New Book Covers and General Update
After devoting an extensive amount of time to my new Morteon Scientific Investigation series, I took a momentary break to reflect on my initial series of sci-fi novellas. It dawned on me that I wasn’t entirely satisfied with their appearance, prompting a decision for a revamp in the form of new book covers.
Taking a leap of faith, I decided to invest in fresh book covers devoid of the female face that had nagged at me since the series’ inception. I recognized the importance of allowing readers to form their own mental images of the main character, steering away from any predetermined visual cues. Instead, I opted for covers showcasing open space, adorned with spacecraft and devoid of any human presence.
Employing some crafty techniques in Photoshop, I meticulously designed these covers to ensure they cohesively represented the series. Removing excessive text clutter, such as the series name and book numbers, was a conscious choice. This minimalist approach not only decluttered the covers but also accentuated the cover images, allowing them to take center stage. Additionally, aligning the text across all books created a synchronized visual appeal.
The feedback on these revamped covers has been promising, marking the second update to the covers since the initial versions, which were crafted during a period of relative inexperience. While I’ve gained more insight into the process, I’m not impervious to errors and remain committed to learning and evolving.
On the marketing front, I explored the Author Ads course on the Self Publishing Forum led by Mark Dawson and James Blatch. Undoubtedly, their 101 course for novice authors provided invaluable guidance. However, I couldn’t overlook the steep price tag attached to the advertising course. While acknowledging its potential for substantial returns, I felt the cost was a tad exorbitant, especially for those starting out in the current economic climate. Nevertheless, if their strategies yield significant profits, it’s understandable why they maintain such pricing structures.
Contrastingly, I’ve found value in Domestika courses for art-related learning. Domestika.com offers an array of reasonably priced short courses covering diverse subjects. Recently, I stumbled upon a course elucidating Facebook Advertising, which has already enhanced my sales through simple yet previously overlooked adjustments. Priced around $10 during a limited offer, “Full-Funnel Advertising for Facebook and Instagram” by Patrick Wind on Domestika stands out for its comprehensive content and affordability.
Venturing into Facebook advertising, I consider the initial months as an experimental phase to discern the most effective ad formats for my books. Testing various styles, age demographics, interests, and purchasing behaviors has been a bit overwhelming due to the multitude of available filters. Beginning with a modest daily budget, I’ve noticed certain ads consuming funds with minimal returns while others yield promising profits.
I am recording all the results to streamline the process and hopefully when I find the right combination I will then invest a bit more cash. At the moment I’m breaking even but I’m not that worried as I only started this month (December 2023) and with a little help from the Domestika course will be able to make some decent money from book sales and page reads on Amazon. It will help when ‘Transformation’- book 3 in my moreton Scientific Investigation series is published to increase the read through once someone has bought the first book. I find the whole process fascinating and the only downside is that I am constantly checking to see haw many page reads and books are being sold as it updates through the day. Here’s an overview of this month so far (1st – today 20th December 2023).
