The importance of having the right book cover for your genre!
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- Опубликовано: 7 сен 2024
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Hope y'all were able to gain some insight on how important having the proper cover really is and even if you've been doing this for a long time, you can still miss the mark. But it's never too late to fix it!
Let's be Pen Pals:
Courtney Young | PO BOX 697 | Groves, TX 77619
Do you have a question about self-publishing?
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My List of Recommended Books for Self-Published Authors:
Dear Writer, You Need to Quit - amzn.to/3at1yyk
Romancing the Beat - amzn.to/38rfc2C
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel - amzn.to/34pmNxl
Let's Get Publishing Series - amzn.to/2WvDKBP
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//A B O U T M E//
Pen names: Lyra Parish & Kennedy Fox (we're an author duo!)
I've been in the indie scene since 2011. I published my first romance novel in 2014 (Weak for Him). Under Kennedy Fox, we've made USA Today 5 times since 2017. As Lyra Parish, I made the top 100 list several times on Amazon.
If you're looking for those books, you will not find them. I unpublished my Lyra Parish backlist in 2020 with zero regrets. You can watch that video here: bit.ly/3k8P6pa
Want to check out Kennedy Fox's Books? Visit: www.kennedyfoxb...
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//Searching for a Motivational Writing Group?//
I have a writing group on Facebook where you can earn stickers for writing 10K in a day or 50K in a month. You can choose your own day. It's a supportive community that's also fun. If you're international, feel free to join! I've sent stickers to people all around the world since July 2019! In 2021, those who write Half a Million or 1 Million words in a year, will be sent an enamel pin!
groups/write10kinaday
___
//2022 R E L E A S E S C H E D U L E//
The Heart of Us - February - Released
Claiming the Cowboy - Released
Tempting the Cowboy - Released
Seducing the Cowboy - August
The Fall of Us - October
The Joy of Us - November
Plus...we're releasing 12 Italian books and some collections!
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//S O C I A L M E D I A//
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→ my personal email: lyraparish@gmail.com
→ If you want to follow my writing partner too:
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Facebook: / authorbrookecumberland
Twitter: / blcumberland
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Hope y’all have been well! Ready for some live sprints?
YES!
What suggestions do you have? My romance novel is about a rock star and the relationship with a female college musician? Do I have a hunky man with a guitar 🎸 and fans and the female or what?
I love content on genre, book covers, and marketing. I just got my first cover back from my artist and it was a lot of communication and research to get it right. Nothing too fancy but the artist may not know to center your author name in a specific genre, or keep to certain fonts, or use specific colors. It was a 50-50 split of responsibilities which surprised me. I imagined it would just be “I want this” and the artist would make a book cover, but it really is a research first team effort. So fun to see it come together.
Oh yes, it is absolutely a two-way street especially if you work with a design who may not know industry standards. I usually tell newbies to work with someone who’s experienced, but even if they work with someone who’s new, it’s an opportunity for everyone to learn and grow. ❤️ Sounds like you’ve been busy! Keep up the good work.
I really like how brutally honest you are about publishing. I've seen so many videos where everything is happy and shiny all the time, and if you just follow their formula, it all works out. I was very skeptical about covers being changed - but you changed my mind! I've been binging your videos for several weeks now, and I've learned so much! For sure I see both covers differently, and I see the merits of publishing wide instead of going with KU. Your channels is a gem! How more people haven't found you, I do not understand. Thank you!
Thank you! I don’t think it helps anyone to sugar coat publishing. 😊 I’m so happy you’ve found my channel helpful. Super appreciate the kind words!
@@TheCourtneyProject I should probably tell you that I've been buying and reading KF books to learn your secret. Never to copy, but to understand what works and why. 🤓
Courtney, I CAN NOT BELIEVE your sub's is not higher. You are on point, entertaining, informative and come off as a really nice person who is not high on themselves. Well done. Thank you.
Aww, thank you! I’m not giving up, just hoping the RUclips algorithm eventually gives a girl a break! 😂
I could listen to you talk about publishing all day and never get bored. Thank you for sharing what you know. I have learned so much from you!
Aww, thank you so much! Appreciate it and happy to help!
As someone that never reads romance, I‘d pick up that new cover to read the blurb. Good job rebranding it, sometimes we get so stuck on what we know and have been working on for ages that we can‘t see the forest amid the trees!
Absolutely! You explained that perfectly! 🙌🙌🙌
Excellent work!! Glad you found the right groove for the series on the third try (it's the charm!) 😉
Yes! It’s so vital that readers know what to expect when they see your book.x
Absolutely!
Great video! Excited to see how things change overall.
Thank you and sameeee!
I've been contemplating this for months. This might just be the video I needed to relaunch the books.
I’m rooting for you! ❤️🙌
As someone new to your channel and interested in self-publishing, thank you for sharing this and your honesty. It makes me more excited to dive in.
I’m so glad you’re here! Thank you for watching and finding my videos helpful. ❤️
This is so important to talk about. Even though I'm only just starting the first book in a romance series, I'm already researching what covers are doing well in the sub genre and niche I'm writing in. Both what I gravitate toward, but also what elements are normal: colors, fonts, pictures, vibes, coherence in a series etc. It's really interesting to see the difference even in the same sub-genre (clean and wholesome romance) depending on the niche and vibe. So important to take into account. Thank you for your videos on this, it's so helpful.
Absolutely! Covers can kill a release and having the wrong one happens to the best of us! ❤️ I’m so happy you’re here and finding these videos helpful!
I've been binge watching your videos for about a week. Totally love and appreciate the channel and info, thanks so much 🤘🏾🔥
Thank you so much! I’m happy you’re here and finding value! ❤️❤️
Ty so much for telling us about this awesome auction! Many of us would not have known about these wonderful opportunities without you telling us! I bid on some! Yay!
You’re welcome! ❤️
I'm so excited to be a part of this Anthology!!!!!
Aww, I’m excited too! ❤️ Hope you’ve had a good time so far!
I loved this! So inspirational! Thanks!
Thanks so much for the transparency on your choices with rebranding that series. I hope it does much better (and that you might provide an update in a year or so?)!
Thank you! Oh, I’m going to pull actual sales data and share it with everyone. Proof is in the puddin’ as they say! 🥰🥰
As an artist, it is hard to take my options out of my designs. I have to keep in mind what the public is going to want. My style isn’t everyone’s.
Oh it is! We all have our personal tastes. It would probably be even more difficult for me if I knew how to design. 😂
This is all so amazing. It’s great that you could go back and figure out where you messed up. And a bit humbling to know that even y’all can still make mistakes when you’ve been doing this for so long! I hope the rebrand helps the series. I have a feeling that I’m going to end up combining my duet I have releasing this month and next and adding it to my upcoming series. I’d just have to figure out how to combine them, haha. And fair warning, this is a long comment 🫣🙈
Last year around this time, I made the decision to unpublish the first 2 books in my series and rebrand. In the process I’ve created brand new books. Nothing about them except maybe descriptions and some other little things are the same as the original books. This new series is just that: a new series with new characters and such. I’ve decided my books will mostly be small town, southern romances.
Now that I’ve made all those changes I wonder if I really need to keep those other books off sale. I want to recover them as well as update the interior. My editor screwed me over for the first book and there are mistakes that should have been caught within the first chapter. But also, I can see so many ways I could make the books stronger and better. What’s the point in doing that when I’m already in the process of that with the new series. So I don’t know what to do. I want to finish the series and I think I could probably make new covers.
Should I bring that series back? If I do, should I leave it the same? Or make the major changes that’d essentially change the series? It’s too hard to figure this stuff out, lol.
Lol, thanks for the warning! 😂 Haha, if it were me, and I were bringing it back, I’d do major rewrites to your current voice and the way you write. But that sounds like it’s what you did and it was completely different. So, if it were me, I’d keep them unpublished and clean them up, but NOT completely rewrite them, then use them as newsletter builders, a free book people can get if they join your list. I know how much work it is to rewrite something that was written years ago and it’s a big task. Haha maybe that helped! Ultimately, you’ll do what you think is best. ❤️
@@TheCourtneyProject You totally get me and I was so worried I made no sense at all! And yeah. I’m no longer allowed to rewrite things, because I can’t keep it simple and not change everything. When I was thinking of bringing the books back and then finishing the series, I got a major headache so I was like maybe not.
And that’s such a good idea! Using the stories as freebies for my newsletter. I didn’t even think of that. Since those books will be tied in with the new series (the people are from the same town that series is based in). Only concern-because I forgot-is that these books are already available on KISS. Does that matter when trying to use the books as lead magnets?
@@teralynmitchell5444 Nope, I don't think it matters that they're on KISS. People who read the gamification way are completely different from those who download full ebooks. I think it could still work out great and help you gain new subscribers on you NL, so then you can tell them about your upcoming books. Update the backmatter in your new ones, leading them back to the others for FREE if they subscribe, then put them through an automation!
@@TheCourtneyProject Okay! I’ve heard that before so I probably should start believing it, lol. Thank you for the reminder to update my backmatter with the free books. And the automation which I don’t do. I should probably update that and have a system like other people have, haha. Thank you so much! You helped me figure out what to do with those books!!
@@teralynmitchell5444 whoop! You’ve got this!
First of all, I LOVE your videos and I have learned so much! Do you have any videos for authors just starting out on what to budget for covers, editing, marketing etc? I am about to get my LLC, and I would love some guidance on what to expect to pay, and also how to find good editors you can trust and build a relationship with. Thanks!
Very insightful! :)
😘❤️
Woot!! I've missed your face!
😘😘😘😘
Hey Courtney, quick question. Have you ever used/do you recommend book marketing services for debuts to get the word out there? Or do you prefer more organic methods? xx
I think it’s a good idea to use marketing services for your debut. I used two different companies for mine because I wanted to get the word out. I wouldn’t sign up for monthly ongoing PR, but more like release blasts and ARC reviews. ❤️
How long will it take for you to know if the needle moves?
You’ll usually see an uptick in sales the first week/month then it starts to level off. That’s one of the reasons why rapid releasing them is good because it keeps people excited. After the first month, you should see the new books beat your previous monthly averages and it typically stays pretty consistent with sales after the change. After about 3 months, I’d check to see what percentage you’ve made compared to the same time period. So grab the total for the original books first 90 days and then the new one for 90 days and divide them. Hopefully you’re over 80% made. If so, I’d say it’s a win because over the life you should outsell the old one. If it’s barely moved the needed (let’s say 20% made compared to the original)-you might have another issue with the book itself that’s not hooking people to continue reading. At that point, I’d take a hard look at the inside, study what bad reviews say, rewrite, hire a critique, and then republish with a freebie series starter stacked with promo. Then, I’d probably move on for a little while and go back to it after the new branding grows stale. Hopefully that made sense! ❤️
5 am? I’m not a night owl.
So you're recommending getting a marketing assistant with ADHD... :P
the superpower!!! 👩🏾🎤