on her Products Page. The Kindle edition is also available on Amazon.

Ebook "Back Cover" Sales Copy

I'm going to focus on Julie Orlov's back cover copy because she did such a good job on the cover itself and the way she uses this book marketing copy throughout her website. That is the great benefit of back cover sales copy, even for an ebook--it creates a powerful, brand consistent, at-a-glance marketing message that promotes your book or ebook wherever you use it. Here's what makes this ebook cover special:

Know What Your Audience Needs and Wants

If your book or ebook is a solution to a problem, you need to understand that problem. Julie Orlov handles this beautifully. The first paragraph of Julie's back cover starts with, "Discover the secrets to creating more understanding, acceptance, and love in your relationships."  She gets right to the point. She doesn't waste any time connecting with her reader and what they're looking for. You have about 10-15 seconds to get someone's attention and get them to see the value of what you book. Make every second count.

Show What's Unique About Your Solution

Julie then moves right into the second sentence, which shows exactly how her approach to relationships is unique: "Through the art of storytelling Julie Orlov reveals how relationships grow from fantasy to love in four phases." She uses storytelling and she reveals four phases.  ... What are those phases? Am I in one of those phases? Which one? ... This is the possible response from someone reading this copy. It does two things. It draws them in and gets them to keep reading.

Create a Sense of Abundance About What the Reader Gets From the Book

Next, Julie uses the "Not Only" copywriting technique to show the range of help available from her book. The third sentence reads, "The book not only empowers you to create the relationships you want but demonstrates how your relationships mirror what you need to see, thereby providing the perfect conditions to heal, grow, and transform."

Here is a simple but important point. Notice in the back cover copy the use of "you" and "your." Notice, too, how you can create energy and momentum with phrases ranging from "not only empowers you to create" to "providing the perfect conditions." This kind of language gets your prospective buyer excited about the possibilities in this book. And, that is exactly the role of the back cover, to get prospects interested enough to read the book and to buy it.

  

Use a Few Powerful Bullet Points to Seal the Deal

Great book covers use visual chunks of copy to draw in the reader. Bullets are the place to highlight the most compelling benefits of your book in an at-a-glance format. See the bullet points on The Pathway to Love when you click the image (right) from the softcover print version of The Pathway to Love.

On Julie's website home page, those three back cover bullets take center stage. As Julie has also done, you can then tweak your back cover copy to suit the needs of an individual website page-
-whether you are promoting your ebook, book, or overall brand and expertise. In this case, Julie added a fourth bullet that mentions "relationships at work," a significant part of her expertise and the kind of consulting and speaking she wants to attract more of. As you look at other pages on Julie's website, you will continue to see other parts of her back cover copy.

On a tactical note, bullet points should each start with an active verb to further continue the energy and momentum of your marketing message. Julie's bullets start with "Distinguish," "Understand," and "Transform,"  and on the website, "Enhance."

Get High-Profile Testimonials

The impact of testimonials is more about who is saying something about your book than what they are saying. Again, you want to create your back cover in various, high-visibility chunks. Testimonials do not need to be long to support your book, but they have to be by experts your audience recognizes, trusts, and respects. Julie has just two, but one of them is by Bernie Siegel, MD, and the other is from a highly credentialed expert in her field, an MD, PhD from UCLA and company president. See more in our article on how to get and select book cover testimonials.

Ebook Cover Design

There are many good things to say about Julie Orlov's ebook cover design. The main point is that from the color--the soft green, clean white, and bright spot of red in that heart--to the simple image of the orchid, and font style, it has been designed with Julie's core audience in mind. Women buy the vast majority of books. Even for books that are written for men, it is women that buy the books for the men in their lives--husbands, sons, fathers, partners, etc. 

As you can see in Julie's YouTube videos, men attended and spoke very highly about her  book launch event. But for books on relationships especially, women are the core audience of readers and buyers, and this cover reaches out to them on this topic with a sense of beauty, lightness, and promise. The marketing copy is fresh and authoritative. The overall effect is that Julie's book cover positions her as a trustworthy authority on her topic with a lot to offer her readers.

  * * *

Get Your Free Copy

"10 Steps to Ebook Covers That Sell" includes tips for creating book title and subtitles, back cover sales copy, and book cover design. It also serves as the judging criteria for the Ebook Cover Award. Request a complimentary copy by emailing us at info@WriteToYourMarket.com.

* * *

Think about entering your ebook in Dan Poynter's Global Ebook Awards. There are dozens of award categories. Check out 10 Reasons to Enter on YouTube.

Subscribe to this blog and learn more about what goes into developing a great book cover. See examples, including those we develop for our clients, and get tips you can use throughout all your book marketing. For help developing your book cover, book website, personal or business brand, and more, contact us at info@WriteToYourMarket.com.

© 2011, Susan Kendrick, Write To Your Market, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Creating Ebook Covers: Less is More

Profile #1:
"What's Great About This Ebook Cover?"

By Susan Kendrick

My partner, Graham Van Dixhorn, and I are two of the judges for the Ebook Cover Award category in Dan Poynter's Global Ebook Awards competition. In addition to picking the best covers from those submitted--and being on the team that decides the ultimate winner--we will be featuring many covers right here on this blog with a brief "What's Great About This Ebook Cover?" write-up. We will use each ebook cover we feature to point out important ebook cover components and strategies. Think about entering your ebook. There are dozens of award categories. Check out 10 Reasons to Enter on YouTube.

Request a Copy

Participants in the Book Cover Award category receive our "10 Steps to Ebook Covers That Sell." It contains checklists for creating ebook/book titles and subtitles, back cover sales copy, and book cover design. Request a complimentary copy at info@WriteToYourMarket.com.

Selene of Alexandria 
A Novel by 
Faith L. Justice

There are many reasons we chose to feature Selene of Alexandria as an example of a successful ebook cover. Overall it has a highly professional look and feel, which seems simple but is often difficult to achieve. Here's what makes this cover special:

Visit author Faith L. Justice's website. The ebook is also available on Amazon.

Ebook Title

Short and Clear
Many book titles try to be clever at the expense of clarity, but there is power in simplicity. Selene of Alexandria also suggests a certain stature, that this is a story worth knowing.

Unique
There are no other books or ebooks on Amazon with the same title. This ebook cannot be confused with any other book, old or new, or in any way be diminished by sharing its name with other books, music, etc.

Search Engine Key Words
Selene of Alexandria is about a fictional character in a real place and time--the ancient city of Alexandria, Egypt, during the fifth century. For historical fiction, which has a large following, using the key word "Alexandria" helps lead readers to this period piece. A search for "Selene of Alexandia ebook" currently shows up as #3 in Google.

Ebook "Back Cover" Sales Copy

Click on the cover above to see larger images. 

The question comes up, "Does an ebook need a back cover?" The short answer is, yes. Ebooks should take advantage of all the book marketing opportunities available to print books, including buy-me-now, 10-second sales copy. Request the PDF above and see the introduction to the "Back Cover Sales Copy" section. See why your back cover text is the most important ad copy you will draft for your ebook and where you will use it.

Selene of Alexandria had already been published as a softcover in November 2009, so it had its back cover sales copy ready for use in marketing the ebook version. 

Headline
A headline can take many forms, one of which is a high-profile testimonial. In this case, praise comes from an award-winning author. This gives the book immediate credibility--we're willing to trust that an expert in the field thinks this is a great read. 

Clean, Crisp, Inviting Copy
Right away we get a feel for the setting and the conflicts in this story. The copy is energized by colorful language that reaches out in subtle ways to a wide reading audience.

Author Bio

Faith L. Justice's author bio is a refreshing counterpoint to the setting of her 5th century story. It starts with "a self-styled science geek and history junkie ..." It wraps up with her significant accomplishments and a call to action to engage prospective buyers in her other offerings, "Visit her website to read her award-winning short fiction, articles, interviews, and sample chapters of upcoming novels."

Ebook Cover Design

Available on Amazon

Here is where Faith L. Justice's Selene of Alexandria shines. Here are just a few of the ebook cover design criteria that this book embodies so well.

Make One Strong Visual Statement
She uses one powerful graphic image with a color and lighting that stands out against the black background. This cover looks good in any size, even as a thumbnail image, from iPads to smart phones.

Avoid Clutter

Imagine for a minute what could have happened to this cover. In addition to the sculpture it could have had a cityscape in the background to play up the Alexandria part of the title, or the added real image of a young woman. The classic sculpture all by itself gives this book the feeling of, well, a classic.

Title Is Easy to Read
It's big and easily readable. And, with a longer word like "Alexandria" in the mix, emphasizing "Selene" in larger type is a smart move. Trying to put the whole title in the same size font might have looked cramped or just made the whole title illegible. Again, this strategy will ensure the title stands out even in smaller viewing formats.

Author Name Is Big Enough to Read
Again, no fancy fonts, no special effects. Just the author's easily identifiable name.

Easy-To-Read Font
Interestingly, even with straightforward font choices, the name Selene is big, bold, and contemporary like a living, breathing character. By contrast, just like in the story, "Of Alexandria" evokes the time and place of the ancient setting.

A Few Strong Colors

Black, gold, and white create a strong, authoritative feel. This is a book you pay attention to and an author you take seriously. The quality of the cover image--color, lighting, resolution--all play a part in the high-quality feel of the entire cover. Choose any cover graphic and colors with great care.

* * *

Subscribe to this blog to see all the ebook cover entries and comments we post as judges in Dan Poynter's Global Ebook Award. For one-on-one feedback on your project, contact Graham and me, Susan, at info@WriteToYourMarket.com.

© 2011, Susan Kendrick, Write To Your Market, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Writing a Book to Build Your Medical Practice -- PART I

Reasons for Doctors to Write a Book

By Susan Kendrick
http://www.WriteToYourMarket.com

See all book and book website links at the end of this article.

Instead of focusing on book cover text and book cover design in this post, I am backing up a step to show what writing a book can do for particular group of author/experts. While this post is for physicians writing books, this information can apply to other areas of expertise as well.

I was encouraged to write this series of articles by my client, Dr. Kenneth Cohn, a board-certified general surgeon/MBA. Dr. Cohn reaches out to physicians in innovative ways through his physician websites, the Health Care Collaboration Blog,"Improving Physician-Hospital Relations" and The Doctorpreneur, "A complete resource for physicians interested in pursuing non-clinical career opportunities."

What Writing a Book Can Do for You

Physicians regularly write and publish books for a variety of professional and personal reasons. The following are some of the most common incentives: 

• Revive your passion for your practice and/or your life if you are transitioning to a non-clinical career
• Create uniqueness that differentiates your services 
• Stand out in your field as an expert
• Expand your reputation in a specific area of expertise
• Attract patients and others who are eager to work with you
• Discover and develop other parts of yourself
• Generate additional streams of revenue, such as speaking and information products

[We helped develop the book covers for the following five books by self-publishing physicians.]

What Kind of Book Should You Write?

Can you reap the benefits of being a published author only by writing about something related to your medical practice? Not at all. Professionals in many industries find that writing a book about a personal interest can also be a great way to connect with existing and prospective clients. Telling people something about you as a person builds trust, which goes a long way toward creating and cementing relationships that build your practice.

Create a Lead-Generating Brand

Building a professional or personal brand is a great way to improve your medical practice, and writing a book has long been recognized as the best way to build a brand. According to Alan Weiss, international consultant and bestselling author of How to Establish a Unique Brand in the Consulting Profession, writing a book is, "the best branding technique of them all."

Ask Yourself These Four Questions to Get Started:

- What energizes you—either in your practice or your personal life?

- What do you like to do and what are you good at?

- What would you like to learn more about?

- What would you like to be known for 3-5 years from now?

Depending on what you want the book to do for you, you can choose to write about something related to your medical expertise, or you can focus on a more personal topic. Or, you can do both. Again, the reason that writing a book or a series of books is such a good outlet for physicians is that it does very positive things for your reputation, your practice, and your personal well-being.

Professional, Personal, or a Blend: 

Writing a book gives you a way to reach into yourself and out to others in an extremely rewarding way. It begins to bridge what may have become a wide gap between who you are as a physician and who you are as a person.

You can even write a book for other physicians about how to survive and thrive in your professional. Based on your own experience and interviews with colleagues, you can cover a number of areas, such as how to reduce stress, find time to get to the gym, spend time with family when you’re on call, or just relax and recharge.

Expand Your Practice or Expertise: There are many books on the market that demonstrate the success of books written by doctors on some aspect of their medical expertise. We have worked with many doctors who use that expertise to delve into an alternative approach they have developed to a common health challenge.

Take a more personal route: On a more completely personal level, you can write a book about your passion for gardening and describe the health benefits of eating food you grow yourself. Do you like to travel? You can write a book about how travel helps relieve stress and renews your body, mind, and spirit.

Do you love to spend time with your kids? Outline some of your favorite suggestions for activities, road trips, or “vacations” in your home town when you don’t have a lot of time but still want to create family memories. Describe how doing things together builds relationships that benefit the emotional and physical health of your family.

Depending on what you care about and what excites you, the possibilities are endless. One important guiding principle to keep in mind is that the topic should be one that will hold your interest for a long time, both in the creation of the book and in promoting it.

Next in This Series:

Part II -- "Organizing and Starting Your Book"

All Book and Book Website Links for This Article:

- Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizen book series

- Dr. Christiane Northrup 

- Dr. Helene Leonetti

- Dr. Steven Park

- Dr. Marlene Coleman

© 2010, Susan Kendrick, Write To Your Market. All Rights Reserved.

Create Book Cover Brands That Look Great Online

Creating Book Titles and Subtitles That
Still Work in the Smallest Online Formats

By Susan Kendrick

www.WriteToYourMarket.com

The last article here was What Makes a Good Subtitle and How Long Should it Be? There's another reason the length of titles and subtitles is coming up a lot lately, and that is because of the variety of ways your book is now seen.

A Brief History of the Book Cover

Think about it. A book cover used to be written and designed primarily as a physical billboard for your book. The book needed to create interest when seen on the shelf at the bookstore or anywhere else it was displayed for sale. Then came those small thumbnail versions on amazon and other online retailers. Your book cover still has to draw people in, even in its reduced size. But, now that miniaturization goes one step further as book covers make their appearance on Kindle, ipad, and smart phones.
 

Check These Out:

(Take a look at the books on this bestseller page on amazon. Which ones do you think stand out in their smaller format and which ones don't.)

One author of two published books recently questioned whether or not her third book even needed a subtitle, since it would hardly be visible online. We strongly encouraged her to keep her subtitle for the reasons a subtitle has always been, and continues to be, pivotal to the branding and marketing of your book. Again, see previous article.


PLUS!

Your subtitle will show up in search results for your topic, in the product text on amazon, and any other place your book appears online. Don't waste this opportunity.

An Exception to This Rule?

An interesting exception to standard subtitle use is Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier. This book does not have a subtitle, but it does have an endorsement, "Ignore this book at your own peril," by Seth Godin. It also gets a huge credibility boost from bestselling authors like Tom Peters and William C. Taylor, Founding Editor of Fast Company.This book's uber-clean cover and bold, off-the-grid feel--plus the quirky Godin-esque endorsement and amazon review--surely speak to the intended audience for this book and set it apart on a planet of its own.

Is This a Wasted Opportunity?

I wonder, though, what the back cover does for this book--it doesn't show up as a "Look Inside" option on amazon. And, when you look under "Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought," the subtitles for each of those other books are included in the text box under the  book cover image. They get the benefit of this additional positioning and sales copy for their books.

Avoid Piercings and Tatoos ...
 

... Especially if you're going it alone. If you do not have a magic-carpet ride of high-end endorsements in place for your book, and especially if your book will be self-published, your cover needs to be of the highest quality and adhere to every industry standard to "look legit" and avoid looking self-published.

It's like going in for a job interview--the higher-end the position, the more tailored and professional you need to look. Your book is a candidate, too. It has to stand out from all the other books on the topic. Everything about the packaging must be impeccable. And, depending on your audience ... no tongue piercings, visible tatoos, or stilettos. There are better ways to get noticed.

Getting the Right Help Will Get You Noticed

From a branding standpoint, it is your title that is the basis of the iconic look for your cover, so do consider how your title will look even the smallest formats. Use as few words as possible and short words when possible. And, make sure your book cover designer knows how to turn those words and your overall cover into a an immediately recognizable visual brand--an iconic look that will get your book noticed at any size.

Happy Publishing!

Susan

© 2010, Susan Kendrick, Write To Your Market. All Rights Reserved.