I was never quite happy with my book cover, but I did try to make peace with it. However – knowing full well that a book is still judged by its cover, I finally decided to see if I could actually improve it. I started with the subtitle by shortening it as you can see below. Then I played around with the fonts until I found what I believed worked much better. I’m a lot happier with this new look. I only wish that I had done it sooner.
I created my cover using Canva which some of you may already be familiar with. For a small subscription price, you can even upload your own fonts to the site. I was happy with the fonts offered for free, so I felt no need to upgrade. But because I’m curious by nature, I did find a site that offers some really nice fonts. There’s loads more available online.
While I am happy with my new cover, this will most likely be the last cover that I do myself. Since publishing my book, I’ve met a very talented lady who designs book covers among the list of other services that she offers. She’s also an accomplished indie author who has published several books. I’m including a link to her new Facebook page if you would like to contact her: https://www.facebook.com/busybeepublication. Connie can also be contacted through Twitter.
When I originally saw Connie’s work, I was mind blown. Her covers look so professional and can easily hold a candle to any book cover out there. In my opinion, she doesn’t charge near enough for her services. I’ll be begging her to create my next cover. I’ll also be enlisting Connie’s editing and formatting services at some point.
And in case you’re looking for a group to join, Connie has created a fantastic facebook group for indie authors. The group’s members are always helpful and supportive of each other – making it a great place to connect with other indie authors.
Going back to my book cover for a second, I noticed that after I updated it in KDP, the new cover was showing up on amazon for the Kindle edition as it should. However it wasn’t showing up for the paperback edition. So I waited and waited. And when I could wait no longer, I contacted KDP support. They’re now looking into it for me. I’m hoping that with their help, the problem will be resolved. And sooner rather than later would be wonderful.
Amazon Keywords
Switching gears all together (and you’ll notice I’ve added a little subheading for SEO purposes), I came across a couple of great videos this week that talk about amazon keywords. And as indie authors know, amazon key words are vital in getting our books in front of the right audience. I have to confess that I’m still learning how to properly implement amazon keywords myself. Although thanks to these videos, I’ve already improved the keywords for my book once. I’ll improve them again as I figure out what works and what doesn’t. I’m sharing the links in case you’d like to check them out. Each video is short, sweet, and to the point.
After watching these videos, I followed Dale’s instructions to improve my own keywords. The process was quick and easy. In so doing, I realized that my initial keywords were almost completely ineffective – in that my keywords didn’t reflect how people search for books. This meant that my book wasn’t likely to show up in any search on amazon whatsoever, or it might show up in front of the wrong audience. Dale mentions this in his first video.
I’m hoping the new keywords will improve my book’s visibility in front of my target audience. Only time will tell of course. And if you have any suggestions on how to improve amazon keywords for our books, please let us know.
Well, that’s it for this week. I’d like to finish up by sharing this quote that I wrote a couple years back.
Until next time, be kind to yourself.
Brenda Baker 